
New Help for Teens Trying to
Kick the Habit
Each day, approximately 4,000 young people between the ages of
12 and 17 years initiate cigarette smoking, and an estimated 1,140
young people become daily cigarette smokers. Approximately 2.7
million youth under the age of 18 were smokers in 2005.
Although youth are known to be particularly vulnerable to tobacco
addiction, there is surprisingly little known about youth tobacco
cessation. More than 54% of current high school cigarette smokers
in the United States tried to quit smoking within the preceding
year. However rates for failed quit attempts among younger smokers
are higher than those for adults (43%). We need a greater understanding
of youth and teen cessation. Researchers, tobacco control leaders,
and others are currently working on this problem and adding to
the list of what might help youth and teens quit successfully.
Bupropion (Zyban), approved as an adult stop-smoking aid, may
help teens to quit too, researchers recently announced in the
November issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Bupropion was the first non-nicotine medication approved for
smoking cessation, but it has not been widely tested in adolescents.
To help fill the gap, Dr. Muramoto and colleagues at the University
of Arizona College of Medicine enrolled 312 teens, ages 14 to
17, who smoked at least six cigarettes a day, had an exhaled carbon
monoxide level of at least 10 parts per million, and had tried
at least twice before to quit.
Teens were randomized to placebo, a low dose of bupropion at
150 mg a day, or a high dose of bupropion at 300 mg a day. The
volunteers were treated for six weeks, with brief counseling during
that time, and then they were followed for another 20 weeks, the
researchers said. The primary endpoints were self-reported abstinence,
verified by exhaled carbon monoxide levels and cotinine levels.
The high dose (300 mg) of bupropion resulted in significantly
higher quit rates than placebo at most time points during treatment,
but the low dose did not. Carbon monoxide-confirmed quit rates
during treatment were 11.5 percent in the placebo group, 15.3
percent for low-dose bupropion, and 22.6 percent in the high-dose
group. Cotinine-verified abstinence showed that only the high
dose resulted in higher quit rates at six weeks than did placebo,
at 29 percent versus 16 percent.
But the teens tended to relapse after the end of six weeks of
treatment with the medication combined with brief anti-smoking
counseling, Dr. Muramoto and colleagues reported. The tendency
to start smoking again "suggests a need to evaluate a longer dosing
regimen in adolescent smokers," Dr. Muramoto and colleagues concluded.
They said results might have been better had the teens been treated
for 12 weeks, which is the recommended length of treatment for
adults. For more information, see http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/161/11/1068.
In addition to pharmacological treatments, teens may also benefit
from new and emerging technologies to support their quit attempts.
The FixNixer (http://www.fixnixer.com)
is a new online program developed in Colorado. Sponsored by The
State Tobacco Education and Prevention Partnership of the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment and funded with proceeds
from the 2004 state tobacco excise tax, this free program provides
a personalized quit plan, support, and tools to help teens quit
smoking or chewing tobacco.
With input from the user, FixNixer generates a customized 21-day
program. As the quit date approaches, teens have access to Quitting
101, which includes tips and tools that help the user get ready
for the quit date. Once they have begun the 21-day quit journey,
quitters can write about their quit experience in their QuitBlog
and read what other FixNixer quitters have written about their
experiences in the community forum.
The FixNixer will also send personalized text messages or emails
over the course of the three-week quitting program to motivate
and encourage the quitters to remain smoke-free. The messages
remind them about why they use tobacco, when they use tobacco,
and why they want to quit. At the end of the 21-day program, teens
have the option of continuing the current quit program, or to
start over.
Virtual reality is may also help some teens kick the habit. The
Virtual Reality Medical Center (VRMC) has created an Internet-based
Virtual Reality (VR) game that helps adolescents cease smoking
(http://www.vrphobia.com/teensmoking).
This interactive program uses cue exposure therapy (CET) to treat
addictive behaviors.
The VRMC Teen Smoking "Virtual Environment" (VE) consists of
two major regions: home and school. The home is comprised of two
floors: The first floor is the garage, the one above has a bedroom,
kitchen, living room and bathroom. The school environment includes
the classroom, restroom, and cafeteria.
At the start of the program, the user is placed in his/her bedroom
where he/she must select a quit date from the provided calendar
before being able to participate in other activities. Smoking
cues are placed around the teenager's home. In these cases, users
can choose to "smoke," "ignore," or "throw away" objects, such
as a pack of cigarettes, which increases their cravings if not
removed. At school, they deal with pressure from their peers to
smoke. In those scenes, the user has the option of refusing, considering,
or accepting the offer to smoke.
The game includes a "craving" status bar which starts off empty.
It indicates the user's current craving level to smoke. When a
user approaches smoking cues like an ashtray, alcohol, or coffee,
the craving bar goes up. However, when users participate in an
activity in an effort to distract themselves from the desire to
smoke, the result is a reduction in cravings. When the user's
craving level approaches the maximum, the user's vision (the visuals
on the screen) will begin to blur and flash red, acting as a warning
sign. Under these circumstances, the user can either participate
in an activity or take a smoke in order to alleviate the craving.
Ultimately, the goal of the program is for users to remain smoke
free in both environments for as long as possible. Rewards and
other forms of encouragement are awarded after the user has maintained
a smoke-free regimen following certain time periods.
VRMC's teen smoking cessation program can help to educate adolescents
on how to effectively avoid situations that cause cravings. In
addition, repeated exposure to problematic triggers eventually
leads to desensitization.
A research study was to assess the adolescent's knowledge related
to the smoking cessation behaviors pre and post program participation.
Overall, the data from the questionnaires suggests the development
of healthier habits following program participation. After participating
in the program, subjects agreed that setting a quit date helps
you to quit; and keeping busy and performing physical activities
can aid with distraction from smoking. For more information, see
http://www.ehealthonline.org/articles/article-details.asp?articleid=1517.
These tools are just some of the cessation treatments being studied
for efficacy and effectiveness in youth and teens. More research
is needed to help develop a better understanding of the challenges
and opportunities associated with youth tobacco cessation. This
will lead to the development of more effective treatment tools
and services to meet the needs of young smokers and help them
quit. The Youth Tobacco Cessation Collaborative (YTCC) was formed
to address the gap in knowledge about what cessation strategies
are most effective in assisting youth to quit smoking. Collaborative
members represent major organizations that fund research, program,
and policy initiatives related to controlling youth tobacco use.
For more information, visit their website at http://www.youthtobaccocessation.org/.
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Smokers
Remain Unaware of the Health Effects of Smoking, New Survey Finds
Despite major efforts to educate the public on the
dangers of smoking over the past 40 years, a new national survey
shows that major knowledge gaps exist in what smokers believe
to be true about the risks associated with smoking compared the
actual realities of tobacco-related disease and death.
According to the survey, conducted by the American
Legacy Foundation and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, while
many smokers are aware that smoking can lead to serious health
problems including lung cancer, many underestimate the risk of
getting the disease from smoking. For example, two in three smokers
underestimate the chance of developing lung cancer compared to
a non-smoker and four in 10 incorrectly believe that developing
lung cancer depends more on genes than anything else. Furthermore,
the survey found that up to a third of smokers think that certain
activities such as exercise and taking vitamins could "undo" most
of the effects of smoking.
Misperceptions about the effects of nicotine found
in cigarettes were also common among respondents. Almost all survey
respondents (81 to 86 percent) either were unsure whether, or
incorrectly believed that, nicotine caused cancer, emphysema or
heart attacks. More than 76 percent of smokers surveyed wrongly
believe that, or do not know whether, NRTs are more addictive
than cigarettes, highlighting the need for further education as
cigarettes are vastly more addictive. In fact, about half of the
smokers surveyed stated they would be more likely to consider
NRT if they were shown scientific evidence that prove its safety
and efficacy.
"What is alarming about these survey findings is
that so many smokers are still so misinformed," said Dr. Cheryl
Healton, president and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation.
"Proven cessation treatments like nicotine replacement therapy
continue to be underutilized and we believe these misperceptions
are partly to blame. These findings point to the fact that more
needs to be done to educate and inform smokers."
For more information, see web link:
American Legacy
Press Release November 13, 2007
Cigarette Smoking
Among Adults -- United States, 2006
According to a report published in the November
9th issue of MMWR, the number of adult smokers in the
United States has remained constant since 2004.
The CDC analyzed data from the 2006 National Health
Interview Survey (NHIS), a questionnaire that evaluated the smoking
habits of 24,275 adults 18 and older. This analysis indicates
that in 2006 approximately 20.8 percent of U.S. adults were current
cigarette smokers. This prevalence has not changed significantly
since 2004. In 2004 and 2005, 20.9 percent of the U.S. adult population
were smokers.
The analysis also found that among the 20.8 percent
of individuals that currently smoked, 44.2 percent had made an
effort to stop smoking in the last 12 months. Slightly more men
(23.9 percent) than women (18.0 percent) still light up. Only
10.4 percent of Asians surveyed still smoked, followed by Hispanics
(15.2 percent), non-Hispanic whites (21.9 percent), non-Hispanic
blacks (23 percent), and American Indians/Alaskan Natives (32.4
percent).
In addition, the findings indicated that persons
with a diagnosis of a smoking-related chronic disease, including
certain cancers, have a significantly higher prevalence (36.9
percent) of being a current smoker than persons with other chronic
diseases or persons with no chronic disease. That indicates a
need for more aggressive cessation messages directed at this population,
the researchers say, especially given data that shows that continued
smoking has harmful effects on treatment and survival
For more information, see web link:
MMWR November 9, 2007 56(44);1157-1161
Study Finds
Fewer Heart Attacks after Smoking Ban
The number of heart attacks among nonsmokers in
Monroe County, Indiana, declined by more than two-thirds in the
months after a countywide smoking ban took effect, according to
a study by Indiana University professors.
The study, published in the current issue of the
Journal of Drug Education, found heart attacks in Monroe
County dropped 70 percent - from 17 in the 22 months before the
ban took effect to five in the 22 months after the ban started.
The researchers found that in Delaware County, which has similar
demographics but had no ban during the time of the study, saw
an 11 percent drop - from 18 to 16 heart patients - for the same
time period.
While the researchers concede the small number of
overall heart attacks is a limitation of the study, Dong-Chul
Seo, an assistant professor in IU's Department of Applied Health
Science and the study's lead author, believes the findings are
strong. The researchers' conclusions fit with the other studies
that found an immediate decrease in heart attack rates following
cigarette bans, smoking cessation experts say.
"This provides really solid evidence of the benefit
of the public smoking ban, and hopefully this will provide a basis
for adopting a public smoking ban in many municipalities and states,"
said Seo.
For more information, see web link:
Journal
of Drug Education, 2007, Volume 37, Issue 3
Fear of Weight
Gain May Keep Women from Trying to Quit Smoking
Although there are many possible reasons for the
stubborn persistence of smoking, fear of weight gain is high on
the list for many women, says a University of Michigan Health
System researcher Cindy Pomerleau, Ph.D.
New findings published in the October issue of Addictive
Behaviors show that women who smoke tend to be further from
their ideal body image, and more prone to dieting and bingeing,
than those who don't smoke.
In the study, the smokers and non-smokers were asked
to look at silhouette pictures of ten different body types, ranging
from thinnest to fattest, and to choose which one their current
body type was closest to, and which one they wanted to look most
like. They were also asked questions about their self-image and
their eating habits, about how concerned they were about gaining
weight if they quit smoking, and about how sure they were that
they could stay off cigarettes even if they gained weight.
The smokers chose an ideal body shape that was slimmer
than the non-smokers chose, and further from how they perceived
themselves as looking. They also had more problems with limiting
their eating. Smokers who were overweight were especially doubtful
about their ability to stay off tobacco if they started to gain
weight.
This study, Pomerleau says, suggests that if women
smokers are to succeed in quitting, they may need extra help in
achieving a more realistic body image and paying attention to
unhealthful eating patterns, particularly if they are already
overweight.
In another study, published in the August issue
of Eating Behaviors, the team found that overweight women
smokers who were overweight as children were far more likely to
have started smoking in their early teens than women whose weight
problems started later in life. They also had worse withdrawal
symptoms when they tried to quit.
In the study of 89 overweight women smokers, those
who remembered being overweight before they reached junior high
school reported that they had started experimenting with smoking
at around age 13 -- compared with women whose weight problems
didn't start until junior high or after, who hadn't tried smoking
till they reached age 15. The women who were overweight as children
also reported more nicotine-withdrawal symptoms when they tried
to quit smoking, especially symptoms like anger, irritability
and trouble concentrating.
Cigarettes are well known to suppress appetite and
weight, says Dr. Pomerleau. "So it's hardly surprising that women
who have trouble managing their weight or are dissatisfied with
their bodies are drawn to smoking," she says.
Once they make a serious attempt to quit, evidence
suggests that most weight-concerned smokers can be just as successful
in kicking the habit as others. "The problem here is getting women
who are concerned about their weight to be willing to try to make
a quit attempt," says Pomerleau, "and then helping them gain a
sense of control over their weight."
These studies, and others that the U-M team have
done, all point to the importance of finding new strategies to
help women quit smoking without losing control of their weight.
For more information, see web link:
U-M
Health Minute, November 5, 2007
Research Shows
Teenagers Start Smoking To Lose Weight
The smoking rate in teens has been down for years,
but researchers have found a new trend in addiction -- teen girls
picking up cigarettes in hopes of dropping pounds.
According to a recent study in the American
Journal of Health Promotion, teen girls dieting during the
two-year study were almost twice as likely to take up smoking
than those not dieting. Conversely, the study found that teen
boys turned to cigarettes after attempting and failing at dieting.
Researchers noted that dieting does not appear to
be linked to trying smoking, but that female teens who initiate
dieting appear at risk for beginning regular smoking.
JaNan Less, community health consultant for the
Scott County Health Department, Iowa, said she thinks the increase
in teen girls smoking found in the research is linked to high
obesity rates and girls looking to tobacco to lose weight.
Although there are many successful efforts to curb
teenage smoking, young people certainly have not kicked the habit
completely and need more support to successfully quit tobacco.
For more information, see web link:
Medical
News Today, October 29, 2007
Community Guide
Recommendations and State Level Tobacco Control Programs: 1999-2004
A recent study published in Tobacco Control
documents the level of effort by state tobacco control partners
working on recommended tobacco control programs and interventions.
Using the Strength of Tobacco Control survey responses in 1999,
2002 and 2004, researchers were able to calculate the mean proportion
of state tobacco control partners working on recommended interventions
and analyzed changes in effort over time.
The researchers were able to document that the proportion
of state tobacco control partners working to promote clean indoor
air legislation remained at more than 70 percent in all three
years. The proportion working to increase taxes on tobacco rose
significantly between 1999 and 2002 (from 54 percent to 70 percent),
and those working to reduce patient costs for tobacco cessation
treatments never exceeded 31 percent in any year. Use of mass
media targeting youths decreased significantly in all years (from
40 percent to 32 percent to 26 percent), and the proportion of
state tobacco control partners participating in a quitline has
increased steadily and significantly in all years (from 24 percent
to 36 percent to 41 percent). The level of effort in each area
varied widely between states and over time.
Researchers suggest that although state tobacco
control partners are implementing evidence based interventions,
more focus is needed on the tobacco cessation and mass media campaign
components of comprehensive tobacco control programs.
For more information, see web link:
Tobacco
Control, 2007, Volume 16, Issue 5
TOP

American Legacy
Foundation Campaign Focuses on Nation's Number-One Cancer Killer
Earlier this year, Legacy Foundation launched a
new national public service campaign, Code Blue for Lung Cancer.
Code Blue for Lung Cancer is designed to raise awareness of the
deadly toll of lung cancer in our country.
Code Blue includes a 30-minute documentary that
explores the devastating impact of lung cancer on four families
and discusses how to reduce lung cancer deaths, primarily through
early diagnosis and by quitting smoking. The campaign, in both
English and Spanish, also includes radio and television public
service announcements, a guidebook for local broadcasters, and
an accompanying online component.
Lung cancer accounts for 28 percent of all cancer
deaths in the United States. More Americans lose their lives to
lung cancer annually than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined.
According to a study released by Legacy, two-thirds of women inaccurately
believed breast cancer to be the leading cause of cancer death
among women.
Eighty-five percent of people diagnosed with lung
cancer are current or former smokers, whom many perceive as having
had the power to avoid a lung cancer diagnosis if only they had
been able to quit. However, research shows two things: that nicotine
is highly addictive, and that while 70 percent of smokers want
to quit, many lack the tools and resources to quit for good.
"Lung cancer takes a huge social and economic burden
on our country each year," said Dr. Cheryl Healton, President
& CEO of the American Legacy Foundation. "We need to be more supportive
of smokers trying to quit, more empathetic to people and families
suffering from lung cancer, and more vigilant in ensuring more
research and funding is devoted to lung cancer."
For more information, see web link:
American Legacy
Foundation "Code Blue"
Growing Social
and Economic Burden of Lung Disease Underscores Need For Action:
The Lung Association, Canada
The Lung Association of Canada announced that the
release of an important new report on lung disease in Canada demonstrates
the growing burden and deadly impact of lung diseases including
asthma, COPD, sleep apnea and lung cancer. "Life and Breath: Respiratory
Disease in Canada" released by The Public Health Agency of Canada,
highlights the most recent data available for certain major lung
diseases. The report also cites the important risk factors of
tobacco and the environment, and their impact on the lung health
of Canadians.
Among the highlights of the report:
- Respiratory diseases place a considerable economic burden
on the health care system, accounting for approximately 6.5
percent - $12 billion - of total direct health care costs;
- Both indoor and outdoor air quality are recognized as significant
contributors to respiratory diseases. This underlines the very
real need to address air quality issues in order to lower the
increasing rate of lung disease in Canada;
- The increase in smoking among women over the last 50 years
has resulted in an increased prevalence of diseases such as
lung cancer and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
among women;
- Tobacco usage remains the most important preventable risk
factor for chronic lung diseases, demonstrating the need for
active smoking cessation policies and programs designed to reduce
tobacco-related lung diseases such as lung cancer and COPD.
"This report provides Canadians with a snapshot of the burden
that lung disease is placing on them socially and economically,"
said Nora Sobolov, President and CEO of The Lung Association,
"As The Lung Association and stakeholders nationwide continue
to move forward on building Canada's first-ever Lung Health Framework,
research such as this serves to underscore the very real need
for concrete action to decrease incidence of lung disease in our
country."
For more information, see web link:
Medical
News Today, November 23, 2007
AAFP Use Guide
to Plan, Conduct Tobacco Cessation Group Visits
The AAFP's tobacco cessation program has recently
added a guide to tobacco cessation group visits to its online
Ask and Act Practice Toolkit.
The step-by-step guide, available in a PDF, covers
preparing for a tobacco cessation group visit, conducting the
visit and billing for it. Sample forms include an invitation letter,
a script to use when calling potential participants, a group visit
payment and confidentiality form, a sample SOAP (subjective, objective,
assessment and plan) note, a staff task checklist, and a list
of materials and equipment needed for the visit. It also offers
a suggested group visit room layout and tips for dealing with
challenging group visit participants.
For more information, see external PDF:
AAFP
"A Guide to Tobacco Cessation Group Visits"
Maryland
Cigarette Tax Increase Delivers Victory for Kids and Taxpayers
The Maryland House of Representatives recently
approved a bill to double the cigarette tax, which is currently
set at $1 a pack. The price hike, which will raise revenue for
health care programs, will take effect on Jan. 1. Officials are
hopeful the increased cost will deter smokers, as the average
pack will cost a little more than $5.
According to a statement from Campaign for Tobacco
Free Kids, increasing the cigarette tax is one of the most effective
ways to reduce smoking, especially among kids. Studies show that
every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces youth
smoking by 7 percent and overall cigarette consumption by about
4 percent. Maryland can expect the $1 cigarette tax increase to
prevent some 52,000 Maryland kids alive today from smoking; spur
28,000 Maryland smokers to quit for good; save nearly 24,000 Maryland
residents from smoking-caused deaths; produce more than $1.1 billion
in long-term health care savings; and raise about $220 million
a year in new state revenue, as estimated by Maryland's Department
of Legislative Services.
While the new revenue generated by the tax increase
will go into the state's general fund, the Legislature plans to
use a portion of the revenue to expand access to health care for
more than 100,000 uninsured Marylanders by making health insurance
more affordable to small businesses and expanding Medicaid eligibility
to lower income parents and other adults.
With Maryland's tax increase, the average state
cigarette tax is now $1.11 per pack. Since January 1, 2002, 44
states have increased cigarette taxes, some more than once. Maryland
is now one of nine states with cigarette taxes of $2 or more.
Twenty-six states have taxes of $1 or more.
For more information, see web link:
Campaign
for Tobacco Free Kids Press Release November 19, 2007"
Campaign
Aimed At Getting Massachusetts Smokers to Quit
Earlier this month, Massachusetts' first tobacco
cessation campaign in six years was launched. The statewide "Fight
for Your Life" campaign, which will run from November through
April 2008, will feature advertising on television, the Internet,
buses and trains, as well as a companion Web site www.fight4yourlife.org.
The television ads are powerful, emotional and,
according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, they
are effective at getting people to quit smoking. The ads are the
main theme of the campaign. Similar ads ran during a successful
campaign in 2003, until massive budget cuts stopped them.
"Funding for protecting youth was greatly curtailed,
the number of compliance checks was reduced, and we found that
illegal sale rates to minors more than doubled," said Dr. Lois
Keithly, director of the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program.
But the campaign is back thanks to $4.5 million
in funding approved by the Governor Deval Patrick administration.
"This is an exciting day for public health in Massachusetts,"
said Dr. JudyAnn Bigby, Massachusetts Secretary of Health and
Human Services. "Over the last several years, the state has lost
much of the momentum in the fight against tobacco. Today, we begin
a new era that we hope will help thousands of people live healthier
lives."
Aside from the revised ads, the campaign will help
increase awareness about resources available to smokers with hopes
of getting as many people to quit as possible.
For more information, see web link:
The
Boston Channel November 14, 2007
Aetna's
New Toolkit Helps Physicians Work with Patients to Quit Smoking
Aetna recently announced that it is distributing
'Advising Smokers To Quit' toolkits to more than 8,500 family-practice
and internal-medicine physician offices in Southern New Jersey,
Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. The kits are intended to not only
encourage a dialogue between physicians and patients on smoking
cessation, but also to provide information and tools to aid physicians
with management of their patients who smoke. While the negative
health impact of smoking is well-documented, it can still be a
difficult topic for patients and physicians to discuss. Working
with the American Cancer Society and Department of Health offices
in the selected states, Aetna collected information and resources
that could help both sides discuss quit-smoking actions more easily
and effectively.
The materials being sent to physicians include:
- An action plan sheet that will help the physician and patient
put a defined strategy on paper, such as the official 'quit
date,' whom the patient can turn to for help, the proper medication
plan and tips on how to avoid a relapse.
- A fact sheet that offers patients reasons to quit, as well
as tips to help them quit.
- A cover letter underscoring the importance of physician intervention
that offers three simple steps for physicians - ask patients
about their tobacco use; advise them to quit; and refer them
to the 1-800-QUIT NOW Quitline for support.
- A poster for physicians that describes how a 30-second conversation
on this topic can help save a life, as well as an examination
room poster referring patients to the Quitline.
- A 'prescription note' that also refers patients to the Quitline.
In addition to distributing these materials to selected
physicians, the Aetna provider website will also contain information
on this toolkit, providing any physician user with the opportunity
to review the materials and resources.
"This outreach emphasizes the important role that
physicians can play in helping their patients quit smoking," said
Dr. Dexter Campinha-Bacote, Aetna's medical director for the North
Central region. "Studies have shown that smokers are almost twice
as likely to successfully quit for five or more months if they
have a physician help them with the process."
This new program is part of Aetna's larger effort
to help members with the difficult process of quitting smoking.
This includes the company's Quit Tobacco smoking cessation program,
a voluntary, one-year program that offers personal coaching and
support by certified tobacco cessation specialists.
For more information, see web link:
Business
Wire October 29, 2007
TReND
Announces Release of Journal Supplement on Conceptual and Methodological
Issues for Research on Tobacco-Related Health Disparities
The Tobacco Research Network on Disparities (TReND)
(http://dccps.nci.nih.gov/tcrb/trend/index.html),
which is sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and the American
Legacy Foundation, is pleased to announce the release of Conceptual
and Methodological Issues for Research on Tobacco-Related Health
Disparities, a supplemental journal issue published by Addiction.
The papers represent multidisciplinary collaborations among health
disparities and tobacco control researchers.
Many communities and policy makers recognize that
the disproportionate burden of tobacco-related disease and deaths
among racial/ethnic minority and low socioeconomic group have
existed much too long. Although progress has been made to reduce
tobacco use overall, methods and frameworks that increase our
understanding of the factors linked to tobacco use, and its consequences,
and interventions to reduce disparities are lacking. The articles
highlight key conceptual and methodological issues for practitioners
and policy makers to consider when seeking to reduce tobacco-related
disparities in communities.
These articles examine:
- The importance of developing research and capacity building
frameworks that address disparities, diversity, inequities and
resource inequalities.
- The promising potential of frameworks that inform prevention
and cessation programs and address the tobacco use addiction
cycle and biopsychosocial and contextual factors across the
human lifespan.
- The need to broaden the research methods, data sets, and instruments
used to assess TRHD and consider both inter- and intra-group
level differences when evaluating the validity and generalizability
of such approaches.
- The need to evaluate existing and novel intervention efforts
that are culturally appropriate and address issues such as access,
demand, and receipt of care.
For more information, see web link:
Addiction,
2007, Volume 102, Issue S2
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Call
for Papers/Abstracts
Conferences
and Trainings
- Conference on Smoking Cessation 2008,
BSG Conference Centre, London, UK. January 30-31, 2008.
- Society
for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco's 14th Annual Meeting.
Portland, OR, February 27-March 1, 2008.
- Society
of Behavioral Medicine's 29th Annual Meeting and Scientific
Sessions. San Diego, CA, March 26-29, 2008.
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