Mass media interventions involve communication through television, radio, newspapers, billboards, posters, leaflets or booklets, with the intention of encouraging smokers to stop, and of maintaining abstinence in non-smokers. It is likely that they contribute to a reduction in smoking when used as part of a complex set of interventions, but it is difficult to establish their independent role and value in this process. Eleven studies are included in this review, but they are of variable scale and quality. Five large studies out of the nine which reported smoking prevalence found some positive changes in smoking behaviour. Three large studies out of seven that measured the quantity of tobacco smoked found reductions. Over half of the studies which measured quit rates reported significant increases in abstinence, but this finding was difficult to interpret because studies used different definitions of smoking, smokers and quit attempts. The intensity and duration of mass media campaigns may influence effectiveness, but length of follow up and concurrent events in the community can make this difficult to verify. We found no consistent patterns between the effects of the campaigns and age, education, ethnicity or gender of those taking part.
http://www.mrw.interscience.wiley.com/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD004704/frame.html

GWENDOLYN STRETCH, the medical director at the Elsie Owens North Brookhaven Health Center, in Coram, had a lot to do during the 20-minute appointment with her next patient. . . . Atop the doctor's priority list was to encourage her patient to stop smoking.
"She really wants to get me to quit," said Ms. McPherson, who goes to the Suffolk County clinic every six weeks. "I'm going to try -- eventually."
Every week, Dr. Stretch meets with about 50 asthma patients as part of a new asthma initiative begun by the county's fledgling Division of Preventive Medicine.
"By educating our health care providers and our patients, we're trying to change the way we treat asthma," she said.
The asthma initiative is a pilot project for the Division of Preventive Medicine, created last month within the Department of Health Services. . . .
The asthma initiative is a partnership between the county and the Asthma Coalition of Long Island. It is financed partly by the New York State Department of Health

Sources: www.tobacco.org and New York Times, 2008-02-24 Author: LINDA SASLOW

The study, which appears in the March issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, found that adolescents who witnessed or were involved in a physical assault were twice as likely to begin smoking within a year of the incident. Additionally, those exposed to physical or sexual abuse in early childhood faced an increased risk of becoming a regular smoker at an earlier age than the national average.

"When people suffer a traumatic event, they can experience an emotional shock to the system," said Dr. Bernard Fuemmeler, assistant professor of community and family medicine and one of the study's lead researchers. "Sometimes people turn to substances like nicotine because they feel that it helps them cope."

The researchers examined data gathered by the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a nationally representative sample of approximately 15,000 adolescents tracked from 1995 to 2002. Participants, who entered the study at an average age of 15.6 years old, were given a series of surveys which included questions about their exposure to traumatic events and smoking behaviors. Events classified as traumatic included unwanted sexual contact, physical assault and interpersonal violence among partners or friends.

Sources: www.tobacco.org and Duke U. Chronicle, 2008-02-25
Author: Matt Johnson

The disclosure of hidden tobacco money behind a big study suggesting that lung scans might help save smokers from cancer has shocked the research community and raised fresh concern about industry influence in important science.

Two medical journals that published studies by Weill Cornell Medical College researchers in 2006 are looking into tobacco cash and other financial ties that weren't revealed. The studies reported benefits from lung scans, which the Cornell team has long touted.

It's a crucial public health issue: Dozens of groups, including such anti-smoking crusaders as the American Cancer Society, have given the Cornell team money to see if routinely screening smokers with CT scans can spot the world's most lethal cancer in time to prevent deaths. . . .

Dr. Catherine DeAngelis, editor in chief of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, said she contacted Henschke months ago after others pointed out patents not disclosed in a July 2006 study. DeAngelis said Henschke didn't believe the patents were relevant to the research and resisted disclosing them.

"We'd been working with Dr. Henschke trying to get her to write a letter of apology - which is our policy - and to take responsibility," DeAngelis said. "It was not easy to get her to do anything."

Source: AP and www.tobacco.org
Date: 2008-03-26
Author: MARILYNN MARCHIONE And STEPHANIE NANO / Associated Press Writers
URL:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/RESEARCH_CONFLICTS_ANALYSIS?SITE=WSAW&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

The smoking of the traditional `shisha' water pipe is increasingly emerging as a significant health risk in Egypt, due to air-borne tuberculosis (TB) transmission from pipe sharing and uncontrolled, manual preparation of the pipe.

Rania Siam, professor of microbiology at the American University in Cairo (AUC), said the most important risk factor for TB infection was close household contact with a TB case, but she said water pipe smoking (WPS) and the sharing of the pipe with someone with pulmonary TB led to a great risk of TB transmission, especially among young adolescents.

"`Shisha' [smoking] is Egyptian culture, where people smoke tobacco and inhale directly from this device. If I smoke `shisha', some bacteria may reside in it. When you go to a fancy bar, they do change the mouthpiece, but what about the tube of the pipe? And the water? You still have water in the container where the bacteria resides," she said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) regional office in Cairo estimates that 17 percent of TB cases in the eastern Mediterranean are attributable to the smoking of water pipes.

According to the latest WHO statistics for Egypt, 31.6 in every 100,000 people had TB in 2005, and the rate of new TB cases that year was estimated at 25 per 100,000 people.

The WHO regional office said lack of TB control initiatives led to inadequate health care behaviour, affecting patients' diagnoses and treatment, and it therefore called for new public health care strategies.

Sources: ASH and Middle East Online, 29th March 2008
Link: http://tinyurl.com/34889v

Smoking in most public places from May 1 will be banned as part of Beijing's efforts to improve the city ahead of the Olympics, state media reported on Monday.

Lighting up in the Chinese capital will be prohibited in all restaurants, offices and schools, becoming the first city in China to have such a comprehensive ban, the China Daily reported.

Hotels must also have rooms for non-smokers, but the proportion is still being discussed, a tobacco control expert involved in drafting the new rule told the paper.

Bars, meanwhile, will be required to clearly separate smoking from non-smoking areas, according to the newspaper.

Institutions that fail to comply face fines of up to 5,000 yuan (USD 700), and there are proposals to fine individuals up to 200 yuan although this has not been decided yet, the China Daily said.

Beijing authorities had announced in January that there would be a ban, but Monday's report was the first time a start date had been announced.

The city already has some restrictions on smoking in place, such as bans in cinemas, sports arenas and other large public venues, but they have had little success.

Beijing taxi drivers have also, in theory, been banned since last year from smoking in their vehicles.

The approach of the August Games has provided the impetus for the new ban, with Beijing pledging a smoke-free Olympics.

The places that will accommodate athletes and officials during the Games will all be non-smoking.

China has about 350 million smokers, or about a quarter of its population, and accounts for a third of the world's smokers, according to official statistics. About a million people die of smoking-related diseases each year in China.

Sources: ASH and Channel News Asia, 31st March 2008
Link: http://tinyurl.com/34plbv

Abstract: Aims
 
Study aims were threefold: (i) to determine the feasibility, potential efficacy and safety of topiramate as an aid to smoking cessation; (ii) to examine potential predictors of abstinence including gender; and (iii) to explore topiramate's effects on tobacco withdrawal and post-cessation weight gain. Design 
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 11-week clinical trial with a 6-week dosage titration period and 5 weeks of maintenance treatment.
Setting 
Single-site, out-patient, randomized clinical trial.
Participants 
Thirty-eight adult male and 49 female chronic smokers who smoked an average of > 10 cigarettes per day and who were motivated to try to quit smoking.
Intervention 
Random assignment to receive either topiramate (n = 43) up to 200 mg daily in divided doses or placebo (n = 44) orally combined with brief counseling over an 11-week period.
Measurements 
Carbon monoxide (CO)-confirmed 4-week prolonged abstinence rate during weeks 8-11. Changes in tobacco withdrawal, body weight and safety parameters were also assessed.
Findings 
Overall, no significant increase in the prolonged abstinence rate was detected, but logistic regression analysis indicated significant gender-specific differences. Men treated with topiramate were nearly 16 times more likely to quit smoking than women on topiramate [37.5% versus 3.7%; odds ratio (OR) = 15.6; P = 0.016] and were roughly four times more likely to quit smoking than placebo-treated men (37.5% versus 13.6%; OR = 3.8; P = 0.098). Topiramate-treated men reported significantly lower tobacco withdrawal scores than both women taking topiramate and men on placebo. On average, male cessators on placebo gained 3.30 kg, whereas topiramate led to a 0.72 kg weight loss (P = 0.03). Study discontinuation rates due to adverse events (AEs) were significantly higher in the topiramate group (topiramate 23% versus placebo 2%). The most commonly reported AEs in the topiramate arm were paraesthesia, fatigue, difficulty with concentration/attention and nervousness.
Conclusions 
Topiramate produced gender-specific effects on smoking cessation. Male smokers had markedly greater quit rates than female smokers and men were roughly four times more likely to quit smoking when treated with topiramate as compared to placebo. Topiramate was fairly well tolerated, although higher discontinuation rates were seen. Topiramate's triple effects aiding smoking abstinence, attenuating nicotine withdrawal and preventing post-cessation weight gain might make it a promising agent for treating tobacco addiction, at least in men.

Authors: Anthenelli, Robert M.; Blom, Thomas J.1; McElroy, Susan L.2; Keck, Paul E.
Source: Addiction, Volume 103, Number 4, April 2008 , pp. 687-694(8)

Patients taking the smoking cessation drug varenicline or antiepileptic drugs may be at risk of developing severe neuropsychiatric symptoms, according to recent alerts from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
JAMA. 2008;299(10):1121-1122.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/299/10/1121

Physically active smokers might have greater success quitting smoking than those who are more sedentary, according to a new study from the University of Toronto in Canada.

The study, which appears in the May issue of American Journal of Public Health, looked at the demographics of nearly 23,000 Canadian smokers. Physically active men were 36 percent more likely to have tried to quit smoking within the past year and women were 37 percent more likely to do so than their less-active peers were.

Previous studies have suggested that participating in one healthy behavior, such as physical activity, may lead to the adoption or maintenance of another positive behavior, such as smoking cessation, said lead author Wayne deRuiter.

Sources: www.tobacco.org and Health Behavior News Service
Date: 2008-04-01
Author: Marijke Vroomen-Durning
URL: http://www.hbns.org/getDocument.cfm?documentID=1682