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Hefler M. Progress, setbacks and changing perception of the possible: reflections on Aotearoa/New Zealand's changed political landscape and tobacco policy plans. Tob Control 2024; 33:141-142. [PMID: 38378208 DOI: 10.1136/tc-2024-058630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Marita Hefler
- Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia
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Chaffee BW, Donaldson CD, Couch ET, Andersen-Rodgers E, Guerra C, Cheng NF, Ameli N, Stupplebeen D, Farooq O, Wilkinson M, Gansky S, Zhang X, Hoeft K. "I think we can do without [tobacco]": support for policies to end the tobacco epidemic among California adolescents. Tob Control 2023:tc-2023-058288. [PMID: 38148144 DOI: 10.1136/tc-2023-058288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The tobacco endgame, policies aiming to end the commercial tobacco epidemic, requires sustained public support, including among youth. We assessed endgame support among California (USA) adolescents, including their reasons and associated participant and policy-specific factors. METHODS Teens, Nicotine and Tobacco Project online surveys (n=4827) and focus groups were conducted in 2021 and 2022 among California residents aged 12-17 years. Cross-sectional survey participants were asked their agreement level with eight policy statements related to tobacco and/or cannabis sales restrictions, use in public places and use in multiunit housing. Ordered logistic regression modelled level of agreement according to respondent characteristics, behaviours and statement content. Qualitative data were collected through focus groups (n=51 participants), which were analysed to provide insight into support for different policies. RESULTS Most survey participants agreed or strongly agreed with tobacco product sales restrictions (72%-75%, depending on the policy), bans on use in public spaces (76%-82%) and smoke-free (79%) and vape-free (74%) apartment buildings. Support was stronger among younger, female, Asian and tobacco non-using participants and for policies directed at 'tobacco' (vs 'vapes' or cannabis), at flavoured tobacco (compared with all tobacco), and when statements featured 'should end' (vs 'not allowed'). Focus group participants who were supportive viewed policies as protecting children from harmful products, while those less supportive cited concerns about limiting adults' freedoms and unintended consequences. CONCLUSIONS Most participants supported strong tobacco control policies. Public communication that promotes broader endgame benefits besides protecting youth and accelerates industry denormalisation may counter youth concerns and further bolster their support.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin W Chaffee
- Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Candice D Donaldson
- California Tobacco Prevention Program, California Department of Public Health, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Elizabeth T Couch
- Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Elizabeth Andersen-Rodgers
- California Tobacco Prevention Program, California Department of Public Health, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Claudia Guerra
- Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Nancy F Cheng
- Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Niloufar Ameli
- Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - David Stupplebeen
- California Tobacco Prevention Program, California Department of Public Health, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Omara Farooq
- California Tobacco Prevention Program, California Department of Public Health, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Monica Wilkinson
- California Tobacco Prevention Program, California Department of Public Health, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Stuart Gansky
- Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Xueying Zhang
- California Tobacco Prevention Program, California Department of Public Health, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Kristin Hoeft
- Preventive and Restorative Dental Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
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Barbalich I, Gartner C, Edwards R, Hoek J. New Zealand Smokers' Perceptions of Tobacco Endgame Measures: A Qualitative Analysis. Nicotine Tob Res 2022; 24:93-99. [PMID: 34498088 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntab161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION New Zealand's equity-focused endgame goal (Smokefree 2025) aims to reduce smoking prevalence to minimal levels (ie, <5%) in all population groups by 2025. Inadequate progress has stimulated discussion of innovative measures to reduce prevalence; because few studies have explored how marginalized groups perceive these measures, we addressed this knowledge gap. AIMS AND METHODS In November and December 2020, we conducted 20 in-depth interviews with people who smoked daily, were aged between 21 and 53, earned less than the median income (NZD33 900), and had marginal or inadequate income sufficiency. We explored participants' smoking history and used an elicitation exercise to probe their views on smokefree policies, including potential endgame measures. We used qualitative descriptive analysis and reflexive thematic analysis to interpret the data. RESULTS Participants favored increasing personal support to quit and reducing nicotine levels in cigarettes, but generally opposed tobacco excise tax increases and paying people to quit. While many privileged their right to "choose," some recognized that stronger policies could restore the loss of agency addiction caused. Participants felt smoking's powerful addictiveness remained poorly understood, and called for smoking to be recognized and treated as an addiction. CONCLUSIONS Several participants supported intensifying existing measures or introducing new measures. However, their use of tobacco industry rhetoric to frame smoking as a choice they had made could inadvertently reinforce the stigma they experienced. Reframing cigarettes as an addictive product engineered by a deceptive industry, may make it easier for participants to access the expanded support and compassion they sought. IMPLICATIONS Policy measures, such as reducing the nicotine level in cigarettes, could support endgame goals; however, greater public understanding of addiction is needed to reduce stigma, support self-efficacy, and foster smoking cessation. Industry denormalization campaigns could challenge views of smoking as a personal choice, decrease self-blame among people who smoke, and present endgame goals as likely to enhance agency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivana Barbalich
- Otago School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Coral Gartner
- School of Public Health, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Richard Edwards
- Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Janet Hoek
- Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand
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Campbell K, Coleman-Haynes T, Bowker K, Cooper SE, Connelly S, Coleman T. Factors influencing the uptake and use of nicotine replacement therapy and e-cigarettes in pregnant women who smoke: a qualitative evidence synthesis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2020; 5:CD013629. [PMID: 32441810 PMCID: PMC7387757 DOI: 10.1002/14651858.cd013629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) delivers nicotine without the toxic chemicals present in tobacco smoke. It is an effective smoking cessation aid in non-pregnant smokers, but there is less evidence of effectiveness in pregnancy. Systematic review evidence suggests that pregnant women do not adhere to NRT as prescribed, which might undermine effectiveness. Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have grown in popularity, but effectiveness and safety in pregnancy are not yet established. The determinants of uptake and use of NRT and e-cigarettes in pregnancy are unknown. OBJECTIVES To explore factors affecting uptake and use of NRT and e-cigarettes in pregnancy. SEARCH METHODS We searched MEDLINE(R), CINAHL and PsycINFO on 1 February 2019. We manually searched OpenGrey database and screened references of included studies and relevant reviews. We also conducted forward citation searches of included studies. SELECTION CRITERIA We selected studies that used qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, included women who had smoked in pregnancy, and elicited participants' views about using NRT/e-cigarettes for smoking cessation or harm reduction (i.e. to smoke fewer cigarettes) during pregnancy. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS We identified determinants of uptake and use of NRT/e-cigarettes in pregnancy using a thematic synthesis approach. Two review authors assessed the quality of included studies with the Wallace tool. Two review authors used the CERQual approach to assess confidence in review findings. The contexts of studies from this review and the relevant Cochrane effectiveness review were not similar enough to fully integrate findings; however, we created a matrix to juxtapose findings from this review with the descriptions of behavioural support from trials in the effectiveness review. MAIN RESULTS We included 21 studies: 15 focused on NRT, 3 on e-cigarettes, and 3 on both. Studies took place in five high-income countries. Most studies contributed few relevant data; substantially fewer data were available on determinants of e-cigarettes. Many studies focused predominantly on issues relating to smoking cessation, and determinants of NRT/e-cigarette use was often presented as one of the themes. We identified six descriptive themes and 18 findings within those themes; from these we developed three overarching analytical themes representing key determinants of uptake and adherence to NRT and/or e-cigarettes in pregnancy. The analytical themes show that women's desire to protect their unborn babies from harm is one of the main reasons they use these products. Furthermore, women consider advice from health professionals when deciding whether to use NRT or e-cigarettes; when health professionals tell women that NRT or e-cigarettes are safer than smoking and that it is okay for them to use these in pregnancy, women report feeling more confident about using them. Conversely, women who are told that NRT or e-cigarettes are as dangerous or more dangerous than smoking and that they should not use them during pregnancy feel less confident about using them. Women's past experiences with NRT can also affect their willingness to use NRT in pregnancy; women who feel that NRT had worked for them (or someone they know) in the past were more confident about using it again. However, women who had negative experiences were more reluctant to use NRT. No trials on e-cigarette use in pregnancy were included in the Cochrane effectiveness review, so we considered only NRT findings when integrating results from this review and the effectiveness review. No qualitative studies were conducted alongside trials, making full integration of the findings challenging. Women enrolled in trials would have agreed to being allocated to NRT or control group and would have received standardised information on NRT at the start of the trial. Overall, the findings of this synthesis are less relevant to women's decisions about starting NRT in trials and more likely to help explain trial participants' adherence to NRT after starting it. We considered most findings to be of moderate certainty; we assessed findings on NRT use as being of higher certainty than those on e-cigarette use. This was mainly due to the limited data from fewer studies (only in the UK and USA) that contributed to e-cigarette findings. Overall, we judged studies to be of acceptable quality with only minor methodological issues. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS Consistent messages from health professionals, based on high-quality evidence and clearly explaining the safety of NRT and e-cigarettes compared to smoking in pregnancy, could help women use NRT and e-cigarettes more consistently/as recommended. This may improve their attitudes towards NRT or e-cigarettes, increase their willingness to use these in their attempt to quit, and subsequently encourage them to stay smoke-free.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Katharine Bowker
- Division of Primary Care, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Sue E Cooper
- Division of Primary Care, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Sarah Connelly
- Division of Primary Care, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Tim Coleman
- Division of Primary Care, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
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Heris CL, Chamberlain C, Gubhaju L, Thomas DP, Eades SJ. Factors Influencing Smoking Among Indigenous Adolescents Aged 10–24 Years Living in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States: A Systematic Review. Nicotine Tob Res 2019; 22:1946-1956. [DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntz219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 11/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
AbstractIntroductionSmoking rates are higher among Indigenous populations in most high-income countries with initiation primarily occurring in adolescence for all population groups. This review aims to identify protective and risk factors for smoking behavior among Indigenous adolescents and young adults.Aims and MethodsWe searched Medline, Embase, and Psychinfo for all original research published between January 2006 and December 2016 that reported influences on smoking for Indigenous adolescents or young adults aged 10–24 living in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States (US). Extracted data were coded to individual, social, and environmental level categories using a modified Theory of Triadic Influence framework.ResultsA total of 55 studies were included, 41 were descriptive quantitative and 14 qualitative, and 26 included Indigenous participants only. The majority were from the US (32). Frequently reported influences were at the individual and social levels such as increasing age; attitudes and knowledge; substance use; peer and family relationships; smoking norms; mental health; physical activity. At the environmental level, smoke-free spaces; second-hand smoke exposure; high community level prevalence; and social marketing campaigns were also frequently reported. Some studies referenced price, access, and traditional tobacco use. Few reported historical and cultural factors.ConclusionsYoung Indigenous people experience similar influences to other populations such as smoking among family and friends. Greater youth smoking is related to broader community level prevalence, but few studies explore the distal or historical contributing factors such as traditional tobacco use, colonization, experiences of intergenerational trauma and discrimination, or the role of cultural connection.ImplicationsThis review identified a range of factors that influence Indigenous youth smoking and contributes to an understanding of what prevention measures may be effective. Youth tobacco use occurs alongside other substance use and may also serve as an indicator of mental health. Comprehensive community-based programs that work more broadly to address the risk factors related to tobacco, including improving youth mental health, will be important for other behaviors as well. This research highlights the importance of social influence and need for ongoing denormalization of smoking. Future Indigenous led and community owned research is needed to identify likely protective cultural factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina L Heris
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | | | - Lina Gubhaju
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - David P Thomas
- Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
| | - Sandra J Eades
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Policy coherence, integration, and proportionality in tobacco control: Should tobacco sales be limited to government outlets? J Public Health Policy 2018; 38:345-358. [PMID: 28432335 DOI: 10.1057/s41271-017-0074-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Multiple factors, including marijuana decriminalization/legalization, tobacco endgame discourse, and alcohol industry pressures, suggest that the retail regulatory environment for psychoactive or addictive substances is a dynamic one in which new options may be considered. In most countries, the regulation of tobacco, marijuana, and alcohol is neither coherent, nor integrated, nor proportional to the potential harms caused by these substances. We review the possible consequences of restricting tobacco sales to outlets run by government-operated alcohol retail monopolies, as well as the likely obstacles to such a policy. Such a move would allow governments more options for regulating tobacco sales, and increase coherence, integration, and proportionality of substance regulation. It might also serve as an incremental step toward an endgame goal of eliminating sales of commercial combustible tobacco.
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A qualitative analysis of low income smokers' responses to tobacco excise tax increases. THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DRUG POLICY 2016; 37:82-89. [PMID: 27639173 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2016.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2016] [Revised: 08/08/2016] [Accepted: 08/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND While increasing the excise tax applied to tobacco products reduces consumption and smoking prevalence, it may also cause hardship among smokers who do not quit. We explored how smokers living on a low income respond to increasing tobacco excise taxes. METHODS Using a social justice perspective, we explored the increasing costs of tobacco with a sample of 27 adult smokers who live below the poverty line (i.e., with an income less than 60% of the median New Zealand income). Face-to-face interviews were conducted in Dunedin, New Zealand, a city with marked income differences, and were undertaken shortly after a further tobacco excise tax increase. The interview guide explored participants' smoking practices, their perceptions of excise tax as a strategy to reduce smoking prevalence, and the strategies they used to manage their tobacco needs. RESULTS We identified three key themes: depriving the poor; tobacco as a precious commodity, and desperation. While many participants described smoking as a pleasure or coping mechanism, they also saw it as a burden that they struggled to manage. Despite trying to quit, most had failed to become smokefree and felt victimised by a punitive policy system that coerced change without supporting it. They managed financial pressure by reducing their tobacco consumption but also used increasingly desperate measures, including recycling waste tobacco; participants reported feeling demeaned by measures they saw as their only option. CONCLUSION Providing intensive cessation support for lower income smokers could avoid further alienating a group already experiencing considerable disadvantage.
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Gifford H, Tautolo ES, Erick S, Hoek J, Gray R, Edwards R. A qualitative analysis of Māori and Pacific smokers' views on informed choice and smoking. BMJ Open 2016; 6:e011415. [PMID: 27188813 PMCID: PMC4874106 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Tobacco companies frame smoking as an informed choice, a strategy that holds individuals responsible for harms they incur. Few studies have tested this argument, and even fewer have examined how informed indigenous smokers or those from minority ethnicities are when they start smoking. We explored how young adult Māori and Pacific smokers interpreted 'informed choice' in relation to smoking. PARTICIPANTS Using recruitment via advertising, existing networks and word of mouth, we recruited and undertook qualitative in-depth interviews with 20 Māori and Pacific young adults aged 18-26 years who smoked. ANALYSES Data were analysed using an informed-choice framework developed by Chapman and Liberman. We used a thematic analysis approach to identify themes that extended this framework. RESULTS Few participants considered themselves well informed and none met more than the framework's initial two criteria. Most reflected on their unthinking uptake and subsequent addiction, and identified environmental factors that had facilitated uptake. Nonetheless, despite this context, most agreed that they had made an informed choice to smoke. CONCLUSIONS The discrepancy between participants' reported knowledge and understanding of smoking's risks, and their assessment of smoking as an informed choice, reflects their view of smoking as a symbol of adulthood. Policies that make tobacco more difficult to use in social settings could help change social norms around smoking and the ease with which initiation and addiction currently occur.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather Gifford
- Whakauae Research Services, Director's Office, Whanganui, New Zealand
| | - El-Shadan Tautolo
- Department of Public Health and Psychosocial Studies, AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand
| | | | - Janet Hoek
- Department of Marketing, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Rebecca Gray
- Department of Public Health, University of Otago Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Richard Edwards
- Department of Public Health, University of Otago Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
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Robertson L, Marsh L, Hoek J, McGee R, Egan R. Regulating the sale of tobacco in New Zealand: A qualitative analysis of retailers’ views and implications for advocacy. THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DRUG POLICY 2015; 26:1222-30. [DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2015.08.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2015] [Revised: 08/11/2015] [Accepted: 08/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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McDaniel PA, Smith EA, Malone RE. The tobacco endgame: a qualitative review and synthesis. Tob Control 2015; 25:594-604. [PMID: 26320149 PMCID: PMC5036259 DOI: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2015-052356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2015] [Accepted: 08/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
The tobacco endgame concept reorients discussion away from the persistent control of tobacco toward plans for ending the tobacco epidemic, and envisions a tobacco-free future. A variety of policy approaches have been proposed, with many offered prior to the introduction of the unifying term ‘endgame’. We conducted a qualitative synthesis of the literature on tobacco control endgames, and drew on media accounts and discussion of analogous ideas for illustrative purposes. We identified proposals focused on the product, user, market/supply or larger institutional structures. Research on public support for these proposals was limited, but suggestive of some public appetite for endgame ideas. Advocates should be encouraged to explore new policy options and consider the goal of a tobacco-free future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia A McDaniel
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Smith
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Ruth E Malone
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
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Hoek J. Informed choice and the nanny state: learning from the tobacco industry. Public Health 2015; 129:1038-45. [PMID: 25956554 DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2015.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2014] [Revised: 01/26/2015] [Accepted: 03/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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Edwards R, Carter K, Peace J, Blakely T. An examination of smoking initiation rates by age: results from a large longitudinal study in New Zealand. Aust N Z J Public Health 2015; 37:516-9. [PMID: 24892149 DOI: 10.1111/1753-6405.12105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Investigations of smoking initiation often focus on the experiences of children and youth. However, prevalence data from the Tobacco Use Surveys (TUS) and the New Zealand (NZ) census suggest substantial uptake of smoking occurs after 15 years of age, including among young adults aged 18-24 years. Identifying initiation rates is difficult using cross-sectional prevalence data, particularly among older age groups, which are subject to cohort effects and where quitting and premature mortality reduce prevalence. We aimed to identify initiation rates using a prospective study design. METHODS The SoFIE-Health longitudinal survey included 15,095 subjects aged 15 years or older who responded in the three years that include the health module: 2004/05, 2006/07 and 2008/09. We calculated the proportion of 'never smokers' who became regular smokers (initiation) by age at baseline. RESULTS Initiation between 2004/05 and 2008/09 was 14.2% for 15-17 year olds, 7.0% for 18-19 years, 3.1% for 20-24 years and 1.4% for 25-34 years, with low levels of initiation (<1.0%) among older age groups. CONCLUSIONS There were strong age-related gradients in smoking initiation. Substantial initiation occurs among older youth and young adults, but is rare after age 24. IMPLICATIONS Efforts to prevent initiation of smoking should focus not only on adolescents but also on older youth and young adults.
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Gallus S, Lugo A, Fernandez E, Gilmore AB, Leon ME, Clancy L, La Vecchia C. Support for a tobacco endgame strategy in 18 European countries. Prev Med 2014; 67:255-8. [PMID: 25117519 DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2014] [Revised: 07/24/2014] [Accepted: 08/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The feasibility of a tobacco endgame strategy, aiming to bring smoking prevalence to near-zero levels, is currently under debate. We provide information on public support for such a strategy in Europe. METHODS In 2010 we conducted a face-to-face representative survey in 18 European countries (Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, England, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sweden). The present analysis is based on 16,947 individuals aged ≥ 15 years providing information on their attitudes towards a complete ban on the use or sale of tobacco. RESULTS Overall, 34.9% of adults (32.8% in men and 37.0% in women; p<0.001) supported a complete ban strategy on use or sale of tobacco, 41.2% of never, 29.4% of ex- and 25.6% of current smokers. The highest support was observed in southern Europe (42.5%), followed by eastern (39.1%), northern (27.5%) and western Europe (23.0%; p<0.001). A significant inverse trend was observed with both age and education. CONCLUSION Approximately one in three adults (and one in four smokers) supports a comprehensive tobacco endgame intervention. This first study in Europe provides a baseline for evaluating future trends in public support for extreme propositions to end or drastically cut smoking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvano Gallus
- Department of Epidemiology, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", Milan, Italy.
| | - Alessandra Lugo
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Esteve Fernandez
- Tobacco Control Unit, Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Institut Català d'Oncologia, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Cancer Control and Prevention Group, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Clinical Sciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Anna B Gilmore
- Department for Health & UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Maria E Leon
- International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France
| | - Luke Clancy
- TobaccoFree Research Institute Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Carlo La Vecchia
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
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Gray RJ, Hoek J, Edwards R. A qualitative analysis of 'informed choice' among young adult smokers. Tob Control 2014; 25:46-51. [PMID: 25192770 DOI: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2014-051793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2014] [Accepted: 08/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The tobacco industry often relies on the assertion that smokers make 'informed adult choices'. We tested this argument by exploring how young adults initiate smoking. METHODS Fifteen in-depth interviews with young adults who had started smoking since turning 18, the legal age of adulthood and tobacco purchase in New Zealand. We undertook a thematic analysis of the interview transcripts. RESULTS Although participants had a general awareness that smoking is harmful and knew some specific risks, they rarely saw these as personally relevant when they started smoking, and few had made a deliberate decision to smoke. Participants' poor understanding of addiction meant most regarded smoking as a short-term phase they could stop at will. Initiation contexts discouraged the exercise of informed choice, as smoking onset often occurred when participants were influenced by alcohol or located in socially-pressured situations that fostered spur of the moment decisions. CONCLUSIONS Young adults' ability to exercise 'informed choice' at the time of smoking uptake is constrained by cognitive and contextual factors. We propose an updated informed choice framework that recognises these factors; we outline environmental changes that could make default adoption of smoking less common while promoting more 'informed choices'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca J Gray
- Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Janet Hoek
- Department of Marketing, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Richard Edwards
- Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE We examined whether the supply routes via which New Zealand adolescents aged 14-15 years accessed tobacco had changed during a period of dynamic policy activity. SETTING We analysed data from seven consecutive years (2006-2012) of the New Zealand Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Year 10 survey, a nationwide cross-sectional annual survey. PARTICIPANTS All New Zealand schools teaching Year 10 students are invited to participate in the survey; school-level participation rates have ranged between 44% and 58% and more than 25 000 students have responded to the survey in each year. The results presented draw on the subsample who reported smoking when surveyed (N∼9200). The data were weighted by age, ethnicity and school socioeconomic status (SES) to remove effects of systematic over-response by New Zealand Europeans and under-response by those in lower SES groups from trend analyses. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES The survey measured adolescents' main reported tobacco supply source. RESULTS Smoking prevalence declined significantly (8.1%) over the period examined (linear tend coefficient: -0.74; 95% CI -1.03 to -0.45, significant p<0.01). Friends showed a significant decline in relative importance as a supply source while caregivers and other sources showed a significant increase over the period examined. CONCLUSIONS The findings show that social supply, particularly via friends, caregivers and others, such as older siblings, is a key tobacco source for adolescents; commercial supply is much less important. The findings raise questions about the additional measures needed to reduce smoking among youth. Endgame policies that make tobacco more difficult to obtain and less appealing and convenient to gift merit further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Gendall
- Department of Marketing, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand
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Malone RE. Tobacco endgames: what they are and are not, issues for tobacco control strategic planning and a possible US scenario. Tob Control 2013; 22 Suppl 1:i42-4. [PMID: 23591508 PMCID: PMC3632994 DOI: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2012-050820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Tobacco ‘endgame’ discourse has emerged in recognition of the nature of the global public health emergency created by tobacco use and tobacco promotion. This discourse is a promising development, but translating it into action requires developing some consensus, at least by countries or regions. It also requires negotiating some of the recurring tensions within the tobacco control movement, contributing to risks for the movement as visionaries clash with pragmatists. This paper outlines one combination of approaches that might hold promise for the US situation. Every significant achievement in tobacco control was preceded by many influential people saying it couldn't be done, wouldn't work, or would create new problems. The risks of not envisioning an endpoint for the tobacco epidemic are far greater than the risks of attempting any endgame solutions and failing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth E Malone
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94118, USA.
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Hoek J, Hoek-Sims A, Gendall P. A qualitative exploration of young adult smokers' responses to novel tobacco warnings. BMC Public Health 2013; 13:609. [PMID: 23800292 PMCID: PMC3694466 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2013] [Accepted: 06/18/2013] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Despite reduced smoking among adolescents, smoking prevalence peaks among young adults aged 18–30, many of whom believe themselves exempt from the health risks of smoking shown in warning labels. We explored how young adult smokers perceived warnings featuring proximal risks, and whether these encouraged cessation more effectively than traditional health messages. Methods We conducted in-depth interviews with 17 young adult smokers and explored their perceptions of current warnings as well as novel warnings representing short-term health consequences; immediate social risks, and tobacco’s toxicity (denormalizing tobacco as an everyday product). We used a thematic analysis approach to explore how participants rationalized existing warnings and interpreted the novel messages. Results Participants considered the immediate social and physiological benefits they gained from smoking outweighed the distal risks shown in health warnings, which they regarded as improbable and irrelevant. Of the novel warnings, those presenting immediate social risks altered the balance of gains and losses young adults associated with smoking; however, those presenting short-term health risks or depicting tobacco as a toxin were less effective. Conclusions Participants regarded warnings featuring proximal social risks as more salient and they were less likely to rationalise these as irrelevant. Social risk messages merit further investigation to examine their potential as a complement to traditional health warnings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janet Hoek
- University of Otago, P O Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.
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