Self-reported exposure to policy and environmental influences on smoking cessation and relapse: a 2-year longitudinal population-based study

The Impact of the Tips from Former Smokers® Campaign on Reducing Cigarette Smoking Relapse

Evidence-based mass-reach health communication campaigns can increase tobacco cessation, use of cessation resources such as quitlines, and change tobacco-related social norms. These interventions have been associated with a lower likelihood of cigarette smoking relapse in studies conducted internationally; however, no studies have assessed this outcome for a national campaign in the United States. This study examined the relationship between Tips from Former Smokers® (Tips®) campaign exposure and the odds of cigarette smoking relapse among adults who formerly smoked. Using data from the 2014 to 2019 Tips longitudinal campaign surveys, we estimated first episode of relapse (versus remaining a former smoker) as a function of Tips gross rating points (GRPs, a measure of media exposure). Higher levels of Tips GRPs were associated with lower odds of relapse (aOR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.50-0.78). These results suggest that the Tips campaign may reduce smoking relapse, in addition to the established effect of increasing smoking cessation. Former smokers can be considered a secondary target audience for smoking cessation mass media campaigns, and mass media campaigns could be considered a component of smoking relapse prevention efforts.

Optimising tobacco control campaigns within a changing media landscape and among priority populations

Reviews published over the past decade confirm tobacco control campaigns can be effective for influencing adult and youth tobacco use behaviours, with strengthening evidence for high cost-effectiveness. Evidence is also accumulating for positive campaign effects on interpersonal discussions, social norms and policy support that can help motivate and sustain quitting and reduce uptake. Research needs over the next decade centre on the rapidly changing media environment and the equity of campaign effects among high smoking prevalence communities. The field needs specific evidence on: how to measure total campaign reach and frequency across the diverse range of media platforms and channels; the optimum mix of traditional, digital and social media to achieve behaviour change, especially among high smoking prevalence communities; the relative reach and impact of the wide variety of integrated, digital and social media message delivery methods; the relative effectiveness of messages that aim to build capacity to quit and optimum methods for combining motivational and capacity-building messages, especially for high prevalence groups who face additional barriers to staying quit; the ongoing effectiveness of traditional versus new versions of messages highlighting tobacco industry practices; the influence of e-cigarette use on tobacco control campaign effects; and the effectiveness of different types of campaigns aiming to prevent e-cigarette uptake and motivate e-cigarette cessation. Research is also needed to investigate the potential for campaigns to influence the public's understanding and support for endgame tobacco control policies and for campaign elements that may influence the social and environmental contexts surrounding smokers that support and maintain behaviour change.

Qualitative analysis of social network influences on quitting smoking among individuals with serious mental illness

Objective: The prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults with serious mental illness (SMI) remains high in the United States despite the availability of effective smoking cessation treatment. Identifying social influences on smoking and smoking cessation may help enhance intervention strategies to help smokers with SMI quit. The objective of this qualitative study was to explore social network influences on efforts to quit smoking among adults with SMI enrolled in a cessation treatment program. Methods: Participants were 41 individuals with SMI enrolled in a Medicaid Demonstration Project of smoking cessation at community mental health centers. A convenience sampling strategy was used to recruit participants for social network interviews exploring the influence of family, friends, peers, and significant others on quitting smoking. A team-based analysis of qualitative data involved descriptive coding, grouping coded data into categories, and identifying themes across the data. Results: Social barriers to quitting smoking included pro-smoking social norms, attitudes, and behaviors of social network members, and negative interactions with network members, either specific to smoking or that triggered smoking. Social facilitators to quitting included quitting with network members, having cessation role models, and social support for quitting from network members. Conclusions: Similar to the general population, social factors appear to influence efforts to quit smoking among individuals with SMI enrolled in cessation treatment. Interventions that leverage positive social influences on smoking cessation have the potential to enhance strategies to help individuals with SMI quit smoking.

Smoking and environmental characteristics of smokers with a mental illness, and associations with quitting behaviour and motivation; a cross sectional study

Background

Persons with a mental illness are less likely to be successful in attempts to quit smoking. A number of smoking and environmental characteristics have been shown to be related to quitting behaviour and motivation of smokers generally, however have been less studied among smokers with a mental illness. This study aimed to report the prevalence of smoking characteristics and a variety of physical and social environmental characteristics of smokers with a mental illness, and explore their association with quitting behaviour and motivation.

Methods

A cross-sectional descriptive study was undertaken of 754 smokers admitted to four psychiatric inpatient facilities in Australia. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were undertaken to explore the association between smoking and environmental characteristics and recent quitting behaviour and motivation.

Results

Participants were primarily daily smokers (93 %), consumed >10 cigarettes per day (74 %), and highly nicotine dependent (51 %). A third (32 %) lived in a house in which smoking was permitted, and 44 % lived with other smokers. The majority of participants believed that significant others (68–82 %) and health care providers (80–91 %) would be supportive of their quitting smoking. Reflecting previous research, the smoking characteristics examined were variously associated with quitting behaviour and motivation. Additionally, participants not living with other smokers were more likely to have quit for a longer duration (OR 2.02), and those perceiving their psychiatrist to be supportive of a quit attempt were more likely to have had more quit attempts in the past six months (OR 2.83).

Conclusions

Modifiable characteristics of the physical and social environment, and of smoking, should be considered in smoking cessation interventions for persons with a mental illness.

Prospective cohort study of the effectiveness of smoking cessation treatments used in the "real world"

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the "real-world" effectiveness of commonly used aids to smoking cessation in England by using longitudinal data.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We conducted a prospective cohort study in 1560 adult smokers who participated in an English national household survey in the period from November 2006 to March 2012, responded to a 6-month follow-up survey, and made at least 1 quit attempt between the 2 measurements. The quitting method was classified as follows: (1) prescription medication (nicotine replacement therapy [NRT], bupropion, or varenicline) in combination with specialist behavioral support delivered by a National Health Service Stop Smoking Service; (2) prescription medication with brief advice; (3) NRT bought over the counter; (4) none of these. The primary outcome measure was self-reported abstinence up to the time of the 6-month follow-up survey, adjusted for key potential confounders including cigarette dependence.

RESULTS

Compared with smokers using none of the cessation aids, the adjusted odds of remaining abstinent up to the time of the 6-month follow-up survey were 2.58 (95% CI, 1.48-4.52) times higher in users of prescription medication in combination with specialist behavioral support and 1.55 (95% CI, 1.11-2.16) times higher in users of prescription medication with brief advice. The use of NRT bought over the counter was associated with a lower odds of abstinence (odds ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.49-0.94).

CONCLUSION

Prescription medication offered with specialist behavioral support and that offered with minimal behavioral support are successful methods of stopping cigarette smoking in England.

State-level tobacco control and adult smoking rate in the United States: an ecological analysis of structural factors

CONTEXT

A variety of population-level tobacco control measures (TCMs) exist, such as excise taxation, smoking restrictions, cessation program funding, counter-advertising, and restrictions on tobacco marketing. Several factors may contribute to often-suboptimal levels of implementation of TCMs at the state level.

OBJECTIVE

To use the American Lung Association (ALA) grading framework to assess impacts of TCMs and to explore relationships between environmental factors and level of implementation of TCMs as rated by the ALA.

DESIGN

Secondary data analysis of publicly available data, using linear regression to examine relative effects of state TCMs on adult smoking rates and the extent to which environmental factors influence the strength of each TCM in states.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

The 50 US states, excluding territories, districts, and possessions.

INTERVENTIONS

Cigarette excise taxes, state-level tobacco control expenditures relative to Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, smoking restrictions, and support for smoking cessation by state Medicaid programs.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Adult smoking rate in each state for 2010; strength of TCMs as measured by the ALA.

RESULTS

The ALA smokefree score (β = -.045, P = .005) and tax rate per pack (β = -1.205, P = .019) were significant negative predictors of state adult smoking rates in 2010. Percentage of seats in lower houses of state legislatures held by Republicans was significant in predicting tax per pack (β = -.032, P < .001), and ALA smokefree score was negatively influenced by tobacco revenue as a percentage of state gross product (β = -15.663, P = .039), although this effect was not significant in the presence of covariates. State funding both for TCMs and for cessation coverage was also negatively influenced by tobacco-related economic factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Consistent with previous literature, taxation and smoking restrictions have the most immediate statewide impacts on smoking rate. Probusiness/antitax politics and tobacco manufacturing affect level of implementation of these and other effective TCMs.

'Real-world' effectiveness of smoking cessation treatments: a population study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

There is a need for more evidence on the 'real-world' effectiveness of commonly used aids to smoking cessation from population-level studies. This study assessed the association between abstinence and use of different smoking cessation treatments after adjusting for key potential confounding factors.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional data from aggregated monthly waves of a household survey: the Smoking Toolkit Study.

SETTING

England.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 10 335 adults who smoked within the previous 12 months and had made at least one quit attempt during that time.

MEASUREMENTS

Participants were classified according to their use of cessation aids in their most recent quit attempt: (i) medication (nicotine replacement therapy, bupropion or varenicline) in combination with specialist behavioural support delivered by a National Health Service Stop Smoking Service; (ii) medication provided by the prescribing health-care professional without specialist behavioural support; (iii) nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) bought over the counter; and (iv) none of these. The main outcome measure was self-reported abstinence up to the time of the survey, adjusted for key potential confounders including tobacco dependence.

FINDINGS

Compared with smokers using none of the cessation aids, the adjusted odds of remaining abstinent up to the time of the survey were 3.25 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.05-5.15] greater in users of prescription medication in combination with specialist behavioural support, 1.61 (95% CI = 1.33-1.94) greater in users of prescription medication combined with brief advice and 0.96 (95% CI = 0.81-1.13) in users of NRT bought over the counter.

CONCLUSIONS

After adjusting for major confounding variables such as tobacco dependence, smokers in England who use a combination of behavioural support and pharmacotherapy in their quit attempts have almost three times the odds of success than those who use neither pharmacotherapy nor behavioural support. Smokers who buy nicotine replacement therapy over the counter with no behavioural support have similar odds of success in stopping as those who stop without any aid.

Relapse among cigarette smokers: the CARDIA longitudinal study - 1985-2011

RATIONALE

There is little information about long-term relapse patterns for cigarette smokers.

OBJECTIVE

To describe long-term prevalence of relapse and related smoking patterns by sex, race, age, and education level among a community-based cohort of young adults followed for 25 years.

METHODS

We examined 25 years of data from Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA), an ongoing study of a community-based cohort of 5115 men and women aged 18 to 30 years at baseline with periodic re-examinations. At each examination smoking, quitting, and relapse were queried. We examined prevalence of smoking relapse among 3603 participants who attended at least 6 of the 8 examinations.

RESULTS

About 53% of 3603 participants never reported smoking on a regular basis. Among the remaining 1682 ever smokers, 52.8% of those who reported current smoking at baseline were still smoking by the end of the study, compared to 10.7% of those who initiated smoking by year 5. Among those classified as former smokers at baseline, 39% relapsed at least once; of these, 69.5% had quit again by the end of the study. Maximum education level attained, age at study baseline, and race were associated with failure to quit smoking by the end of the study and relapse among those who did quit. Maximum education level attained and age at study baseline were also associated with ability to successfully quit after a relapse.

CONCLUSIONS

Smoking relapse after quitting is common, especially in those with lower education level. Education was the strongest predictor of all three outcomes. Improvements in access to treatment and treatment options, especially for underserved populations, are needed to prevent relapse when smokers quit.

Sharp changes in tobacco products affordability and the dynamics of smoking prevalence in various social and income groups in Ukraine in 2008-2012

BACKGROUND

To curb the tobacco epidemic, successful implementation of tobacco control measures should take into account how specific demographic groups react to particular policies. In 2005-2010, Ukraine experienced a sharp decline in smoking prevalence. In 2008-2010, several excise tax hikes combined with the economic recession resulted in a sharp reduction of tobacco product affordability, but in 2011-2012 tax increases were rather moderate. The aim of the current research was to investigate how smoking prevalence in various gender, social and income groups in Ukraine changed in response to differing tobacco taxation policies in 2008-2012.

METHODS

The State Statistics Service of Ukraine annual household surveys among the population aged 12 years and older, which include questions about smoking, were used. The aggregate data from the annual household surveys datasets of 2008-2012 were analyzed.

RESULTS

The decline in general smoking prevalence was much steeper in 2008-2010 - 3.2 percentage points in two years, while in two subsequent years it constituted only 0.6 percentage points. Smoking prevalence declined in all age, social, and income groups in 2008-2010. However, in 2011-2012 smoking prevalence continued to decline mainly among young and poor people, while some older and more affluent smokers apparently relapsed to smoking.

CONCLUSIONS

Short-term and long-term price responsiveness of tobacco demand by socioeconomic status of population groups in low--and middle--income countries like Ukraine could be rather different for poor and more affluent people. Tobacco excise tax hikes have great potential in reducing smoking prevalence, especially in young and less affluent people, however they should also be supported by effective and available smoking cessation services.

Treatment of tobacco use in lung cancer: Diagnosis and management of lung cancer, 3rd ed: American College of Chest Physicians evidence-based clinical practice guidelines

BACKGROUND

Continued tobacco use in the setting of lung cancer management is frequently confounding and always of critical importance. We summarized the published literature concerning the management of tobacco dependence in patients with lung cancer and offer recommendations for integrating dependence treatment into ongoing oncologic care.

METHODOLOGY

MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsychINFO, and the Cochrane Collaborative databases were searched for English language randomized clinical trials, cohort studies, case-control studies, secular trend analyses, and case series relevant to the a priori identified clinical questions. Evidence grading, integration, and genesis of recommendations followed the methods described in "Methodology for Development of Guidelines for Lung Cancer" in the American College of Chest Physicians Lung Cancer Guidelines, 3rd ed.

RESULTS

We describe the approach to tobacco dependence in patients with lung cancer at various phases in the evolution of cancer care. For example, among patients undergoing lung cancer screening procedures, we recommend against relying on the screening itself, including procedures accompanied solely by self-help materials, as an effective strategy for achieving abstinence. Among patients with lung cancer undergoing surgery, intensive perioperative cessation pharmacotherapy is recommended as a method for improving abstinence rates. Cessation pharmacotherapy is also recommended for patients undergoing chemotherapy, with specific recommendations to use bupropion when treating patients with lung cancer with depressive symptoms, as a means of improving abstinence rates, depressive symptoms, and quality of life.

CONCLUSIONS

Optimal treatment of lung cancer includes attention to continued tobacco use, with abstinence contributing to improved patient-related outcomes at various phases of lung cancer management. Effective therapeutic interventions are available and are feasibly integrated into oncologic care. A number of important clinical questions remain poorly addressed by the existing evidence.

Promotion of smoking cessation with emotional and/or graphic antismoking advertising

BACKGROUND

Antismoking campaigns can be effective in promoting cessation, but less is known about the dose of advertising related to behavioral change among adult smokers, which types of messages are most effective, and effects on populations disproportionately affected by tobacco use.

PURPOSE

To assess the impact of emotional and/or graphic antismoking TV advertisements on quit attempts in the past 12 months among adult smokers in New York State.

METHODS

Individual-level data come from the 2003 through 2010 New York Adult Tobacco Surveys. The influence of exposure to antismoking advertisements overall, emotional and/or graphic advertisements, and other types of advertisements on reported attempts to stop smoking was examined. Exposure was measured by self-reported confirmed recall and market-level gross rating points. Analyses conducted in Spring 2012 included 8780 smokers and were stratified by desire to quit, income, and education.

RESULTS

Both measures of exposure to antismoking advertisements are positively associated with an increased odds of making a quit attempt among all smokers, among smokers who want to quit, and among smokers in different household income brackets (<$30,000 and ≥$30,000) and education levels (high-school degree or less education and at least some college education). Exposure to emotional and/or graphic advertisements is positively associated with making quit attempts among smokers overall and by desire to quit, income, and education. Exposure to advertisements without strong negative emotions or graphic images had no effect.

CONCLUSIONS

Strongly emotional and graphic antismoking advertisements are effective in increasing population-level quit attempts among adult smokers.

Does tobacco-control mass media campaign exposure prevent relapse among recent quitters?

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether greater mass media campaign exposure may assist recent quitters to avoid relapse.

METHOD

Using date of data collection and postcode, media market estimates of televised tobacco-control advertising exposure measured by gross ratings points (GRPs) were merged with a replenished cohort study of 443 Australians who had quit in the past year. Participants' demographic and smoking characteristics prior to quitting, and advertising exposure in the period after quitting, were used to predict relapse 1 year later.

RESULTS

In multivariate analysis, each increase in exposure of 100 GRPs (i.e., 1 anti-smoking advertisement) in the three-month period after the baseline quit was associated with a 5% increase in the odds of not smoking at follow-up (OR = 1.05, 95% CI 1.02-1.07, p < 0.001). This relationship was linear and unmodified by length of time quit prior to the baseline interview. At the mean value of 1081 GRPs in the 3 months after the baseline-quit interview, the predicted probability of being quit at follow-up was 52%, whereas it was 41% for the minimum (0) and 74% for the maximum (3,541) GRPs.

CONCLUSION

Greater exposure to tobacco-control mass media campaigns may reduce the likelihood of relapse among recent quitters.