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Background and aims: Smokeless tobacco (ST) use in South Asia is high, yet interventions to support its cessation are lacking. We tested the feasibility of delivering interventions for ST cessation in South Asia. Design: We used a 2 × 2 factorial design, pilot randomized controlled trial with a duration of 26 weeks, including baseline and follow‐up (6, 12 and 26 weeks) assessments. Setting: Two primary health‐care facilities each in Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Karachi (Pakistan) and a walk‐in cancer screening clinic in Noida (India) took part. Participants: Adult daily ST users willing to make a quit attempt within 30 days. Of 392 screened, 264 participants [mean age: 35 years, standard deviation = 12.5, 140 (53%) male] were recruited between December 2020 and December 2021; 132 from Bangladesh, 44 from India and 88 from Pakistan. Interventions: Participants were randomized to one of three treatment options [8‐week support through nicotine replacement therapy (NRT, n = 66), a behavioural intervention for smokeless tobacco cessation in adults (BISCA, n = 66) or their combination (n = 66)] or the control condition of very brief advice (VBA) to quit (n = 66). Measurements Recruitment and retention, data completeness and feasibility of intervention delivery were evaluated. Biochemically verified abstinence from tobacco, using salivary cotinine, was measured at 26 weeks. Findings Retention rates were 94.7% at 6 weeks, dropping to 89.4% at 26 weeks. Attendance in BISCA pre‐quit (100%) and quit sessions (86.3%) was high, but lower in post‐quit sessions (65.9%), with variability among countries. Adherence to NRT also varied (45.5% Bangladesh, 90% India). Data completion for key variables exceeded 93% among time‐points, except at 26 weeks for questions on nicotine dependence (90%), urges (89%) and saliva samples (62.7%). Among follow‐up time‐points, self‐reported abstinence was generally higher among participants receiving BISCA and/or NRT. At 26 weeks, biochemically verified abstinence was observed among 16 (12.1%) participants receiving BISCA and 13 (9.8%) participants receiving NRT. Conclusions: This multi‐country pilot randomized controlled trial of tobacco cessation among adult smokeless tobacco users in South Asia demonstrated the ability to recruit and retain participants and report abstinence, suggesting that a future definitive smokeless tobacco cessation trial is viable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Smokeless tobacco (ST) is a significant South Asian public health problem. This paper reports a qualitative study of a sample of South Asian ST users.Methods: Interviews, using a piloted topic guide, with 33 consenting, urban dwelling adult ST users explored their ST initiation, continued use, and cessation attempts. Framework data analysis was used to analyze country specific data before a thematic cross-country synthesis was completed.Results: Participants reported long-term ST use and high dependency. All reported strong cessation motivation and multiple failed attempts because of ease of purchasing ST, tobacco dependency, and lack of institutional support.Conclusions: Interventions to support cessation attempts among consumers of South Asian ST products should address the multiple challenges of developing an integrated ST policy, including cessation services.Implications: This study provides detailed understanding of the barriers and drivers to ST initiation, use, and cessation for users in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. It is the first study to directly compare these three countries. The insight was then used to adapt an existing behavioral support intervention for ST cessation for testing in these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Cigarette smoking in English residents of Bangladeshi origin, particularly men, exceeds national estimates. Cessation outcomes and potential predictors of successful cigarette smoking cessation in this group await identification.Methods: This service review reports cessation outcomes and predictors of success for 324 adult English resident Bangladeshi origin smokers recruited into a project providing a specialist tobacco cessation service. Interview measures included sociodemographics, tobacco use and dependence. Cessation data (self-reported and validated) at 4 weeks was also collected. Cessation rate and predictors of successful cessation, modeled using multiple logistic regressions, are reported.Results: Clients' mean age was 45.59 (SD = 13.83) years. Thirty-three (10%) were females. Mean level of small area deprivation was 56.98 (SD = 5.37). Initial mean expired air carbon monoxide score was 11.66 parts per million (SD = 7.17). Thirty-eight per cent used combination nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) with behavioral support. Sixty-nine percent reported successful smoking cessation after 4 weeks, validated with carbon monoxide (mean =1.23 parts per million, SD = 1.32). Predictors of successful cessation were use of combined NRT with behavioral support (OR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.07, 3.09), and community recruitment (OR = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.07, 3.22).Conclusions: English adult smokers of Bangladeshi origin resident in a highly disadvantaged locality, accessing community outreach services to help them quit and using NRT have validated short-term success rates greater than that locality's general population who access National Health Service Stop Smoking Services to quit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Aim To identify predictors of short-term smokeless tobacco cessation in Bangladeshi women resident in the United Kingdom. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting A tobacco cessation service offering culturally tailored smokeless tobacco cessation support. Participants A total of 419 Bangladeshi women chewing paan with tobacco. Measurements Demographics, tobacco use and dependence and cessation attempt process and outcomes. Findings Client mean age was 48.92 [95% confidence interval (CI) 47.5, 50.34] years and the mean area social deprivation score was 3.65 (95% CI 3.33, 3.97). Mean daily smokeless tobacco intakes, as paan, was 9.96 (95% CI 9.22, 10.7); 69.8% were recruited from primary care, 78.8% received behavioural support and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and the remainder behavioural support alone. Self-reported 4-week continuous abstinence was 58.3%, predicted by NRT use [odds ratio (OR) = 4.93, 95% CI 2.02, 12.00], community recruitment (OR = 1.84, 95% CI 1.01, 3.35) and relatively lower social deprivation (IMD) score (OR = 1.98, 95% CI 1.18, 3.33). Conclusion Bangladeshi women in the UK attending clinics to help cessation of paan with tobacco appear to be more likely to be successful in the short term if they use nicotine replacement therapy, are recruited via the community and have relatively lower levels of social deprivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The study objectives were to assess the oral health status of a sample of UK resident Bangladeshi women tobacco-in-paan users and its relationship to participant age and number of daily paan, to determine the prevalence of oral pain at baseline and at the one-week postcessation follow-up, and to explore the relationship between oral health status and changes in self-reported oral pain at baseline and at the one-week postcessation follow-up.Methods: Interviews were conducted in Sylheti using fully structured questionnaires and an oral examination was carried out. A quit date was set and nicotine replacement therapy patches (Nicorette 15 mg, Pfizer) were supplied. Age, number of daily paan, and oral pain characteristics, including intensity, frequency, any provoking factors, and associated symptoms were recorded. Oral mucosal lesions (OMLs) and numbers of teeth decayed, missing, filled, and those with recession, abrasion, loss of attachment (LOA), and tooth wear were charted.Results: Fifty-two women took part. The mean age was 42.8 years and number of daily paan with tobacco was 13. Compared to those aged 18-39 years, those aged 40 years and older had poorer oral health. Older adults were significantly more likely to have higher numbers of teeth with recession, abrasion, and LOA greater than 3.5 mm. They were significantly more likely to have an OML at baseline. The prevalence of self-reported oral pain was 26.9 percent at baseline and 51.9 percent at one-week follow-up. Presence of an OML at baseline was a significant predictor of reports of oral pain at the one-week follow-up. Results of stepwise multiple regression analysis confirmed this finding (OR = 3.66; 95% CI = 1.06, 12.621; P = .04).Conclusions: Reports of oral pain at follow-up during a tobacco cessation program correlate with the presence of OMLs at baseline. Further investigation of this relationship is needed. Access to appropriate dental care, as an aid to successful tobacco cessation, is indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to establish the prevalence of paan chewing with tobacco by UK-resident Bangladeshi women and the extent to which they manifest nicotine dependence. The cross-sectional study was conducted at two local authority housing estates in Tower Hamlets, London. Participants were 242 Bangladeshi women, selected at random from the current electoral register, who supplied a saliva sample for cotinine and an expired air sample for carbon monoxide analysis. They also participated in a structured interview assessing knowledge, attitudes and behavior with respect to tobacco use. Main outcome measures were data on tobacco use and nicotine dependence, assessed by questionnaire and intake measures. The population prevalence of chewing paan quid with tobacco was 48.5% (95% confidence interval, CI 42.01-54.98%), while 4% (95% CI 2.05-7.41%) smoked cigarettes. Higher mean salivary cotinine scores were associated with greater consumption frequency and use of leaf tobacco in the quid. Above-average nicotine dependence was associated with chewing paan quid with tobacco within 1 h of waking (OR = 4.02, p = 0.03, 95% CI 1.08-14.94) and the use of leaf rather than processed tobacco (OR = 3.91, p = 0.025, 95% CI 1.19-12.81). Smoking prevalence is low, but the prevalence of paan quid with tobacco chewing is high in this sample of Bangladeshi women. Cotinine concentration appears to be a reliable indicator of levels of nicotine dependence among paan quid with tobacco chewers. Questionnaire-derived items can be used to identify those with above-average levels of nicotine dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate smokeless tobacco cessation in communities of South Asian origin., Design: Multi-centre prospective cohort study., Setting: Three tobacco cessation services offering specialist smokeless tobacco cessation outreach clinic support to South Asians (Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani) resident in England., Participants: A total of 239 South Asian participants seeking to stop smokeless tobacco use between November 2010 and December 2011., Measurements: Socio-demographics, tobacco use and dependence, self-reported abstinence at 4 weeks and satisfaction measures., Findings: Participants' mean age was 45 [standard deviation (SD) = 13] years, were predominantly female (76%), of Bangladeshi origin (74%), either home carers (53%) or not working (29%). Sixty-three per cent were recruited from community locations, 21% through a clinical contact and 16% through friends and family. Mean daily number of smokeless tobacco intakes was 10 (SD = 7) and the mean dependence score was 4.5 (SD = 1.9). Sixty-three per cent of participants achieved continuous abstinence 4 weeks after quitting. Using nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) versus not using it [OR = 3.47, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.25, 9.62] and below median (≤ 8) daily smokeless tobacco intakes (OR = 1.91, 95% CI: 1.07, 3.40) predicted successful abstinence., Conclusion: South Asian smokeless tobacco users resident in England accessing services to help them stop appear to have short-term success rates comparable with smokers attending stop-smoking services, with higher success rates being reported by those using nicotine replacement therapy., (© 2012 The Authors, Addiction © 2012 Society for the Study of Addiction.)

Unlabelled: There are few studies of access to dental care in ethnic minority groups which have compared their findings with those reported by the general adult population. Furthermore, studies have focused on either the younger or older members of these communities., Aim: This study aimed to identify barriers to the uptake of primary dental care in East London, to identify any variation in responses from the general adult population and to report ideas to improve access to primary dental care expressed by the participants., Methods: A qualitative study using community based participatory methods was adopted. Data were generated through purposefully sampled focus groups and analysed using a grounded approach., Setting: East London (UK), 2001., Participants: 68 volunteers aged 18-40 years, from the Bangladeshi, Indian, Black Caribbean communities and general adult population., Results: Three inter-related themes were found to influence views on access: the structure of primary dental care, cost and anxiety. There was little evidence of differences in barriers to access based on ethnicity alone, reflecting the role of factors such as social class. Adult volunteers with young families enabled a wider perspective on barriers to access to be achieved, particularly with respect to the impact of the cost of dental care on family budgets. Proposals for reducing the barriers to accessing primary dental care were identified. These addressed a perceived need to extend services through outreach activity, develop communication skills within primary dental care practice and liaise with other primary health care services., Conclusion: This focus group study has confirmed the existence within East London's ethnic minority groups of barriers to accessing primary dental care reported within the general population for some time. That these responses are alike may be accounted for by the common levels of social disadvantage experienced. The rapid appraisal process enabled the identification of proposals to reduce access barriers. These are being implemented and their effectiveness in reducing barriers to accessing primary dental care remains to be established.