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Objective A systematic review to assess the equity impact of interventions/policies on youth smoking. Data sources Biosis, Cinahl, Cochrane Library, Conference Proceedings Citation Index, Embase, Eric, Medline, Psycinfo, Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index and tobacco control experts. Published January 1995 to October 2013. Study selection Primary studies of interventions/policies reporting smoking-related outcomes in youth (11-25 years) of lower compared to higher socioeconomic status (SES). Data extraction References were screened and independently checked. Studies were quality assessed; characteristics and outcomes were extracted. Data synthesis A narrative synthesis by intervention/policy type. Equity impact was assessed as: positive (reduced inequity), neutral (no difference by SES), negative (increased inequity), mixed (equity impact varied) or unclear.Thirty-eight studies of 40 interventions/policies were included: smokefree (12); price/tax (7); mass media campaigns (1); advertising controls (4); access controls (5); school-based programmes (5); multiple policies (3), individual-level cessation support (2), individual-level support for smokefree homes (1). The distribution of equity effects was: 7 positive, 16 neutral, 12 negative, 4 mixed, 1 unclear. All 7 positive equity studies were US-based: price/tax (4), age-of-sales laws (2) and text-messaging cessation support (1). A British school-based intervention (A Stop Smoking in Schools Trial (ASSIST)) showed mixed equity effects (neutral and positive). Most neutral equity studies benefited all SES groups. Conclusions Very few studies have assessed the equity impact of tobacco control interventions/policies on young people. Price/tax increases had the most consistent positive equity impact. There is a need to strengthen the evidence base for the equity impact of youth tobacco control interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: We updated and expanded a previous systematic literature review examining the impact of tobacco control interventions on socioeconomic inequalities in smoking. METHODS: We searched the academic literature for reviews and primary research articles published between January 2006 and November 2010 that examined the socioeconomic impact of six tobacco control interventions in adults: that is, price increases, smoke-free policies, advertising bans, mass media campaigns, warning labels, smoking cessation support and community-based programmes combining several interventions. We included English-language articles from countries at an advanced stage of the tobacco epidemic that examined the differential impact of tobacco control interventions by socioeconomic status or the effectiveness of interventions among disadvantaged socioeconomic groups. All articles were appraised by two authors and details recorded using a standardised approach. Data from 77 primary studies and seven reviews were synthesised via narrative review. RESULTS: We found strong evidence that increases in tobacco price have a pro-equity effect on socioeconomic disparities in smoking. Evidence on the equity impact of other interventions is inconclusive, with the exception of non-targeted smoking cessation programmes which have a negative equity impact due to higher quit rates among more advantaged smokers. CONCLUSIONS: Increased tobacco price via tax is the intervention with the greatest potential to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in smoking. Other measures studied appear unlikely to reduce inequalities in smoking without specific efforts to reach disadvantaged smokers. There is a need for more research evaluating the equity impact of tobacco control measures, and development of more effective approaches for reducing tobacco use in disadvantaged groups and communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Up until the mid-late 2000s, the national suicide rate in Scotland was the highest among all the UK countries, but the reasons for this phenomenon are poorly understood. Methods In a multilevel study of suicide risk in Scotland and England during 2001-2006, the authors examined a range of social, cultural and health-related factors at small area level: postcode sector and Health Board in Scotland and ward and Primary Care Organisation in England. Results Scotland's national suicide rate was 79% higher than in England (rate ratio 1.79, 95% CI 1.62 to 1.98), with younger male and female Scots aged 15-44 years having double the risk compared with their English peers. Overall, 57% of the excess suicide risk in Scotland was explained by a range of area-level measures, including prescriptions for psychotropic drugs, alcohol and drug use, socioeconomic deprivation, social fragmentation, and other health-related indices. The use of psychotropic drugs, acting as a proxy measure for mental ill health, was the variable most strongly associated with the between-country differences in suicide risk. Alcohol misuse also made an important contribution to the differentials. Overall, the contribution of socioeconomic deprivation and social fragmentation was relatively small. Conclusions Any attempt to reverse the divergent trend in suicide between Scotland and England will require initiatives to prevent and treat mental ill health and to tackle alcohol and drug misuse. Differences in prescribing rates, however, may also be explained by differences in illness behaviour or the availability of psychosocial interventions, and addressing these may also reduce Scotland's excess risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: NHS stop smoking services are expected to play a key part in achieving the infant mortality and life expectancy health inequality targets in England by reducing smoking prevalence in deprived areas. This paper assesses the extent to which services have made a contribution to reducing inequalities in smoking between 2003-4 and 2005-6. Methods: Synthetic estimates of baseline smoking prevalence data were compared with national monitoring data about the numbers of smokers in receipt of services and the proportion who self report quilting at four weeks. The social distribution of service recipients and quitters was compared with estimates of smoking prevalence to assess impact on inequalities. Comparisons were made between officially designated disadvantaged areas (the Spearhead Group) and others. Results: Short-term cessation rates were lower in disadvantaged areas (52.6%) than elsewhere (57.9%) (p<0.001), but the proportion of smokers being treated was higher (16.7% compared with 13.4%) (p<0.001). The net effect was that a higher proportion of smokers in the most disadvantaged areas reported success (8.8%) than in more advantaged areas (7.8%) (p<0.001). Using the evidence-based assumption that three-quarters of short-term quitters will relapse within one year, the absolute and relative rate gaps in smoking prevalence between Spearhead areas and others are estimated to fall by small but for Health, University significant amounts from 5.2 and 1.215 (CIs: 1.216 to 1.213) to 5.0 and 1.212 (CIs: 1.213 to 1.210) between 2003-4 and 2005-6. Conclusion: NHS stop smoking services have probably made a modest contribution to reducing inequalities in smoking prevalence. To achieve government targets, however, requires both the development of more innovative cessation interventions for the most addicted smokers and action to ensure that other aspects of tobacco control policy make a larger contribution to inequality goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To identify areas of Britain whose residents have relatively low age specific mortality, despite experiencing long-term economic adversity. Methods: Longitudinal, ecological study of all residents of Britain from 1971 to 2001. Results: 54 of Britain's 641 parliamentary constituencies were identified as having been persistently economically disadvantaged in the period 1971-2001. Within this group, there was marked variation in age group specific mortality and in the age ranges with relatively high or low mortality. A systematic scoring process identified 18 constituencies as providing strong and consistent evidence of low mortality across a range of age groups, relative to the 54 constituencies as a whole. These 18 were labelled "resilient". Among age groups >24 years, mortality rates in the resilient areas were significantly lower than in the other economically disadvantaged areas. For example, at ages 45-59 years, the average all cause mortality rate in the resilient constituencies was 607 per 100 000 population (95% Cl 574 to 641) and 728 (670 to 787) in the non-resilient constituencies (p=0.013). Conclusions: Areas with similar adverse economic histories do not all have similarly high mortality rates. It is unlikely that a single factor explains these results. Selective migration cannot be discounted as an explanation, but particular sociocultural features of areas (including the political, economic, ethnic and religious characteristics of their population) may also be protective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the impact of suicide case presented in the EastEnders soap opera on the television viewers in England. Increase in the number of self poisoning cases due to the television program; Explanation on the imitation hypothesis of the study; Factors associated in the incident.

Examines the incidence of parasuicide among unemployed men in Edinburgh, Scotland. Psychological and social impairment among the unemployed; Impact of economic recession; Proportion of unemployed men.

Examines the relationship between damp and mould growth and symptomatic ill health. Prevalence of damp housing; Types of housing and structures of buildings; Effects of adverse housing conditions on respiratory.

Evaluates the effectiveness of an antismoking telephone helpline campaign conducted by the Health Education Board for Scotland. Evidence that the campaign had reached a high number of adult smokers; Association between the campaign with a highly acceptable quit rate among adults given direct help through the hotline. INSET: Campaign elements..

Determines the factors associated with complete suicide in young parasuicide patients in Great Britain. Predictors of complete suicide; Prevalence of suicide after parasuicide; Risk factors of suicide.

Focuses on the issue of health. Occurrence of hypothyroidism following treatment with ketoconazole; Association between asthma and climatic conditions; Effect of aspirin on pruritus.

The article analyzes the Keep Well cardiovascular anticipatory care program in Scotland in an effort to demonstrate the problems associated with the proposal of the British Medical Research Council (MRC) to implement a sequential approach to testing complex interventions in medical care. Keep Well was launched to address the inequalities in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The authors argue that Keep Well could have been standardized and better developed to make evaluation easy. They add that no clinical evaluation approach or randomized controlled trial is suited for all patients.

Examines impact of housing conditions on ill health Edinburgh, Scotland. Evidence on emotional distress prevalence among settlers in damp houses; Association between living in mouldy houses and children health; Factors causing respiratory problems.

Evaluates the admission of parasuicide individuals on hospitals during the World Cup football competition. Risk for parasuicide on men; Implication of suicidal behavior to outcome of the general election; Support for the election campaign by the labor society.