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Background and Aims: The United States Food and Drug Administration has proposed regulation to require that cigarettes contain very low nicotine content (VLNC). In contrast, reducing the number of cigarettes per day (CPD) is the most common current method to reduce nicotine. This trial aims to explore whether gradually transitioning to VLNC cigarettes plus nicotine patch or reducing CPD plus nicotine patch is more effective at decreasing nicotine dependence. Design A two‐arm, individually randomized open‐label trial. Setting Community setting, Vermont, USA. Participants: Sixty‐eight adult daily smokers (40% female) of ≥ 10 cigarettes/day who were not planning to quit in the next 30 days. Interventions: All participants smoked study cigarettes with a nicotine yield similar to most commercial cigarettes ad libitum for 1 week (baseline). Participants then gradually reduced to 70, 35, 15 and 3% of baseline nicotine over 4 weeks by either (a) transitioning to lower nicotine content cigarettes (n = 36) or (b) reducing the number of full nicotine cigarettes (n = 32). All participants received nicotine patches. Measurements The primary outcome was change in nicotine dependence assessed at baseline and weekly during the intervention with the Nicotine Dependence Syndrome Scale. Findings Dependence declined over time for both VLNC and CPD participants, but declined more for VLNC (mean decrease in Z‐score of 1.0) than CPD (mean decrease in Z‐score of 0.5) participants over time (interaction P = 0.018). Conclusions: Transitioning to very low nicotine content cigarettes reduced nicotine dependence over a 4‐week period to a greater extent than reducing cigarettes per day when both conditions were aided by nicotine patch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: While research has focused on outcomes of tobacco control policies, less is known about the mechanisms by which policies may affect tobacco use. We estimated the associations of changes in cigarette taxes and smoke‐free legislation with (1) any household cigarette expenditure and (2) the level of household expenditure on cigarettes, as well as (3) tested interactions with socio‐economic circumstances. Design Difference‐in‐differences regression models to estimate the associations between changes in US state cigarette taxes and smoke‐free legislation with changes in household expenditure on cigarettes. Setting: Forty US states and District of Columbia. Participants: From annual, cross‐sectional surveys (with a longitudinal component) between 2000 and 2014, 128 138 households interviewed quarterly in the Consumer Expenditure Survey. Measurements Dependent measures included any household cigarette expenditure, expenditure in real dollars and budget share of cigarette expenditure. Policy measures included state cigarette taxes and 100% smoke‐free legislation. Covariates included respondent age, race/ethnicity, sex; household education; poverty level; family structure; and number of children and adults. Findings: Every $1.00 cigarette tax increase was associated with a 1.5 percentage point (−0.028, −0.002) reduction in any cigarette expenditure and an increase of 0.1% (0.1%, 0.1%) budget share and $10.11 ($8.38, $11.84) absolute expenditure. The association with absolute expenditure was stronger among smoking households above poverty level ($10.73; $8.94, $12.51) than below ($4.72; $2.37, $7.07). The enactment of smoke‐free legislation was associated with $2.33 (−$4.56, −$0.10) less expenditure, but not with any expenditure (0.1%; −1.6%, 1.8%) or budget share (−0.1%; −0.1%, 0.1%). The association with absolute expenditure was stronger among households above poverty level (−$2.62; −$4.95, −$0.29) than below (−$0.34; −$4.27, $3.58) Conclusion: Cigarette tax increases in the United States between 2000 and 2014 may have reduced smoking prevalence due to an absolute and relative increase in household tobacco expenditure while smoke‐free policies appear to have led to a reduction in expenditure. Although tax increases had a stronger impact on absolute expenditure among households above the poverty level, impact on relative expenditure was similar, and consequences for socio‐economic inequalities in smoking will vary based on the broader financial situation of households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims The US Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act provides a pathway for manufacturers to market a modified risk tobacco product (MRTP). This study examines socio-demographic and tobacco use correlates of interest in a hypothetical MRTP in a nationally representative sample of US adults. Design Cross sectional wave 1 data from the 2013-14 Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study. Setting Household Audio-Computer Assisted Self-Interviews of US adults conducted in 2013-14. Participants A total of 32 320 civilian, non-institutionalized adults in the United States. Measurements Interest in using a hypothetical MRTP ('If a tobacco product made a claim that it was less harmful to health than other tobacco products, how likely would you be to use that product?'), socio-demographics, tobacco use history and mental health and substance use problems. All estimates were weighted. Findings Overall, 16.7% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 16.28, 17.18] of US adults reported interest in a hypothetical MRTP. Tobacco use was associated significantly with interest in a hypothetical MRTP, with interest most common among current established smokers (54.4%; 95% CI = 53.31, 55.39) and least common among never tobacco users (3.0%; 95% CI = 2.49, 3.55). Interest in a hypothetical MRTP was associated with experimental e-cigarette use among current experimental, current established and former smokers. Among non-smokers, race, age, education and substance use were associated with interest in using a hypothetical MRTP. Conclusions Among adults in the United States, interest in using a hypothetical modified risk tobacco product is low overall, and highest among current experimental and established smokers. A small percentage of non-smokers are interested in using a hypothetical hypothetical modified risk tobacco product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents addiction-related news briefs on topics including opposition to the Australian coalition government's plan to implement a drug testing trial for welfare payment recipients in Mandurah, Western Australia. According to the article, criticism of the Filipino government's drug war has increased in the wake of the police shooting death of a schoolboy named Kian Delos Santos. It states that New York, New York Mayor Bill De Blasio signed a package of tobacco control laws in 2017.

Background and Aims In addition to some electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), new heat-not-burn tobacco products Ploom and iQOS have recently begun to be sold by tobacco companies. These products are regulated differently in Japan, depending on whether the contents are liquid or tobacco leaf. Our objective was to estimate percentages of awareness and use of e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn tobacco products among the Japanese population, including minors. Design and Setting An internet survey (randomly sampled research agency panellists) with a propensity score adjustment for "being a respondent in an internet survey" using a nationally representative sample in Japan. Participants A total of 8240 respondents aged 15-69 years in 2015 (4084 men and 4156 women). Measurements Adjusted percentages of awareness and use of e-cigarettes (nicotine or non-nicotine e-cigarettes) and heat-not-burn products among total participants; product types and percentages ever used among e-cigarettes ever users. Findings Of respondents in Japan, 48% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 47-49] were aware of e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn tobacco products, 6.6% (95% CI = 6.1-7.1) had ever used, 1.3% (95% CI = 1.0-1.5) had used in the last 30 days and 1.3% (95% CI = 1.1-1.6) had experience of > 50 sessions. Seventy-two per cent (95% CI = 69-76) of ever users used non-nicotine e-cigarettes, while 33% (95% CI = 30-37) of them used nicotine e-cigarettes, which has the majority share world-wide; 7.8% (95% CI = 5.5-10.0) and 8.4% (95% CI = 6.1-10.7) of them used the new devices, Ploom and iQOS, respectively, with a relatively higher percentage among the younger population. Conclusions Approximately half the respondents in a Japanese internet survey were aware of e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn tobacco products, 6.6% had ever used. More than 70% of ever users used non-nicotine e-cigarettes, the sale of which is not legally prohibited, even to minors, in Japan, and 33% of them used nicotine e-cigarettes; 3.5% of never smoking men and 1.3% of never smoking women had ever used e-cigarettes. Corresponding figures for use in the last 30 days were 0.6% and 0.3%, predominantly non-nicotine e-cigarettes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a tension in the policy field about the way that the policy process should occur and the manner in which evidence should inform policy decisions. This article presents findings from a qualitative study on the introduction of point-of-sale tobacco display bans in Australia to provide an insight into the way this public policy was introduced and the way that evidence was used and communicated to influence the policy outcome. This study highlights that tobacco control policy does not merely consist of a series of segmented and unconnected decisions. It is an ongoing process, whereby the acceptability of forms of knowledge has shifted over time. This has enabled the introduction of tobacco control initiatives on the basis of good judgement when there is a paucity of specific evaluation information to support a policy's introduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates heterogeneous response to state cigarette tax increases using unconditional quantile regression (UQR). We make two contributions to the empirical policy analysis literature. First, we argue that UQR provides more policy-relevant information than conventional quantile regression in most empirical state policy analyses. Second, we document cigarette tax elasticity across a sample of adult smokers in the Current Population Survey Tobacco Use Supplements between 1992 and 2011. Our ordinary least squares regression show an imprecise negative relationship between taxes and cigarettes smoked in the past 30 days, while UQR reveals a U-shaped relationship: Only moderate smokers reduce their smoking following a cigarette tax increase, and the magnitude of the effect is small. A $1.00 (135 percent) increase in the cigarette tax leads to a 3.5 percent reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked in the past 30 days among the most responsive smokers (implied tax elasticity = −0.03). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this essay, I first describe some examples of curiosity-based, basic research inspired by Lewin's famous dictum that there is nothing so practical as a good...theory. Then, I describe several examples of recent intervention studies that leverage basic research to make the world a better place. Next, in the spirit of Lewin, I suggest that there is nothing so practical as a good...design-and describe 'state of the art' quasi-experimental designs to evaluate tobacco control policies and suggest the sort of designs one might employ to evaluate smoking prevention programs implemented before kids have even started smoking. Finally, I conclude by suggesting the need to change our academic culture to encourage more emphasis on mobilizing the knowledge we obtain from our research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined whether menthol cigarette smoking is related to exposure to smoke-free home and work-place policies, availability of cessation services at work and knowledge of cessation resources among current smokers. Secondary analysis was conducted using logistic regression of cross-sectional data. The 2003 and 2006/07 Tobacco Use Supplement (TUS) to the Current Population Survey, administered by the National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Census Bureau, formed the basis for this investigation. A total of 66 145 current smokers who participated in the TUS CPS administrations in 2003 and 2006/07. Demographic characteristics (gender, race/ethnicity, age, education, income), smoking frequency, menthol cigarette use, status of smoking bans in the work-place and at home, availability of cessation services at work and knowledge of quitting resources were assessed. Among all current smokers with an indoor job, with no smoke-free restrictions at either work or home as the reference, those who smoked menthol cigarettes were about one-third as likely to have a smoke-free policy at both work and home [odds ratio (OR) = 0.32; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.27-0.38]. In the comparison of those with an indoor smoke-free policy at work only versus those with no restrictions, menthol status was a risk factor for not having a work-place restriction (OR = 0.79; 95% CI: 0.67-0.93); similarly, within this sample, menthol use was a risk factor for not having a home restriction (OR = 0.38; 95% CI: 0.31-0.46). Among all current smokers, the use of menthol cigarettes was a risk factor for not having a smoking restriction at home (OR = 0.93; 95% CI: 0.88-0.98). Menthol smoking was not related to availability of cessation services offered at work or knowledge of cessation services. This study suggests that menthol smoking is associated with lack of policy protection from second-hand smoke exposure. Policymakers and tobacco control professionals should monitor tobacco control efforts to ensure that policies and interventions reach all menthol smokers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: In 1954 the tobacco industry paid to publish the “Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers” in hundreds of U.S. newspapers. It stated that the public's health was the industry's concern above all others and promised a variety of good-faith changes. What followed were decades of deceit and actions that cost millions of lives. In the hope that the food history will be written differently, this article both highlights important lessons that can be learned from the tobacco experience and recommends actions for the food industry. Methods: A review and analysis of empirical and historical evidence pertaining to tobacco and food industry practices, messages, and strategies to influence public opinion, legislation and regulation, litigation, and the conduct of science. Findings: The tobacco industry had a playbook, a script, that emphasized personal responsibility, paying scientists who delivered research that instilled doubt, criticizing the “junk” science that found harms associated with smoking, making self-regulatory pledges, lobbying with massive resources to stifle government action, introducing “safer” products, and simultaneously manipulating and denying both the addictive nature of their products and their marketing to children. The script of the food industry is both similar to and different from the tobacco industry script. Conclusions: Food is obviously different from tobacco, and the food industry differs from tobacco companies in important ways, but there also are significant similarities in the actions that these industries have taken in response to concern that their products cause harm. Because obesity is now a major global problem, the world cannot afford a repeat of the tobacco history, in which industry talks about the moral high ground but does not occupy it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an update related to addiction issues as of November 1, 1990. Legislation on narcotics imposed by the government of Italy; Ban of alcohol and tobacco advertising in France; Document on tobacco policy published by the World Health Organization.

Presents an update on issues related to addiction as of August 1988. Status of the Tobacco Act of 1987 in Victoria, Australia; Video on solvent abuse produced by the Royal Society of Medicine Film and Television Unit of Great Britain; Services offered by the Association of Researchers in Voluntary Action and Community Involvement.

In this article, the author discusses aspects of the restriction of tobacco sales to minors based from the study of Fidler and West. He states that the effectiveness of the attempts of British officials on tobacco sales laws has not measured up to those of the former colonies in Great Britain. He also cites the minimum age for tobacco sales as a major factor that causes this issue. He adds that addition in the minimum age for tobacco sales did not ensure increase or reduction in youth smoking.