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Importance Tobacco use prevalence among individuals involved in the criminal-legal system is 125% higher than that of the general population and leads to high levels of smoking-related morbidity and mortality. Objective To examine the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary clinical outcomes of a smoking cessation intervention for individuals who are incarcerated. Design, Setting, and Participants This pilot randomized clinical trial was conducted from January 2019 to May 2020. Participants were recruited in a pretrial county jail in a large Midwestern US city and were followed up after release. Participants were incarcerated, smoked daily before incarceration, desired to stay quit or reduce cigarette smoking upon release, and expected to be released to the community within 90 days of enrollment. Data analysis was performed from June to October 2020. Interventions Participants randomized to the counseling plus nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) group received 1 hour of smoking cessation counseling in jail, a supply of nicotine lozenges upon release, and up to 4 telephone counseling sessions after release. Those randomized to brief health education (BHE) received 30 minutes of general health education in jail. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary clinical outcome was biologically verified 7-day point prevalence abstinence (PPA) at 3 weeks after release. Secondary clinical outcomes included 7-day PPA at 12 weeks, changes in number of cigarettes per day, and time to smoking lapse and relapse. Results A total of 46 participants (42 men [91%]; mean [SD] age, 38.2 [9.1] years) were enrolled and remained eligible at release; 23 were randomized to the counseling plus NRT group and 23 were randomized to the BHE group. Recruitment, enrollment, and retention of participants was feasible and acceptable. There were no significant differences in smoking abstinence between groups as determined by 7-day PPA at 3 weeks (adjusted 7-day PPA, 11.9% for counseling plus NRT vs 10.6% for BHE; odds ratio, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.14-9.07) and at 12 weeks (adjusted 7-day PPA, 11.1% for counseling plus NRT vs 14.3% for BHE; odds ratio, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.09-6.11). Cigarettes per day for the counseling plus NRT group decreased more compared with the BHE group at both 3 weeks (difference [SE], −4.58 [1.58] cigarettes per day; 95% CI, −7.67 to −1.48 cigarettes per day;P = .007) and 12 weeks (difference [SE], −3.26 [1.58] cigarettes per day; 95% CI, −5.20 to −0.20 cigarettes per day;P = .04) after release. Conclusions and Relevance Initiation of counseling plus NRT during incarceration and continuing after release is feasible and acceptable to participants and may be associated with reduced cigarette use after release. However, additional supports are needed to increase engagement in telephone counseling after release. A larger clinical trial is warranted to determine the effectiveness of counseling plus NRT. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:NCT03799315

Many scholars have recognized the importance of the race-advocacy function of the black press, but few have done empirical studies to assess its effect on black press content..The following questions, therefore, have remained unanswered. How was a racepride philosophy carried out in black newspapers? What was the general image of blacks produced by the press? And how did this image contribute to black self-definition and self-determination? This study explores the image of blacks resulting from the Chicago Defender's use of personalities to carry out its race-advocacy function. The Defender was selected both because of its preeminence among black newspapers, which makes it a suitable vehicle for exploring the questions posed about the black image in the black press, and its reputation for being a race-advocate. It is one of the oldest and largest black papers and is one of only five black papers established during the New Journalism Era between 1880 and World War I that survives today. Journalists and researchers have consistently listed the Defender among black America's most important and influential newspapers. And Metz T. P. Lochard, St. Clair Drake and Horace R. Cayton, and Time magazine have documented its influence in the civil rights struggle.2 Because the white media have largely ignored the existence of blacks or have presented a negative image of them, the black press has developed a raceconsciousness designed to present blacks' viewpoints, aspirations, and struggles in a positive way. Yet historians of the black press have also noted a negative image of blacks in black papers because of the press's sensational character. From 1924 to 1927 Eugene Gordon conducted annual studies of the largest black newspapers and found