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Background: Today, waterpipe (WT) smoking is a rising issue worldwide, and has taken a significant and growing share of tobacco consumption in the world. Present study aimed to explore the predictors of WT cessation in the light of the theory of planned behavior (TPB)., Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in 2021-2022 using a multi-stratified cluster sampling on 1,764 women in Bandar Abbas, southern Iran. Data were collected through a reliable and valid questionnaire. The three-part questionnaire includes demographic information, behavioral information of WT smoking, and the constructs of the TPB along with an additional habit construct. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was run to model the predictor constructs of WT smoking. The data were analyzed statistically in STATA14.2., Results: With an increase in one attitude score, the odds of cessation increased by 31% (p < 0.001). Also, with an increase of one score in knowledge, the odds of cessation are increased by 0.05% (0.008). With an increase of one score for intention, the odds of cessation are 26% (0.000). in social norms, the odds of cessation are 0.02% (0.001). With an increase of one score in perceived control, the odds of cessation increased by 16% (0.000) and inhabit score, the odds of cessation decrease by 37% (0.000). In the model where the habit construct was present, the accuracy, sensitivity, and pseudo R2 indices were 95.69%, 77.31%, and 65%, respectively and after removing the habit construct, the so-called indices changed to 90.7%, 50.38% and 0.44%, respectively., Conclusions: The present research confirmed the effectiveness of the TPB model in predicting waterpipe cessation behavior. The knowledge obtained from this research can help develop a systematic and effective intervention to facilitate waterpipe cessation. Focusing on the habit variable can play a critical role in waterpipe cessation in women., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Illicit tobacco trade is focused on Iran as a main target in the WHO's eastern Mediterranean region. Serial studies of Cigarette Packs Survey with same method were conducted in Tehran between 2003 and 2015 to evaluate consumed smuggled cigarettes. This study as the fourth Cigarette Packs Survey is designed to indicate the trends of illicit cigarette trade in Tehran in the last two decades., Methods: A cross-sectional household study was carried out in early 2021 in Tehran on 3042 persons who smoked at least one daily cigarette for a year. The sampling method was like the sampling method used in three previous studies. Participants aged≥15 years were asked to reveal their current cigarette pack, which was either legal cigarettes (having governmental label); or illegal cigarettes (without governmental label)., Results: The subjects included 2536 males (83.4%) and the mean age was 39.9±12.1 years; 1854 subjects (60.9%) showed foreign cigarettes and 1188 (39.1%) showed domestic cigarettes; 2705 (88.9%) consumed legal cigarettes and 337 (11.1%) consumed illegal cigarettes. Consumption of illegal cigarettes by gender showed greater use of smuggled cigarettes in males (11.7%vs 8.1%). No significant differences were seen based on the marital and educational status in terms of illegal cigarettes prevalence., Conclusion: Compare with previous studies, the trend of consumption of illicit cigarettes was decreasing in past two decades. This could be due to new regulation on monitoring cigarette distribution and changing illegal brands to legal as joint production., (© 2022 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.)

To determine the concentration of particulate matters (PM 2.5 and PM 10 ), 36 samples were collected from indoor/outdoor air of hookah cafés (HS), cigarette cafés (CS), both hookah and cigarette (HCS), and no-smoking building (NS) in Tehran City from December 2017 to March 2018. The mean ± SD of PM 10 concentration in the indoor air of the cafés in terms of HS, CS, HCS, and NS sites has been 702.35, 220.20, 1156.60, and 60.12 μg/m 3 , while for PM 2.5 , the values have been 271.92, 111.80, 619.10, and 22.25 μg/m 3 , respectively. It was also found that the PM concentration inside the cafés was higher during weekend session (with a higher number of active smokers), than during the weekday sessions. Moreover, the PM levels in the indoor air of the cafés were considerably higher than those of the outdoors (p < 0.05). Based on path analysis, the number of "active smokers" had the highest influence on production of PM inside the cafés, followed by the tobacco type. Finally, the mean excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) for PM 2.5 in the indoor air of cafés was observed in the range of 0.64 × 10 -5 -14.98 × 10 -5 . Also, the mean of hazard quotient (HQ) for PM2.5 and PM 10 was calculated in range of 0.82-18.4 and 0.16-3.28, respectively, which corresponds to an unacceptably high risk for human health. The PM levels in the indoor air of smoking cafés in Tehran are significantly high, such that it can cause serious risks for the health of both the customers and personnel. Thus, it is necessary that suitable controlling strategies be adopted for this public health threat.

Background: Smoking cessation programmes were first introduced in Iran in 1997. To date a number of types of nicotine replacement therapy have been prescribed., Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of varenicline for tobacco cessation., Methods: This was a randomised parallel clinical study conducted in 2010. Participants were smokers willing to quit who were visiting a smoking cessation clinic for the first time and were randomly divided into three groups: all three groups received brief counselling on cessation, Group 2 received nicotine patches and Group 3 was prescribed varenicline for 8 weeks., Results: There were 272 participants in the study: 91 in Group 1, 92 in Group 2 and 89 in Group 3. At the end of the first month, 128 of the 272 subjects (47.1%) succeeded in quitting: 17 (18.7%) in Group 1, 60 (65.2%) in Group 2 and 51 (57.3%) in Group 3 (P = 0.000). At follow-up after 12 months, 58 subjects (21.3%) remained smoke-free, of whom 6 (6.6%) were in Group 1, 23 (25%) in Group 2 and 29 (32.6%) in Group 3 (P = 0.000)., Conclusion: In the study, varenicline treatment was slightly more effective than but not significantly different from nicotine replacement therapy.

The prevalence of smoking was studied using a questionnaire. Pulmonary function tests and respiratory symptoms were evaluated in 176 smokers. The total studied population with family and co-workers were 13289. The number of smokers among studied population was 11.7%. The rate of smoking among male subjects was 17.2% and in female 2.5%. All values of PFTs in smokers were significantly lower (p<0.001) and respiratory symptoms higher than in non smokers (p<0.05 for cough and p<0.001 for wheeze and tightness). There were significant negative correlations between smoking duration and rate with values of PFT (p<0.05-p<0.001). In this study the prevalence of smoking in population of Mashhad city was shown. The prevalence of smoking was higher among male than females. Smoking leads to increased respiratory symptoms and reduction of PFTs values., (Copyright © 2010 Sociedade Portuguesa de Pneumologia. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.)

Background: Iran is one of two main target markets for tobacco smuggling in the WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region. The Iranian government has a local tobacco monopoly but there is high demand for international brands. Informal reports show about 20% of cigarette consumption is smuggled brands. This pack survey study is the first in Iran to gather validated information on use of smuggled cigarettes., Methods: A randomized cross-sectional household survey in Tehran in 2008-2009 of 1540 smokers aged 16-90 (83% men) was performed, including interviewer checking of cigarette packs., Results: In all, 20.9% of cigarettes and 6.7% of domestic branded cigarettes were smuggled. A total of 60.1% of smokers preferred foreign cigarettes. There was no significant difference between consumption of illegal cigarettes by sex. (Fisher exact test p=0.61) Use of smuggled cigarettes was higher among younger smokers (p=0.01)., Conclusions: Use of illegal cigarettes is high. Tobacco control laws outlawing their sale are not being enforced.

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) replacement therapy improves health-related quality of life in patients with a primary immunodeficiency disease, although there have been reports of adverse reactions associated with its regular administration. The study population was composed of 99 patients with primary antibody deficiencies. All the patients were diagnosed with a primary immunodeficiency disease and received at least 4 infusions of IVIG at the Children's Medical Center Hospital, Tehran, Iran over a 13-year period (1995-2007). A total of 3004 infusions were recorded, and 216 (7.2%) of these were associated with adverse reactions in 66 patients. Adverse reactions were classified as mild (172 reactions), moderate (41 reactions), and severe (3 reactions). The rate of adverse reaction varied by diagnosis from 3.35% in patients with X-linked agammaglobulinemia to 17.4% in IgG subclass deficiency. There were no age-related differences in the rates of adverse reactions. Adverse reactions to IVIG infusions are occasionally encountered; therefore, physicians and nurses should be aware of these reactions in order to manage and prevent them.

Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID) is a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia and an increased susceptibility to recurrent infections as well as autoimmunity and malignancies. Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) and Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA) are two autoimmune disorders which may be seen in association with CVID. Among 85 CVID patients, seven cases had ITP and/or AIHA (8%). Four of these patients had one or more episodes of ITP, one patient had AIHA, and two patients had both ITP and AIHA (Evans syndrome). Almost, all patients experienced chronic and recurrent infections mostly in respiratory and gastrointestinal systems during the course of the disease. Among the seven patients, five presented their underlying disease with recurrent respiratory and/or gastrointestinal tract infections, while in two remaining patients, CVID was presented with ITP. Three patients died until now; two because of hepatic failure and one due to pulmonary hemorrhage. As CVID is prone to autoimmune disorders, it should be considered as a differential diagnosis of adult-onset ITP and possibly in children. Chronic and recurrent ITP, especially in the presence of propensity to respiratory and gastrointestinal infections mandate the evaluation for an underlying immune dysregulation such as CVID.

This study in 2003 determined the prevalence of smoking and its associated factors among high-school students in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. Out of 1095 students aged 14-18 years, 29% (31% boys, 26% girls) were occasional and 5% (6% boys and 2% girls) daily smokers. Among occasional smokers, 21% had family members who also smoked, whereas for students who had never tried smoking, no family members smoked. Of 316 occasional smokers, 12% lived with a single parent compared with only 5% of never smokers. Regression analysis showed that significant risk factors for daily smoking were: having a brother or sister who smokes (OR = 8.58) and having more than 1 family member who smokes (OR = 6.33).