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Background: A substantial challenge in addressing adolescent tobacco use is that smoking behaviors occur in complex environments that involve the school setting and larger community context. Purpose: This study provides an integrated description of factors from the school and community environment that affect youth smoking and explains variation in individual smoking behaviors both within and across schools/communities. Methods: Data were collected from 82 randomly sampled secondary schools in five Canadian provinces (British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland, and Labrador) during the 2003–2004 school year. Cross-sectional data were obtained from students; school administrators (school-based tobacco control policies and programs); and from observations in the community. In 2009, hierarchic logistic regression was used to model the role of individual, school, and community variables in predicting student smoking outcomes. Results: Students who attended a school with a focus on tobacco prevention (OR=0.87, 95% CI=0.81, 0.94) and stronger policies prohibiting tobacco use (OR=0.92, 95% CI=0.88, 0.97) were less likely to smoke than students who attended a school without these characteristics. A student was more likely to smoke if a greater number of students smoked on the school periphery (OR=1.25, 95% CI=1.07, 1.47). Within the community, price per cigarette (OR=0.91, 95% CI=0.84, 0.99) and immigrants (OR=0.99, 95% CI=0.98, 0.99) were inversely related to students'' smoking status. Conclusions: The results suggest that school and community characteristics account for variation in smoking levels across schools. Based on the current findings, the ideal school setting that supports low student smoking levels is located in a neighborhood where the cost of cigarettes is high, provides tobacco prevention education, and has a policy prohibiting smoking. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: To determine the SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among school workers within the Greater Vancouver area, British Columbia, Canada, after the first Omicron wave., Design: Cross-sectional study by online questionnaire, with blood serology testing., Setting: Three main school districts (Vancouver, Richmond and Delta) in the Vancouver metropolitan area., Participants: Active school staff enrolled from January to April 2022, with serology testing between 27 January and 8 April 2022. Seroprevalence estimates were compared with data obtained from Canadian blood donors weighted over the same sampling period, age, sex and postal code distribution., Primary and Secondary Outcomes: SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibody testing results adjusted for test sensitivity and specificity, and regional variation across school districts using Bayesian models., Results: Of 1850 school staff enrolled, 65.8% (1214/1845) reported close contact with a COVID-19 case outside the household. Of those close contacts, 51.5% (625/1214) were a student and 54.9% (666/1214) were a coworker. Cumulative incidence of COVID-19 positive testing by self-reported nucleic acid or rapid antigen testing since the beginning of the pandemic was 15.8% (291/1845). In a representative sample of 1620 school staff who completed serology testing (87.6%), the adjusted seroprevalence was 26.5% (95% CrI 23.9% to 29.3%), compared with 32.4% (95% CrI 30.6% to 34.5%) among 7164 blood donors., Conclusion: Despite frequent COVID-19 exposures reported, SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among school staff in this setting remained no greater than the community reference group. Results are consistent with the premise that many infections were acquired outside the school setting, even with Omicron., Competing Interests: Competing interests: CO'R is an employee of the Vancouver School District, but the latter was not involved in the design, analysis, interpretation of data or the drafting of this manuscript. LifeLabs played no role in the study other than providing a service for the collection of blood samples., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: The workplace represents an important setting for increasing physical activity levels. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the workplace environment and leisure-time physical activity, using a nationally representative sample of the Canadian population., Methods: This study used cross-sectional, self-reported data from 48,916 participants who completed relevant questions on the 2008 Canadian Community Health Survey. Associations between supportive workplace environments for physical activity (e.g., perceived range of amenities available such as a pleasant place to walk, fitness facility, showers, and health program) and leisure-time physical activity level (active, moderately active, inactive) were examined using multinomial logistic regression., Results: Approximately three quarters (n=36,216) of participants had access to at least one amenity that supported physical activity while at work. Females in the lowest age category (18-35 years) who perceived a more supportive workplace environment for physical activity had higher odds of being moderately active (AOR 1.06, 95% CI 1.04-1.08) and active (AOR 1.15, 95% CI 1.13-1.17) as compared to inactive in their leisure time. The strength of this association was slightly higher with age and for males., Conclusions: Since the majority of Canadian adults do not meet recommended levels of physical activity, the workplace offers a promising and modifiable target for increasing opportunities to be physically active. Employers who can provide a more supportive workplace environment for physical activity would benefit, as it can increase employees' physical activity levels and ultimately improve their productivity and overall health. These benefits may be increased for males and with employees' age.