Research

Tobacco policy in American prisons, 2007 (US)
Studies have shown that smoking rates are higher among prison inmates than the general population. A survey of 52 U.S. departments of correction was conducted in 2007 to explore changes in prison tobacco policies over time. Sixty percent of prisons reported a total tobacco ban on prison grounds, while 27% had indoor bans on tobacco use. There were no reports of prison riots resulting from implementation of stricter tobacco policies, but multiple respondents reported that tobacco products became the dominant contraband item following ban implementation. Tobacco cessation programs were much more common among prison systems with indoor tobacco bans (86%) than those with complete tobacco bans (39%). The researchers suggest that to promote long term cessation, tobacco cessation programs should be continued in prisons with total tobacco bans. Click here to view the abstract of this research article, which was published online in the July 4 issue of Tobacco Control.

Smoking risk of cancer survivors (UK)
A study of smoking habits among 10,000 British childhood cancer survivors showed that smoking was most common among survivors of Hodgkin's lymphoma, soft tissue sarcomas and Wilms' tumor. Survivors of these types of cancer are at high risk for cancers later in life, and smoking is an additional risk factor. The prevalence of smoking among all childhood cancer survivors was found to be half of the general population’s smoking prevalence. However, among cancer survivors, smoking was highest in this subgroup. The researchers indicate that tobacco interventions for childhood cancer survivors should emphasize that lifestyle factors such as smoking greatly influence their risk of developing a second cancer. Click here to read more. Click here to access the abstract in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

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Reports

American Legacy Foundation releases new resource to help underserved
As part of its comprehensive dissemination effort to highlight promising tobacco control strategies, Legacy has recently published, Community Voices Initiative: Promoting Systems Change in Community Driven Tobacco Control This publication examines how Legacy's Community Voices grantees created systems-level changes to provide tobacco control and cessation services primarily to underserved communities.  The publication features four Community Voices grantees as case examples to demonstrate how community-based organizations can affect systems change to achieve tobacco control and cessation outcomes in low socioeconomic status communities. To view this new resource, click here.

NAATEN/NNTPP National Conference presentations (US)
On April 23-24, 2008, the Health Education Council (HEC) hosted a national conference, Promising Practices from the Field: Tobacco Control Strategies for Priority Populations, which highlighted tobacco control efforts in the African American community and efforts addressing tobacco control and poverty issues. Many presentations from the conference are now available on the National Network on Tobacco Prevention and Poverty (NNTPP) website. Click here to access the site.

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