Research

Increasing tobacco cessation in America - a consumer demand perspective
The March 2010 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine includes a supplement containing articles about tobacco cessation in the United States. The supplement, developed by the US National Tobacco Cessation Collaborative (NTCC), aims to show the promise of raising consumer demand for evidence-based tobacco cessation products and services in order to decrease the prevalence of tobacco use. The articles and commentaries reflect the view that if consumer demand increased for evidence-based tobacco cessation products and services, many more people would attempt to quit, and would succeed in doing so. Click here to view the table of contents for the supplement.

Individual, social-normative, and policy predictors of smoking cessation: A multilevel longitudinal analysis
New research suggests that strong antismoking social norms facilitate smoking cessation, while local smokefree policies do not have an observable effect on cessation over time. Investigators interviewed current and recent smokers at two-year intervals to determine predictors of quit attempts and sustained abstinence from smoking. Their analysis showed that the perception of antismoking community norms and household smoking bans were predictors of abstinence, and smoking bans at worksites were predictors of quit attempts. Click here to read the study abstract, published in the American Journal of Public Health.

Weight counseling, bupropion help smokers quit
A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine indicates that women taking bupropion while receiving cognitive behavioral therapy for weight gain concerns have higher quit rates after six months than women receiving standard counseling and bupropion. Participants were randomized to either weight-focused or standard counseling and either bupropion or placebo for six months, and rates and duration of abstinence from smoking were confirmed biochemically over the course of the study. Women receiving weight-focused counseling plus bupropion had a six-month abstinence rate of 34% and a longer time to relapse, while those receiving standard counseling and bupropion or weight-focused counseling and a placebo had a 21% and 11.5% rates, respectively. Prolonged abstinence at twelve months did not differ among the groups. Click here to read more, or read the abstract here.

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Reports

Conn. stimulus money to help stop smoking programs (CT)
Connecticut’s Department of Public Health is slated to receive $1.3 million in federal stimulus funds to help reduce smoking and obesity rates in the state. The money will be used to expand the state’s Quitline and to support work with other organizations to promote smoking cessation. Some of the money will also be used to promote healthy food choices and physical activity in schools and communities. Click here to read more.

State launches new smoking cessation ad campaign (NY)
The New York State Department of Health, along with the American Legacy Foundation and the Ad Council, has launched a new state smoking cessation campaign known as “EX.” EX is a national campaign that aims to educate smokers by providing evidence-based tools to help them quit. The campaign teaches smokers about re-learning behavioral aspects of smoking, how addiction and nicotine replacement medications work, and how support from family and friends can help them quit. Click here to read more, or go to the campaign website: www.BecomeAnEX.org.

Bloomberg announces new quit-smoking campaign (NY)
New York City is launching a new campaign, “Reverse the Damage,” that highlights the benefits of quitting smoking compared to the penalties of continuing smoking. The campaign shows how the body will heal itself once smoking has ceased, even after years of cigarette use. Television ads, radio spots and print ads on subway and bus shelters will be used to promote the campaign, which runs at the same time as the City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s nicotine patch and gum giveaway. Click here to read more.

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International

Colleges in China to offer anti-smoking courses (China)
In an effort to control the number of Chinese doctors who smoke, thirteen Chinese medical colleges will begin offering courses about the dangers of smoking to their students. The courses would last 16-32 class hours and 6,500 students per year are expected to take them as part of a five-year anti-smoking education program. The courses are part of a larger goal to raise awareness and educate the public. China currently has more than 300 million smokers, and more than half of Chinese male doctors are smokers, making it difficult for them to offer anti-smoking messages and advice to their patients. Click here to read more.

Randomized crossover trial of the acceptability of snus, nicotine gum, and Zonnic therapy for smoking reduction in heavy smokers (New Zealand)
Researchers in New Zealand have found that smokers prefer to use Zonnic (an oral nicotine sachet) or snus to quit smoking over nicotine gum. Subjects reported that snus and Zonnic were better at reducing smoking urges and caused fewer side effects than nicotine gum; smoking was reduced by 33%, 37%, and 42% using gum, snus, and Zonnic, respectively. The study was performed as an assessment of acceptability by smokers, a first step in evaluating their usefulness as smoking cessation therapies. Read the abstract of the study, published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research.

Facebook helps users quit smoking (UK)
No Smoking Day, a United Kingdom-based charity, has launched a Facebook application to help Web users quit smoking. Quitters can use the application to raise money for charity, challenge friends to quit using tobacco and track each other’s progress, and create rewards for success and penalties for failure. Click here to read more about the site, or visit No Smoking Day’s website about the application.

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