Nicotine & Tobacco Research最新文献

Introduction: Although e-cigarette retail marketing correlates with adolescent and young adult (AYA) e-cigarette use, little is known about whether AYAs' likelihood of purchasing e-cigarettes increases with specific retail marketing exposure and increased marketing receptivity.

Methods: We conducted an online cross-sectional survey (n = 5326) among US 13-24 year-olds (December 2023-March 2024). Participants self-reported their likelihood of purchasing e-cigarettes based on 12 mock photographs showing hypothetical advertising locations and 16 product display locations in the retail environment. Age-stratified logistic regression (13-20y vs. 21-24y) examined relationships between e-cigarette retail marketing receptivity and e-cigarette purchase from a retail store, susceptibility to use, and past-30-day use, adjusting for covariates.

Results: Among hypothetical advertising locations, advertisements on store doors/windows (13.3%) and near checkout (15.4%) made participants most likely to want to purchase e-cigarettes. Among product display locations, 13-20y were more likely than 21-24y to want to purchase e-cigarettes if unlocked at the checkout counter and next to snacks/candy (p < .001). One in six 13-20y reported receiving a free sample in a retail store. Retail marketing receptivity significantly increased the odds of susceptibility to use (13-20y: 2.1[1.7, 2.5]; 21-24y: 2.0[1.3, 3.1]) and past-30-day use (13-20y: 3.0[2.5, 3.7]; 21-24y: 4.5[3.6, 5.6] and was associated with having purchased an e-cigarette (13-20y: 1.4[1.0, 1.8]; 21-24y:n.s.).

Conclusions: AYAs report they are more likely to purchase and use e-cigarettes when exposed to and receptive to e-cigarette retail marketing, particularly when products are easily accessible (unlocked, near checkout) and advertised prominently (store exterior, near checkout). Policy and awareness efforts to reduce the impact of advertising, displays, and free samples are needed for those <21 years.

Implications: This study provides new evidence that AYAs are likely to want to purchase e-cigarettes from retail stores when the products are easily accessible (unlocked, near checkout) and advertising is prominently displayed on the store exterior or at checkout. Given that e-cigarette retail marketing receptivity is associated with underage purchase, policy and awareness initiatives should focus on mitigating the impact of advertisements, unlocked displays, product placement near food/candy, and free samples. These marketing strategies bring AYAs into close contact with e-cigarettes and create a retail environment that encourages purchase.

Introduction: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are promoted as safer alternatives to combustible cigarettes. However, the health burden and effects of their long-term use remain unidentified. This study evaluates the extent and reversibility of cellular damage in human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), following in vitro exposure to cigarette and e-cigarette smoke aerosols.

Methods: Human primary MSCs were seeded and exposed to combustible or e-cigarette smoke aerosol extracts for 2 or 3 weeks. MSCs were then assessed for survival and membrane protein expression and distribution. In addition, osteogenic differentiation potential was examined after addition of a differentiation cocktail made up of dexamethasone, ascorbic acid, and β-glycerophosphate.

Results: MSC-mediated cellular repair, described in terms of MSC proliferation and osteogenic differentiation, was compromised by both cigarette and e-cigarette aerosol extracts. MSCs exhibited partial recovery of their proliferative ability after smoke washout. Their membrane proteins were downregulated, and their distribution was altered on the plasma membrane. MSCs showed signs of early osteogenic differentiation following washout of e-cigarette, but matrix mineralization (indicative of terminal differentiation) was hampered, similarly to combustible cigarette aerosols.

Conclusions: These results provide insights on the safety of e-cigarettes and the potential risks they pose to regenerative health, help explain impaired tissue repair mechanisms in chronic smokers, and can serve to inform future public policies on tobacco control.

Implications: This study provides insight on the impact of electronic cigarettes on repair mechanisms mediated by stem cells. Importantly, it also examines the consequences of discontinuing combustible or electronic cigarette smoking on stem cell outcomes, notably proliferation, cell integrity, and differentiation potential. Findings from this work feed into the growing evidence on the harmful and persistent effects of electronic smoking modalities.

Introduction: Although nicotine is the primary component of interest in tobacco, the other ~9500 constituents in tobacco are thought to interact with nicotine to contribute to the pharmacological effects relevant to tobacco use disorder. These other tobacco constituents may also contribute to providing an interoceptive stimulus unique from that of nicotine alone. Using a Pavlovian drug discrimination task, we assessed whether rats could discriminate between nicotine and cigarette smoke extract (CSE) of the same nicotine concentration (0.2 mg/kg) based on the presence of constituent chemicals.

Methods: Rats were assigned to one of three training conditions in which intermixed daily injections were administered before chamber placement. The interoceptive stimulus elicited by the injected compound would set the occasion on which a light conditioned stimulus would, or would not, be followed by sucrose. Increased dipper entries during the conditioned stimulus indicate greater anticipation of impending sucrose. Groups included (1) nicotine versus vehicle with nicotine signaling sucrose, (2) CSE versus vehicle with CSE signaling sucrose, and (3) CSE versus nicotine with CSE signaling sucrose. This final group determined whether rats could discriminate based on other tobacco constituents.

Results: Subjects readily discriminated between nicotine and vehicle and between CSE and vehicle within ~20 training sessions; however, they were unable to discriminate between CSE and nicotine after 72 sessions.

Conclusions: Our results confirm that CSE is a successful Pavlovian discriminative stimulus and add to previous nicotine literature. Interestingly, we demonstrate that CSE and nicotine do not create distinct interoceptive environments under current training conditions.

Implications: Nicotine has long been used as a proxy for tobacco in non-human animal studies. However, there has always been an undercurrent regarding the appropriateness of this approach given the myriad constituents in tobacco. Though generalization to other behavioral preparations must be done with extreme caution, the current findings suggest that, at least in some capacity, there is overlap in the stimulus characteristics of nicotine and CSE.

Introduction: Smoking rates have declined markedly over the past several decades prompting discussion about new strategies to reach an "endgame" in tobacco control. An innovative endgame strategy is restricting cigarette sales to state-controlled outlets to reduce availability of cigarettes. In this study we estimate the impact of restricting cigarette sales to state-controlled outlets on tobacco-related mortality in four US states, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Virginia.

Methods: In each state, we used Monte Carlo simulation with repeated random sampling to estimate the number of reduced deaths over a 20-year period due to reduced cigarette consumption after cigarette sales are restricted to state-controlled outlets. Model estimates were informed by data on the number of annual deaths due to cigarette smoking from the Global Burden of Disease Study and estimates about sales, a proxy for consumption, and mortality risk from the literature.

Results: We estimated that over a 20-year period 366 (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 169, 652), 1585 (95% UI: 735, 2773), 74 (95% UI: 34, 127), and 1064 (95% UI: 501, 1806) deaths due to cigarette smoking would be avoided in Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Virginia, respectively.

Conclusions: Transitioning cigarette sales to state-controlled outlets appears to be a potent tobacco control strategy that may reduce tobacco-related mortality. Policy impact on mortality may be even greater if cigarette smoking prevalence is reduced more than we estimated. To reach an endgame, states should prioritize more aggressive tobacco control policies that limit the availability of cigarettes.

Introduction: The synthetic cooling agent WS-3 (N-ethyl-p-menthane-3-carboxamide) elicits a cooling sensation without a minty taste. In areas with menthol cigarette sales prohibitions, such as California, tobacco companies have marketed cigarettes with WS-3 as alternatives to menthol cigarettes. We examined sales of cigarettes with WS-3 in NielsenIQ's Retail Measurement Services Pacific division, which includes the state of California.

Methods: With NielsenIQ data, we estimated sales of cigarettes with WS-3 from June 2022 to March 2024. We compared the NielsenIQ Pacific division, which includes California and two less populous states (Washington and Oregon), to all other divisions combined. Within the Pacific division, we compared trends in sales of cigarettes with WS-3 to menthol cigarettes.

Results: In our study period, cigarettes with WS-3 appeared in the NielsenIQ Pacific division approximately 2 weeks before the implementation of California's menthol cigarette prohibition in December 2022 and did not appear elsewhere in substantive quantities (>5 cartons) until Spring 2023. Most (87.0%) sales of cigarettes with WS-3 during the study period occurred in the Pacific division, peaking near 19 000 weekly carton sales. Weekly sales of Pacific division menthol cigarettes dropped by more than 100 000 cartons in 2 months after California's prohibition.

Conclusion: In the Pacific division, California's menthol cigarette prohibition appears to have moderately reduced sales of menthol cigarettes and spurred sales of cigarettes with WS-3. Observationally, these sales data suggest that cigarettes with WS-3 only partially displaced the declining sales of menthol cigarettes. Future research could examine reasons for and experiences using cigarettes with WS-3.

Implications: Tobacco companies explicitly marketed cigarettes with the synthetic cooling agent WS-3 as replacements for menthol cigarettes. Sales data from NielsenIQ's Pacific division suggest that California's menthol cigarette prohibition may have reduced sales of menthol cigarettes and spurred the introduction of cigarettes with WS-3 into the marketplace. The findings suggest that sales of cigarettes with WS-3 did not fully offset the decrease in menthol cigarette sales.

Introduction: Previous studies from Cyprus and elsewhere have demonstrated consistent associations between socio-economic characteristics and smoking behaviours in adults. However, the role of built environment characteristics in shaping smoking behaviour as well as their interaction with individual level socio-demographic factors remains unclear.

Methods: Individual level socio-economic and smoking behaviour data for Greek Cypriot adults were obtained from the 2023 national cross-sectional survey from the Cyprus National Addictions Authority. Information for built environment characteristics were obtained from the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service. Multivariate binary logistic regression models were employed to address these associations at the postal code level. To account for the influence of surrounding areas, analyses were also carried out spatially weighted scores of built environment characteristics.

Results: Across 2643 adults (>18 years old), income, marital status, education, labour status, gender showed mixed associations with smoking behaviours. At the postal code level, greater building height was associated with reduced odds of attempting to quit smoking, whereas proximity to residential green urban areas had the opposite effect. In the spatially weighted analysis, greater building height was associated with both greater odds of active smoking and reduced odds of ever attempting to quit smoking; access to sports and leisure facilities was negatively associated with ever attempting to quit smoking.

Conclusions: Among adults in Cyprus, we confirm the association of socio-economic factors with smoking behaviours. Furthermore, we observed novel associations between building height and smoking behaviours while mixed results were observed for green urban area and access to sports and leisure facilities.

Implications: These findings highlight the importance of considering built environment characteristics alongside socio-economic factors in tobacco control strategies. Urban environment, particularly building density and access to green spaces, may influence smoking behaviours and should be incorporated into future public health interventions and tobacco control research.

Introduction: Smoking and secondhand smoke pose major global health risks, contributing to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Evidence on the health impact of Shanghai's smoke-free legislation is limited. This study assesses the effects of Shanghai's smoke-free legislation on COPD hospital admission and mortality rates.

Methods: COPD hospital admissions and deaths from July 2013 to December 2019 were analyzed using interrupted time series. Adjustments were made for demographics, weather, PM2.5, and seasonality.

Results: A total of 358 941 COPD hospital admissions and 56 824 deaths were recorded. After implementation of the legislation, there was no evidence of a short-term reduction in either COPD hospital admissions or mortality among adults aged ≥35 years. Both COPD hospital admissions and mortality showed downward trends over the longer term, although these overall changes were not statistically significant. Subgroup analysis revealed a modest but statistically significant long-term decline in admissions among adults aged 35-64 years (β = -0.06, p<.05), while no statistically significant short-term mortality change was observed among adults aged ≥65 years. Age-standardized analyses and Poisson and negative binomial sensitivity models yielded similar admission trends and broadly consistent long-term mortality patterns.

Conclusions: The implementation of the legislation was associated with a long-term downward trend in COPD-related hospital admissions and mortality, but the overall impact to date appears to be limited. Sustained implementation of stringent tobacco control policies is therefore recommended, alongside further improvement and expansion of existing measures to strengthen enforcement and broaden interventions, especially for outdoor smoking, to achieve greater health benefits.