Highlights

Abstract

Keywords

1. Smoking cessation treatment barriers during the COVID-19 pandemic

2. Social media and smoking cessation

3. Future directions in implementing and evaluating social media-based interventions

4. Conclusions and recommendations

Funding

References

Abstract

This commentary reviews barriers to smoking cessation during the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential of social media-based smoking cessation programs. Several published randomized controlled trials are summarized and future directions for designing and evaluating social media-based smoking cessation programs are described.

1. Smoking cessation treatment barriers during the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 has brought the impact of cigarette smoking on health to even greater public awareness. Concerns about respiratory health have motivated many attempts to quit smoking (Elling et al., 2020; Grogan et al., 2020; Klemperer et al., 2020) and the role of cigarette smoking in COVID-19 severity continues to be debated (J et al., 2020; van Zyl-Smit et al., 2020). However, societal responses to the pandemic and changes in healthcare access (e.g., loss of insurance coverage, fewer office visits, overburdened providers) compound existing barriers to smoking cessation treatment.

In considering these difficulties, the social ecological model (McLeroy et al., 1988) is a useful framework. At the individual level, people are experiencing greater stress and boredom during the pandemic, which are key triggers for smoking (American Psychiatric Association, 2020; Grogan et al., 2020). Individuals attempting smoking cessation describe numerous potential obstacles, including lack of access to previous coping strategies (e.g., going to the gym, visiting family and friends) (Rosoff-Verbit et al., 2021). At the interpersonal/relational level, conflict at home and living with other smokers contributes to continued smoking (Meacham et al., 2013). At the community/organizational level, people may have less access to school- and workplace-based smoking cessation programs. Moreover, loss of employment in the United States usually results in lost access to health insurance (Panchal et al., 2020). At the policy level, public health departments face budget shortfalls, potentially scaling back smoking cessation resources. These challenges are likely to negatively impact the use of evidence-based smoking cessation treatments during the pandemic, including behavioral counseling, nicotine replacement therapy, and prescription medications.

1- Introduction

2- Methods

3- Analysis

4- Results

5- Discussion

6-Conclusion

References

Abstract

Introduction: There is mixed evidence regarding the associations between self-esteem and smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. This study aimed to investigate whether self-esteem is associated with smoking status and alcohol consumption in a large sample of adults in the United Kingdom after adjusting for age, sex, socioeconomic status and depressed mood.
Methods:
Design: Cross-sectional correlational study conducted under the aegis of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) between 2009 and 2013.
Participants: 187,398 respondents (67.9% female) with a mean age of 32.82 years (SD = 12.41) providing complete data.
Setting: UK.
Measures: Online self-report questionnaire. The outcomes were smoking status (current smoker, ever smoker) and alcohol consumption (current drinker, excessive drinker); the input variable was self-esteem measured using a Single Item Self-Esteem Scale; covariates were age, sex, SES, and depressed mood measured using a single item question.
Results: The odds of being an ever smoker and a current smoker were greater in people with lower self-esteem (AdjOR 0.97; 95% CI 0.95–0.99, Cohen’s d= −0.02; and AdjOR 0.96; 95% CI 0.94–0.99, Cohen’s d= −0.02 respectively). The odds of being a current drinker were lower in people with lower self-esteem (AdjOR 1.20, 95% CI 1.17–1.24, Cohen’s d = 0.10) while being an excessive drinker was associated with lower self-esteem (β = −0.13, p < 0.001, F(5, 187392) = 997.14, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.3).
Conclusions: Lower self-esteem appears to be positively associated with ever- and current smoking and excessive alcohol consumption and negatively associated with current alcohol consumption.

Introduction

Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption are major public health concerns and are prevalent in the UK. Globally, around one in seven adults are daily smokers and one in five adults consumes alcohol excessively at least once a month (Peacock et al., 2018). In 2017, 16.8% of the adult population in the UK smoked daily regularly (Office for National Statistics, 2018b) and the prevalence of excessive alcohol consumption, measured as alcohol consumption exceeding 12 (for men)/9 (for women) units of alcohol on their heaviest day in the previous week, was 15% (Office for National Statistics, 2018a). The combination of smoking and alcohol consumption have a greater impact on the disease burden than either behaviour alone (Peacock et al., 2018) and beyond health consequences, bring significant social and economic losses to public health, such as ill-health related costs. Furthermore, in 2017, excessive alcohol consumption was more than twice as common among smokers (17%) than in never smokers (6%) or non-smokers (7%) in the UK (Office for National Statistics, 2018a). Hence it is not surprising that there is a need to identify factors that predict smoking and excessive alcohol consumption to help implement further efforts for smoking cessation and alcohol reduction.

1- Introduction

2- Materials and methods

3- Results

4- Discussion

References

Abstract

Family history of tobacco use and use of e-cigarettes have both been associated with increased tobacco use among young adults. However, to our knowledge, these variables have not been considered simultaneously. This study was designed to evaluate the hypothesis that family history of tobacco use would predict tobacco product use over time among young adult e-cigarette users with limited combustible tobacco use experience. A sample of 124 participants were recruited online from across the United States, completed five surveys over 12 months, and reported use of nicotine and tobacco products over the previous two weeks at each survey. Family history of nicotine and tobacco use was reported at the 6-month assessment, and data were collected in 2017 and 2018. Regression models indicated that family history was associated with likelihood of cigarette use (odds ratio = 1.02 [95% confidence interval = [1.00, 1.04]). Significant interactions between family history and linear (OR = 1.05 [1.01, 1.10]) and quadratic (OR = 0.99 (0.98, 1.00)] time terms indicated that the association between family history and likelihood of combustible product use shifted over time. In both cases, more extensive family histories predicted greater use frequency, and follow-up analyses showed that more extensive family history was associated with greater combustible tobacco product use 3, 6, and 9 months following baseline. Family history of nicotine/tobacco use may promote initiation of tobacco use among e-cigarette users. These results suggest family history of tobacco use may comprise a risk factor for combustible tobacco use within the evolving tobacco product landscape.

Introduction

Recent research has indicated that e-cigarette use is becoming increasingly common among young adults (Ramo et al., 2015). Although long-term health consequences of using e-cigarettes remain uncertain, some studies suggest that using e-cigarettes is associated with respiratory disorders and exposure to chemicals that can promote respiratory disease (Farsalinos et al., 2015; Wills et al., 2019). Although some data characterize e-cigarettes as a healthier alternative to tobacco cigarettes (Choi and Forster, 2013; Sutfin et al., 2013), other findings suggest that e-cigarette use could promote tobacco use, especially within younger populations (Leventhal et al., 2015; Primack et al., 2015). Research has also shown that individuals with a family history of smoking tobacco cigarettes are more likely to smoke cigarettes themselves (Peterson et al., 2006). However, little is known about whether family history of nicotine and tobacco product use is associated with subsequent combustible tobacco use among young adults. It is possible that e-cigarette use and family history of combustible tobacco use might work synergistically to promote transitions to use of combustible tobacco products. This analysis was intended to evaluate the hypothesis of an association between family history of using nicotine/tobacco products and transitions to use of combustible tobacco products among young adult e-cigarette users. More specifically, we expected that participants with more family members with histories of nicotine/tobacco use would be more likely to begin using cigarettes and other combustible tobacco products.

مقاله سال 2016

Background and aims: Studies in patients seeking medically assisted reproduction have shown that smoking reduces fertility, but little information is available in the general population. We assessed the associations between smoking and the number of children, childbearing planning and age at menopause in a representative sample of the population of Lausanne, Switzerland.

Number of children and contraception

The number of children and age of the participant at the first birth of her/his offspring was assessed as reported by the participants. Contraception was defined as a positive answer to the question ‘ Do you currently take contraceptives ’. Other information such as ever taken contraceptives (yes/no), age at start and end of contraceptive use, and duration of contraceptive use (in years) was also collected. When the participant reported currently using contraceptives, duration of use was calculated using the actual age of the participant. When the duration of contraceptive use was <1-year, the value of 0.5 was used.