Research digest December 2020

This page provides a non-exhaustive list of tobacco-related research articles identified weekly from PubMed by the ASH Scotland Information Service. 

Search period: 28/11 - 26/12

 Research Trawl  28^th November - 4^th December

Trends in Use and Perceptions of Nicotine Vaping Among US Youth From 2017 to 2020

Published: 15/12/2020, JAMA Paediatrics

Conclusions and Relevance  Increasing US adolescent nicotine vaping trends from 2017 to 2019 halted in 2020, including a decline in daily vaping. Decreases in perceived accessibility of some vaping products, as well as increases in perceived risk of nicotine vaping, occurred from 2019 to 2020. Yet, adolescent nicotine vaping remains highly prevalent, flavors remain highly accessible, and declines in JUUL use were countered by increased use of other brands.

Electronic cigarette use and risk of cigarette and smokeless tobacco initiation among adolescent boys: A propensity score matched analysis

Published: 16/12/2020, Addictive Behaviours

Results Compared to non-users, e-cigarette users were more than twice as likely to later initiate both cigarette smoking (RR = 2.71; 95% CI: 1.89, 3.87) and SLT (RR = 2.42; 95% CI: 1.73, 3.38). They were also more likely to become current (i.e., past 30-day) cigarette smokers (RR = 2.20; 95% CI: 1.33, 3.64) and SLT users (RR = 1.64; 95% CI: 1.01, 2.64).

Young adults’ vaping, readiness to quit, and recent quit attempts: The role of co-use with cigarettes and marijuana

Published: 17/12/2020, Nicotine and Tobacco Research

Implications: The vast majority of young adult e-cigarette users use other tobacco products and marijuana. Unfortunately, few reported readiness to quit or attempting quit. Moreover, certain subgroups (e.g., sexual/racial/ethnic minorities) are more likely to be ready or attempt to quit, but may not be successful. Vaping cessation interventions must attend to these nuances

Current Perspectives on Characteristics, Compositions, and Toxicological Effects of E-Cigarettes Containing Tobacco and Menthol/Mint Flavors

Published: 19/11/2020, Frontiers in Physiology

In this review, we evaluate the current toxicological data of e-cigarettes with regard to effects upon exposure in animal models and in vitro cell culture for menthol/mint flavorants. We have tabulated the current e-cigarette products containing these most common flavors (menthol, mint, and tobacco) in the market. We have also indicated the prevalence of tobacco and menthol-flavor use among e-cigarette users and highlighted the possible challenges and benefits that will result from new federal regulations.

Mortality attributed to tobacco consumption in Brazil, 2016

Published: 18/12/2020, Review Brazilian Epidimiology

Results: In 2016, tobacco consumption caused 163,831 deaths in Brazil, 67% (109,369) were in men and four out of ten (62,791) occurred before the age of 65. Without differences by gender, 42% of the AM is associated with cardiometabolic diseases, followed by respiratory diseases (34%) and malignant tumors (24%).

Tobacco and COVID-19: Understanding the science and policy implications

Published: 14/12/2020, Tobacco Induced diseases

[Editorial]

Efficacy of Electronic Cigarettes for Smoking Cessation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Published: 17/12/2020, American Journal of Health Promotion

Conclusion: Very low certainty evidence supported e-cigarettess to help quit smoking in the short term. There is not enough evidence to determine if e-cigarettess are a safe and efficacious means of smoking cessation in the long term (12+ months).

Depression and Nicotine Withdrawal Associations with Combustible and Electronic Cigarette Use

Published: 14/12/2020, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Results highlight the consistent comorbidity between depression, nicotine use, and symptomatic nicotine withdrawal in a population-based sample of combustible and electronic cigarette users.

The impact of COVID-19 on the WHO FCTC, cessation, and tobacco policy

Published: 08/12/2020, Tobacco Induced Diseases

[Editorial]

Smoking cessation: strategies and effects in primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention

Published: 16/12/2020, Panminerva Medicine

In this article we review the results of several large systematic reviews and metaanalyses, which have shown that many cessation strategies are effective. We also offer practical tips on providing brief cessation advice and how pharmacotherapy can be prescribed and incorporated into clinical practice in both primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention.

Association Between Smoking and Premenstrual Syndrome: A Meta-Analysis

Published: 26/11/2020, Frontiers in Psychiatry

Result: Smoking was associated with an increased risk for PMS. Smoking may lead to worsening of PMS symptoms because nicotine has effects on neurocircuitry that increases susceptibility to environmental stressors. Indeed, prior evidence shows that the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is already sub-optimal in PMS, hence, smoking likely further deteriorates it. Combined, this complicates the clinical course for the treatment of both PMS and Tobacco Use Disorder in this population.

Pharmacogenetics factors influencing smoking cessation success; the importance of nicotine metabolism

Published: 16/12/2020, Expert Opinion in Drug Metabolism and Toxicology

Expert opinion: Evidence supports the use of tailored therapies to ensure that the most efficient treatments are utilized in an individual's smoking cessation efforts. An understanding of the genetic effects on the efficacy of individualized smoking cessation pharmacotherapies is key to smoking cessation, ideally utilizing a polygenetic risk score that considers all genetic variation.

Early Studies of Respiratory Disease Associations with Nicotine and Tobacco Use

Published: 15/12/2020, Nicotine and Tobacco Control

This Special Issue on respiratory disease associations with cigarettes and non-cigarette nicotine and tobacco use includes a collection of multidisciplinary studies that begin to examine the effect of tobacco and nicotine use from the cellular level to patterns of use and symptomology at the population level

Research Trawl  28^th November - 4^th December

Tobacco 21 adoption decreased sales of cigarette brands purchased by young people: a translation of population health survey data to gain insight into market data for policy analysis

Published: 03/12/2020, Tobacco Control

Introduction Policies raising the minimum age of sale of tobacco products to 21 (T21) proliferated at state and local levels across the USA before a federal policy was adopted. Evidence of the effectiveness of these policies is building and lags implementation. This study exploits demographic patterns of cigarette brand purchasing to evaluate the effectiveness of T21.

Is the tobacco ‘footfall’ argument justified for tobacco purchases in New Zealand convenience stores?

Published: 03/12/2020, Tobacco Control

Conclusions Our results do not support claims that tobacco drives one-quarter of footfall into stores or that customers who purchase tobacco spend almost twice as much as non-tobacco customers. Combined purchases of tobacco and non-tobacco items constituted 5.5% of transactions; the impact on a store’s profitability of removing tobacco sales is unknown and could be the focus of future research. Conclusion This study adds compelling empirical evidence that T21 decreased purchases of the cigarette brands consumed disproportionately by young people, the policy’s target demographic

Tobacco withdrawal symptoms before and after nicotine deprivation in veteran smokers with posttraumatic stress disorder and with major depressive disorder

Published: 27/11/2020, Nicotine and Tobacco Control

Conclusions These findings suggest that chronically high levels of distress and craving, rather than acute increases in withdrawal symptoms due to nicotine deprivation, may account for the quitting difficulties of those with comorbid conditions such as PTSD and MDD.

Do Young Adults Attend to Health Warnings in the First IQOS Advertisement in the U.S.? An Eye-Tracking Approach

Published: 27/11/2020, Nicotine and  Tobacco Control

Conclusions The results revealed the effects of IQOS promotional content overshadowed the two health warnings in influencing young people’s attitude and intention to use IQOS. Young adults who vaped were more vulnerable to HTP advertising with respect to future use and vaping may be a gateway to HTP use.

Behavioral Economic Demand for Alcohol and Cigarettes in Heavy Drinking Smokers: Evidence of Asymmetric Cross-commodity Reinforcing Value

Published: 28/11/2020, Nicotine and Tobacco Research

Conclusions These results advance our understanding of the overlap between cigarette and alcohol by demonstrating that involvement with one substance was associated with demand for the other substance. This asymmetric profile—from smoking to alcohol demand, but not vice versa—suggests that it is not simply tapping into a generally higher reward sensitivity and warrants further investigation.

Switching to Progressively Reduced Nicotine Content Cigarettes in Smokers with Low Socioeconomic Status: A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial

Published: 29/11/2020, Nicotine and Tobacco Research

Conclusions This study supports a very low nicotine cigarette (VLNC) standard in cigarettes.

The impact of including cessation resource information on health warnings on standardised tobacco packaging on awareness and use: A longitudinal online survey in the United Kingdom

Published: 30/11/2020, Nicotine and Tobacco Research

Results Among smokers recalling seeing information about a stop-smoking website, citing warnings as a source increased between waves (W1=14.0%, W2=24.2%, W3=25.1%) and was associated with having visited a stop-smoking website (OR=11.81, 95% CI 8.47-16.46). Citing warnings as a source of a stop-smoking website increased among exclusive RYO smokers at each wave (W1=15.5%, W2=26.3%, W3=32.1%), while for exclusive cigarette smokers it only increased at W2 (W1=10.5%, W2=22.4%, W3=19.9%).

Identifying the best questions for rapid screening of secondhand smoke exposure among children

Published: 29/11/2020, Nicotine and Tobacco Control

Results Answering positively to at least one of the two final items (“During the past 30 days, did you smoke cigarettes at all?” and “Has anyone, including yourself, smoked tobacco in your home in the past 7 days?”) showed AUC = .82, and good specificity (.88) and sensitivity (.74). These results were validated with similar items in the nationally-representative NHANES sample, AUC = .82, specificity = .78, and sensitivity = .77.

Association of e-cigarette advertising with e-cigarette and cigarette use among US adults

Published: 03/12/2020, Addiction

Conclusions: Exposure to e-cigarette advertising appears to be positively associated with the use of e-cigarettes and cigarettes among adults of all ages, and with increased cigarette consumption among older adults.

Maternal Smoking in Pregnancy and Child's Hospital Use up to 5 Years of Age in a Data Linkage Birth Cohort

Published: 02/12/2020, Hospital Paediatrics

Results: Among 36 630 infants, 21% were exposed to maternal smoking during pregnancy. Exposed children had a 26% higher rate of presentation to the emergency department (IRRadjusted 1.26; 95% CI 1.23-1.29) and a 45% higher rate of admission (IRRadjusted 1.45; 95% CI 1.39-1.51) at up to 5 years of age. Compared with the negative control, higher presentation and admission rates were evident in respiratory; eyes, ears, nose, and throat; psychosocial; and infectious disease categories.

Depression, smoking, and lung cancer risk over 24 years among women

Published: 03/12/2020, Psychological Medicine

Results: We identified 1009 cases of lung cancer. Women with the highest v. lowest level of depressive symptoms had an increased lung cancer risk (HRsociodemographics-adjusted = 1.62, 95% CI 1.34-1.95; HRfully-adjusted = 1.25, 95% CI 1.04-1.51). In a test of mediation, lifetime pack-years of smoking accounted for 38% of the overall association between depressive symptoms and disease risk.

Underage Youth and Young Adult e-Cigarette Use and Access Before and During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Published: 03/12/2020, JAMA Network Open

Findings  In this national [US], online, cross-sectional survey study of 2167 youth and young adults using e-cigarettes, 1198 respondents reported changing their amount of e-cigarette use, with 810 reducing or quitting e-cigarette use; e-cigarette access shifted to alternative retail stores and online. Reduced e-cigarette use or quitting was associated with adhering to shelter-in-place guidelines and was less likely if participants had used e-cigarettes more than 10 times or were nicotine dependent.