Introduction: The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations (TRPR) 2016 require consumers in the United Kingdom to be informed about the presence of nicotine in vaping products. However, there is misunderstanding among some young people and adults around the strength of products. We examined how nicotine content is displayed on the front of vape packaging in the United Kingdom.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic response prompted rapid changes to how contraceptive services were delivered in England. Our aim was to examine women's experiences of accessing contraceptive services since March 2020 and to understand any inequalities of access.
Methods: We conducted telephone interviews with 31 women aged 17-54 years who had accessed contraceptive services in England since March 2020.
Objectives: Evidence suggests that use of flavoured disposable electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) is increasing. Considering the growing popularity and rapid evolution of e-cigarettes, we explored youth's perceptions and engagement with disposable e-cigarettes.
Design: Twenty focus groups were conducted between March and May 2022, with 82 youths aged 11-16 living in the Central belt of Scotland.
Background: Debate is ongoing about mandating COVID-19 vaccination to maximise uptake. Policymakers must consider whether to mandate, for how long, and in which contexts, taking into account not only legal and ethical questions but also public opinion. Implementing mandates among populations who oppose them could be counterproductive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Smoking is extremely common amongst adults experiencing homelessness. To date, there is no nationally representative data on how tobacco dependence is treated and if and how smoking cessation is supported across the homeless sector. The aim of this study was to document smoking and e-cigarette policies of UK homeless services and identify areas of good practice and where improvements could be made.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: The most common skeletal disease, osteoporosis, causes bone fragility due to decreased bone mass and bone microarchitecture destruction. The health belief model is often applied to asymptomatic, prevention-related diseases such as osteoporosis. Steps to mitigate the insidious nature of osteoporosis, including education, motivation, and monitoring of bone mineral density, must begin at an earlier age.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSkin cancer, including melanoma, is the most common cancer worldwide and a significant public health concern. A significant risk factor for melanoma is through increased exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation through the use of indoor tanning beds. Although rates of indoor tanning bed use have decreased in recent years, young adults, particularly White, college-age women, comprise the majority of indoor tanning bed users in the United States.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: Smoking is extremely common among adults experiencing homelessness, but there is lack of evidence for treatment efficacy. E-cigarettes are an effective quitting aid, but they have not been widely tested in smokers with complex health and social needs. Here we build upon our cluster feasibility trial and evaluate the offer of an e-cigarette or usual care to smokers accessing a homeless centre.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated unprecedented changes in alcohol availability, including closures, curfews and restrictions. We draw on new data from three UK studies exploring these issues to identify implications for premises licensing and wider policy.
Methods: (i) Semi-structured interviews (n = 17) with licensing stakeholders in Scotland and England reporting how COVID-19 has reshaped local licensing and alcohol-related harms; (ii) semi-structured interviews (n = 15) with ambulance clinicians reporting experiences with alcohol during the pandemic; and (iii) descriptive and time series analyses of alcohol-related ambulance callouts in Scotland before and during the first UK lockdown (1 January 2019 to 30 June 2020).
Objectives: To examine public views on COVID-19 vaccination and consider the implications for communications and targeted support.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Setting: Online and telephone nationally representative survey in Great Britain, January to February 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health crisis. College student alcohol use is highly prevalent and primarily occurs in social settings where risk for COVID-19 transmission is heightened. This study explored the associations between alcohol use frequency, quantity, motives, and context with: (i) quarantine due to COVID-19 exposure and (ii) a positive diagnosis for COVID-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTobacco companies use brand variant name on cigarette packaging to differentiate, and create interest in, their products. We explored young peoples' reactions to brand variant names on cigarette packs and perceptions of replacing these with numbers, a proposed policy in Turkey. Twelve focus groups, segmented by gender, age (11-12, 13-14, 15-16) and social grade (ABC1, C2DE), were conducted across Britain from May-July 2018 ( = 89).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The advertising of e-cigarettes in the UK is regulated through the revised EU Tobacco Products Directive and the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations, with further rules set out in the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) Committees of Advertising (CAP) Code. Focusing on the ASA CAP Code Rules, we examined e-cigarette advertising regulation compliance in traditional advertising channels and on social media.
Methods: We conducted a content analysis of UK e-cigarette and related product advertising using a randomly selected sample (n = 130) of advertising in traditional channels and on Instagram which appeared between January and December 2019.
J Stud Alcohol Drugs
January 2021
Objective: Licensed premises face particular challenges to operating safely within COVID-19 restrictions. Following a U.K.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
January 2021
Use of e-cigarettes (vaping) has potential to help pregnant women stop smoking. This study explored factors influencing adherence among participants in the vaping arm of the first trial of vaping for smoking cessation in pregnancy. We conducted semi-structured telephone interviews (n = 28) with women at three-months postpartum.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: E-cigarettes were one measure introduced to help people in custody (PiC) to prepare for and cope with implementation of comprehensive smokefree policies in Scottish prisons. Our earlier study explored experiences of vaping when e-cigarettes were first introduced and most participants were dual tobacco and e-cigarette users. Here we present findings of a subsequent study of vaping among a different sample of PiC when use of tobacco was prohibited in prison, and smokefree policy had become the norm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSmoking rates in the UK are at an all-time low but this masks considerable inequalities; prevalence amongst adults who are homeless remains four times higher than the national average. The objective of this trial was to assess the feasibility of supplying free e-cigarette starter kits to smokers accessing homeless centres and to estimate parameters to inform a possible future larger trial. In this feasibility cluster trial, four homeless centres in Great Britain were non-randomly allocated to either a Usual Care (UC) or E-Cigarette (EC) arm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn 2014/15, Universal Free School Meals (UFSM) were introduced in Scotland and England for children in their first three years of primary school. This study examined the implementation of UFSM in Scotland using Normalisation Process Theory (NPT), a middle-range theory of implementation, to identify areas of learning for policymakers wishing to introduce or extend similar policies. NPT is predominantly used to evaluate interventions or new technologies in healthcare settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To observe the state of knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding the effectiveness of the 2017-2018 H3N2 influenza virus vaccine in a representative sample of college students and determine how many students experienced flu-like symptoms, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated.
Methods: In March 2018, a 19-item survey related to the 2017-2018 flu virus vaccine was e-mailed to a random sample of 4961 rural southeastern university undergraduate and graduate students. A total of 634 students participated.
Introduction: Scotland is one of the few countries in which e-cigarettes were available in prisons before the introduction of a comprehensive national smokefree policy, to assist in its implementation. This qualitative study explores the initial views and experiences of vaping in this specific context, from the perspective of people in custody (prisoners).
Aims And Methods: Twenty-eight people in custody were interviewed approximately 1-2 months after rechargeable e-cigarettes were made available in prisons and 2-5 weeks before implementation of a smokefree policy.
Background: In the retail environment strategic placement of food influences purchasing. Foods placed at checkouts have tended to be less healthy. In response to consumer concern some UK supermarkets voluntarily committed to removing less healthy food from their checkouts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Scotland is the first country to carry out a national implementation of minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol. MUP aims to reduce alcohol-related harms, which are high in Scotland compared with Western Europe, and to improve health equalities. MUP is a minimum retail price per unit of alcohol.
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