How smoke-free laws improve air quality: a global study of Irish pubs.

Introduction: The present study examined indoor air quality in a global sample of smoke-free and smoking-permitted Irish pubs. We hypothesized that levels of respirable suspended particles, an important marker of secondhand smoke, would be significantly lower in smoke-free Irish pubs than in pubs that allowed smoking.

Methods: Indoor air quality was assessed in 128 Irish pubs in 15 countries between 21 January 2004 and 10 March 2006.

Tobacco industry manipulation of nicotine dosing.

For more than a half century, tobacco manufacturers have conducted sophisticated internal research to evaluate nicotine delivery, and modified their products to ensure availability of nicotine to smokers and to optimize its effects. Tobacco has proven to be a particularly effective vehicle for nicotine, enabling manipulation of smoke chemistry and of mechanisms of delivery, and providing sensory cues that critically inform patterns of smoking behavior as well as reinforce the impact of nicotine. A range of physical and chemical product design changes provide precise control over the quantity, form, and perception of nicotine dose, and support compensatory behavior, which is driven by the smoker's addiction to nicotine.

Development of a drug use resistance self-efficacy (DURSE) scale.

Objectives: To develop and evaluate psychometric properties of a new instrument, the drug use resistance self-efficacy (DURSE) scale, designed for young adolescents.

Methods: Scale construction occurred in 3 phases: (1) initial development, (2) pilot testing of preliminary items, and (3) final scale administration among a sample of seventh graders (n=223) to examine psychometric properties.

Results: DURSE items appeared to tap a unique dimension of resistance self-efficacy.

Using alcohol to sell cigarettes to young adults: a content analysis of cigarette advertisements.

Objective: Advertising influences the health-related behaviors of college-aged individuals. Cigarette manufacturers aggressively market to young adults and may exploit their affinity for alcohol when creating advertisements designed to increase cigarettes' appeal. Internal tobacco industry documents reveal that cigarette manufacturers understood the popularity of alcohol among young adults and sought to produce pertinent marketing strategies.

Environmental and economic evaluation of the Massachusetts Smoke-Free Workplace Law.

An environmental and economic evaluation of the smoke-free law in Massachusetts provides a broad appreciation of how a state-wide smoking ban affects the health of patrons and workers as well as the industries that are commonly concerned about the effects of smoking bans on business. The aim of this study is to evaluate environmental and economic effects of the statewide Massachusetts statewide Smoke-Free Workplace Law. Before and after the smoking ban, air quality testing was conducted in a sample (n = 27) of hospitality venues and state-wide economic changes were assessed.

The role of sensory perception in the development and targeting of tobacco products.

Aims: To examine tobacco industry research on smoking-related sensory effects, including differences in sensory perception across smoker groups, and to determine whether this research informed targeted product development and impacted the development of commercial tobacco products.

Design: We searched previously secret internal tobacco industry documents available online through document databases housed at Tobacco Documents Online, the British American Tobacco Document Archive and the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library. We identified relevant documents using a snowball sampling method to first search the databases using an initial set of key words and to then establish further search terms.

New cigarette brands with flavors that appeal to youth: tobacco marketing strategies.

Tobacco manufacturers have recently introduced a proliferation of exotic brands featuring candylike flavors. We reviewed internal tobacco industry documents and patents to assess the role of flavored cigarettes in the targeting of young smokers. This research revealed the development of flavor delivery technologies hidden from consumers and public health professionals, including the use of a plastic pellet placed in the cigarette filter.

Designing cigarettes for women: new findings from the tobacco industry documents.

Aims: To examine internal tobacco industry research on female smoking patterns and product preferences, and how this research has informed the design of female-targeted cigarettes and impacted smoking behavior among this target population.

Design: Research was conducted through a systematic web-based search of previously secret industry documents made publicly available through the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement.

Findings: This study provides evidence that the tobacco industry has conducted extensive research on female smoking patterns, needs and product preferences, and has intentionally modified product design for promotion of cigarette smoking among women.