Publications by authors named "Jasjit S- Ahluwalia"

Background: HIV disproportionately impacts people who experience incarceration. Incarceration represents an opportunity to engage in HIV prevention care for individuals who often experience a number of barriers accessing health services in the community. The development of evidence-based practices promoting pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention (PrEP) is crucial for ending the HIV epidemic within this highly marginalized population.

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Background: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective approach to preventing HIV acquisition and recommended for populations over-represented in carceral systems, given the overlap with populations disproportionately impacted by HIV. However, few studies have focused on PrEP initiation outcomes in a carceral setting to maximize public health impact.

Setting: This study was conducted in a unified jail/prison system within the state of Rhode Island located in the United States.

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Article Synopsis
  • - This study investigates the challenges and experiences of BIPOC gay men in accessing smoking cessation counseling, highlighting that they face significant barriers compared to their white and heterosexual counterparts.
  • - Researchers collected data through interviews and analyzed it to identify key themes, finding that participants often trust community advice more than that from healthcare providers and noted a lack of clarity in professional guidance.
  • - Participants emphasized the need for culturally relevant and identity-affirming healthcare, recommending improvements such as incorporating mental health support and providing harm reduction options alongside traditional smoking cessation methods.
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Background: India has the highest incidence worldwide of smokeless tobacco (SLT)-associated oral cancer, accounting for nearly 70% of all SLT users globally. Nicotine and tobacco-specific -nitrosamines (TSNA) play critical roles in the addictive and carcinogenic potential, respectively, of SLT products. Our group has previously reported substantial variability in nicotine and TSNA levels across a small SLT product sample in India, calling for systematic surveillance.

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Article Synopsis
  • The nicotine metabolite ratio (NMR) serves as a stable marker for assessing how quickly the body processes nicotine and is useful for customizing smoking cessation efforts.
  • Researchers examined the role of genetic variations in the CYP2A6 gene and their link to NMR in a sample of 953 African American smokers.
  • They discovered several genetic variants associated with NMR, leading to an improved genetic risk score (GRS) that not only predicts NMR in African Americans but also enhances its applicability to smokers of European descent.
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The objective of this study is to assess the impact of applying prevalences derived from a small-area model at a regional level on smoking-attributable mortality (SAM). A prevalence-dependent method was used to estimate SAM. Prevalences of tobacco use were derived from a small-area model.

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Background: Despite multiple recommendations and strategies implemented at a national and international level, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and cannabis use during pregnancy remains high in most countries. The objective of this study was to examine key stakeholders' perception of the treatment interventions adopted in Spain, to identify political, organizational and personal factors associated with successful implementation, and to propose strategies for improvement.

Methods: A qualitative study with a phenomenological approach was conducted in 2022.

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Article Synopsis
  • - A study found that many e-cigarette users want to quit but face challenges, with only 27.5% successfully stopping; most users rely on "cold turkey" methods to quit.
  • - The research involved 586 participants who had previously tried quitting, revealing that 90.6% used nicotine-containing e-cigarettes and over half used closed-system devices.
  • - Key findings indicated that past use of cigarettes and other tobacco decreased odds of quitting e-cigarettes, while nicotine replacement therapy showed promise in increasing cessation success, highlighting the need for more effective interventions.
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Introduction: Alternative Nicotine Delivery Systems (ANDS) such as e-cigarettes (EC) and oral nicotine pouches (ONP) may facilitate the substitution of smoking for those unwilling to quit. This pilot study assesses the harm-reduction potential of EC and ONP among smokers with low socioeconomic status (SES).

Aims And Methods: Adults who smoked daily in the past 6 months, had a household income < 250% federal poverty level and had no intention of quitting smoking in the next 30 days were randomized 2:2:1 to 8 weeks of 5% nicotine EC; 4 mg ONP or assessment-only control (CC).

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Background: People experiencing incarceration are disproportionately impacted by HIV and are potential candidates for HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP). We explored factors associated with PrEP interest and PrEP uptake and described barriers to PrEP uptake among incarcerated men in a state correctional system.

Methods: From September 2019 to July 2022, incarcerated men at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections were screened for PrEP eligibility and referred to a PrEP initiation study.

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Background: The efficacy and safety of varenicline for smoking cessation among individuals who smoke tobacco cigarettes and also use electronic cigarettes (known e-cigarettes or vapes) have not been studied. We aimed to address this knowledge gap and examine predictors for smoking abstinence.

Methods: In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-centre randomised trial in Italy, we enrolled adults who had used an e-cigarette daily for at least 12 months and who also smoked at least one tobacco cigarette per day and had a willingness to quit smoking.

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Introduction: E-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs) may serve as potential options for harm reduction for smokers if they possess reward profiles similar to cigarettes. Little is known about the abuse liability of HTPs and e-cigarettes versus cigarettes in racial/ethnic minority smokers.

Aims And Methods: Twenty-two nicotine-deprived people who smoke (black [n = 12] and white [n = 10]) completed three visits that included a standardized 10-puff bout followed by a 50-minute ad libitum use assessment with their usual brand cigarette (UBC), an e-cigarette, and HTP.

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Background: Varenicline and oral nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) have each been shown to increase the likelihood of smoking cessation, but their combination has not been studied. In addition, smoking cessation medication adherence is often poor, thus, challenging the ability to evaluate medication efficacy.

Objective: This study examined the effects of combined varenicline and oral NRT and smartphone medication reminders on pharmacotherapy adherence and smoking abstinence among adults enrolled in smoking cessation treatment.

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Introduction: People who smoke cigarettes are more likely than people who do not to use cannabis, including blunts, a tobacco product containing nicotine and marijuana. Blunts represent a challenge for cessation trials because nicotine could make stopping cigarettes more difficult. Few studies have examined the impact of blunt use on individuals actively engaged in a cigarette quit attempt.

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Background: Cannabis vaping is increasing in the United States. Among populations at-risk are sexual minorities (SM) who are more likely to vape cannabis compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Cannabis vaping has been associated with negative health outcomes and concomitant use of other substances with increased risk with more recent use.

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Background And Aims: Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are highly effective in improving treatment outcomes and reducing overdose. Concerns about interrupted access to critical MOUD services led to expansion of telemedicine services during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. The current study tested the hypothesis that telemedicine usage and healthcare coverage would be significantly associated with access to MOUD in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Background: With opioid use and overdose rates continuing to plague minority communities in the U.S., we explored whether a geographic community's racial composition and social class affect how opioid use in the community is stigmatized and what policy preferences arise in response.

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High smoking prevalence and low quit smoking rates among African American adults are well-documented, but poorly understood. We tested a transdisciplinary theoretical model of psychopharmacological-social mechanisms underlying smoking among African American adults. This model proposes that nicotine's acute attention-filtering effects may enhance smoking's addictiveness in populations unduly exposed to discrimination, like African American adults, because nicotine reduces the extent to which discrimination-related stimuli capture attention, and in turn, generate distress.

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Introduction: There is still uncertainty about which aspects of cigarette smoking influence the risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The aim of this study was to estimate the COPD risk as related to duration of use, intensity of use, lifetime tobacco consumption, age of smoking initiation and years of abstinence.

Methods: We conducted an analytical cross-sectional study based on data from the EPISCAN-II study (n=9092).

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Background: Vaping cessation is virtually unexplored. The efficacy and safety of varenicline for vaping cessation has not been studied and rigorous research is required to advance best practice and outcomes for people who use electronic cigarettes (EC) and want to quit. The objective is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of varenicline (1 mg BID, administered for 12 weeks, with follow-up to week 24) combined with vaping cessation counseling in exclusive daily EC users intending to quit vaping.

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Importance: Adapting to different smoking cessation medications when an individual has not stopped smoking has shown promise, but efficacy has not been tested in racial and ethnic minority individuals who smoke and tend to have less success in quitting and bear a disproportionate share of tobacco-related morbidity and mortality.

Objective: To evaluate efficacy of multiple smoking cessation pharmacotherapy adaptations based on treatment response in Black adults who smoke daily.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This randomized clinical trial of adapted therapy (ADT) or enhanced usual care (UC) included non-Hispanic Black adults who smoke and was conducted from May 2019 to January 2022 at a federally qualified health center in Kansas City, Missouri.

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Article Synopsis
  • CYP2A6 is an enzyme that breaks down nicotine, and faster activity is linked to heavier smoking and increased lung cancer risk.
  • The study focused on developing a reliable way to genotype genetic variants of CYP2A6, which are complex and include structural variants like gene deletions and duplications.
  • The researchers successfully created a minimal protocol for genotyping, identified a new CYP2A6 variant associated with reduced enzyme activity, and demonstrated that most structural variants can be detected through SNP array data, with high accuracy and low false positive rates.
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Introduction: Alternative nicotine delivery products, including electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and heated tobacco products (HTPs), contain fewer toxicants than combustible cigarettes and offer a potential for harm reduction. Research on the substitutability of e-cigarettes and HTPs is crucial for understanding their impact on public health. This study examined subjective and behavioral preferences for an e-cigarette and HTP relative to participants' usual brand combustible cigarette (UBC) in African American and White smokers naïve to alternative products.

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