Amount, type and storage of medicines in households - A survey for medicine users.

With increasing medicine use, more medicines are being stored at home, yet the understanding of household medicines remains limited. This study aimed to assess the amount, type and storage practices of medicines in households. It also explored the reasons for unnecessary or expired medicines, as well as the factors associated with the presence of expired medicines in a household.

Characteristics of first-time varenicline users - A cross-sectional study in Finnish quitters.

Background: Varenicline is an efficacious medicine for smoking cessation (SC) but little is known about the characteristics of varenicline users. This study examined the characteristics of first-time (naïve) varenicline users in Finland and compared those who had previously used SC pharmacotherapy to those who were trying SC pharmacotherapy for the first time.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Finnish community pharmacies between February 2014 and January 2015.

Re-treatment with varenicline is a cost-effective aid for smoking cessation.

Objective: One quit attempt with varenicline has been found to be a cost-effective smoking cessation intervention. The purpose of this study was to analyze varenicline's cost-effectiveness in patients who relapse during or after the first treatment. A comparison was made between re-treatment schema with varenicline and re-treatment schema with bupropion, NRT and unaided cessation, and treatment once with varenicline in a Finnish context.

Cardiovascular disease risk factors in relation to smoking behaviour and history: a population-based cohort study.

Objective: To investigate how individual risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) (blood pressure, lipid levels, body mass index, waist and hip circumference, use of antihypertensive or hypolipidemic medication, and diagnosed diabetes) differ in people aged 46 years with different smoking behaviour and history.

Methods: This population-based cohort study is based on longitudinal data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 project. Data were collected at the 31-year and 46-year follow-ups, when a total of 5038 and 5974 individuals participated in clinical examinations and questionnaires.

Primary health care utilisation and its costs among middle-aged smokers.

Objective: To study and compare the utilisation of primary health care services among 46-year-old current smokers, ex-smokers and never-smokers, and to estimate the corresponding costs.

Methods: This population-based cohort study is based on the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966, which is a longitudinal research program in Finland's two northernmost provinces. The study is based on data collected at the 46-year follow-up, during which a total of 4997 individuals completed questionnaires on their primary health care service utilisation.

Physicians discuss the risks of smoking with their patients, but seldom offer practical cessation support.

Background: Our aim was to study the smoking cessation-related 1) attitudes & experiences and 2) consultation practices of Finnish physicians and to determine if there is a relationship between the two.

Methods: An online survey on smoking cessation was sent to 39 % of all Finnish physicians, with emphasis on physicians working in fields relevant to smoking cessation. A total of 1141 physicians (response rate 15 %) responded to the online survey, 53 % of whom were employed in primary health care.

[Tobacco withdrawal in individuals suffering from mental disorders].

Smoking is very common in individuals with mental illnesses, but smoking cessation help is inadequately offered to them. Some 54% of Finnish psychiatrists often advise their patients to quit smoking, yet 34% often recommend nicotine replacement therapy, and only 12% of them often prescribe tobacco withdrawal medication. Factors that affect advisement in smoking cessation include the psychiatrists' own attitudes and personal smoking history, barriers within the work settings, and the patient's diagnosis.

Is nicotine replacement therapy overvalued in smoking cessation? Analysis of smokers' and quitters' communication in social media.

Background: Internet discussion forums provide new, albeit less used data sources for exploring personal experiences of illness and treatment strategies.

Objective: To gain an understanding of how discussion forum participants value nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in smoking cessation (SC).

Setting: Finnish national Internet-based discussion forum, STUMPPI, supporting SC and consisting of ten free discussion areas, each with a different focus.

Cost effectiveness of fesoterodine and tolterodine for the treatment of overactive bladder with urge urinary incontinence in Spain and Finland.

Background: Overactive bladder is a prevalent condition worldwide that is associated with a considerable burden, both on the patient and on society.

Objective: Our objective was to assess the economic value of fesoterodine compared with tolterodine extended release (ER) for the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB) with urge urinary incontinence (UUI) in Spain and Finland.

Methods: A decision-tree economic model estimated the 52-week costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) of OAB/UUI patients initiating treatment with fesoterodine 4 mg/day or tolterodine ER.

Community pharmacists' involvement in smoking cessation: familiarity and implementation of the National smoking cessation guideline in Finland.

Background: Guidelines on smoking cessation (SC) emphasize healthcare cooperation and community pharmacists' involvement. This study explored the familiarity and implementation of the National SC Guideline in Finnish community pharmacies, factors relating to Guideline familiarity, implementation and provision of SC services.

Methods: A nationwide mail survey was sent to a systematic, sample of community pharmacy owners and staff pharmacists (total n = 2291).

Cost effectiveness of varenicline versus bupropion and unaided cessation for smoking cessation in a cohort of Finnish adult smokers.

Objective: To assess the cost effectiveness of varenicline compared with bupropion or unaided cessation for smoking cessation in Finnish adult smokers.

Research Design And Methods: The BENESCO (BENEfits of Smoking Cessation on Outcomes) Markov model was used to follow a hypothetical cohort of smokers making a single quit attempt over a lifetime. Gender and age-specific data on the incidence and prevalence of five smoking-related diseases (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], lung cancer, coronary heart disease [CHD], stroke and asthma exacerbations) were included in the model.

Patients' Preferences for Generic and Branded Over-the-Counter Medicines: An Adaptive Conjoint Analysis Approach.

Background: : Despite increased use of generic medicines, little is known about either the attitudes of patients towards them or the decision-making process surrounding them. Young adults use over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics relatively often.

Objective: : To assess the preferences of patients for generic and branded OTC pain medicines, to identify clusters with different preference structures, and to estimate the price elasticity of a generic alternative among university students.

Nicotine replacement therapy practices in Finland one year after deregulation of the product sales--has anything changed from the community pharmacy perspective?

Objective: According to the Finnish national Current Care Guideline of smoking cessation (SC), pharmacists' task is to support rational and safe use of NRT products. In 2006, the Medical Act releasing NRT from pharmacy only to general sales was amended. This study assesses the Finnish pharmacy owners' and staff pharmacists' perceptions of NRT products' role and usage patterns about a year after the deregulation.

Medicine use by Finnish female conscripts during voluntary military service.

Objective: The goal was to assess the prevalence of prescribed and nonprescribed medicine use, use predictors, and origin of medicines for Finnish female conscripts during their voluntary military service.

Methods: An anonymous mail survey was conducted in April 1999 among all Finnish female conscripts on duty.

Results: Of the respondents (N = 177; response rate, 68%), 61% had used at least one medicine in the 2 weeks preceding the study, 44% prescribed and 31% nonprescribed medicines.

Self-medication among Finnish young men in the beginning of common military service.

Purpose: Little is known about self-medication in adolescent and young adult males, particularly in ones exposed to increased stress. The objective of this article is to analyze self-medication and its predictors in young Finnish men at entry into common military service.

Methods: The responding men (n = 857) from nine brigades anonymously completed a self-administered questionnaire during the first conscription days before active military training in July 1999.