Who's Quitting? Who Needs Additional Support? Cessation Disparities by Race, Education, and Income, 2007 to 2018.

Purpose: The current study (1) examines how disparities in quitting cigarette and other tobacco product use have changed by race and socioeconomic status and (2) utilizes an expanded measure, any tobacco quit ratio (aQR), that extends previous work on cigarette quit ratios and captures use and cessation in a growing tobacco marketplace.

Design: Repeated cross-sectional representative survey; Setting: Minnesota.

Subjects: Adult Minnesotans from the 2007 and 2018 Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey (combined N=9,258).

"If Someone Has It, I'm Gonna Hit It": Lessons Learned From Minnesota Teens About Vaping.

Youth e-cigarette use or "vaping" has increased substantially in the past few years, an escalation attributable to flavored "pod mod" e-cigarette devices that deliver higher levels of nicotine compared with free-base nicotine found in other types of e-cigarettes. Use rates, addiction, and harms are alarming as negative effects from nicotine on adolescent brain development are well documented, and e-cigarette use is predictive of cigarette smoking initiation. This qualitative study examined what drives the appeal of these products through 10 focus groups conducted in 2019 with 67 Minnesota high school students.

Local Tobacco 21 Policies are Associated With Lower Odds of Tobacco Use Among Adolescents.

Introduction: Tobacco 21 (T21) policies have shown promise in reducing cigarette use among adolescents. This study examined whether local T21 policies affected adolescent use of a variety of tobacco products and whether results differed by grade level.

Methods: We used repeated cross-sectional data from eighth, ninth, and eleventh-grade respondents to the 2016 (n = 107 981) and 2019 (n = 102 196) Minnesota Student Surveys.

Restricting Sales of Menthol Tobacco Products: Lessons Learned from Policy Passage and Implementation in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth, Minnesota.

Commercial tobacco products have historically been target marketed to African American, Latinx, Asian American Pacific Islander, Indigenous, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) communities, as well as to youth. Menthol cigarettes increase smoking initiation and decrease smoking cessation, particularly among African Americans who smoke menthol cigarettes at higher rates than their white peers. Due to disproportionate tobacco-related health consequences for members of these communities, effective tobacco control policies that restrict availability of menthol products by focusing on retail sales are an important element of addressing health disparities, and require policy efforts informed by leadership and the voice of communities most impacted.

Perceived racial discrimination and healthy behavior among African Americans.

Objective: Numerous studies have found evidence of a link between perceived discrimination and unhealthy behavior, especially substance use. Within this body of literature, however, several studies have found unexpected evidence of a positive relation between perceived racial discrimination among African Americans-mostly women-and certain types of healthy behavior, primarily exercise and healthy eating. The current study further examined this positive relation, including an anticipated moderator: optimism.

Reducing Socioeconomic Disparities in Comprehensive Smoke-Free Rules among Households with Children: A Pilot Intervention Implemented through a National Cancer Program.

Most households with a smoker do not implement comprehensive smoke-free rules (smoke-free homes cars), and secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure remains prevalent among children and low-socioeconomic status (SES) populations. This pilot project aimed to assess implementation feasibility and impact of an intervention designed to increase smoke-free rules among socioeconomically disadvantaged households with children. The pilot was implemented through Minnesota's National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP).

How Much Progress Have We Made? Trends in Disparities in Tobacco Use.

Introduction: Reducing tobacco-related health disparities has been a public health priority for more than 2 decades, yet disparities in cigarette use have remained steady or worsened. Less is known about how disparities in other tobacco products have changed over time. Our study examined trends in cigarette and other tobacco product use in Minnesota with the goal of informing efforts aimed at reducing disparities.

Local sales restrictions significantly reduce the availability of menthol tobacco: findings from four Minnesota cities.

Background: In 2017 and 2018, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth and Falcon Heights, Minnesota were among the first US cities to restrict the sale of menthol tobacco to adult-only stores. The study examined changes in the availability and marketing of these products following policy implementation.

Perceptions of Menthol Cigarettes and Reasons for Unsuccessful Quits in an African American Community Sample.

This study aimed to better understand African Americans' perceptions of menthol tobacco and reasons for unsuccessful quit attempts among menthol smokers. A cross-sectional survey of 407 U.S.

Community-Led Action to Reduce Menthol Cigarette Use in the African American Community.

African Americans suffer a disproportionate burden of tobacco harm and researchers have posited that menthol cigarettes are a key contributor to this disparity. In 2015, a county health department and African American community-based organization (CBO) in Minnesota partnered to educate and engage the African American community on menthol and its role in tobacco-related health disparities. The following case study describes successes, challenges, and recommendations from this work.

Financial incentives and proactive calling for reducing barriers to tobacco treatment among socioeconomically disadvantaged women: A factorial randomized trial.

Improved strategies and scalable interventions to engage low-socioeconomic status (SES) smokers in tobacco treatment are needed. We tested an intervention designed to connect low-SES smokers to treatment services, implemented through Minnesota's National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (Sage) in 2017; the trial was designed to last 3 months (July through October). Participants were female smokers who were 250% below the federal poverty level (randomized N = 3723; analyzed N = 3365).

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Youth Cigarette Use in 2013 and 2016: Emerging Disparities in the Context of Declining Smoking Rates.

Introduction: Cigarette use has dropped dramatically among youth since 2013, but smoking-related disparities persist. We examine who still smokes in the context of declining smoking rates. Using the Minnesota Student Survey, we examine adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and cigarette use in 2013 and 2016.

Household Implementation of Smoke-Free Rules in Homes and Cars: A Focus on Adolescent Smoking Behavior and Secondhand Smoke Exposure.

Purpose: This study addresses the dearth of population-based research on how comprehensive household smoke-free rules (ie, in the home and car) relate to tobacco use and secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure among adolescents.

Design: Analysis of 2014 Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey.

Setting: Representative sample of Minnesota youth.

Smoke-Free Rules in Homes and Cars Among Smokers and Nonsmokers in Minnesota.

We examined prevalence and predictors of comprehensive smoke-free household rules (ie, smoke-free homes and cars) among smokers and nonsmokers in Minnesota. Data came from the 2014 Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey; weighted analyses consisted of descriptive analyses and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Most adult smokers implemented home-only smoke-free rules (43%) while most nonsmokers implemented comprehensive smoke-free rules (home and car; 85%).

Behavioral change in response to a statewide tobacco tax increase and differences across socioeconomic status.

Background: Tobacco use is a leading behavioral risk factor for morbidity and mortality, and the tobacco epidemic disproportionately affects low-socioeconomic status (SES) populations. Taxation is effective for reducing cigarette use, and it is an effective population-based policy for reducing SES-related tobacco disparities. However, progress in implementing cigarette excise taxes has stalled across the United States, and there is a dearth of research on the full spectrum of behavioral shifts that result from taxes, particularly among low-SES populations.

Raising the Minimum Legal Sale Age for Tobacco to 21: The Estimated Effect for Minnesota.

A campaign to raise the minimum legal sale age for tobacco products from 18 to 21 years known as Tobacco 21 is having a nationwide impact, with at least 200 localities in 14 states having already implemented a Tobacco 21 policy. A 2015 report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimated the effects of such policy on cigarette use at the national level; however, little is known about the expected effects for individual states. The purpose of this study was to consider the effect on smoking initiation in Minnesota if the minimum sale age were 21 in 2015.

Clearing the Air: Smoke-Free Housing Policies, Smoking, and Secondhand Smoke Exposure Among Affordable Housing Residents in Minnesota, 2014-2015.

Introduction: During the past 30 years, local and state tobacco use control laws in the United States have helped reduce smoking prevalence and exposure to secondhand smoke, but progress among low socioeconomic populations has been slow. Implementing smoke-free housing policies in affordable housing may help address this issue. The purpose of our study was to assess how such policies affect smoking rates and exposure to secondhand smoke among residents of affordable housing.

Deniers and Admitters: Examining Smoker Identities in a Changing Tobacco Landscape.

Introduction: Smoking prevalence has declined considerably over the past 30 years. This decline has coincided with a growing stigma against smokers and a trend toward nondaily or occasional smoking. Some individuals now deny being a smoker despite current cigarette use-i.

The effects of social and health consequence framing on heavy drinking intentions among college students.

Objectives: Many interventions targeting college student drinking have focused on negative health effects of drinking heavily; however, some research suggests that social factors may have a stronger influence on the drinking behaviour of young people. Moreover, few studies have examined message framing effects in the context of alcohol consumption. This study investigated the effects of social and health consequence framing on college students' intentions to engage in heavy drinking.

Effects of perceived racial discrimination on health status and health behavior: a differential mediation hypothesis.

Objective: Prospective data tested a "differential mediation" hypothesis: The relations (found in previous research) between perceived racial discrimination and physical health status versus health-impairing behavior (problematic substance use) are mediated by two different types of affective reactions, internalizing and externalizing.

Method: The sample included 680 African American women from the Family and Community Health Study (M age = 37 years at Time 1; 45 years at Time 4). Four waves of data were analyzed.

Sleep and its Relationship to Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Cardiovascular Disease.

There are substantial racial/ethnic disparities in cardiovascular disease in the U.S., but few mechanisms have emerged as feasible intervention targets.

Not intending but somewhat willing: the influence of visual primes on risky sex decisions.

Objectives: This article investigates a potential mechanism underlying the 'sexually conservative puzzle' (the scenario where people reporting little to no casual sex intentions nevertheless go on to engage in casual sex).

Methods: In two experiments, we tested whether people reporting no behavioural intentions (BI) for casual sex were nevertheless more responsive to risk-conducive cues, when compared to those with some BI. Responsiveness to cues was assessed in terms of increases in behavioural willingness (BW) for casual sex.