Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco as an Outgrowth of the 1988 Surgeon General's Report on Nicotine Addiction: Reflections of the Early Presidents.

Introduction: The Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco began in the United States as a scientific organization "to stimulate the generation and dissemination of new knowledge concerning nicotine and tobacco in all its manifestations." Now in its 30th year, the Society is taking on new challenges in tobacco control, nicotine vaping, product regulation, and public policy.

Aims And Methods: This Review describes the formative years of the Society from the perspective of researchers who were in leadership positions during that time, documenting how biobehavioral and clinical research in the first 10 years was a continuation of the scientific mission of the 1988 United States Surgeon General's Report on Nicotine Addiction and summarizing organizational innovations during each president's term of office.

Implementation of an evidence-based tobacco control intervention for school teachers in India: Evaluating the effects of a capacity-building strategy.

Background: (TFT-TFS) is an evidence-based intervention that promotes tobacco use cessation among teachers and tobacco control policies among schools in India. This study tested an implementation model to build Bihar Department of Education (DOE) capacity to support and deliver TFT-TFS within schools, leveraging DOE training infrastructure.

Method: We used a training-of-trainers (TOT) "cascade" implementation strategy to embed the TFT-TFS program into the Bihar DOE infrastructure.

Balancing Consideration of the Risks and Benefits of E-Cigarettes.

The topic of e-cigarettes is controversial. Opponents focus on e-cigarettes' risks for young people, while supporters emphasize the potential for e-cigarettes to assist smokers in quitting smoking. Most US health organizations, media coverage, and policymakers have focused primarily on risks to youths.

Healthy Pregnancies Project: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of a Community Intervention to Reduce Tobacco Use among Alaska Native Women.

Substantial gaps remain in the evidence base for prenatal tobacco use interventions among Indigenous women. Using a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT), the Healthy Pregnancies Project evaluated a community-level intervention for Alaska Native (AN) women in rural western Alaska. Sixteen villages were randomly assigned to usual care (control, = 8 villages) or usual care plus a community-level intervention delivered by local AN "Native Sisters" ( = 8 villages).

Serious Mental Illness and Smoking Cessation Treatment Utilization: the Role of Healthcare Providers.

Healthcare provider barriers to cessation resources may be undercutting quit rates for smokers with serious mental illness (SMI). The study aim was to examine how providers influence cessation treatment utilization among smokers with SMI. Data were taken from a trial conducted among smokers in Minnesota Health Care Programs.

Association of Tobacco Use During Pregnancy, Perceived Stress, and Depression Among Alaska Native Women Participants in the Healthy Pregnancies Project.

Introduction: In general population samples, higher levels of stress and depression have been associated with increased prevalence of smoking in pregnancy. Little is known about the association of prenatal tobacco use, stress, and depression among American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) women.

Methods: The Healthy Pregnancies Project is a cluster-randomized controlled trial, evaluating a community-level intervention compared with usual care, for reducing tobacco use during pregnancy and postpartum among AN women in 16 villages in western Alaska.

Proactive outreach tobacco treatment for socioeconomically disadvantaged smokers with serious mental illness.

Smokers with serious mental illness (SMI) face individual, interpersonal, and healthcare provider barriers to cessation treatment utilization and smoking abstinence. Proactive outreach strategies are designed to address these barriers by promoting heightened contact with smokers and facilitating access to evidence-based treatments. The present study examined the effect of proactive outreach among smokers with SMI (n = 939) who were enrolled in the publicly subsidized Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) and compared this effect to that observed among MHCP smokers without SMI (n = 1382).

The Healthy Pregnancies Project: Study protocol and baseline characteristics for a cluster-randomized controlled trial of a community intervention to reduce tobacco use among Alaska Native pregnant women.

Background: Tobacco use prevalence is high among pregnant Alaska Native (AN) women but few interventions have been evaluated for this group. The Healthy Pregnancies Project aims to evaluate a multicomponent intervention for reducing tobacco use during pregnancy and the postpartum period among AN women. This report describes the study protocol and participant baseline characteristics.

The relationship between smoking cessation and binge drinking, depression, and anxiety symptoms among smokers with serious mental illness.

Introduction: Concerns about the adverse effects of smoking cessation on alcohol use and mental health are a barrier to cessation for smokers with serious mental illness (SMI). The purpose of this study is to examine how incident smoking cessation affects binge drinking and symptoms of depression and anxiety among smokers with SMI.

Methods: The present study is a secondary analysis of the OPTIN trial, which demonstrated the effectiveness of proactive outreach for smoking cessation among Minnesota Health Care Programs enrollees.

The impact and relevance of tobacco control research in low-and middle-income countries globally and to the US.

International and cross-cultural research is critical for understanding multilevel influences on health, health behaviors, and disease. A particularly relevant area of need for such research is tobacco control. The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats globally, killing over 7 million people a year.

Long term effect of a school based intervention to prevent chronic diseases in Tunisia, 2009-2015.

Background & Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the long term effect of school based intervention to prevent non- communicable disease risk factors.

Methods: It was a quasi experimental study conducted during the period of 2009-2015. We involved school children aged from 11 to 16 years old.

Developing health communication messaging for a social marketing campaign to reduce tobacco use in pregnancy among Alaska Native women.

Background: Despite the high prevalence of tobacco use during pregnancy among Alaska Native and American Indian (AI/AN) women, few efforts have focused on developing tobacco cessation interventions for this group. This paper describes development of messaging for a social media campaign targeting the entire community to reduce tobacco use in pregnancy (cigarette smoking and smokeless tobacco use including a homemade product known as Iqmik) among AN women, as part of a multi-component intervention.

Method: The study (clinical trial registration #NCT02083081) used mixed methods with two rounds of assessments to develop and refine culturally relevant message appeals.

Consequences of Inconsistency in Air Force Tobacco Control Policy.

Objectives: Although the United States Air Force (USAF) has been a leader in efforts to reduce tobacco use among service members, tobacco continues to be a problem and initiatives to decrease tobacco use further require buy-in from leadership. We explored line leaderships' perspectives on tobacco.

Methods: A diverse group of 10 senior commissioned and 10 non-commissioned personnel were interviewed.

Third study on WHO MPOWER Tobacco Control Scores in Eastern Mediterranean countries 2011-2015.

This study was conducted to quantify the implementation of the MPOWER policies and to assess any possible changes across Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) countries. In this comparative cross-sectional study based on 10 categories mentioned in MPOWER report 2015 a checklist was designed. Seven questions were scored from 0-4 and three from 0-3.

Assessment of short reports using a human rights-based approach to tobacco control to the Commitee on Economics, Cultural and Social Rights.

Background: The health impact of tobacco use remains a major global public health concern and a human rights issue. The Human Rights and Tobacco Control Network (HRTCN) was established to increase the visibility of tobacco as a human rights issue. HRTCN submitted short reports to the UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights evaluating individual nations' tobacco control policies and offering recommendations.

Network analysis of global tobacco control collaboration: data from the World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH).

Background: The World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH) is held every three years to foster communication and collaboration on global tobacco control. Very little is known about the nature of interactions between WCTOH attendees and their linkages to tobacco control organizations, so knowing this information could help improve tobacco control efforts.

Methods: At the 2015 WCTOH, we implemented an online survey to assess barriers to global tobacco control activities, which information sources they use for tobacco control information, and with whom they interact regarding tobacco control.

Tobacco use and preferences for wellness programs among health aides and other employees of an Alaska Native Health Corporation in Western Alaska.

This study assessed health behaviors and preferences for wellness programs among employees of a worksite serving Alaska Native-people. Village-based Community Health Aides/Practitioners (CHA/Ps) were compared with all other employees on health indicators and program preferences. Using a cross-sectional design, all 1290 employees at the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC) in Western Alaska were invited in 2015 to participate in a 30-item online survey.

Clustering of chronic disease risk factors with tobacco smoking habits among adults in the work place in Sousse, Tunisia.

Introduction: The aim of our study was to explore the major non-communicable risk factors (unhealthy diet, sedentarily, alcohol consumption) of smokers and nonsmokers in workplaces.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was derived from an initial assessment in workplaces which was part of a community-based intervention to prevent chronic disease risk factors conducted in 2009 in the region of Sousse, Tunisia. The surveyed subjects were employees in six factories spread across three delegations in the region.

Sustainability of the results of a non communicable diseases prevention program among youth in the region of Sousse, Tunisia.

Introduction: Implementation of a healthy lifestyle at an early age is described as a successful intervention to prevent non communicable diseases. However, successful programs are not necessarily sustainable. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a 1-year sustainability of a 3-year comprehensive intervention conducted to promote a healthy lifestyle among schoolchildren.

Training Lay Interventionists to Support Tobacco Cessation among Teachers in India.

Despite the rapidly increasing burden of tobacco-related morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries, tobacco control initiatives - especially cessation - receive little emphasis. This is true despite low-cost methods that have potential for widespread dissemination. The purpose of this paper is to provide a case study example of how lay interventionists may be trained and supported to facilitate tobacco use cessation, based on the successful program (TFT-TFS) implemented in Bihar, India.