Dependence measures for non-cigarette tobacco products within the context of the global epidemic: a systematic review.

Objectives: Validated metrics of tobacco dependence exist, but their value for global surveillance of tobacco dependence and development of tobacco control interventions is not well understood. This paper reviews tobacco dependence metrics for non-cigarette products, and whether measures of tobacco dependence have been validated in low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC).

Data Sources: Searches were conducted in PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL and Global Health databases using variant terms for types of tobacco, dependence, measures and validity/reliability.

Creating smoke-free places through the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities.

In some high-, middle-, and low-income countries, law has been employed to limit individuals' secondhand smoke exposure. Innovative legal tools are still needed, especially in low- and middle-income countries where smoking prevalence continues to rise. For some persons with severe respiratory conditions, the presence of secondhand smoke is intolerable and prevents their entrance into restaurants and other venues.

Tobacco sales and marketing within 100 yards of schools in Ahmedabad City, India.

Objectives: The Government of India passed the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COPTA 2003), which prohibits the sale of tobacco products within 100 yards of educational institutions and regulates tobacco advertising. The aim of this research was to monitor compliance with the section of COPTA 2003 regarding the advertisement, display and sale of tobacco products around educational institutions in Ahmedabad City, India.

Study Design: Observational study around 30 randomly selected schools.

Environmental monitoring of secondhand smoke exposure.

The complex composition of secondhand smoke (SHS) provides a range of constituents that can be measured in environmental samples (air, dust and on surfaces) and therefore used to assess non-smokers' exposure to tobacco smoke. Monitoring SHS exposure (SHSe) in indoor environments provides useful information on the extent and consequences of SHSe, implementing and evaluating tobacco control programmes and behavioural interventions, and estimating overall burden of disease caused by SHSe. The most widely used markers have been vapour-phase nicotine and respirable particulate matter (PM).

Assessing secondhand smoke exposure with reported measures.

Non-smokers are exposed to tobacco smoke from the burning cigarette and the exhaled smoke from smokers. In spite of decades of development of approaches to assess secondhand smoke exposure (SHSe), there are still unresolved methodological issues. This manuscript summarises the scientific evidence on the use of SHSe reported measures and their methods, objectives, strengths and limitations; and discusses best practices for assessing behaviour leading to SHSe for lifetime and immediate or current SHSe.

Assessing secondhand smoke using biological markers.

Secondhand smoke exposure (SHSe) is a known cause of many adverse health effects in adults and children. Increasingly, SHSe assessment is an element of tobacco control research and implementation worldwide. In spite of decades of development of approaches to assess SHSe, there are still unresolved methodological issues; therefore, a multidisciplinary expert meeting was held to catalogue the approaches to assess SHSe and with the goal of providing a set of uniform methods for future use by investigators and thereby facilitate comparisons of findings across studies.

A cost-effectiveness analysis of India's 2008 prohibition of smoking in public places in Gujarat.

Tobacco smoking and exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke are associated with disability and premature mortality in low and middle-income countries. The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of implementing India's Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules in the state of Gujarat, compared to implementation of a complete smoking ban. Using standard cost-effectiveness analysis methods, the cost of implementing the alternatives was evaluated against the years of life saved and cases of acute myocardial infarction averted by reductions in smoking prevalence and secondhand smoke exposure.

Tobacco sales and promotion in bars, cafes and nightclubs from large cities around the world.

Context: Little is known about tobacco promotion activities in low and middle-income countries. Information on tobacco sales, advertisement and promotion in bars, cafes and nightclubs is needed to develop interventions to reduce smoking initiation and relapse, particularly among youths and young adults.

Objective: To evaluate cigarette sales and tobacco advertisement and promotion in bars, cafes and nightclubs using a volunteer survey approach in large cities throughout the world.

Promoting smoke-free environments in Latin America: a comparison of methods to assess secondhand smoke exposure.

Secondhand smoke (SHS) contains toxicants and carcinogens that are known to cause premature death and disease. Objectively measuring SHS exposure can support and evaluate smoke-free legislation. In Latin America, the most commonly used methods to measure SHS exposure are airborne nicotine and respirable suspended particles (PM₂.

Workplace smoking restrictions in China: results from a six county survey.

Objective: To determine the coverage of smoking restriction policies in indoor workplaces in China and to assess the relationships between these restrictive policies and secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and smoking behaviours.

Methods: A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in six counties in Sichuan, Jiangxi and Henan provinces in 2004. Using a standardised questionnaire, information on demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to smoking and SHS exposure was collected through face-to-face interviews by trained local investigators among 12 036 respondents.

Estimating the risks and benefits of nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation in the United States.

Objectives: To compare potential population-wide benefits and risks, we examined the potential impact of increased nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) use for smoking cessation on future US mortality.

Methods: We developed a simulation model incorporating a Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis, with data from the 2005 National Health Interview Survey and Cancer Prevention Study II. We estimated the number of avoided premature deaths from smoking attributable to increased NRT use, before and after incorporating assumptions about NRT harm.

Determinants of hair nicotine concentrations in nonsmoking women and children: a multicountry study of secondhand smoke exposure in homes.

The main purpose of this study was to identify and evaluate determinants of hair nicotine concentrations in nonsmoking women and children exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke at home. Hair samples were collected from nonsmoking women (n = 852) and from children (n = 1,017) <11 years of age living in households (n = 1,095) with smokers from 31 countries from July 2005 to October 2006. Participants' ages, activity patterns and socioeconomic characteristics including education and employment status, and hair treatment information were collected.

Secondhand smoke: facts and lies.

Mexico ratified the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control in 2004 and is obligated to move forward with implementing its provisions, including Article 8 (Protection from exposure to tobacco smoke). The country has already faced opposition from the tobacco industry. This paper addresses industry tactics against tobacco control, describing the general strategies that have been pursued and the evidence relevant to combating these strategies.

Method validation for measurement of hair nicotine level in nonsmokers.

The development of strategies to address the growing worldwide burden of exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) would be facilitated by sensitive and accurate methods for assessing SHS exposure. Hair provides a readily available matrix for assessing biomarkers of typical SHS exposure. We developed and applied an optimized analytical method using an isotope dilution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for hair nicotine measurement.

Measurement of nicotine in household dust.

An analytical method of measuring nicotine in house dust was optimized and associations among three secondhand smoking exposure markers were evaluated, i.e., nicotine concentrations of both house dust and indoor air, and the self-reported number of cigarettes smoked daily in a household.

[Laws that ban smoking in indoor places in Mexico].

Recently Mexico passed federal and state-level laws banning smoking in indoor spaces. These actions are totally in accordance with measures proposed in the WHO-FCTCs article 8, ratified by Mexico in 2004. This essay reviews scientific evidence that secondhand smoke causes both chronic and acute diseases among non smokers, children and adults.

Secondhand smoke exposure among women and children: evidence from 31 countries.

Objectives: We sought to describe the range of exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) among women and children living with smokers around the world and generate locally relevant data to motivate the development of tobacco control policies and interventions in developing countries.

Methods: In 2006, we conducted a cross-sectional exposure survey to measure air nicotine concentrations in households and hair nicotine concentrations among nonsmoking women and children in convenience samples of 40 households in 31 countries.

Results: Median air nicotine concentration was 17 times higher in households with smokers (0.

Mapping tobacco industry strategies in South East Asia for action planning and surveillance.

Objective: To develop a comprehensive conceptual framework of tobacco industry tactics in four countries in South East Asia for the purpose of: (1) generating consensus on key areas of importance and feasibility for regional and cross country tobacco industry monitoring and surveillance; (2) developing measures to track and monitor the effects of the tobacco industry and to design counterstrategies; and (3) building capacity to improve tobacco control planning in the participating countries.

Design: A structured conceptualisation methodology known as concept mapping was used. The process included brainstorming, sorting and rating of statements describing industry activities.

Barriers to smoking cessation in inner-city African American young adults.

The prevalence of tobacco use among urban African American persons aged 18 to 24 years not enrolled in college is alarmingly high and a challenge for smoking cessation initiatives. Recent data from inner-city neighborhoods in Baltimore, Md, indicate that more than 60% of young adults smoke cigarettes. We sought to describe community-level factors contributing to this problem.

Challenging the epidemiologic evidence on passive smoking: tactics of tobacco industry expert witnesses.

Objective: To analyse the statements given by tobacco industry defence witnesses during trial testimonies and depositions in second-hand smoke cases and in parallel, to review criticisms of epidemiology in industry-funded publications in order to identify strategies for discrediting epidemiologic evidence on passive smoking health effects.

Methods: A collection of depositions and trial testimony transcripts from tobacco industry-related lawsuits filed in the United States during the 1990s, was compiled and indexed by the Tobacco Deposition and Trial Testimony Archive (DATTA). Statements in DATTA made by expert witnesses representing the tobacco industry relating to the health effects of passive smoking were identified and reviewed.

Reaching and educating the global tobacco control community: innovative approaches to tobacco control training.

To slow and end the growing global burden of tobacco-related death and disease, schools of public health need to provide tobacco control education and training for public health professionals generally, and for the next generation of tobacco control professionals in low- and middle-income countries specifically. As the tobacco epidemic continues to grow, there is an increasing need for training to develop the research and intervention skills required to stem the epidemic and reduce the inevitable burden of disease and death. A wide range of educational approaches has been developed to increase tobacco control educational capacity in high-, middle-, and low-income countries, including traditional on-site classes, on-line courses, open source courseware, summer school programs, and training workshops.

Building capacity for international tobacco control research: the global tobacco research network.

The Global Tobacco Research Network (GTRN) was developed to enhance global tobacco control research through information sharing and collaboration among researchers. The formation of the GTRN is timely because of the need to ratify, implement, and track the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. While the spectrum of international tobacco control research continues to expand, resources to support these efforts are still quite limited.

Achieving the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control's potential by investing in national capacity.

May 2003 marked a critical achievement in efforts to stem the global tobacco epidemic, as the member states of the World Health Organization unanimously endorsed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). However, the adoption of the FCTC signifies only the end of the beginning of effective global action to control tobacco. Over the next several years the utility of the FCTC process and the treaty itself will be tested as individual countries seek to ratify and implement the treaty's obligations.