Impact of smoke-free housing policy lease exemptions on compliance, enforcement and smoking behavior: A qualitative study.

This paper investigates the impacts of smoke-free housing policies on compliance, enforcement and smoking behavior. From 2012 to 2014, we studied two affordable housing providers in Canada with comprehensive smoke-free policies: Waterloo Regional Housing that required new leases to be non-smoking and exempted existing leases, and Yukon Housing Corporation that required all leases (existing and new) to be non-smoking. Focus groups and key informant interviews were conducted with 31 housing and public health staff involved in policy development and implementation, and qualitative interviews with 56 tenants.

Association between the display of cigarette packs at the point of sale and smoking susceptibility among adolescents in Brazil.

This was a cross-sectional study aimed at determining the association between exposure to tobacco displays at the point of sale and susceptibility to smoking in schoolchildren in the 14- to 17-year age bracket. Of the participating students, 69.0%, 21.

Correction to: electronic cigarette use behaviors and motivations among smokers and non-smokers.

After publication of the article [1], it has been brought to our attention that there is a funding acknowledgement missing. The authors would also like to include "Dr. Michael Joseph Blaha is funded by the American Heart Association Tobacco Regulatory Center, funding number: 1P50HL120163".

Assessment of indoor air quality at an electronic cigarette (Vaping) convention.

E-cigarette (vaping) conventions are public events promoting electronic cigarettes, in which indoor use of e-cigarettes is allowed. The large concentration of people using e-cigarettes and poor air ventilation can result in indoor air pollution. In order to estimate this worst-case exposure to e-cigarettes, we evaluated indoor air quality in a vaping convention in Maryland (MD), USA.

Exploring the Predictive Validity of the Susceptibility to Smoking Construct for Tobacco Cigarettes, Alternative Tobacco Products, and E-Cigarettes.

Introduction: Within tobacco prevention programming, it is useful to identify youth that are at risk for experimenting with various tobacco products and e-cigarettes. The susceptibility to smoking construct is a simple method to identify never-smoking students that are less committed to remaining smoke-free. However, the predictive validity of this construct has not been tested within the Canadian context or for the use of other tobacco products and e-cigarettes.

They're heating up: Internet search query trends reveal significant public interest in heat-not-burn tobacco products.

Heat-not-burn tobacco products, battery powered devices that heat leaf tobacco to approximately 500 degrees Fahrenheit to produce an inhalable aerosol, are being introduced in markets around the world. Japan, where manufacturers have marketed several heat-not-burn brands since 2014, has been the focal national test market, with the intention of developing global marketing strategies. We used Google search query data to estimate, for the first time, the scale and growth potential of heat-not-burn tobacco products.

The Use of Sports Imagery and Terminology on Cigarette Packs from Fourteen Countries.

Background: Tobacco companies have historically associated their products with sports through event sponsorship and sports-themed advertising campaigns. Such linkages serve to enhance brand image by connecting cigarette brands to ideals associated with sports such as strength, individual accomplishment, and a healthy body. Public health policy progress has created restrictions for tobacco sponsorship and restricted traditional advertising avenues for tobacco products.

Electronic cigarette use behaviors and motivations among smokers and non-smokers.

Background: The use of electronic cigarettes (EC) has risen exponentially over the past decade, including among never smokers, and ECs are now the most popular tobacco product among teenagers in the US. While, EC manufacturers utilize numerous marketing strategies to target both smokers and non-smokers, it is unclear how perceptions and behaviors differ between these two groups.

Methods: We conducted a survey of 320 adults either via online surveys or in Baltimore vape shops to determine demographics, behaviors, perceptions, and motivations underlying use of ECs.

The association of e-cigarette use with exposure to nickel and chromium: A preliminary study of non-invasive biomarkers.

Background: Nickel (Ni) and chromium (Cr) are components of e-cigarette heating coils. Whether e-cigarettes increase metal internal dose, however, is unknown. We assessed the association of e-cigarette use patterns and of e-liquid and aerosol metal concentrations with Ni and Cr biomarker levels in e-cigarette users from Maryland.

Point-of-Sale Tobacco Advertising and Display Bans: Policy Evaluation Study in Five Russian Cities.

Background: The tobacco industry uses point-of-sale (POS) advertising, promotion, and product display to increase consumption of its products among current users, to attract new consumers, and to encourage former customers to resume tobacco use. As part of a comprehensive tobacco control effort, Russia-having one of the highest tobacco use prevalence rates in the world-enacted legislation that banned tobacco POS advertising, effective November 15, 2013, and banned the display of tobacco and the sale of cigarettes in kiosks, effective June 1, 2014.

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the implementation of the national law by assessing the state of POS advertising, promotion, and product display, and sales in kiosks across Russia.

The prevalence of illicit cigarette consumption and related factors in Turkey.

Background: The tobacco industry claims that high cigarette taxes drive illicit trade and that governments should therefore not increase tobacco tax because it will increase the level of illicit trade. This study examines illicit cigarette consumption in Turkey after a tobacco tax increase and its related factors.

Method: This national cross-sectional survey was conducted in March-June 2013 and 9717 people aged ≥18 years participated in the interviewer-administered survey.

Biomarkers of Secondhand Smoke Exposure in Waterpipe Tobacco Venue Employees in Istanbul, Moscow, and Cairo.

Background: Most smoke-free legislation to reduce secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure exempts waterpipe (hookah) smoking venues. Few studies have examined SHS exposure in waterpipe venues and their employees.

Methods: We surveyed 276 employees of 46 waterpipe tobacco venues in Istanbul, Moscow, and Cairo.

An analysis of purchase price of legal and illicit cigarettes in urban retail environments in 14 low- and middle-income countries.

Background/aims: To estimate and compare price differences between legal and illicit cigarettes in 14 low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).

Design: A cross-sectional census of all packs available on the market was purchased.

Setting: Cigarette packs were purchased in formal retail settings in three major cities in each of 14 LMIC: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam.

E-cigarettes and Weight Loss-Product Design Innovation Insights From Industry Patents.

Objective: There is emerging evidence that e-cigarettes are being used by some to mitigate weight gain after quitting smoking, and being used to help control weight. This study sought to identify and describe patents related to innovations for e-cigarette devices associated and weight loss.

Methods: Relevant patents were identified using Google Patents with the core search terms: "electronic cigarette" OR "e-cigarette" OR "vaporizer" OR "vapourizer" AND "nicotine" AND "weight loss" OR "weight control" OR "obesity" OR "hunger".

Tobacco retail availability and risk of relapse among smokers who make a quit attempt: a population-based cohort study.

Introduction: The availability of tobacco is thought to influence smoking behaviour, but there are few longitudinal studies examining if the location and number of tobacco outlets has a prospective impact on smoking cessation.

Methods: The Ontario Tobacco Survey, a population-representative sample of Ontario adult smokers who were followed every 6 months for up to 3 years, was linked with tobacco outlet location data from the Ontario Ministry of Health. Proximity (distance), threshold (at least one outlet within 500 m) and density (number of outlets within 500 m) with respect to a smokers' home were calculated among urban and suburban current smokers (n=2414).

Tobacco use cessation interventions for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth and young adults: A scoping review.

Smoking prevalence among LGBTQ + youth and young adults is alarmingly high compared to their non-LGBTQ + peers. The purpose of the scoping review was to assess the current state of smoking prevention and cessation intervention research for LGBTQ + youth and young adults, identify and describe these interventions and their effectiveness, and identify gaps in both practice and research. A search for published literature was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, PsychInfo, and LGBT Life, as well as an in-depth search of the grey literature.

The availability of smoking-permitted accommodations from Airbnb in 12 Canadian cities.

Purpose: Airbnb is a web-based peer-to-peer (P2P) service that enables potential hosts and guests to broker accommodations in private homes as an alternative to traditional hotels. The hospitality sector has increasingly gone smoke-free over the last decade. This study identified the availability and cost of smoking-permitted accommodations identified on Airbnb.

Using the theory of normative social behavior to understand compliance with a smoke-free law in a middle-income country.

Smoke-free laws, which ban smoking in public venues, can be effective in protecting public health, but it has been difficult to achieve compliance with these laws in low- and middle-income countries. This study was conducted to understand the social norms around public smoking and learn how to improve compliance in Bogor, the first Indonesian city to pass a comprehensive smoke-free law. Eleven stratified focus groups were conducted (n = 89).

Global approaches to regulating electronic cigarettes.

Objectives: Classify and describe the policy approaches used by countries to regulate e-cigarettes.

Methods: National policies regulating e-cigarettes were identified by (1) conducting web searches on Ministry of Health websites, and (2) broad web searches. The mechanisms used to regulate e-cigarettes were classified as new/amended laws, or existing laws.

E-cigarettes as a source of toxic and potentially carcinogenic metals.

Background And Aims: The popularity of electronic cigarette devices is growing worldwide. The health impact of e-cigarette use, however, remains unclear. E-cigarettes are marketed as a safer alternative to cigarettes.

Do cigarette health warning labels comply with requirements: A 14-country study.

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a global health treaty ratified by over 175 countries, calls on countries to ensure that tobacco packages carry health warning labels (HWLs) describing the harmful effects of tobacco use. We assessed the extent of compliance with 14 countries' HWL requirements. Unique cigarette packs were purchased in 2013 using a systematic protocol in 12 distinct neighborhoods within three of the ten most populous cities in the 14 low- and middle-income countries with the greatest number (count) of smokers.