American journal of preventive medicine
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Circles of Tobacco Wisdom (CTW) was an elder-led, community-based project that aimed to enhance tobacco control in the American Indian community. Its goal was to provide elders with the knowledge, opportunities, and support to enable them to assume leadership of a tobacco control movement that was grounded in the ceremonial traditions of tobacco use. ⋯ Elders increased their knowledge about commercial and traditional tobacco and changed related attitudes as a result of CTW. Further, American Indian Elders perceived that CTW was effective.
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Little is known about health and health behavior differences among military service veterans, active duty service members, National Guard/Reserve members, and civilians. Several important differences were identified among U.S. women from these subpopulations; to identify areas for targeted intervention, studies comparing men from these subpopulations are needed. ⋯ Veterans have poorer health and health behaviors; increased prevention efforts are needed from veteran-serving organizations. Despite good health, active duty men reported unhealthy lifestyles, indicating an important area for prevention efforts.
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Menthol cigarettes account for 25% of the market in the U.S. The Food and Drug Administration currently is considering regulatory action on tobacco products, including a ban on menthol cigarettes. With 39% of menthol smokers reporting that they would quit smoking if menthol cigarettes were banned, there is a need to better understand whether existing cessation programs, such as quitlines, are serving menthol smokers. ⋯ Quitlines appear to be adequately serving menthol smokers who call for help. Cessation outcomes for menthol smokers are comparable to nonmenthol smokers. However, if a menthol ban motivates many menthol smokers to quit, quitlines may have to increase their capacity to meet the increase in demand.
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Downtown Wilkes-Barre, a town of 40,000 residents in Northeast Pennsylvania, and the hub of a planned urban, suburban, and rural trail network, was the site of a number of changes to improve walkability during the Active Living by Design (ALbD) grant period. ⋯ The Bike-Ped Count illustrates patterns of bicycling and walking downtown and allows comparisons of bicycling and walking among locations, including different cities. In the future, counts will help show how ongoing changes to the downtown environment affect walking and bicycling.
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Increased attention has been focused on health disparities among racial/ethnic groups in the U.S. ⋯ Findings indicate overall decreases in racial/ethnic disparities in AIDS diagnoses except in young men, particularly young black men aged 13-24 years where the burden of AIDS is increasing. HIV testing, prevention, treatment and policy-making should be a priority for this group.