Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco
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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.e., "deniers"; conversely, occasional smokers who admit to being a smoker are defined as "admitters." Although the "denier" phenomenon has been the focus of recent research, no studies have examined smoker identity in the context of emerging tobacco products and ongoing, statewide tobacco control programs. Recent data from the 2014 Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey provided an opportunity to address these research gaps. ⋯ Findings from this study suggest that tobacco tax increases should be coordinated with health promotion interventions to address occasional and social smoking. The denier phenomenon in particular is an important identity-based construct that population-level public health practice should consider in order to design effective tobacco control interventions. In addition, findings from our study and previous research suggest that occasional or social smokers who deny the smoker identity may be slowing progress in reducing smoking rates. Interventions targeting occasional smokers, and in particular, deniers, are needed to accelerate cessation efforts.
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The high prevalence of smoking and smokeless tobacco (ST) use during pregnancy in Alaska Native (AN) women is concerning due to the detrimental effects of these products to the mother and the developing fetus. We sought to correlate maternal cotinine levels with fetal exposure to a tobacco-specific carcinogen to incorporate in a biomarker feedback intervention to motivate tobacco cessation during pregnancy. ⋯ The correlation between maternal smoking and fetal carcinogen exposure may provide an education tool to help motivate smoking cessation among pregnant AN women. Further investigation is warranted to determine correlations between maternal commercial ST and iqmik use and neonatal NNAL.
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There has been a sharp decline in adolescents who smoke cigarettes but no national-level study evaluating the impact of smoking cessation counseling by pediatricians or other clinicians who care for children. ⋯ A significant increase in smoking cessation counseling at pediatric medical appointments, especially at well-child visits, occurred from 2009-2011 compared with 1997-1999, paralleling a large decrease in smoking prevalence. These improvements in counseling rates have been predominantly noted for pediatricians but not mid-level providers or general practitioners. Counseling was not associated with increased visit lengths. Although improved counseling practices by pediatricians have been demonstrated, there is still room for improvement.