Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco
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The misuse of prescription opioid medications is a growing public health crisis. Given evidence of complex nicotine-opioid interactions, and initial support for the role of smoking status as a risk factor for prescription opioid misuse, a more detailed analysis of how current and historical patterns of smoking may influence misuse of prescription opioids is warranted. ⋯ These findings indicate that smokers are not a homogeneous group with regard to risk for opioid misuse, and support the utility of comprehensive smoking assessment in the context of opioid-based treatment/tapering.
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Home smoking bans (HSBs) reduce children's secondhand smoke exposure (SHSe), a contributor to health disparities. General psychosocial characteristics and SHSe beliefs and behaviors within the family may relate to HSB existence. This study's aim was to identify general psychosocial characteristics and SHSe beliefs associated with HSB presence and lower SHSe among children living with a smoker. ⋯ Despite greater HSB likelihood and higher perceived importance of HSBs among nonsmoking versus smoking primary caregivers, SHSe reduction self-efficacy and intent are protective for Head Start students at high-risk for exposure. Pediatric healthcare providers and early education professionals may be able to support SHSe reduction efforts (e.g., smoking cessation, HSB implementation) and reduce children's SHSe with counseling strategies to address caregivers' HSB self-efficacy, intent, and related behaviors.
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The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act requires new pictorial warnings for U.S. cigarette packs, but enactment has been delayed by tobacco industry lawsuits. Research can inform implementation of the pictorial warning requirement and identify ways to optimize their public health impact post-implementation. This study investigated the impact of warning label message framing on young smokers' motivation to quit, examining cessation self-efficacy, and perceived risks as moderators of message framing impact. ⋯ A combination of pictorial warnings featuring risk-based (i.e., loss-framed) and efficacy-enhancing (i.e., gain-framed) information may promote better public health outcomes. Research is needed to investigate how strategically framed warning messages impact smokers' behaviors based on their pre-existing attitudes and beliefs in real-world settings.
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Graphic warning labels have been shown to be more effective than text-only labels in increasing attention and perceived health risks, but most U.S. studies have involved single exposures in laboratory or Internet settings. ⋯ U.S. smokers' reactions to graphic warning labels on their own packs were similar to other, more controlled studies. Qualitative findings underscore the need for warning labels that encourage self-referential processing without increasing defensive reactions.
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Time to the first cigarette after waking up in the morning is the most validated measure of dependence among smokers, and its complement is also a good indicator of dependence for smokeless tobacco (ST) users. However, no studies have directly compared these measures. ⋯ Compared to light smokers, the likelihood of TTFU within 5min was similar among exclusive ST users and was slightly higher among ST former smokers, offering some support for the Fagerström-Eissenberg hypothesis that the dependence level of cigarettes is higher than that of ST.