Cigarette smoking among university students aged 18-24 years in New Zealand: Results of the first (baseline) of two national surveys

Objectives: Although the smoking prevalence continues to decline in New Zealand (NZ) overall, little is known about smoking in university students. A 2013 survey of students aged 17-25 years found that 14% were current smokers, and 3% daily smokers. However, the sample did not include students from all NZ universities. This study examines the prevalence and patterns of cigarette smoking among students aged 18-24 years. Setting: University students across NZ. Methods: Data came from a March to May 2018 survey of students from all NZ universities, and were weighted to account for undersampling and oversampling, based on gender and university size. χ 2 tests were used to compare smoking by age, gender and ethnicity. Participants: 1476 participants were included: 919 (62.3%) aged 18-20 years and 557 (37.7%) aged 21-24 years; 569 (38.6%) male and 907 (61.4%) female; and 117 (7.9%) Māori and 1359 (92.1%) non-Māori. \ Results: 49.8% (95% CI 47.2 to 52.4) of respondents reported ever smoking, 11.1% (95% CI 9.5 to 12.9) currently smoked (smoked at least once a month) and 5.9% (95% CI 4.8 to 7.3) smoked at least daily (daily smokers). Of current smokers, 63.6% smoked 1-5 cigarettes/day, 45.8% smoked daily, 73.4% smoked first cigarette >60 min after waking, 86.0% never/almost never smoked in indoor and 64.6% in outdoor smokefree spaces, 69.9% planned to quit and 32.4% had tried to quit. Ever, current and daily smoking were significantly higher in 21-24 compared with 18-20 years olds, and in males compared with females. Older participants were more likely to report smoking more cigarettes/day. Māori were more likely to report ever smoking than non-Māori. Conclusions: Current smoking among NZ university students aged 18-24 years appears to be declining but daily smoking could be increasing. However, many students appeared less addicted to nicotine, and willing to quit. We recommend increasing the availability of smokefree services for students who wish to quit

Pronounced warmth during early Middle Pleistocene interglacials : investigating the Mid-Bruhnes Event in the British terrestrial sequence

The Mid-Brunhes Event (MBE) is a climatic transition occurring between MIS 13 and 11 that separates two climatic modes: (1) early Middle Pleistocene interglacials (780–450 ka) that are characterised by only moderate warmth and (2) Middle and Late Pleistocene interglacials (occurring after 450 ka) that are characterised by greater warmth consistent with, or warmer than, the Holocene. This event is observable within a variety of long climate records, such as SPECMAP and EPICA, but its effect on terrestrial systems is poorly understood. The impact of this event is examined in the British terrestrial sequence by comparing the occurrence of a range of thermophilous plant and animal species, and climate reconstructions derived from assemblages containing them, from interglacials of the early Middle Pleistocene with those from the late Middle and Late Pleistocene. This comparison reveals that interglacial climates during the early Middle Pleistocene in Britain were as warm as, and in some cases warmer than, those that occurred during the late Middle and Late Pleistocene. This interpretation is supported by sea surface temperature records in the North Atlantic, which show that temperatures during early Middle Pleistocene interglacials were at least as warm as those experienced during the Holocene. There is, therefore, no evidence in climate records of Britain and the North Atlantic for a Mid-Brunhes Event. This suggests that the MBE is not a global climatic transition but is restricted to specific regions, in particular the higher latitudes of the southern Hemisphere. Further work is needed to understand the regional variability and cause of the MBE

Fluvial system response to Late Devensian (Weichselian) aridity, Baston, Lincolnshire, England

Little is known about the impact of Late Devensian (Weichselian) aridity on lowland British landscapes, largely because they lack the widespread coversand deposits of the adjacent continent. The concentration of large interformational ice-wedge casts in the upper part of many Devensian fluvial sequences suggests that fluvial activity may have decreased considerably during this time. The development of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating enables this period of ice-wedge cast formation to be constrained for the first time in eastern England, where a marked horizon of ice-wedge casts is found between two distinctive dateable facies associations. Contrasts between this horizon and adjacent sediments show clear changes in environment and fluvial system behaviour in response to changing water supply, in line with palaeontological evidence. In addition to providing chronological control on the period of ice-wedge formation, the study shows good agreement of the radiocarbon and OSL dating techniques during the Middle and Late Devensian, with direct comparison of these techniques beyond 15 000 yr for the first time in Britain. It is suggested that aridity during the Late Devensian forced a significant decrease in fluvial activity compared with preceding and following periods, initiating a system with low peak flows and widespread permafrost development

The earliest known humans in Northern Europe: artefacts from the Cromer Forest-bed at Pakefield, Suffolk, UK

The human colonisation of Eurasia is a key event in the dispersion of early humans out of Africa, however details about timing and ecological context of the earliest human occupation of northwest Europe is uncertain and strongly debated. The southern Caucasus was occupied around 1.8 million years ago (Ma), and early representatives of Homo dispersed to the Mediterranean regions before the Brunhes-Matuyama magnetic reversal, 780 000 years ago (ka) as human remains from Atapuerca-TD6, Spain (>0.78 ma) and Ceprano, Italy (~0.8 ma) show. Up to now, the earliest uncontested artefacts from northern Europe were much younger (~500 thousand years ago), suggesting a climatic reason why early humans were unable to settle in northern latitudes. The recent discovery of flint artefacts from the Cromer Forest-bed Formation at Pakefield (52 N), UK, from a sequence of beds with rich palaeontological remains, proves that the earliest human colonization of Northern Europe was much older than previously expected. A multidisciplinary approach, involving sequence stratigraphy, palaeomagnetism, Amino-Acid geochronology, and biostratigraphy, indicates that the artefacts date to the early part of the Brunhes Chron, predating any other human unequivocal evidence north of the Alps

The earliest known humans in Northern Europe: artefacts from the Cromer Forest-bed at Pakefield, Suffolk, UK

The colonization of Eurasia by early humans is a key event after their spread out of Africa, but the nature, timing and ecological context of the earliest human occupation of northwest Europe is uncertain and has been the subject of intense debate1. The southern Caucasus was occupied about 1.8 million years (Myr) ago2, whereas human remains from Atapuerca-TD6, Spain (more than 780 kyr ago)3 and Ceprano, Italy (about 800 kyr ago)4 show that early Homo had dispersed to the Mediterranean hinterland before the Brunhes–Matuyama magnetic polarity reversal (780 kyr ago). Until now, the earliest uncontested artefacts from northern Europe were much younger, suggesting that humans were unable to colonize northern latitudes until about 500 kyr ago5,6. Here we report flint artefacts from the Cromer Forest-bed Formation at Pakefield (528 N), Suffolk, UK, from an interglacial sequence yielding a diverse range of plant and animal fossils. Event and lithostratigraphy, palaeomagnetism, amino acid geochronology and biostratigraphy indicate that the artefacts date to the early part of the Brunhes Chron (about 700 kyr ago) and thus represent the earliest unequivocal evidence for human presence north of the Alps

Amino acid geochronology of the type Cromerian of West Runton, Norfolk, UK

Aminostratigraphic studies of continental deposits in the UK have hitherto relied almost exclusively on data from the aragonitic shells of non-marine molluscs for dating Pleistocene sequences. This is usually based on the d/l value of a single amino acid, d-alloisoleucine/l-isoleucine (A/I), in the total shell proteins. Two genera of freshwater gastropods (Valvata and Bithynia) are used to explore the value of using multiple amino acids from the intra-crystalline fraction, which should be more protected from the effects of diagenesis than the inter-crystalline component. Results are compared from both the aragonitic shells and opercula composed of calcite, a more stable form of calcium carbonate. In order to put the amino acid data from the West Runton Freshwater Bed into perspective, statistical analyses are used to compare them with results from the Hoxnian (MIS 11) site at Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. Twelve protein decomposition indicators revealed that the results from the shells were not as clear-cut as those from the opercula. Five indicators from the Valvata shell suggest that West Runton is older than Clacton (at a 95% significance level), but two actually suggested a younger age. Seven indicators show that the Bithynia shells from West Runton are older than congeneric shells from Clacton. In marked contrast, all 12 indicators isolated from the opercula demonstrate that West Runton is significantly older than Clacton. The data are also compared with results from Waverley Wood, an important archaeological site in the English Midlands falling within the ‘Cromerian Complex’. Contrary to earlier interpretations, the new amino acid data from Bithynia opercula indicate that West Runton is older than Waverley Wood, a relationship now consistent with the available biostratigraphy