Design and marketing features influencing choice of e-cigarettes and tobacco in the EU

Data were analysed from the 2014 Special Eurobarometer for Tobacco survey. We estimated self-rated importance of various factors in the choice of both tobacco and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) among tobacco smokers who had ever used an e-cigarette. Among ever users of tobacco and e-cigarettes (N = 2430), taste (39.4%), price (39.2%) and amount of nicotine (27.3%) were the most commonly cited reasons for choosing their brand of e-cigarettes. Those aged 15–24 were more likely to cite external packaging [adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR = 2.06, 95% CI 1.00–4.23)] and design features (aPR = 1.99, 1.20–3.29) as important. As further legislation is debated and enacted enhanced regulation of price, design and marketing features of e-cigarettes may help to reduce the appeal of e-cigarettes

Inductive Reasoning Games as Influenza Vaccination Models: Mean Field Analysis

We define and analyze an inductive reasoning game of voluntary yearly vaccination in order to establish whether or not a population of individuals acting in their own self-interest would be able to prevent influenza epidemics. We find that epidemics are rarely prevented. We also find that severe epidemics may occur without the introduction of pandemic strains. We further address the situation where market incentives are introduced to help ameliorating epidemics. Surprisingly, we find that vaccinating families exacerbates epidemics. However, a public health program requesting prepayment of vaccinations may significantly ameliorate influenza epidemics.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figure

Predictors of Childhood Exposure to Parental Secondhand Smoke in the House and Family Car

Childhood exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) is a serious threat to public health and can be influenced by parental lifestyle habits and beliefs. Taking the above into account we aimed at locating predictors of parental induced exposure to SHS in the house and family car among 614 children who visited the emergency department of two large pediatric hospitals in Athens, Greece. The multivariate analysis revealed that the factors found to mediate household exposure to paternal SHS were the number of cigarettes smoked per day (O.R 1.13, p<0.001) while, having a non-smoking spouse had a protective effect (O.R 0.44, p=0.026). Maternally induced household SHS exposure was related to cigarette consumption. For both parents, child exposure to SHS in the family car was related to higher numbers of cigarettes smoked (p<0.001), and for fathers was also more often found in larger families. Additionally, lower educated fathers were more likely to have a spouse that exposes their children to SHS inside the family car (O.R 1.38 95%C.I: 1.04–1.84, p=0.026). Conclusively, efforts must be made to educate parents on the effects of home and household car exposure to SHS, where smoke free legislation may be difficult to apply

What Defines an Effective Anti-Tobacco TV Advertisement? A Pilot Study among Greek Adolescents

As the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) calls for public health awareness on tobacco use, mass media campaigns should be appropriately designed so as to maximize their effectiveness. In this methodological pilot study, 95 Greek adolescents (mean age 15 ± 1.8 years), were shown seven different anti tobacco ads, and asked to rate the ad theme, message and emotional context on a 1−7 Likert scale. Health related ads were rated the highest, and as identified through the logistic regression analysis, adolescents who perceived an ad to be emotional or to have a clear message that was relevant to them, were more likely to rate the ad as more effective. The strong agreement between the above findings and the existing literature indicates the applicability of this pilot study’s methodological approach

Disparities and Trends in Indoor Exposure to Secondhand Smoke among U.S. Adolescents: 2000-2009

Introduction: Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure causes disease and death among nonsmokers. With a plethora of smoke-free legislation implemented and a steady decrease in cigarette consumption noted over the past decade in the U.S., this study assessed trends in indoor SHS exposure among U.S. adolescents in grades 6–12 during 2000–2009. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2000–2009 National Youth Tobacco Survey – a national survey of U.S. middle and high school students. SHS exposure within an indoor area within the past seven days was self-reported. Trends in indoor SHS exposure during 2000–2009 were assessed overall and by socio-demographic characteristics, using the Wald's test in a binary logistic regression. Within-group comparisons were performed using chi-squared statistics (p<0.05). Results: The proportion of U.S. middle and high school students who were exposed to indoor SHS declined from 65.5% in 2000 to 40.5% in 2009 (p<0.05 for linear trend). Significant declines were also observed across all population subgroups. Between 2000 and 2009, prevalence of indoor SHS exposure declined significantly among both middle (58.5% to 34.3%) and high school (71.5% to 45.4%) students. Prevalence of indoor SHS exposure was significantly higher among girls (44.0% in 2009) compared to boys (37.2% in 2009) during each survey year. Similarly, prevalence of indoor SHS exposure during 2000–2009 was highest among non-Hispanic whites (44.2% in 2009) and lowest among non-Hispanic Asians (30.2% in 2009). During each survey year, prevalence was highest among the oldest age group (≥18 years) and lowest among the youngest (9–11 years). Also, prevalence was significantly higher among current cigarette smokers (83.8% in 2009) compared to nonsmokers (34.0% in 2009). Conclusion: Significant declines in indoor SHS exposure among U.S. middle and high school students occurred during 2000–2009. While the results are encouraging, additional efforts are needed to further reduce youth indoor SHS exposure