Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2022
Meta AnalysisLonger-term use of electronic cigarettes when provided as a stop smoking aid: Systematic review with meta-analyses.
Moderate certainty evidence supports use of nicotine electronic cigarettes to quit smoking combustible cigarettes. However, there is less certainty regarding how long people continue to use e-cigarettes after smoking cessation attempts. We set out to synthesise data on the proportion of people still using e-cigarettes or other study products at 6 months or longer in studies of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation. ⋯ More people were using nicotine e-cigarettes at longest follow-up compared to non-nicotine e-cigarettes, but CIs included no difference (risk ratio 1.15, 95% CI: 0.94 to 1.41, n = 601). The levels of continued e-cigarette use observed may reflect the success of e-cigarettes as a quitting tool. Further research is needed to establish drivers of variation in and implications of continued use of e-cigarettes.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2022
Randomized Controlled TrialTailored text message and web intervention for smoking cessation in U.S. socioeconomically-disadvantaged young adults: A randomized controlled trial.
The prevalence of cigarette smoking in young adults is higher among those with socioeconomic disadvantage than those without. Low treatment-seeking among young adult smokers is compounded by few efficacious smoking cessation interventions for this group, particularly socioeconomically-disadvantaged young adults (SDYA) who smoke cigarettes. The goal of this study was to test a tailored smoking-cessation intervention for SDYA. 343 SDYA aged 18-30 living in the U. ⋯ A tailored text message intervention for SDYA increased smoking abstinence and confidence to quit at the end-of-treatment. Findings may have been influenced by recruitment at the start of the COVID pandemic but suggest that text messaging is an acceptable and efficacious cessation strategy for SDYA smokers. Future studies should examine the impact on longer-term smoking-cessation and importance of intervention tailoring for SDYA.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2022
ReviewIncome support policies and firearm violence prevention: A scoping review.
Firearm violence is a major threat to global public health and safety. Several individual, family, peer, community, and societal risk and protective factors determine or modify the risk of firearm violence. Specifically, there is a strong relationship between poverty, income inequality, and firearm violence; as such, interventions that influence upstream determinants of health by providing income support may hold much promise in affecting multiple domains of risk that are on the causal pathway to firearm violence. ⋯ We found 4 studies; of those, 3 were conducted in the United States and 1 in Brazil. All 4 found associations of policy-relevant magnitude between income support policies and reductions in risk of inter-personal firearm violence. We propose future opportunities to enhance the substantive scope and methodologic rigor of this field of research and inform policy and practice for greater impact.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2022
Randomized Controlled TrialPotential effects of nicotine content in cigarettes on use of other substances.
A national nicotine reduction policy has the potential to reduce cigarette smoking and associated adverse health impacts among vulnerable populations. However, possible unanticipated adverse effects of reducing nicotine content in cigarettes, such as increasing the use of alcohol or other abused substances, must be examined. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of exposure to varying doses of nicotine in cigarettes on use of other substances. ⋯ No significant main effects of nicotine dose were found on any of the examined outcomes. These results suggest that reducing nicotine content does not systematically increase use of other substances, even among individuals at increased risk of substance use. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifiers: NCT02232737, NCT2250664, NCT2250534.
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Preventive medicine · Dec 2022
Gun violence among young adults with a juvenile crime record in North Carolina: Implications for firearm restrictions based on age and risk.
Youth who acquire a juvenile crime record may be at increased risk of perpetrating gun violence as adults. North Carolina and 22 other states permit young adults who were adjudicated by a juvenile court - even for some felony-equivalent offenses - to legally access firearms. Effectiveness of gun restrictions for adults with juvenile crime histories has not been systematically studied. ⋯ The prevalence of arrests for crimes involving guns among young adults in North Carolina with a gun-disqualifying felony record acquired before age 18 suggests that the federal gun prohibitor conferred by a felony record is not highly effective as currently implemented in this population. From a risk-based perspective, these restrictions appear to be justified; better implementation and enforcement may improve their effectiveness. Gun crime prevention policies and interventions should focus on these populations and on limiting illegal access to firearms.