Interventions to change vaping harm perceptions and associations between harm perceptions and vaping and smoking behaviours: A systematic review.

Aims: To synthesize and describe the evidence from among young people and adults to assess: (i) what interventions have been effective in changing vaping harm perceptions; and (ii) to what extent vaping harm perceptions predict any changes in vaping and smoking behaviours.

Methods: Systematic review searching five databases (Embase, PsycINFO, Medline, CINAHL, Scopus) from January 2007 to January 2023. Eligible studies reported quantitative data with >1 time point among young people (sample majority aged <18 years) or adults (sample majority aged ≥18 years).

Psychological distress, tobacco smoking and alcohol use: A population survey in Great Britain.

Aims: Psychological distress, smoking and alcohol use are interconnected. This study explores how distress and smoking independently, and in combination, are associated with alcohol consumption, past attempts and motivation to restrict alcohol use among people in Great Britain.

Methods: Pooled cross-sectional data of people (aged ≥ 16) in Great Britain (N = 87326) collected monthly from April 2020 to June 2023 in the nationally representative Smoking and Alcohol Toolkit Study.

Nicotine Exposure From Smoking Tobacco and Vaping Among Adolescents.

Importance: It remains unknown whether nicotine intake among youths who vape is lower, comparable, or higher than among youths who smoke.

Objective: To examine potential differences in biomarkers of exposure to nicotine (1) between adolescents who smoke tobacco, vape, both vape and smoke (dual use), or do not use; (2) between adolescents in 3 countries; and (3) by nicotine content and form in the vaping product last used among adolescents who exclusively vaped.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This population-based, observational cross-sectional study invited adolescents aged 16 to 19 years in Canada, England, and the US who had previously completed national surveys to participate in a biomarker study based on their vaping and smoking status.

Biomarkers of Toxicant Exposure among Youth in Canada, England, and the United States Who Vape and/or Smoke Tobacco or Do Neither.

Background: Few studies examine biomarkers of exposure to vaping and tobacco products among youth. We compared biomarkers for toxicants between youth who vape, smoke, "dual-use", or neither.

Methods: Participants ages 16 to 19 years in Canada, England, and the United States completed surveys and self-collected urine samples between September 2019 and January 2022 (N = 364).

Paying the price: Financial hardship and its association with psychological distress among different population groups in the midst of Great Britain's cost-of-living crisis.

Background: Great Britain has been experiencing a cost-of-living crisis since late 2021, with the cost of everyday essentials rising more quickly than the average household income. This study provides up-to-date information on levels of subjective and objective financial hardship during this crisis, differences across population subgroups, and associations with psychological distress.

Methods: We used data from a representative cross-sectional survey of adults (≥16 y) in Great Britain (n = 7,027) conducted January-March 2023.

Harm perceptions across vaping product features: An on-line cross-sectional survey of adults who smoke and/or vape in the United Kingdom.

Background And Aims: Vaping products are diverse with a wide variety of features, and popular products change rapidly. This study examined the features and types of vaping products that people who smoke and/or vape perceive contribute to the health harms of vaping.

Design, Setting And Participants: This was a cross-sectional survey co-designed with adults who smoked/vaped and pre-registered.

Pattern and prevalence of vaping nicotine and non-nicotine drugs in the United Kingdom: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: Electronic vaping devices are being used to consume nicotine and non-nicotine psychoactive drugs. We aimed to determine the pattern and prevalence of using vaping devices for nicotine and/or non-nicotine drug administration in the United Kingdom and how these differ by drug type and individual sociodemographic characteristics. We explored reasons for vaping onset and continuation.

Substance use and homelessness: A longitudinal interview study conducted during COVID-19 with implications for policy and practice.

Background: People who are homeless and using substances frequently encounter barriers to accessing support. This paper aims to inform policy and practice by analysing changes in the tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug use of people experiencing homelessness.

Methods: Data derive from a qualitative longitudinal study (undertaken 2020/2021) and involving telephone interviews (n = 310) conducted with 34 people accommodated in two London hotels provided as part of a UK policy response to COVID-19.

A cross-sectional survey of smoking and cessation support policies in a sample of homeless services in the United Kingdom.

Background: Smoking is extremely common amongst adults experiencing homelessness. To date, there is no nationally representative data on how tobacco dependence is treated and if and how smoking cessation is supported across the homeless sector. The aim of this study was to document smoking and e-cigarette policies of UK homeless services and identify areas of good practice and where improvements could be made.

Evaluating the effectiveness of e-cigarettes compared with usual care for smoking cessation when offered to smokers at homeless centres: protocol for a multi-centre cluster-randomized controlled trial in Great Britain.

Background And Aims: Smoking is extremely common among adults experiencing homelessness, but there is lack of evidence for treatment efficacy. E-cigarettes are an effective quitting aid, but they have not been widely tested in smokers with complex health and social needs. Here we build upon our cluster feasibility trial and evaluate the offer of an e-cigarette or usual care to smokers accessing a homeless centre.

The impact of cigarette smoking on life expectancy in schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and bipolar affective disorder: An electronic case register cohort study.

Severe mental disorders are associated with a life expectancy that is 10-20 years shorter than the general population's. The prevalence of cigarette smoking in these populations is very high. We examined the effect of smoking on life expectancy and survival in patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or bipolar affective disorder from 2007 to 2018 in South East London, UK.

Harm perceptions of nicotine-containing products and associated sources of information in UK adults with and without mental ill health: A cross-sectional survey.

Background And Aims: People with mental ill health are more likely to smoke and experience smoking-related harm than those without. Switching from combustible tobacco to lower-risk nicotine-containing products may be of benefit; however, misperceptions of harm may prevent their use. We aimed to assess, among adults with and without mental ill health, (1) perceptions of harm from nicotine and relative harm and addictiveness of different nicotine-containing products and (2) sources of information associated with harm perceptions.

Drug-related deaths associated with vaping product use in the United Kingdom.

Background And Aims: Between March 2019 and February 2020 there was an outbreak of acute lung injury associated with vaping tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), contaminated with vitamin E acetate, in the United States. To date, there has been no comprehensive study of drug-related deaths associated with vaping products in the United Kingdom. We aimed to identify any trends in drug-related deaths associated with vaping product use in the United Kingdom.

The SPECTRUM Consortium: a new UK Prevention Research Partnership consortium focussed on the commercial determinants of health, the prevention of non-communicable diseases, and the reduction of health inequalities.

The main causes of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), health inequalities and health inequity include consumption of unhealthy commodities such as tobacco, alcohol and/or foods high in fat, salt and/or sugar. These exposures are preventable, but the commodities involved are highly profitable. The economic interests of 'Unhealthy Commodity Producers' (UCPs) often conflict with health goals but their role in determining health has received insufficient attention.

Reciprocal influences of tobacco use on illicit opioid and alcohol use during the first six-months of specialist addiction treatment.

Background: This is the first national study of lagged reciprocal associations between tobacco smoking frequency and change in illicit opioid or alcohol use frequency within six-months of treatment.

Methods: All adults admitted to publicly-funded specialist addiction treatment in England in 2018/19 and enrolled for at least six months for either opioid use disorder (OUD; n = 22,046; 82.4 % of those eligible) or alcohol use disorder (AUD; n = 15,251; 78.

A cluster feasibility trial to explore the uptake and use of e-cigarettes versus usual care offered to smokers attending homeless centres in Great Britain.

Smoking rates in the UK are at an all-time low but this masks considerable inequalities; prevalence amongst adults who are homeless remains four times higher than the national average. The objective of this trial was to assess the feasibility of supplying free e-cigarette starter kits to smokers accessing homeless centres and to estimate parameters to inform a possible future larger trial. In this feasibility cluster trial, four homeless centres in Great Britain were non-randomly allocated to either a Usual Care (UC) or E-Cigarette (EC) arm.

Tobacco smoking, related harm and motivation to quit smoking in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

This narrative review focuses on the topic of tobacco smoking amongst people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. We searched PubMed, PsycInfo and Scopus databases for schizophrenia spectrum disorders and smoking and included articles about the epidemiology of tobacco smoking in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, examining the relationship between smoking and mental health. This narrative review describes that a higher prevalence, frequency and impact of both high nicotine dependence and its harmful effects in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders compared with those in the general population.

E-cigarette use and associated factors among smokers with severe mental illness.

Introduction: Smoking is more prevalent among people with severe mental illness (SMI) than the general population. E-cigarettes could provide an effective means of helping people to quit smoking. The aim of this paper is to explore the use of e-cigarettes and factors related to their use in people smokers with SMI.

Smoking-related violence in a mental health setting following the implementation of a comprehensive smoke-free policy: A content analysis of incident reports.

Smoke-free policies in mental health settings are important to protect health but are often impeded by staff concerns that physical violence may increase. We aimed to address the literature gap about the frequency, nature, and management of physical violence in relation to smoking. We compared the antecedents and containment of smoking-related incidents of physical violence over a two-year period, (12 months when an indoor-only smoke-free policy was in place, followed by 12 months after a new comprehensive smoke-free policy was introduced) using incident reports completed by staff in a large mental health organization in London, UK.

A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Stop Smoking Interventions in Substance-Use Disorder Populations.

Background: Tobacco smoking is highly prevalent among people attending treatment for a substance-use disorder (SUD). In the United Kingdom, specialist support to stop smoking is largely delivered by a national network of stop smoking services, and typically comprises of behavioral support delivered by trained practitioners on an individual (one-to-one) or group basis combined with a pharmacological smoking-cessation aid. We evaluate the cost-effectiveness of these interventions and compare cost-effectiveness for interventions using group- and individual-based support, in populations under treatment for SUD.

Smoking and common mental disorders in patients with chronic conditions: An analysis of data collected via a web-based screening system.

Objective: Smoking is the largest preventable cause of death and disability in the UK and remains pervasive in people with mental disorders and in general hospital patients. We aimed to quantify the prevalence of mental disorders and smoking, examining associations between mental disorders and smoking in patients with chronic physical conditions.

Method: Data were collected via routine screening systems implemented across two London NHS Foundation Trusts.

Adherence therapy following acute exacerbation of schizophrenia: A randomised controlled trial in Thailand.

Background: Up to 50% of patients with schizophrenia are non-adherent with antipsychotic medication.

Aims: To establish the efficacy of adherence therapy (AT) compared to treatment as usual (TAU) in improving clinical outcomes in patients with schizophrenia following an acute exacerbation of illness.

Method: A parallel-group, single-blind, randomised controlled trial.