Implementation of workplace-based smoking cessation support activities and smoking cessation among employees:the Finnish Public Sector Study

We investigated the relationship between implementation of workplace smoking cessation support activities and employee smoking cessation.

Do smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease report their smoking status reliably?:A comparison of self-report and bio-chemical validation

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is predominantly caused by cigarette smoking and is considered a worldwide preventable chronic illness. Smoking cessation is considered the primary intervention for disease management and nurses should play a major role in assisting patients to stop smoking. Currently there is a lack of professional consensus on how cessation interventions should be evaluated. The vast array of biochemical markers reported in the literature can be confusing and can make the comparisons of results difficult.

The Cold War and British Debates over the Boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics

This article examines the debate precipitated by the Thatcher government's (unsuccessful) attempt to secure a British boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Aware that it faced a struggle to win over the autonomous British Olympic Association, but with Thatcher in particular keen to support the United States, the government's case that the invasion required a specific response in the form of a boycott was steadily overshadowed as the public debate increasingly focused on arguments over human rights and détente and the use of state power.

Dietary intake, smoking, and transient anti-gliadin antibodies

The detection of IgA anti-gliadin antibodies in adults can either be helpful in the diagnosis of coeliac disease, be persistent in subjects with normal jejunal mucosa, or occur transiently. We decided to investigate the effects of smoking, alcohol consumption, and dietary intake on the development of IgA anti-gliadin antibodies.

Cigarette smoking and random serum cholesterol levels in a Northern Ireland general practice population of 18- to 20-year-old students and non-students

Coronary heart disease is the commonest cause of death in Northern Ireland, but few data exist on the incidence of risk factors in young adult students and non-students.

Cigarette Smoking Increases Risk of Barrett’s Esophagus:An Analysis of the Barrett’s and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium

Background & Aims: Cigarette smoking has been implicated in the etiology of esophageal adenocarcinoma, but it is not clear if smoking is a risk factor for Barrett's esophagus. We investigated whether tobacco smoking and other factors increase risk for Barrett's esophagus.

Methods: We analyzed data from 5 case-control studies included in the international Barrett's and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Consortium. We compared data from subjects with Barrett's esophagus (n = 1059) with those from subjects with gastroesophageal reflux disease (gastroesophageal reflux disease controls, n = 1332), and population-based controls (n = 1143), using multivariable logistic regression models to test associations with cigarette smoking. We also tested whether cigarette smoking has synergistic effects with other exposures, which might further increase risk for Barrett's esophagus.

Results: Subjects with Barrett's esophagus were significantly more likely to have ever smoked cigarettes than the population-based controls (odds ratio [OR] = 1.67; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.042.67) or gastroesophageal reflux disease controls (OR = 1.61; 95% CI: 1.331.96). Increasing pack-years of smoking increased the risk for Barrett's esophagus. There was evidence of a synergy between ever-smoking and heartburn or regurgitation; the attributable proportion of disease among individuals who ever smoked and had heartburn or regurgitation was estimated to be 0.39 (95% CI: 0.250.52).

Conclusions: Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for Barrett's esophagus. The association was strengthened with increased exposure to smoking until ~20 pack-years, when it began to plateau. Smoking has synergistic effects with heartburn or regurgitation, indicating that there are various pathways by which tobacco smoking might contribute to development of Barrett's esophagus.

Cold, Hungry and Scared:Prison Films About the Troubles

The cinematic representations of the prison experience during the Northern Irish Troubles.

Comorbidities and current smoking status amongst patients starting renal replacement therapy in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 2003 to 2008: national and centre-specific analyses

Introduction: The prevalence of comorbidities in incident renal replacement therapy (RRT) patients changes with age and varies between ethnic groups. This study describes these associations and the independent effect of comorbidities on outcomes. Methods: Adult patients starting RRT between 2003 and 2008 in centres reporting to the UK Renal Registry (UKRR) with data on comorbidity (n ¼ 14,909) were included. The UKRR studied the association of comorbidity with patient demographics, treatment modality, haemoglobin, renal function at start of RRT and subsequent listing for kidney transplantation. The relationship between comorbidities and mortality at 90 days and one year after 90 days from start of RRT was explored using Cox regression. Results: Completeness of comorbidity data was 40.0% compared with 54.3% in 2003. Of patients with data, 53.8% had one or more comorbidities. Diabetes mellitus and ischaemic heart disease were the most common conditions seen in 30.1% and 22.7% of patients respectively. Current smoking was recorded for 14.5% of incident RRT patients in the 6-year period. Comorbidities became more common with increasing age in all ethnic groups although the difference between the 65–74 and 75+ age groups was not significant. Within each age group, South Asians and Blacks had lower rates of comorbidity, despite higher rates of diabetes mellitus. In multivariate survival analysis, malignancy and ischaemic/neuropathic ulcers were the strongest independent predictors of poor survival at 1 year after 90 days from the start of RRT. Conclusion: Differences in prevalence of comorbid illnesses in incident RRT patients may reflect variation in access to health care or competing risk prior to commencing treatment. At the same time, smoking rates remained high in this ‘at risk’ population. Further work on this and ways to improve comorbidity reporting should be priorities for 2010–11.

Comorbidities and current smoking status amongst patients starting renal replacement therapy in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: national and centre-specific analyses

Introduction: The prevalence of 13 comorbid conditions and smoking status at the time of starting renal replacement therapy (RRT) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are described. Methods: Adult patients starting RRT between 2002 and 2007 in centres reporting to the UK Renal Registry (UKRR) and with data on comorbidity (n¼13,293) were included. The association of comorbidity with patient demographics, treatment modality, haemoglobin, renal function at start of RRT and subsequent listing for kidney transplantation were studied. Association between comorbidities and mortality at 90 days and one year after 90 days from start of RRT was explored using Cox regression. Results: Completeness of data on comorbidity returned to the UKRR remained poor. Of patients with data, 52% had one or more comorbidities. Diabetes mellitus and ischaemic heart disease were the most common conditions seen in 28.9% and 22.5% of patients respectively. Comorbidities became more common with increasing age (up to the 65–74 age group), were more common amongst Whites and were associated with a lower likelihood of pre-emptive transplantation, a greater likelihood of starting on haemodialysis (rather than peritoneal dialysis) and a lower likelihood of being listed for kidney transplantation. In multivariable survival analysis, malignancy and ischaemic/neuropathic ulcers were the strongest predictors of poor survival at 1 year after 90 days from start of RRT. Conclusions: The majority of patients had at least one comorbid condition and comorbidity is an important predictor of early mortality on RRT.

Estimates of peer effects in adolescent smoking across twenty six European countries

Although it is widely believed that one of the key factors influencing whether an adolescent smokes or not is the smoking behaviour of his or her peers, empirical evidence on the magnitude of such peer effects, and even on their existence, is mixed. This existing evidence comes from a range of studies using a variety of country-specific data sources and a variety of identification strategies. This paper exploits a rich source of individual level, school-based, survey data on adolescent substance use across countries - the 2007 European Schools Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs - to provide estimates of peer effects between classmates in adolescent smoking for 75,000 individuals across 26 European countries, using the same methods in each case. The results suggest statistically significant peer effects in almost all cases. These peer effects estimates are large: on average across countries, the probability that a 'typical' adolescent smokes increases by between.31 and.38 percentage points for a one percentage point increase in the proportion of classmates that smoke. Further, estimated peer effects in adolescent smoking are stronger intra-gender than inter-gender. They also vary across countries: in Belgium, for example, a one percentage point increase in reference group smoking is associated with a.16 to.27 percentage point increase in own smoking probability; in the Netherlands the corresponding increase is between.42 and.59 percentage points. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

Explaining Social Class Inequalities in Smoking: The Role of Education, Self-Efficacy, and Deprivation

Rates of smoking have decreased dramatically in most Northern European countries over the last 50 years or so, but manual working class groups are substantially more likely to smoke daily than are the professional and managerial classes. This article examines three hypotheses about the processes producing these inequalities. The first argues that social class inequalities reflect differences across education groups in knowledge of the risks of smoking. The second suggests that the living conditions of lower social class groups leads to the development of lower self-efficacy and a lower propensity to quit smoking. The third states that smoking has a functional use among poorer individuals. This article draws upon data from the Republic of Ireland to assess these hypotheses. Our analysis provides some support for the first hypothesis in that education independently reduces the odds of a manual class person smoking relative to a non-manual by 12 per cent. The second hypothesis is not supported by the data. The third hypothesis gains the most support: measures of disadvantage and deprivation account for almost one-third of the class differential in smoking. The results suggest that smoking cessation policy should reflect the importance of social and economic context in quitting behaviour.

Effect of offset web holes on web crippling strength of cold-formed steel channel sections under end-two-flange loading condition

A combination of experiments and non-linear finite element analyses are used to investigate the effect of offset web holes on the web crippling strength of cold-formed steel channel sections under the end-two-flange (ETF) loading condition; the cases of both flanges fastened and unfastened to the support are considered. The web holes are located at the mid-depth of the sections, with a horizontal clear distance of the web holes to the near edge of the bearing plate. Finite element analysis results are compared against the laboratory test results; good agreement was obtained in terms of both strength and failure modes. A parametric study was then undertaken to investigate both the effect of the position of holes in the web and the cross-section sizes on the web crippling strength of the channel sections. It was demonstrated that the main factors influencing the web crippling strength are the ratio of the hole depth to the depth of the web, and the ratio of the distance from the edge of the bearing to the flat depth of the web. Design recommendations in the form of web crippling strength reduction factors are proposed in this study.

Translation suppression promotes stress granule formation and cell survival in response to cold shock

Cells respond to different types of stress by inhibition of protein synthesis and subsequent assembly of stress granules (SGs), cytoplasmic aggregates that contain stalled translation preinitiation complexes. Global translation is regulated through the translation initiation factor eukaryotic initiation factor 2a (eIF2a) and the mTOR pathway. Here we identify cold shock as a novel trigger of SG assembly in yeast and mammals. Whereas cold shock-induced SGs take hours to form, they dissolve within minutes when cells are returned to optimal growth temperatures. Cold shock causes eIF2a phosphorylation through the kinase PERK in mammalian cells, yet this pathway is not alone responsible for translation arrest and SG formation. In addition, cold shock leads to reduced mitochondrial function, energy depletion, concomitant activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and inhibition of mTOR signaling. Compound C, a pharmacological inhibitor of AMPK, prevents the formation of SGs and strongly reduces cellular survival in a translation-dependent manner. Our results demonstrate that cells actively suppress protein synthesis by parallel pathways, which induce SG formation and ensure cellular survival during hypothermia.

Accessibility and availability of smoking-related associations in smokers

A free association test was used in the present study to examine the availability and accessibility of positive vs negative smoking-related information in the long-term memories of smokers. Participants were asked to generate smoking-related associations across a 4-minute interval. Although smokers generated more positive smoking-associations than non-smokers, both groups produced a greater number of negative than positive associations per se. Of particular interest was the finding that whilst the ratio of positive/negative associations generated was constant across time in non-smokers, this ratio varied in smokers. Specifically, smokers generated proportionately more of their available positive associations and proportionately less of their negative associations in the early time interval. It is suggested that these results not only indicate a greater availability of positive smoking-associations in smokers compared to non-smokers, but also a greater accessibility too. It is proposed that positive smoking associations are more automatically activated than negative associations in smokers, even though they have generally more negative associations available.