TikTok – Potential Impact on the Use of Smokeless Tobacco and Betel Quid by Young People

Introduction: TikTok has gained increasing popularity over the past year. The social media may affect awareness and perceptions of betel quid (BQ) and smokeless tobacco (SLT) by utilizing content generated by TikTok users. The purpose of this study is to examine how BQ and SLT are portrayed on TikTok. Methods: The 28 most viewed hashtag-based keywords were used to identify popular BQ and SLT-related videos on TikTok (n=513) from June 2018 to September 2021. Two researchers independently coded the number of likes, shares, views, user category and themes. Results: A final sample of 513 videos containing BQ and SLT that met the study criteria were included. Collectively, these videos were viewed over 725 million times, with a median ‘view’ count of 17,300 (range 152–155,000,000) and a median ‘likes’ count of 831 (range 4–2,400,000) and a median ‘share’ count of 21 (range 0–48,400). Majority of the videos showed BQ and SLT use positively i.e promoting the product (390/513; 76%) and these had more than 686 million times views. Neutral depictions of BQ and SLT use were viewed 15 million times (72/513; 14%) and negative portrayals of BQ and SLT have been viewed 193 million times (105/808; 13%). The video themes included ‘life style’ (349/513; 68.0%), ‘marketing’ (62/513; 12.09%), ‘comedy’ (44/513; 8.6%), ‘warning’ (25/513; 4.87%), ‘awareness’ (12/513; 2.3%), ‘sports and other’ (12/513; 2.3%) and social events or culture (9/513; 1.75%). Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that video clips related to BQ and SLT on TikTok, a fast-growing, popular video-sharing platform among teens, which is available with no age restrictions has been viewed multiple times. Majority (76%) promoted these two products, that could be detrimental to oral health. Therefore, the age restrictions especially for the videos containing BQ and SLT is mandatory in order to reduce the potential exposure of adolescents/young adults.     

How can hospitals change practice to better implement smoking cessation interventions? A systematic review

Smoking cessation reduces the risk of death, improves recovery, and reduces the risk of hospital readmission. Evidence and policy support hospital admission as an ideal time to deliver smoking-cessation interventions. However, this is not well implemented in practice. In this systematic review, the authors summarize the literature on smoking-cessation implementation strategies and evaluate their success to guide the implementation of best-practice smoking interventions into hospital settings. The CINAHL Complete, Embase, MEDLINE Complete, and PsycInfo databases were searched using terms associated with the following topics: smoking cessation, hospitals, and implementation. In total, 14,287 original records were identified and screened, resulting in 63 eligible articles from 56 studies. Data were extracted on the study characteristics, implementation strategies, and implementation outcomes. Implementation outcomes were guided by Proctor and colleagues' framework and included acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, cost, feasibility, fidelity, penetration, and sustainability. The findings demonstrate that studies predominantly focused on the training of staff to achieve implementation. Brief implementation approaches using a small number of implementation strategies were less successful and poorly sustained compared with well resourced and multicomponent approaches. Although brief implementation approaches may be viewed as advantageous because they are less resource-intensive, their capacity to change practice in a sustained way lacks evidence. Attempts to change clinician behavior or introduce new models of care are challenging in a short time frame, and implementation efforts should be designed for long-term success. There is a need to embrace strategic, well planned implementation approaches to embed smoking-cessation interventions into hospitals and to reap and sustain the benefits for people who smoke.     

Call to Action to Reduce Tobacco Use During Pregnancy

Tobacco use is a leading preventable cause of adverse maternal and child health outcomes. However, many women in the United States still report smoking during the third trimester of pregnancy. Smoking rates during pregnancy are particularly high among vulnerable women, such as those who experience mental illness, substance use disorder, homelessness, or interpersonal violence. The Tobacco Control Vaccine is a model based on population-level, evidence-based practices to reduce tobacco use. The four elements of the Tobacco Control Vaccine are access to treatment for tobacco dependence, smoke-free policies, increased tobacco taxes, and media campaigns. The purpose of this commentary is a call to action for health care providers to advocate for increased access to treatment for tobacco dependence; stay up-to-date on innovative, tailored treatment practices; and advocate for comprehensive, smoke-free policies, higher tobacco taxes, and media campaigns to help pregnant women quit smoking and avoid relapse in the postpartum period.     

Peri-operative tobacco cessation interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Tobacco smoking is associated with a substantially increased risk of postoperative complications. The peri-operative period offers a unique opportunity to support patients to stop tobacco smoking, avoid complications and improve long-term health. This systematic review provides an up-to-date summary of the evidence for tobacco cessation interventions in surgical patients. We conducted a systematic search of randomised controlled trials of tobacco cessation interventions in the peri-operative period. Quantitative synthesis of the abstinence outcomes data was by random-effects meta-analysis. The primary outcome of the meta-analysis was abstinence at the time of surgery, and the secondary outcome was abstinence at 12 months. Thirty-eight studies are included in the review (7310 randomised participants) and 26 studies are included in the meta-analysis (5969 randomised participants). Studies were pooled for subgroup analysis in two ways: by the timing of intervention delivery within the peri-operative period and by the intensity of the intervention protocol. We judged the quality of evidence as moderate, reflecting the degree of heterogeneity and the high risk of bias. Overall, peri-operative tobacco cessation interventions increased successful abstinence both at the time of surgery, risk ratio (95%CI) 1.48 (1.20–1.83), number needed to treat 7; and 12 months after surgery, risk ratio (95%CI) 1.62 (1.29–2.03), number needed to treat 9. More work is needed to inform the design and optimal delivery of interventions that are acceptable to patients and that can be incorporated into contemporary elective and urgent surgical pathways. Future trials should use standardised outcome measures.     

2018年攀枝花市烟草流行现况调查

目的了解攀枝花市烟草流行现状,为控烟干预提供参考。方法通过分层多阶段随机抽样和概率比例规模抽样相结合的方法,2018年攀枝花市共20个街道(乡镇)1840名15~69岁城乡常住居民参与问卷调查。调查主要内容包括个人基本信息,以及吸烟情况、烟草依赖情况、戒烟门诊及戒烟热线知晓情况、二手烟接触与危害知晓情况、电子烟与低焦油含量卷烟危害知晓情况。运用SPSS 20.0统计软件进行统计描述和卡方检验,检验水准a=0.05。结果共收回有效问卷1838份。攀枝花市2018年15~69岁成人吸烟率为24.65%,男性为50.81%,女性为1.64%。城市居民吸烟率(21.62%)低于农村(27.21%)。有36.65%的吸烟者有未来戒烟计划,41.94%的吸烟者曾经尝试过戒烟但并未成功。戒烟者戒烟前一年烟草依赖比例(40.98%)小于现在吸烟者(75.72%)差异有统计学意义(χ²=30.21,P<0.01)。被调查者中只有14.53%听说过戒烟热线,19.80%听说过戒烟门诊。二手烟暴露率高(72.72%)。18.23%的被调查者认为“有些卷烟会比另一些卷烟对人的健康危害小”,25.73%的被调查者认为电子烟的危害比卷烟小。结论控烟工作的重点是降低男性吸烟率。若想改变攀枝花市烟草流行现状,须保障健康教育经费投入,同时完善戒烟门诊建设,完善法制体系建设,全方位多举措有效降低吸烟率。     

Opportunities and Challenges of Tobacco Control Policy at District Level in Indonesia: A Qualitative Analysis

Introduction: Comprehensive tobacco control policies are lacking in Indonesia where smoking prevalence in males is among the highest in the world. This study aims to explore the knowledge, attitude, opportunities and challenges to tobacco control among local stakeholders. Methods: This is a qualitative study using in-depth interviews. Four study areas included Bengkulu Province, Bengkulu City, Seluma District, and Kaur District. Eighteen participants interviewed were from policymakers, legislators, and civil societies during November-December 2020. Thematic data analysis was used. Results: While knowledge and support of the existing Smoke Free Policy (SFP) were high, that of other policies such as outdoor tobacco advertising (OTA) ban and tobacco product display ban were low. Among others, one opportunity was there is already SFP regulation in each study area, to which such bans can be added. Among others, three major challenges were: (a) lack of enforcement of the existing SFP, (b) lack of national regulation to ban OTA and product display, and (c) counter actions by the tobacco industry. Conclusion: The opportunities and challenges identified could be lessons learnt for more comprehensive tobacco control especially by local governments in Indonesia and other countries with similar settings.     

Tobacco Use and Oral Health

This review outlines the important oral implications of tobacco use. The lining of the mouth (oral mucosa), if exposed to tobacco and its products in a susceptible individual, can develop benign, potentially malignant, and malignant tumours. Treatment and prognosis depend on tumour type, how early it is detected, its size and site in the oral cavity and whether it has spread. Advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has a 20% 5-year survival rate. Tobacco use also increases the risk of periodontitis, peri-implantitis, caries, alveolar osteitis and halitosis. Although less life threatening than OSCC, these tobacco related conditions create a substantial financial and health burden for individuals and society. Dental practitioners routinely examine the oral cavity for signs of mucosal and tooth changes, are experienced in recognising variations from normal and have established management and referral pathways. They are also ideally positioned to provide brief interventions to assist their patients to quit smoking.     

Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Stomach Cancer among Male Adults: A Case-Control Study in Northern Viet Nam

Objective: This study investigated the association between fruit and vegetable intake and stomach cancer, with considering the impacts of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and tobacco smoking. Methods: A case-control study featuring 80 male incident stomach-cancer cases and 126 male controls was conducted in a general hospital in Viet Nam. A semi-quantitative food frequency and demographic lifestyle questionnaire were used; and venous blood samples were collected to determine H. pylori status by IgG ELISA. The respective associations between fruit and vegetable intake and stomach cancer were examined using unconditional logistic regression analysis with adjustments for possible cofactors. Results: Fruit intake and stomach cancer showed a weak inverse association when this became non-significant after adjusting for H. pylori infection (OR = 0.50, 95%CI: 0.22–1.12, p trend = 0.094). Stratifying by H. pylori status returned a negative trend for fruit intake and stomach cancer among H. pylori-negative participants (OR = 0.21, 95%CI: 0.06–0.69, p trend = 0.010), but no significant interaction for H. pylori-positive participants (OR = 0.76, 95%CI: 0.21–2.68, p trend = 0.670). Vegetable intake and stomach cancer showed no association, regardless of H. pylori status. Compared to ever-smokers with low intake, never-smokers with high vegetable (OR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.06–0.95) and fruit intake (OR = 0.20, 95%CI: 0.06–0.65) showed the lowest odds of stomach cancer. Conclusions: Fruit, but not vegetable, intake showed a weak inverse association with stomach cancer. H. pylori infection and tobacco-smoking status may influence the protective effects of fruit and vegetable intake on stomach cancer.