Addressing smoking among people living with HIV: a cross-sectional survey of Australian HIV health practitioners’ practices and attitudes

People living with HIV (PLHIV) have high rates of tobacco smoking, and smoking is a leading cause of premature mortality and morbidity. It is important to understand HIV healthcare providers’ practices and attitudes towards addressing smoking with their patients. An online survey that measured: (i) use of the 5A framework for addressing smoking (Ask, Assess, Advise, Assist, Arrange) and (ii) attitudes and barriers to addressing smoking cessation was distributed by relevant professional bodies. Eligible participants were Australian health practitioners providing healthcare to PLHIV. Of the 179 respondents, most reported practising at least one of the 5As: Ask (94%); Assess (78%); Advise (82%); Assist (89%); and Arrange (73%). Practising the full 5A framework (completing at least one activity from each A) was less common (62%) and associated with having undertaken smoking cessation training (OR 2.1, CI 1.1–3.9), being a medical practitioner (OR 6.0, CI 3.1–11.6), having greater perceived knowledge and resources (OR 1.7, CI 1.3–2.4) and more positive attitudes (OR 1.5, CI 1.1–2.0). Common barriers to delivering cessation assistance related to knowledge and availability of resources. Development and greater dissemination of effective smoking cessation training and resources may be required to ensure healthcare practitioners have the capacity to complete all aspects of the 5A framework for smoking cessation and support their patients with HIV who smoke.     

Are patients truthful about their smoking habits? A validation of self‐report about smoking cessation with biochemical markers of smoking activity amongst patients with ischaemic heart disease

Abstract. From Attebring M, Herlitz J, Berndt A‐K, Karlsson T, Hjalmarson A (Division of Cardiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden). Are patients truthful about their smoking habits? A validation of self‐report about smoking cessation with biochemical markers of smoking activity amongst patients with ischaemic heart disease. J Intern Med 2001; 249: 145–151. Aim. To validate self‐report about smoking cessation with biochemical markers of smoking activity amongst patients with ischaemic heart disease. Patients and methods. Outpatients at the Division of Cardiology, 75 years of age or younger, who had been Hospitalized at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Göteborg due to an ischaemic event and who consecutively participated in a nurse‐monitored routine care programme for secondary prevention, from 6 February 1997 to 5 February 1998. Data concerning smoking habits were collected through interviews. Two chemical markers, cotinine in plasma and carbon monoxide (CO) in expired air, validated self‐reports concerning smoking cessation. Results. 260 former smokers were validated. In the vast majority of the study population, the anamnestic information concurred with the chemical marker. However, 17 patients had chemical markers that contradicted their self‐report with raised CO (n = 6) and/or raised cotinine levels (n = 13) without alternative nicotine delivery. Conclusion. Most patients with coronary artery disease relating information concerning cessation of smoking are truthful. A few patients, however, seem to conceal their smoking. Testing by chemical markers may be questionable for ordinary care but should, however, be included in studies concerning the association between smoking and health.     

Socio‐demographic predictors of quitting smoking: how important are household factors?

AIMS: To compare different socio-demographic predictors of quitting smoking in a cohort representative of adult smokers in the British population using appropriate models that take into account the clustering of smoking behaviours at the household and area levels. DESIGN: A longitudinal, population representative survey of British adults (the British Household Panel Survey, BHPS) from 1991 to 2000. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: At wave 1 of the BHPS, 10264 adults living in 5511 households were interviewed. Around 30% of the wave 1 respondents reported smoking cigarettes. Of these, 21% had quit smoking over a 10-year period. MEASUREMENTS: 'Quitters' (quitting smoking) were defined as smokers who had subsequently described themselves as non-smokers for at least 2 consecutive waves (years) of the BHPS. Degree of dependence was indexed using the number of cigarettes currently smoked per day. FINDINGS: Degree of dependence was the strongest predictor of quitting smoking, followed by occupational social class, social support, marital status and the proportion of smokers in the household. There was some evidence of clustering of quitting smoking behaviour within households-members of the same household had similar quitting smoking behaviours. This clustering at the household level appeared to be explained by mechanisms related to the household level. However, there was little evidence for clustering of smoking behaviour within areas. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to reducing addiction to cigarettes, policies designed to encourage smokers to quit may need to take into account factors related to household support and employment relations, in order to encourage smokers from all socio-demographic groups to quit     

How have smoking risk factors changed with recent declines in California adolescent smoking?

AIM: To compare predictors of smoking initiation in two longitudinal studies in California conducted during periods when adolescent smoking prevalence was increasing (1993-96) and decreasing (1996-99). DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Cohorts of 12-15-year-old never smokers were identified from the cross-sectional 1993 and 1996 California Tobacco Surveys (large population-based telephone surveys) and followed-up 3 years later (1993-96, n = 1764; 1996-99, n = 2119). MEASURES: We compared cohort transition rates to any smoking by follow-up in risk groups defined by known predictors of smoking initiation at baseline. Besides examining predictors individually, risk groups were defined using a multivariate analysis. FINDINGS: Overall, transition to any smoking by follow-up occurred in 38.3 +/- 4.0% (% +/- 95% confidence interval) of never smokers in the 1993-96 cohort and 31.1 +/- 2.6% in the 1996-99 cohort. For most predictors, the transition rate for adolescents with the characteristic was the same or only slightly lower in the 1996-99 cohort compared to the 1993-96 cohort, but the transition rate in those without the characteristic was generally much lower, thus increasing the power of the predictor. The multivariate analysis confirmed that compared to the 1993-96 cohort, transition occurred much less often in the 1996-99 cohort for adolescents at low rather than at medium or high risk of future smoking. CONCLUSIONS: The turnaround in California adolescent smoking in the mid-1990s, when smoking began to decline, appears to come primarily from adolescents already at low risk of future smoking (as defined by a variety of predictors), who transitioned to smoking at much lower rates than previously.     

Comparison between objective measures of smoking and self-reported smoking status in patients with asthma or COPD: are our patients telling us the truth?

OBJECTIVE:

Smoking prevalence is frequently estimated on the basis of self-reported smoking status. That can lead to an underestimation of smoking rates. The aim of this study was to evaluate the difference between self-reported smoking status and that determined through the use of objective measures of smoking at a pulmonary outpatient clinic.

METHODS:

This was a cross-sectional study involving 144 individuals: 51 asthma patients, 53 COPD patients, 20 current smokers, and 20 never-smokers. Smoking status was determined on the basis of self-reports obtained in interviews, as well as through tests of exhaled carbon monoxide (eCO) and urinary cotinine.

RESULTS:

All of the asthma patients and COPD patients declared they were not current smokers. In the COPD and asthma patients, the median urinary cotinine concentration was 167 ng/mL (range, 2-5,348 ng/mL) and 47 ng/mL (range, 5-2,735 ng/mL), respectively (p < 0.0001), whereas the median eCO level was 8 ppm (range, 0-31 ppm) and 5 ppm (range, 2-45 ppm), respectively (p < 0.05). In 40 (38%) of the patients with asthma or COPD (n = 104), there was disagreement between the self-reported smoking status and that determined on the basis of the urinary cotinine concentration, a concentration > 200 ng/mL being considered indicative of current smoking. In 48 (46%) of those 104 patients, the self-reported non-smoking status was refuted by an eCO level > 6 ppm, which is also considered indicative of current smoking. In 30 (29%) of the patients with asthma or COPD, the urinary cotinine concentration and the eCO level both belied the patient claims of not being current smokers.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our findings suggest that high proportions of smoking pulmonary patients with lung disease falsely declare themselves to be nonsmokers. The accurate classification of smoking status is pivotal to the treatment of lung diseases. Objective measures of smoking could be helpful in improving clinical management and counseling.     

Is smoking an indirect risk factor for the development of ulcerative colitis? An age‐ and sex‐matched case–control study

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that smoking protects against the development of ulcerative colitis (UC). Evidence is mainly driven from the way data from a multitude of case-control studies have been interpreted. METHODS: An age- and sex-matched case-control study was conducted to further assess the association between history of smoking, past surgery, childhood, and other potential causative factors with the development of UC using the answers to a detailed questionnaire. The data were analyzed using univariate analysis and logistic regression. The results are presented as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: One hundred and two cases and an equal number of matched controls were included in the study. Using a three-level comparison, at the age of diagnosis, the risks of developing UC were 0.41 (0.19-0.87), 3.45 (1.62-7.35) and 0.78 (0.44-1.37) for smokers, ex-smokers and non-smokers, respectively. When compared to individuals who have never smoked, ex-smokers were at a higher risk of developing the disease (OR = 3.00 (1.38-6.51)). The specific history of quitting smoking prior to the age of onset of symptoms was associated with an increased risk for developing the disease (OR = 3.45 (1.62-7.35)). CONCLUSIONS: Active smoking was associated with a low risk for the development of UC, but the lack of history of smoking was not associated with an increase in the risk. History of quitting smoking prior to the onset of symptoms, in contrast, was associated with a significant increase in the risk of developing the disease. These findings make the theory of a simple protective effect of smoking on the development of UC difficult to justify. It may be plausible to suggest that the withdrawal of the immunosuppressive effect of smoking triggers the disease onset in a genetically susceptible individual or simply unmasks its symptoms.     

Does parental smoking cessation encourage their young adult children to quit smoking? A prospective study

AIMS: To investigate the extent to which parental early and late smoking cessation predicts their young adult children's smoking cessation. DESIGN: Parental early smoking cessation status was assessed when children were in 3rd grade, parental late smoking cessation was assessed when children were in 11th grade, and young adult children's smoking cessation was assessed 2 years after high school. SETTING: Forty Washington State school districts participated in the Hutchinson Smoking Prevention Project. PARTICIPANTS AND MEASUREMENTS: Participants were the 1553 families in which parents were ever regular smokers who had a young adult child smoking at least weekly at 12th grade who also reported their smoking status 2 years later. Questionnaire data were gathered on parents and their young adult children (49% female and 91% Caucasian) in a cohort with a 94% retention rate. FINDINGS: Parents who quit early had children with 1.8 (OR = 1.80; 95% CI = 1.22, 2.64) times higher odds of quitting smoking for at least 1 month in young adulthood compared to those whose parents did not quit early. In contrast, there was no association (OR = 0.84; 95% CI = 0.47, 1.51) between parents quitting late and their young adult children's smoking cessation. CONCLUSIONS: Parental early smoking cessation is associated with increased odds of their young adult children's smoking cessation. Parents who smoke should be encouraged to quit when their children are young.     

Is maternal smoking more determinant than paternal smoking on the respiratory symptoms of young children?

BACKGROUND: It is generally accepted that maternal smoking has more detrimental effects than paternal smoking on the respiratory health of children. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of postnatal exposure due to the smoking behaviour by father and mother in the home, and prenatal exposure from maternal smoking during pregnancy, on the respiratory symptoms in children. METHODS: The parents of 484 children, aged 3-6 years, completed a questionnaire about smoking and respiratory symptoms in children. Bivariate and logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associated factors with respiratory symptoms. RESULTS: The final model of logistic regression analysis showed that prenatal exposure by maternal smoking during pregnancy increased the risk of wheezing with colds (adjusted OR=2.00, 95% CI:1.13-3.55) with respect to those children whose mothers reported no smoking during pregnancy. Postnatal exposure by maternal smoking in the home, in the presence of the child, increased the risk of cough with phlegm (adjusted OR=2.79, 95% CI:1.23-6.30) with respect to those children whose mothers did not smoke in their presence. Paternal smoking was associated with wheezing and cough in the bivariate analysis, but did not remain significant in the multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results underline a greater influence of exposure to maternal smoking (prenatal and postnatal) than postnatal paternal smoking on the development of respiratory symptoms in young children.     

Does smoking cannabis affect work commitment?

Aims This study aimed to examine the associations between cannabis use and work commitment Design We used a 25‐year panel survey initiated in 1985 with follow‐ups in 1987, 1989, 1993, 2003 and 2010. Registered data from a range of public registers were matched with individual responses for the entire period. Setting The panel survey was a nation‐wide study set in Norway. Participants A total of 1997 respondents born between 1965 and 1968 were included in the panel. Measurements Work involvement scale (WIS) was used to assess work commitment. Involvement with cannabis was based on self‐reported smoking of cannabis within the last 12 months and exposure to cannabis through friends. This information was categorized into ‘abstaining’, ‘exposed’, ‘experimented’ and ‘involved’. Control measures included socio‐economic background, mental health (HSCL‐10), education, work satisfaction, unemployment, receipt of social assistance, consumption of alcohol, alcohol‐related problems and use of other illicit drugs. Findings The level of work commitment was associated with involvement with cannabis. In 1993, when the respondents were in their mid‐20s, those who were involved or had experimented with cannabis displayed lower levels of work commitment than those who were abstaining or merely exposed to cannabis through friends (P < 0.05). Work commitment among those who experimented with cannabis converged towards the levels reported by abstainers and the exposed as they grew older, whereas those involved reported decreasing work commitment into adulthood (P < 0.001). Using linear regression models for panel data, an association with continued use of cannabis across the life‐course and a lowering of work commitment was established. Results remained significant even when controlling for a range of other factors known to be related to work commitment, such as socio‐economic background, education, labour market experiences, mental health and family characteristics (P < 0.05). Conclusions In Norway the use of cannabis is associated with a reduction in work commitment among adults.     

Does stage‐based smoking cessation advice in pregnancy result in long‐term quitters? 18‐month postpartum follow‐up of a randomized controlled trial

AIMS: To evaluate the effect on quitting smoking at 18 months postpartum of smoking cessation interventions based on the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) delivered in pregnancy compared to current standard care. It has been claimed that TTM-based interventions will continue to create quitters after the end of the intervention period. DESIGN: Cluster randomized trial. SETTING: Antenatal clinics in general practices in the West Midlands, UK. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 918 pregnant smokers originally enrolled in the trial, of which 393 women were followed-up at 18 months postpartum. INTERVENTIONS: One hundred general practices were randomized into the three trial arms. Midwives in these practices delivered three interventions: A (standard care), B (TTM-based self-help manuals) and C (TTM-based self-help manuals plus sessions with an interactive computer program giving individualized smoking cessation advice). MEASUREMENTS: Self-reported continuous and point prevalence abstinence since pregnancy. FINDINGS: When combined together, there was a slight and not significant benefit for both TTM arms compared to the control, with an odds ratio (OR) 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.20 (0.29-4.88) for continuous abstinence. For point prevalence abstinence, the OR (95%CI) was 1.15 (0.66-2.03). Seven of the 54 (13%) women who had quit at the end of pregnancy were still quit 18 months later, and there was no evidence that the TTM-based interventions were superior in preventing relapse. CONCLUSIONS: The TTM-based interventions may have shown some evidence of a short-term benefit for quitting in pregnancy but no benefit relative to standard care when followed-up in the longer-term.     

Would vaccination against nicotine be a cost‐effective way to prevent smoking uptake in adolescents?

Aims We used epidemiological modelling to assess whether nicotine vaccines would be a cost‐effective way of preventing smoking uptake in adolescents. Design, Setting, Participants and Measurements We built an epidemiological model using Australian data on age‐specific smoking prevalence; smoking cessation and relapse rates; life‐time sex‐specific disability‐adjusted life years lived for cohorts of 100 000 smokers and non‐smokers; government data on the costs of delivering a vaccination programme by general practitioners; and a range of plausible and optimistic estimates of vaccine cost, efficacy and immune response rates based on clinical trial results. We first estimated the smoking uptake rates for Australians aged 12–19 years. We then used these estimates to predict the expected smoking prevalence in a birth cohort aged 12 in 2003 by age 20 under (i) current policy and (ii) different vaccination scenarios that varied in cost, initial vaccination uptake, yearly re‐vaccination rates, efficacy and a favourable vaccine immune response rate. Findings Under the most optimistic assumptions, the cost to avert a smoker at age 20 was $44 431 [95% confidence interval (CI) $40 023–49 250]. This increased to $296 019 (95% CI $252 307–$355 930) under more plausible scenarios. The vaccine programme was not cost‐effective under any scenario. Conclusions A preventive nicotine vaccination programme is unlikely to be cost‐effective. The total cost of a universal vaccination programme would be high and its impact on population smoking prevalence negligible. For these reasons, such a programme is unlikely to be publicly funded in Australia or any other developed country.