Objective: The purpose is to describe psychometric testing and feasibility of the Tobacco-Free Compliance Assessment Tool (TF-CAT) to measure tobacco-free policy compliance at a public university and medical center. The aims are to (1) investigate concurrent validity by comparing the number of cigarette butts in areas covered by the policy with…

Objective: The authors used the photovoice method as a strategy for empowering students to advocate for change of a campus smoking policy. Participants: Participants included 49 college students and 160 photo-exhibit attendees during spring 2011. Methods: Students were trained in the use of the photovoice method and a public exhibit was used to…

This article describes how the CS2day (Cease Smoking Today) initiative positioned continuing education (CE) in the intersection between medicine and public health. The authors suggest that most CE activities address the medical challenges that clinicians confront, often to the neglect of the public health issues that are key risk factors for the…

As one of the most important sites in and through which state agendas are articulated and disseminated, schools and teachers play critical roles in the implementation of state-driven policies and initiatives targeted at children and young people. This is especially pertinent in the current educational landscape where schools and teachers are…

Data from 29,296 students in grades 9-12 as part of the 2008-2009 Youth Smoking Survey were used to examine the prevalence of cigar, cigarillo, and little cigar use and factors associated with their use. Among Canadian youth in grades 9-12, 12.9% reported current use of cigarillos or little cigars, and 8.1% reported current use of cigars. The…

This study provides analysis of a representative national sample of Internet gamblers. Using participant data from the 2007 British Gambling Prevalence Survey (n = 9003 adults aged 16 years and over), all participants who had gambled online, bet online, and/or who had used a betting exchange in the last 12 months (6% of the total sample) were…

Objective: To assess the extent to which intensity and timing of televised anti-smoking advertising emphasizing the serious harms of smoking influences quit attempts. Methods: Using advertising gross rating points (GRPs), we estimated exposure to tobacco control and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) advertising in the 3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12 months…

Background: Maine was one of eight states to consistently meet funding recommendations for tobacco control from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and one of three states to experience 45%-60% reductions in youth smoking rates since 1999. Purpose: The state's tobacco control coalition, Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine, sought…

Smoking is a major risk factor for a number of health conditions and many smokers find it difficult to quit smoking without specific interventions. We developed and used a mindfulness-based smoking cessation program with a 31-year-old man with mild intellectual disabilities who had been a smoker for 17 years. The mindfulness-based smoking…

Objective: To determine which specific aspects of media literacy were most strongly associated with smoking outcomes. Methods: Students at a public high school responded to cross-sectional survey items measuring smoking outcomes, components of media literacy, and other variables. Results: Of the 1211 participants, 19% were current smokers (N =…

The study focused on the use of pedagogical agents with sex appeal in a computer-assisted learning environment. The study adopted a 2 (male/female) × 3 (demure/seductive/overtly sexual) experimental design. The primary analysis consisted of 2 parts: (a) comparing the impact of effective learning on students' perceptions of demure, seductive, or…

Socioeconomic status (SES) impacts on both structural and functional brain development in childhood, but how early its effects can be demonstrated is unknown. In this study we measured resting baseline EEG activity in the gamma frequency range in awake 6-9-month-olds from areas of East London with high socioeconomic deprivation. Between-subject…

With structural equation modeling, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health data were used to examine "parental support" and "perception of school" and their relation to Hispanic youth's substance use (alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana).

Objective: To investigate the direct effects of prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) on adolescent drug use, while controlling for other predictors of adolescent use. Method: Data are from a longitudinal study of PCE in which women and their offspring were assessed throughout childhood. Adolescents were interviewed at 15 years about their age at…

Although maternal socioeconomic status and health predict in part children's future health and socioeconomic prospects, it is possible that the intergenerational association flows in the other direction such that child health affects maternal outcomes. Previous research demonstrates that poor child health increases the risk of adverse maternal…