Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco

Late Breaking News

NSF Seeking Input

As part of its long-term strategic planning effort, the National Science Foundation's Directorate for the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) invites researchers to submit brief papers (up to 2000 words) describing grand challenges for the SBE fields over the next 10-20 years. The SBE Directorate funds the bulk of psychological research within NSF. The deadline for submissions is September 30, 2010. For full announcement see: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2010/nsf10069/nsf10069.jsp

New Membership Criteria for SRNT

Tobacco industry membership in SRNT is an issue that has been debated since the organization’s inception. The issue was formally considered in 2003 and again in 2005.  It has never been an easy debate, and at times has been quite divisive. More....

Late Breaking News Archive...

Cancer Screening Behaviors Among Smokers and Non-smokers

Research has shown that there are associations between health behaviors, suggesting a clustering effect for adaptive or maladaptive health behavior engagement.  In this study, the relationship between smoking status and screening for four cancers is explored using 2007 Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data to determine whether smokers were more or less likely to engage in recommended breast, cervical, prostate, and colorectal screening. For 10 of 11 screening outcome variables, smoking status was negatively associated both with ever having received a specific screening test and with following national screening guidelines. Health behavior choices may reflect an individual’s perceptions of the importance of overall good health, health risk prevention, and perceived risk. More...

Byrne MM, Davila EP, Zhao W, Parker D, Hooper MW, Caban-Martinez A, Dietz N, Huang Y, Messiah A, Lee DJ., (in press) Cancer screening behaviors among smokers and non-smokers, Cancer Epidemiology.

Threshold of Biologic Responses of the Small Airway Epithelium to Low Levels of Tobacco Smoke

Studies show that exposure to low levels of tobacco smoke decreases lung function and increases individuals’ risk for developing lung disease. In order to identify biological correlates of this risk, on an individual basis, this study looked at whether exposure to low levels of tobacco smoke effect gene expression in the small airway epithelium, the first lung cells to encounter inhaled smoke in the lung. The results of this study suggest that the small airway epithelium detects and responds to low levels of tobacco smoke in a way that mirrors what happens in active smokers, albeit to a lesser extent. The data is also consistent with the concept that even very low levels of exposure to tobacco smoke have abnormal consequences to the airway epithelium, the cell population central to the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive lung disease and lung cancer. More...

Strulovici-Barel, Y., Omberg, L., O’Mahony, M., Gordon, C., Hollmann, C., Tilley, A.E., Salit, J., Mezey, J., Harvey, B., & Crystal, R.G. (in press). Threshold of Biologic Responses of the Small Airway Epithelium to Low Levels of Tobacco Smoke. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Defining “Smoker:” College Student Attitudes and Related Smoking Characteristics

Nondaily, occasional, intermittent, and social smoking has dramatically increased, particularly among young adults. Unfortunately, nondaily smokers may discount personal health consequences, regardless of the fact that nondaily smoking is associated with increased adverse respiratory conditions and other health problems. In this study,12 focus groups among 73 college smokers drawn from survey participants at two Midwestern colleges (two-year technical college, four-year university) were conducted to examine (1) how college students define the term "smoker"; and (2) how this definition impacts motivation and confidence in quitting among college students. Beliefs about what defined a "smoker" had implications on experiences in quitting smoking, motivation to quit, and perceived barriers. For example, many participants indicated confidence in being able to quit but believed that they were not "smokers" and thus, did not need to quit. The findings from this study may have important implications for research and practice. More...

Berg CJ, Parelkar PP, Lessard L, Escoffery C, Kegler MC, Sterling KL, Ahluwalia JS.(2010). Defining "smoker": College student attitudes and related smoking characteristics. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 12(9), 963-969.

Brain Reactivity to Smoking Cues Prior to Smoking Cessation Predicts Ability to Maintain Tobacco Abstinence

Since relapse vulnerability is highly influenced by smoking-cue reactivity, developing a better understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying smoking-cue reactivity may lead to new treatments. Brain reactivity may more objectively assess smoking-cue sensitivity than self-report and may identify relapse-vulnerable smokers. In this study both Functional MRI (fMRI)  and the smoking emotional Stroop (SES) in 21 smokers before they quit smoking were used. The results suggest that increased brain reactivity along with an attentional bias for smoking cues prior to a quit attempt predicted tobacco cessation outcomes with 79% accuracy. Relapse vulnerable smokers also had decreased functional connectivity between an insula-containing network and brain regions involved in cognitive control possibly reflecting reduced top-down cognitive control of smoking cue-reactivity. These findings suggest that relapse-vulnerable smokers can be identified before a quit attempt, which could enable personalized treatment targeting individual vulnerabilities and improving outcomes. More...

Janes AC, Pizzagalli DA, Richardt S, deB Frederick B, Chuzi S, Pachas G, Culhane MA, Holmes AJ, Fava M, Evins AE, Kaufman MJ., (2010). Brain reactivity to smoking cues prior to smoking cessation predicts ability to maintain tobacco abstinence. Biological Psychiatry, 67(8), 722-729.