SRNT Global Network Award Symposium

The last round of the SRNT Global Network Awards, sponsored by the U.S. National Cancer Institute, anticipated the 5th SRNT Europe Conference in Padua, Italy (November 19-22, 2003). The goal of this initiative is to foster international research involving nicotine, tobacco control, and related public health issues and to facilitate the creation of regional affiliates of SRNT in various countries around the world. Since an important objective is to stimulate activity in regions of the world with less-developed nicotine and tobacco control research activity, applicants must reside in an economically developing country in order to qualify for these awards.

Dr. George Bakhturidze (iayd@posta.ge), Coordinator of the Tobacco Control Alliance in Georgia, who twice before won an SRNT Travel award, received the Local Organization Award. Drs. Raka Jain (rakajain2001@yahoo.com), Izabel Martins Pinto (izabelmartins@casasaude.com.br), ASM Abdullah (asma@hkucc.hku.hk), and Sameer Malhotra (sameersankalp@hotmail.com) received Travel Awards for the Padua Conference. A condition of this award was participation in the Global Network Symposium during the SRNT Europe Conference by giving a presentation of a brief report on the nicotine or tobacco-control research made by the awardees in their country or region.The symposium took place on November 22, 2003, during the last afternoon of the Conference.

Dr. Jain from the Department of Psychiatry and National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, presented “Tobacco and Nicotine related Studies at National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi: An Overview.” Dr Jain is a member of a multidisciplinary team located in apex National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, which is a National Institute of Excellence. She related her work from the last 6 years, involving mainly pre-clinical research on the role of dopamine in nicotine tolerance and the role of nitric oxide syntethase inhibitors in modifying nicotine withdrawals in rats, and nicotine and cotinine assays in urine for clinical purposes. Her future plan is to assess the prevalence of tobacco use among adolescents based on self-reports and biochemical analysis and to assess the status of tobacco use after a brief intervention. This would be helpful in assessing the effectiveness of brief intervention package, which could prove to be an effective approach to tobacco cessation among youth in Indian setting.

Dr. Martins Pinto from Nicotine Dependence Treatment of CAS, Rio de Janeiro, presented “Implementation and Development of Nicotine Addiction Treatment Program in a Governmental Company, located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.” She is participating in a Prevention and Treatment of Nicotine Dependence Program in a Brazilian state company with about 800 employees and 2,400 relatives. The main objective of the program is to motivate psychologists, psychiatrists and other mental and occupational health professionals to understand and to treat nicotine dependence and provide data for further research, in the workplace, and to supply another important source of early detection and treatment, in order to improve not only the understanding of the nicotine addiction but also to motivate abstinence in smokers. Dr Martins Pinto would like to interface with national agencies from other countries, in charge of the political treatment of nicotine dependence in the workplace, and to develop other activities in this area with SRNT colleagues. Her presentation was given by Dr João Carlos Dias da Silva.

Dr. Abdullah from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong presented “An update on the state of smoking cessation research in Hong Kong.” Before 2000, no formal smoking cessation services existed in the public sector. In mid 2000, Dr. Abdullah and colleagues have initiated a number of smoking cessation programs to promote smoking cessation in Hong Kong and in the Asia Pacific Region and to document data on smoking cessation among the Asian population. They set up a Smoking Cessation Health Centre in Hong Kong, and in 17 months, the SCHC hotline received 2,212 calls. Telephone counseling for smoking cessation for parents of Chinese young children is in progress. A mobile smoking cessation service for elderly smokers provided smoking cessation service to 275 smokers, with a 7 day point prevalence quit rate (selfreported at one month) of 47%. Finally a smoking cessation among hospital patients started in May 2002.

Dr. Malhotra from the Department of Psychiatry and National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, presented “Perspectives towards tobacco use amongst treatment-seeking substance dependent persons.” He is an Assistant Professor studying the awareness and attitude towards nicotine use amd motivation to quit tobacco use in substance dependent (alcohol, opioid) patients and in patients with chronic respiratory ailments. He is interested in the awareness of treatment facility for nicotine use problem among patients and their relatives. He has developed interests in socio-cultural factors that can prevent tobacco use, and is also working towards translation/adaptation of the scales measuring nicotine dependence, in Hindi language (for use in the Indian culture/ context). Because of the relative lack of large scale multi-centered published studies on tobacco use patterns amongst substance dependent patients in treatment settings, particularly from the developing world, Dr Malhotra addressed the perspectives of subjects, family members and treating professionals towards tobacco use amongst treatment seeking substance dependent persons. He stated that there is a need to address tobacco use amongst the treatment seeking population in a more active way, and to develop culturally relevant adapted versions of assessment scales (with patient & family versions) for smoking/non-smoking tobacco use. He concluded by saying that efforts and collaborations at intra- and inter-country, interdisciplinary, and multi-sectored levels may help in gaining a broader perspective and insights towards such an important issue.

In conclusion, it was a pleasure for me to chair this symposium and to meet and discuss with the awardees before and after the session. The symposium was very informative, and the presentations were very well received by the audience. Unfortunately, the audience was a bit too small because the symposium took place at the end of the conference. As discussed with the awardees, I made the promise to plan to have this symposium earlier during the conference in the future, to make sure that the award recipients have a larger audience. We always learn from experience! As the new Program Chair for SRNT Europe, I will make sure this is done properly next year.