MAY/JUNE 2004
Volume 10 - No. 2
SRNT Newsletter
May/June 2004, Volume 10, Number 2
In the Spotlight
WHO/SRNT's treatment website www.treatobacco.net is proud to announce that the main sections of the website are now available in Arabic. This brings the number of languages to 10: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. The downloadable PowerPoint slide sets, which summarize the key findings in the five sections: efficacy, safety, demographics, health economics, policy - are so far available in 9 languages, with Arabic to be added as soon as possible. The site is free: have a look.
The First Conference on Menthol Cigarettes was convened in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 21 and 22, 2002. The purpose of the conference was to evaluate the present state of the science concerning the potential increased harm and evident health disparities associated with menthol cigarettes, and to set the priorities for further studies of menthol cigarettes. More than 80 researchers and tobacco control experts attended the conference. A number of SRNT members collaborated on the recent Nicotine & Tobacco Research Supplement Issue entitled Menthol Cigarettes- Setting the Research Agenda (NTR Vol. 6, 2004, S1-S94). This supplement provides a summary of the state of our knowledge of the history, sociology, epidemiology, and toxicology of menthol cigarettes, sets forth a research agenda for improving our understanding menthol cigarette smoking, and discusses the challenges associated with this endeavor, including consideration of physiological, sociological, psychological, epidemiological, and cultural factors.. Scientific Editors included Mirjana V. Djordjevic, Pamela I. Clark, Phillip S. Gardiner, Scott J. Leischow, and Robert G. Robinson.
Athina Markou and colleagues from The Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, California) and Novartis Pharma AG (Basel, Switzerland) were awarded a grant jointly funded by NIMH and NIDA to investigate the potential utility of GABAB positive modulators for the treatment of mood disorders and to assist in smoking cessation. The award was made through a new funding mechanism, the National Cooperative Drug Discovery Group for the Treatment of Mood Disorders or Nicotine Addiction (NCDDG-MD/NA). This project marks the first time that the neurosciences institutes (NIMH and NIDA) have funded a public-private partnership in drug discovery. In a recent press release, Dr. Markou noted that this funding will allow them to focus on drug discovery for depression and nicotine dependence in a way that neither Scripps nor Novartis could accomplish on their own. NOTE: See post-doctoral fellowship position opening listed in the "Position Openings" section of this newsletter if you are interested in working on this project.
Michael Fiore, MD, MPH, received a Special Recognition Award from the American College of Preventive Medicine on February 21, 2004 at their annual meeting.
Joseph DiFranza was awarded the 2004 Best Research Paper from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine for the following report: DiFranza JR, Savageau JA, Fletcher K, Ockene JK, Rigotti NA, McNeill AD, Coleman M, Wood C. The development of symptoms of tobacco dependence in youths: 30-month follow-up data from the DANDY study. Tobacco Control, 2002; 11:228-235.
National Action Plan for Smoking Cessation Unveiled: On the morning of February 3, 2004, about 80 people attended a press conference at the National Press Club unveiling the February edition of the American Journal of Public Health and releasing the Action Plan for Smoking Cessation, recommendations prepared by the Subcommittee on Cessation of the U.S. Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health. The National Action Plan provides a comprehensive program for promoting tobacco cessation, including a national quit line network, cessation benefits for all federally-funded employees, more training for physicians and other healthcare providers, increased research and a $2 a pack increase in the federal excise tax to create a Smoker's Fund to pay for the programs and increase motivation to quit. Presenting at the press conference were Dr. Georges Benjamin, president of the American Public Health Association; Dr. Cheryl Healton, president of the American Legacy Foundation; Dr. Michael Fiore, chair of the Subcommittee and Director of the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention; former US Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher; and former US Surgeon General, Dr. Julius Richmond.
On April 20, 2004, a group of collaborators many of whom are SRNT members received a "National Institutes of Health Plain Language Award" from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for their teamwork on the National Cancer Institute (NCI) publication, "Clearing the Air", a self-help manual for smoking cessation. The collaborators include: Julie Cheh, M.P.H., Scott Leischow, Ph.D., Kelly Blake, M.S. CHES, Scott McIntosh, Ph.D., Bob Mecklenburg, D.D.S., M.P.H., Margo Michaels, MPH, Allison Mozzo, MHS, and Nina Goodman, MHS. The NIH Plain Language Awards were inspired by a 1998 memorandum issued by President Clinton requiring the use of plain language in all new Government documents written for the public that explain how to obtain a benefit or service or how to comply with a requirement. NIH established the award program to promote clear, concise writing in all NIH publications produced for the public. Every year, the program evaluates nominated publications produced by the various NIH Institutes and Centers and selects the best to receive Plain Language Awards.
During the National Chronic Disease Directors Conference held in Washington D.C. on February 17, 2004, the ACT Center (A Comprehensive Tobacco Center) was presented with the 2004 Chronic Disease Directors Program Delivery Award. The ACT Center is funded by a grant from the Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi through the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Each year, an organization is honored with the Chronic Disease Directors Program Delivery Award for excellence in providing services that help decrease the impact of chronic disease on communities. ACT Center faculty include Karen Crews, DMD, Thomas Payne, PhD, Monica Sutton, PhD, and Natalie Gaughf, PhD.
In January, the first work shop for Web Assisted Tobacco Interventions ("WATI") was held in Toronto. The workshop brought together more than 40 tobacco control researchers interested in developing web-based interventions for smoking cessation, such as interactive web-sites that include self-help quizzes, interventions tailored to the user, and interactive chatting. The goals of the workshop were to strategize ways to begin building the evidence base for current and proposed novel interventions within this developing medium. For information on dissemination of the proceedings, go to http://cvhpinstitute.org/wati/. SRNT members Peter Selby, MD (University of Toronto) and Scott McIntosh, PhD (University of Rochester) co-chaired the WATI workshop, which was jointly funded by Health Canada and the National Cancer Institute.