Objectives:The retail environment provides important opportunities for tobacco industry communication with current, former, and potential smokers. This study documented the extent of tobacco promotions at the retail point-of-sale and examined associations between the extent of tobacco promotions and relevant city and store characteristics. Methods:In each of 20 Ontario cities, 24 establishments were randomly selected from lists of convenience stores, gas stations, and grocery stores. Trained observers captured the range, type and intensity of tobacco promotions from April to July 2005. The extent of tobacco promotions was described using weighted descriptive statistics. Weighted t-tests and ANOVAs, and hierarchical linear modeling, were used to examine the relationships between tobacco promotions and city and store characteristics.Results: Extensive tobacco promotions were found in Ontario stores one year prior to the implementation of a partial ban on retail displays, particularly in chain convenience stores, gas station convenience stores and independent convenience stores. The multivariate hierarchical linear model confirmed differences in the extent of tobacco promotions by store type (p<0.01); in addition, tobacco promotions were found to be higher among stores close to a school (p=0.01) and in neighbourhoods with lower median household incomes (p<0.01). Independent convenience stores with a greater number of employees had more tobacco promotions; however, the relationship was reversed for grocery stores.Discussion: Tobacco promotions were extensive at the point-of-sale. Public health messages about the harms of tobacco use may be compromised by the pervasiveness of these promotions.

This paper describes the variation in use of soup

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We studied the dependency of persons on soup kitchens in Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Westchester County, New York. Seventeen percent of the meal recipients were homeless, 62 percent lived in apartments or houses, 20 percent were working, 40 percent were women, and 17 percent had a child in their household. Fifty-nine percent started eating at the soup kitchen more than a year ago, and 51 percent ate five or more meals at soup

Although 97%-98% of children in the United States are vaccinated before or shortly after starting school, the proportion of preschool children who have completed a full series for all recommended vaccines is considerably lower. Although low immunization coverage among preschoolers has been attributed to difficulties in reaching certain groups, such as the urban poor and racial and ethnic minorities, more recent evaluations suggest that the health-care delivery system itself bears much of the responsibility. To eliminate barriers and obstacles (e.g., appointment-only systems and unnecessary prevaccination physical examinations) that impede efficient vaccine delivery and to encourage providers to take advantage of all health-care visits as opportunities to provide vaccinations, the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) called for the development of standards for immunization policies and practices. Eighteen standards were developed in collaboration with a 35-member working group representing 22 public and private agencies. These 18 standards have since been recommended by the NVAC, approved by the U.

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Introduction: Two studies were conducted to evaluate the National Cancer Institute (NCI)’s web-based Automated Self-Administered 24-hour Recall (ASA24) system, which was developed to facilitate the collection of 24-hour dietary recalls in large-scale research. Hypothesis: Energy, nutrient and food group estimates, response rates, and preferences are comparable between ASA24 and USDA’s interviewer-administered Automated Multiple-Pass Method (AMPM). Methods: Study 1 assessed the response rates and data collected using ASA24 compared to AMPM. About 1200 participants were recruited from three integrated health systems using quota sampling to ensure representation of a range of ages and race/ethnicity groups. Participants were asked to complete two 24HRs, 4-7 weeks apart, and randomized into four study groups: 1) two ASA24s; 2) two AMPMs; 3) ASA24 first and AMPM second; and 4) AMPM first and ASA24 second. Study 2 assessed the validity of ASA24 compared to AMPM in a one-day feeding study. Eighty-one participants visited a study center to consume three meals from a buffet. All containers were unobtrusively weighed before and after each participant served him/herself; plate waste was also weighed. The next day, participants returned to the center to complete either ASA24 or AMPM. Results: Study 1: Almost all enrolled participants (95%) completed at least one recall and 80% completed two; response rates did not differ by recall mode. Estimated intakes of energy, nutrients and food groups were comparable for ASA24 and AMPM; for example, energy, 2132 vs. 2126 kcal; fat, 84.9 vs. 82.8 g; saturated fatty acids, 27.9 vs. 26.9 g; fiber, 18.4 vs. 18.4 g; and fruits and vegetables, 3.0 vs. 3.1 cup equivalents. Of participants randomized to complete one ASA24 and one AMPM, a greater percentage preferred ASA24. Study 2: The examination of foods and drinks reported showed that exact or close matches were recalled for 76.9% of items truly consumed among ASA24 respondents compared to 82.5% among AMPM respondents. Far matches were reported for 3.1% of items consumed among ASA24 respondents compared to 0.7% for AMPM. The proportions of foods or drinks consumed but not reported (exclusions) were 20.4% and 16.8% for ASA24 and AMPM, respectively. Median differences between reported and true intakes for energy, nutrient and most food groups were not significantly different between ASA24 and AMPM. Conclusion: ASA24 performs well relative to traditional interviewer-administered recalls and is feasible for use in large-scale research. The tool, which offers significant savings over interviewer-administered recalls, is publicly available from NCI and has been used in over 800 studies to collect over 113,000 dietary recalls. The tool is currently being updated to run on mobile applications.

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