Dataset on cigarette smokers in six South African townships

Abstract

A total of 2453 smokers were interviewed in townships over two rounds of data collection. Townships are low-income, urban areas characterised by overpopulation, poor service delivery, crime, and poor socioeconomic outcomes. Township residents typically live in poverty. Data were collected from six townships in four of South Africa's nine provinces, namely Gauteng (Eldorado Park and Ivory Park), Western Cape (Khayelitsha and Mitchell's Plain), Free State (Thabong) and KwaZulu-Natal (Umlazi). These townships were chosen to represent both the geographical and racial spread of low socioeconomic areas in South Africa. Round 1 data ( n = 1260) were collected from October to November 2017, and round 2 data ( n = 1193) were collected from July to August 2018. The sample includes two of South Africa's four population groups: African and mixed race (locally referred to as “Coloured”, which describes people of mixed Khoisan, Malay, European, and black African ancestry). Since few Whites and Asians live in townships, they were not sampled. Households were selected via a random walk through each township. One smoker per household was interviewed (if a household contained at least one available smoker). We aimed to interview 200 adult smokers (aged 18+ years) per township per round. If a household had more than one smoker, a random selection determined which smoker to interview. Respondents were asked about their most recent cigarette purchase, specifically packaging type (single stick, pack, or carton), number of items purchased, brand, type of outlet where the cigarettes were bought, and the total amount paid for cigarettes. Respondents were also asked about other tobacco use in the household, and about their perceptions regarding illegal cigarettes. Socioeconomic and demographic information was collected at the individual and household level. The data has been used to estimate illicit trade ( https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2020/03/10/tobaccocontrol-2019–055136.info ), and to analyse the determinants of smoking intensity ( https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335520300590 ).

The 2022 Report on the Human Proteome from the HUPO Human Proteome Project

“…Many C-HPP laboratories turned their attention to Covid-19 biology and assays during the pandemic. A notable example from the Chromosome 6 team utilized the N-TAILS (Terminal Amine Isotope Labeling of Substrates) approach to generate an atlas of 101 human host cell substrates of the SARS-CoV-2 3chymotrypsin-like protease, 3CL pro, 23 a remarkable landscape of human proteins that are inactivated or co-opted for viral replication and transmission by precise proteolytic cleavage. A new intracellular sensor of viruses was discovered in the hand-off from the viral receptor, ACE2, to galectin-8, targeting the virus for destruction in the lysosomal pathway, which 3CLpro inactivated.…”

Interleukin 22 and its association with neurodegenerative disease activity

“…The finding in human patients is also consistent with the results of animal experiments, with MS patients having elevated IL-22 levels in the plasma, white matter, and MS plaques compared with normal controls ( Perriard et al, 2015 ). During EAE onset ( Vellios and van der Zee, 2020 ), IL-22 levels increased markedly at the peak of the disease and dropped sharply during recovery, while IL-10 and IL-17 levels remained unchanged ( Almolda et al, 2011 ). These findings suggest that IL-22 may have a more important role in the development of MS than IL-10 and IL-17.…”

Measuring the illicit cigarette market in the absence of pack security features: a case study of South Africa

“…25 A paper that describes data collection, all the variables in the dataset, and other research topics the data can be used for is also publicly available. 26 A major disadvantage of collecting data in low socioeconomic areas in South Africa is crime. This may or may not be similar in other countries.…”

“…25 A paper that describes data collection, all the variables in the dataset, and other research topics the data can be used for is also publicly available. 26 …”