The Conceptual Model and Methods of Wave 1 ( 2016 ) of the EUREST-PLUS ITC 6 European Countries Survey

Abstract

Population-level interventions represent the only real approach for combatting the tobacco epidemic. There is thus great importance in conducting rigorous evaluation studies of tobacco control policies and regulations such as those arising from the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and the European Union’s 2014 Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). The ITC 6 European Countries Survey, a component of the Horizon 2020 Project entitled European Regulatory Science on Tobacco: Policy Implementation to Reduce Lung Disease (EUREST-PLUS) , was created to evaluate and impact of the TPD in six EU Member States: Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Spain. In each country, a cohort survey of a representative national sample of 1000 smokers was conducted. This paper describes the conceptual model, methodology, and initial survey statistics of Wave 1 of the ITC 6E Survey, which was conducted June–September 2016. The ITC 6E Survey’s conceptual model, methodology, and survey instrument, were based on the broader 29-country ITC Project cohort studies, which have been conducted since 2002. The commonality of methods and measures allow a strong potential for cross-country comparisons between the 6 EU countries of the ITC 6E Project and 3 other EU countries (England, France, The Netherlands) in the ITC Project, as well as the broader set of ITC countries outside the EU.

Perceptions, Predictors of and Motivation for Quitting among Smokers from Six European Countries from 2016 to 2018: Findings from EUREST-PLUS ITC Europe Surveys

“…Interviews were conducted face-to-face using computer assisted personal interviews (CAPI). Further details about the study methodology are provided elsewhere [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”

“…Demographic characteristics examined were age (18–24, 25–39, 40–54 and ≥55 years); gender (male, female); degree of urbanisation (urban, intermediate, rural); highest level of formal education completed (low, moderate, and high); monthly gross household income (low, moderate and high) [ 20 , 24 ].…”

Smoking in public places in six European countries: Findings from the EUREST-PLUS ITC Europe Survey

“…itcproject.org/). This cohort survey (ITC 6E Survey) follows the methods of the ITC Project, explained in detail elsewhere 6,7 . Briefly, samples of adult (≥18 years old) current smokers (having smoked >100 cigarettes in their lifetimes and having smoked at least once in the past 30 days) were recruited by probability sampling methods, being representative of all geographical regions in each country.…”

Dependence, plans to quit, quitting self-efficacy and past cessation behaviours among menthol and other flavoured cigarette users in Europe: The EUREST-PLUS ITC Europe Surveys

“…This sample was aged 43.2 (SE=0.19) years on average, 43.5% female, and 14.0% had higher education (for a detailed description of the sample, including the breakdown of prevalence of smoking of different cigarette flavours across sociodemographic groups and countries, see Zatoński et al 13 in the same supplement). The ITC 6E Survey was conducted between 18 June 2016 and 12 September 2016 12,28 . The surveyed sample comprised a nationally representative sample of adult cigarette smokers aged ≥18 years (about 1000 participants in each country).…”

“…To date, most studies of menthol cigarette smokers have been conducted in the United States [4][5][6][7][8][9][10] , with little research available on European smokers 11 . The International Tobacco Control (ITC) Project conducted in eight European countries offers an opportunity to study the characteristics and behaviours of MFC smokers 12 . An earlier study using this sample has shown important differences in the prevalence of flavoured cigarette use between different European countries, as well as considerable differences in attitudes towards tobacco control policies between users of different cigarette flavours 13 .…”