The Future of Tobacco-Control Research

Abstract

Recent epidemiologic data on the stabilization of adult and youth smoking rates underscore the need for vigorous research across the cancer control spectrum on tobacco use interventions. The steady decline in adult rates of smoking has stalled for the first time in 8 years, and certain race, ethnic, and population groups are disproportionately at risk to tobaccorelated cancers because of disparities in tobacco use or access to effective interventions. Although substantial progress has been made across levels of basic through applied research, tobacco-control research across the discovery and delivery continuum must be accelerated to further reduce the cancer burden. Following a brief review of the prevalence and trends affecting tobacco use initiation and cessation, we identify and describe four domains of extraordinary research opportunities: genetics and gene-environment interactions, bioinformatics and health informatics, disparities and disproportionate risk, and prevention and treatment. Evolutionary scientific changes, like rapidly advancing technology and emphasis on the paradigm of team science research approaches, provide both a challenge as well as unparalleled opportunities for scientific advancement and public health progress. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(6):1077-80)

Gender Differences among Hardcore Smokers: An Analysis of the Tobacco Use Supplement of the Current Population Survey

“…Gender is among the major factors that influence disparities in cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality. 37,38 The sociodemographic and healthcare variations in tobacco use identified in our analyses have significant tobacco-related and public health implications, underscoring the vital need for clinical and scientific advances in tobacco use prevention and control.…”

Efficacy of genotype notification to Japanese smokers on smoking cessation—An intervention study at workplace

“…Globally, an 85% of male lung cancer and 47% of female lung cancer was estimated to be attributable to tobacco smoking [1]. Cigarette smoking is also a primary cause of deaths from other human cancers [2][3][4][5], coronary heart disease, chronic pulmonary disease and stroke [6]. In addition to educating smokers about the harmfulness of tobacco smoking, informing smokers of their genotypes associated with the vulnerability to the harms of smoking might be effective measures to induce them to quit smoking.…”

Effect of filtration by activated charcoal on the toxicological activity of cigarette mainstream smoke from experimental cigarettes

“…The most effective way of avoiding these risks is not to smoke, but in the foreseeable future there will be a significant part of the population who will continue to smoke (Morgan et al, 2007;World Health Organization, 2004). For those people, one possible approach to reducing the risk of disease is to reduce exposure to tobacco toxicants (US Institute of Medicine, 2001).…”