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The article presents the author's views on the study of R. Hanewinkel, B. Isensee and J. Sargent regarding the effect of antismoking advertisement among cinema viewers. It mentions that smoking onscreen in various films attracts the youth to smoke a dose-response effect. The author commends that the paper of Hanewinkel and associates presents an important evidence to support the policy of World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the issue of addiction especially nicotine addiction.

The article presents news items related to drug addiction. The World Health Organization has issued a report describing the various tobacco industry practices that interfere with tobacco control policy. Scotland has decided to ban cigarette displays in stores with the implementation of the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services Bill, which was introduced before the Scottish parliament in February of 2009 and calls for the ban of tobacco displays in shops, the prohibition of cigarette vending machines and a register of tobacco retailers. In 2009 The New Mexico Department of Health decided to issue its first license to a non profit organization to produce and distribute medical cannabis to certified patients in the Department's Medical Cannabis Program.

Presents abstracts of studies on addiction. `Smoking and Women: Beauty Before Age,' by S. Chapman from the 1999 issue of the `British Medical Journal'; `Is It Getting Up Your Nose?,' by C. Williams from the April 1999 issue of `Elle'; `Alcohol Consumption As a Major Risk Factor for the Rise in Liver Cancer Mortality Rates in Japanese Men,' by K. Makimoto and S. Higuchi from the 1999 issue of the `International Journal of Epidemiology.'

Aims To assess the effect of an antismoking advertisement under real-world conditions. Design Quasi-experimental study. Setting/participants Multiplex cinema in Kiel, Germany; 4073 patrons were surveyed after having viewed a movie. Some 4005 patrons were ≥10 years old (28.7% between 10 and 17 years). A total of 654 subjects (16.3%) were smokers. Intervention In the intervention condition (weeks 1 and 3), a 30-second antismoking advertisement—accentuating long-term health consequences of smoking and promoting cessation—was shown prior to all movies; in the control condition (weeks 2 and 4) no such spot was shown. Main outcome measures (i) Awareness of smoking in the movie, (ii) approval of smoking in the movie, (iii) attitude towards smoking, (iv) intention to smoke in the future and (v) desire to smoke among smokers. Findings Patrons who were exposed to the antismoking advertisement were more likely to be female, but did not differ with respect to smoking status. After controlling for gender differences, patrons exposed to the antismoking advertisement had (i) higher awareness of smoking in the movies, (ii) lower levels of approval of smoking in the movies, and (iii) a more negative attitude towards smoking in general compared with those not exposed. Among smokers, smoking in the movies increased urge to smoke, but there was no interaction between smoking in the movies and experimental condition. Conclusions Study results suggest that placing an antismoking advertisement before movies can affect attitudes towards smoking, bolstering evidence in support of such policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To examine long-term changes in environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure in British men between 1978 and 2000, using serum cotinine. Design Prospective cohort: British Regional Heart Study. Setting General practices in 24 towns in England, Wales and Scotland. Participants Non-smoking men: 2125 studied at baseline [questionnaire (Q1): 1978–80, aged 40–59 years], 3046 studied 20 years later (Q20: 1998–2000, aged 60–79 years) and 1208 studied at both times. Non-smokers were men reporting no current smoking with cotinine < 15 ng/ml at Q1 and/or Q20. Measurements Serum cotinine to assess ETS exposure. Findings In cross-sectional analysis, geometric mean cotinine level declined from 1.36 ng/ml [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.31, 1.42] at Q1 to 0.19 ng/ml (95% CI: 0.18, 0.19) at Q20. The prevalence of cotinine levels ≤ 0.7 ng/ml [associated with low coronary heart disease (CHD) risk] rose from 27.1% at Q1 to 83.3% at Q20. Manual social class and northern region of residence were associated with higher mean cotinine levels both at Q1 and Q20; older age was associated with lower cotinine level at Q20 only. Among 1208 persistent non-smokers, cotinine fell by 1.47 ng/ml (95% CI: 1.37, 1.57), 86% decline. Absolute falls in cotinine were greater in manual occupational groups, in the Midlands and Scotland compared to southern England, although percentage decline was very similar across groups. Conclusions A marked decline in ETS exposure occurred in Britain between 1978 and 2000, which is likely to have reduced ETS-related disease risks appreciably before the introduction of legislation banning smoking in public places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims The first longitudinal investigation of the extent to which same-age and older schoolmates' smoking and non-smoking are associated with adolescents' smoking transitions during three grade intervals. Design Same-age and older schoolmates' smoking and non-smoking were assessed when adolescents were at grades 5 (age 10), 7 (age 12) and 9 (age 14). Adolescents' smoking transitions were assessed at three grade intervals: 5th−7th (age 10–12), 7th−9th (age 12–14) and 9th−12th (age 14–17). Setting Forty Washington State school districts. Participants and measurements Smoking questionnaire data were gathered on a cohort of adolescents ( n = 4354 for same-age schoolmate analysis; n = 1833 for older schoolmate analysis) that was 49% female and 91% Caucasian. Findings No significant evidence that same-age schoolmates' smoking or non-smoking was associated with any of the adolescent smoking transitions at any of the three grade intervals. In contrast, the probability that each older schoolmate's smoking was associated with the adolescent making the transition to trying smoking was 1% (95% CI: 0.4%, 1.5%) and with the transition from trying to monthly smoking was also 1% (95% CI: 0.2%, 2.0%) during the 7th−9th grade (age 12–14) interval. Moreover, each older schoolmate's non-smoking was associated with a 1.001–1.006 (all P < 0.05) relative risk of an adolescent not trying smoking or escalating from trying to monthly smoking at several grade intervals. Conclusions Interventions should perhaps focus on the influence of both smoking and non-smoking older schoolmates during late childhood and early adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To describe and compare the extent of exposure among youth and adults to antitobacco advertising funded by tobacco control agencies, and to smoking-related advertising from tobacco and pharmaceutical companies. Design Archival records of television advertising exposures from Nielsen Media Research for the largest 75 media markets in the United States from 1999 to 2003. Measurements Mean monthly advertising exposures for households with televisions and adolescents aged 12–17 years for: state tobacco control programs; the national American Legacy Foundation (Legacy) program; tobacco company advertising for youth smoking prevention, parent advertising and corporate image; pharmaceutical company advertising for nicotine replacement therapy and Zyban®; and other miscellaneous tobacco-related advertising. Findings Combined tobacco company youth/parent advertising exposures matched those for combined State/Legacy campaigns (4.56 advertisements/month versus 4.97 advertisements/month among households; 3.05 advertisements/month versus 3.38 advertisements/month among adolescents). Tobacco company corporate image advertising averaged 3.25 advertisements/month among households and 0.73 advertisements/month among adolescents. Tobacco company advertising exceeded public health-sponsored advertising by a factor of 1.57–1, and among youth by 1.11–1. Pharmaceutical companies were the largest sponsor of tobacco-related advertising for households (10.37 advertisements/month) and provided significant exposure among adolescents (2.61 advertisements/month). Conclusions This is the first study to demonstrate systematically that public health-sponsored antitobacco campaigns in the United States are matched or exceeded by tobacco company advertising, as well as pharmaceutical cessation product advertising. Research is needed to determine whether such advertising may dilute or undermine the established benefits of tobacco control-sponsored campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To examine the association between parental rules and communication (also referred to as antismoking socialization) and adolescents’ smoking.A cross-sectional study including 428 Dutch two-parent families with at least two adolescent children (aged 13–17 years).Parents’ and adolescents’ reports on an agreement regarding smoking by adolescents, smoking house rules, parental confidence in preventing their child from smoking, frequency and quality of communication about smoking, and parent's reactions to smoking experimentation.Compared with fathers and adolescents, mothers reported being more involved in antismoking socialization. There were robust differences in antismoking socialization efforts between smoking and non-smoking parents. Perceived parental influence and frequency and quality of communication about smoking were associated with adolescents’ smoking. The association between antismoking socialization practices and adolescents’ smoking was not moderated by birth order, parents’ smoking or gender of the adolescent.Encouraging parents, whether or not they themselves smoke, to discuss smoking-related issues with their children in a constructive and respectful manner is worth exploring as an intervention strategy to prevent young people taking up smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents developments related to drug addiction as of December 2000. Legislation on tobacco control; Organization of the youth anti-smoking campaigns; Publication of 'Alcohol in Israel--Interdisciplinary Scientific Journal' by the Israel Society for the Prevention of Alcoholism.

The goal of the third annual scientific conference of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco was to provide a forum for the exchange of information across the spectrum of nicotine and tobacco research. Five symposia covered the following topics: animal and human models of nicotine dependence, use of nicotine as a therapeutic agent in disorders associated with ageing and psychopathology, public health strategies to reduce morbidity and mortality caused by smoking by reducing exposure to tobacco smoke, new pharmacological treatments and treatment combinations that are being tested for smoking cessation and the integration of behavioral and molecular genetic approaches to explain nicotine dependence. The genetic epidemiology of smoking initiation and nicotine dependence was the topic of an invited address. The findings presented at the conference clearly demonstrated the wide range of nicotine and tobacco research programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proceedings of the second annual scientific conference of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco are summarized. The goal of the annual conference was to disseminate information about ongoing nicotine research from biological, behavioral and social perspectives. Data were presented describing our current understanding of the structure and function of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, by which nicotine exerts most, if not all, of its effects in the brain. The conformational complexity of receptor subunits expressed in different brain areas contributes significantly to the complexity of responses observed to nicotinic agonists. Nicotine is being developed as a medication that might be used to maintain smoking cessation and to treat various medical diseases. The potential toxicity of nicotine, apart from cigarette smoking, is an important variable in assessing the benefits and risks of such therapeutic applications. The risks of nicotine-containing medications appear to be far less than those associated with tobacco use. Recent data indicate that cigarette smoking is increasing among youth in the United States. Adolescent smokers are interested in quitting and make frequent quit attempts, but are usually not successful. Effective methods are needed to manage adolescent smokers before they become heavily addicted. Nicotine replacement as a pharmacological treatment for smoking cessation has made a significant contribution in improving quit rates. New medications have been developed that target specific populations of smokers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the inaugural scientific meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco on March 24-25, 1994 in San Diego, California. Past, present and future perspectives on nicotine research; Regulation of nicotine products; Genetic influences on use and effects of nicotine and tobacco.