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Introduction: Persistent smoking in patients diagnosed with coronary heart disease (CHD) has a significant effect on morbidity and mortality. Although there has been considerable debate around gender differences in smoking cessation, conclusive evidence on how gender impacts rates of smoking cessation and/or relapse following CHD diagnosis is lacking., Aims and Methods: Our aim was to test the hypothesis that female smokers with CHD were more likely to persist in smoking or relapse post-diagnosis or hospitalization than male smokers. We searched PubMed and Web of Science databases for studies published in the last 10 years. Meta-analyses were conducted using a random effects model., Results: Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria. The aggregated sample size was 36 591, 20 617 (56%) were smokers of which 2564 (12%) were female. Meta-analyses of eight studies where smoking prevalence could be measured, showed that females were less likely to be smokers at baseline than males (OR = 0.30, 95% CI = 0.13 to 0.70). Overall, one in two (47%) smokers persisted in smoking/relapsed following a diagnosis or hospitalization for CHD; but there was no gender difference in the rate of persistent smoking/relapse (OR = 1.07, 95% CI = 0.95 to 1.21)., Conclusions: Female smokers with CHD were relatively uncommon in the included study populations. However, the rate of persistent smoking/relapse was high in both female and male smokers following a diagnosis or hospitalization for CHD. Therefore similar, sustained smoking cessation efforts are warranted for both genders., Implications: There was no gender difference for persistent smoking/relapse following a diagnosis or hospitalization for CHD, but the rate was high in both female and male smokers. Therefore, similar, sustained smoking cessation efforts are warranted for both genders., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: E-cigarettes are currently being debated regarding their possible role in smoking cessation and as they are becoming increasingly popular, the research to date requires investigation., Objectives: To investigate whether the use of e-cigarettes is associated with smoking cessation or reduction, and whether there is any difference in efficacy of e-cigarettes with and without nicotine on smoking cessation., Data Sources: A systematic review of articles with no limit on publication date was conducted by searching PubMed, Web of Knowledge and Scopus databases., Methods: Published studies, those reported smoking abstinence or reduction in cigarette consumption after the use of e-cigarettes, were included. Studies were systematically reviewed, and meta-analyses were conducted using Mantel-Haenszel fixed-effect and random-effects models. Degree of heterogeneity among studies and quality of the selected studies were evaluated., Results: Six studies were included involving 7,551 participants. Meta-analyses included 1,242 participants who had complete data on smoking cessation. Nicotine filled e-cigarettes were more effective for cessation than those without nicotine (pooled Risk Ratio 2.29, 95%CI 1.05-4.97). Amongst 1,242 smokers, 224 (18%) reported smoking cessation after using nicotine-enriched e-cigarettes for a minimum period of six months. Use of such e-cigarettes was positively associated with smoking cessation with a pooled Effect Size of 0.20 (95%CI 0.11-0.28). Use of e-cigarettes was also associated with a reduction in the number of cigarettes used., Limitations: Included studies were heterogeneous, due to different study designs and gender variation. Whilst we were able to comment on the efficacy of nicotine vs. non-nicotine e-cigarettes for smoking cessation, we were unable to comment on the efficacy of e-cigarettes vs. other interventions for cessation, given the lack of comparator groups in the studies included in this meta-analysis., Conclusions: Use of e-cigarettes is associated with smoking cessation and reduction. More randomised controlled trials are needed to assess effectiveness against other cessation methods.

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess smoking behaviour of nurses including; (1) smoking prevalence and nicotine dependence; (2) demographic characteristics according to smoking status and (3) attitudes to cessation amongst current smokers., Background: Smoking amongst nurses is a barrier to the delivery of patient smoking cessation interventions. Studies on the smoking behaviour of nurses have lagged behind government surveys on smoking prevalence in the general population., Method: A descriptive, comparative study using a self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 3200 nurses over July and August of 2007 across one major metropolitan health service network in Victoria, Australia., Results: The questionnaire was completed by 1029 nurses, a response rate of 32%. Eleven per cent of nurses (n=113) were current smokers. Nurses who smoked were more likely to be divorced/separated and report smoking amongst family and friends. Smoking was more common amongst nurses who work in psychiatry and the emergency departments. Amongst the nurses who smoked, 45% desired to stop smoking and while 89% had experienced previous quit attempts, only half had ever received help or advice about smoking cessation. The most common factors preventing smoking cessation included fear of withdrawal symptoms including stress, weight gain and anxiety., Conclusion: Smoking rates amongst nurses in this sample have declined below smoking rates amongst the general population. Considering the low uptake of smoking cessation support reported in this study, targeted strategies must be developed sensitive to the potential intrapersonal-professional struggle related to personal smoking which is at odds with nurses' health promotion role., (© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

Background Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are battery-powered devices that vaporize a liquid solution to deliver a dose of inhaled nicotine to the user. There is ongoing debate regarding their regulation. Objectives This comprehensive narrative review aimed to discuss key issues including usage patterns, health effects, efficacy in smoking cessation and regulatory concerns with a view to informing future regulation and research agendas. Methods PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases were searched using the terms (electronic cigarettes OR e-cigarettes) for articles in English, relevant to humans and published during January 2009-January 2014. Results The literature search revealed 37 relevant articles. Findings suggest that e-cigarettes are mostly used by middle-aged current smokers, particularly males, to help them for quitting or for recreation. E-cigarettes contain very low levels of multiple toxic substances such as formaldehyde and acrolein, but these levels are many times lower than those found in cigarettes. They were found to have effectiveness in aiding smoking cessation to a limited degree. Debate continues regarding regulating their use for cessation versus heavy restrictions to control recreational use on the basis that it perpetuates nicotine addiction. Conclusions The cytotoxicity and long term health effects of e-cigarettes are unknown. Nevertheless the ecigarette market continues to expand, largely driven by middle-aged smokers who claim to be using e-cigarettes in an attempt to reduce or quit smoking. E-cigarettes may have some potential as smoking cessation aids and, in the researchers' view, should therefore be subject to further research and regulation similar to other nicotine replacement therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A cross-sectional study was conducted to provide a snapshot of smoking behavior among staff and patients at a major metropolitan hospital in Melbourne. Methods: Patients and staff were surveyed using a questionnaire exploring demographics, nicotine dependence (Fagerstrom test), readiness to quit, and preference for smoking cessation options. Results: A total of 1496 people were screened within 2 hours; 1,301 participated (1,100 staff, 199 patients). Mean age was 42 years, 68% were female. There were 113 (9%) current smokers and 326 (25%) ex-smokers. Seven percent of the staff were current smokers compared with 19% of the patients. The Fagerstrom test showed that 47% of patients who smoked were moderately nicotine dependent compared with 21% of staff. A third of the staff who smoked did not anticipate health problems related to smoking. Most patients (79%) who smoked disagreed that their current health problems were related to smoking. Although more than half of the current smokers preferred pharmacotherapy, one in two of them did not prefer behavior counseling; with consistent results among staff and patients. Multivariate analyses showed that patients were three times more likely (odds ratio 3.0, 95% confidence interval 1.9-4.7) to smoke than staff. Conclusion: This study reports lower prevalence of smoking among hospital staff compared with national data. It also indicates an under-appreciation of health effects of smoking, and a preference not to use conventional methods of quitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]