Search

Using data from the 2003 Ontario Student Drug Use Survey (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto), the relationships between bullying and smoking in adolescents were examined. A representative sample of 3314 grade 7-12 students was included in the analysis. Models were adjusted for confounders identified in the current literature. Multinomial logistic regression showed that current smokers were more likely to be bullies than nonsmokers (relative risk ratio = 2.3, p less than 0.001); being a current smoker was not associated with being a victim or a bully/victim (one who is both a bully and a victim). Moreover, gender was found to modify the effect of smoking on bullying status. Female smokers were more likely to be bullies and bully/victims than nonsmokers while there were no statistically significant differences for males. The associations between bullying status and smoking are consistent with those found in a multinational World Health Organization survey of adolescent health. Findings of the study suggested that girls were at much higher risk for involvement in bullying if they smoked, although girls were less frequently involved in bullying.

INTRODUCTION E-cigarettes have been steadily increasing in popularity, both as cessation methods for smoking and for recreational and social reasons. This increase in vaping may pose cardiovascular and respiratory risks. We aimed to assess respiratory symptoms in youth users of e-cigarettes and cigarettes. METHODS A retrospective survey design was utilized to assess Canadian youth aged 16-25 years. Participants were recruited from the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit Youth and Young Adult Research Registration Panel November 2020 to March 2021. A total of 3082 subjects completed the baseline survey. Of these, 2660 individuals who did not have asthma were included in the analysis. The exposure of interest was pack-equivalent years, a novel measure of vaping exposure equivalent conceptually to cigarette pack years incorporating number of puffs per day, number of days vaped per month, and number of years vaped. Respiratory symptoms were measured using the five-item Canadian Lung Health Test. Poisson regression analyses were performed while adjusting for demographic confounders, stratified by smoking status. A non-stratified model tested the interaction of status and vaping dose and the effect of vaping device used was assessed among ever vapers. Analyses controlled for demographic characteristics, use of cannabis and alcohol, and survey date. RESULTS Each additional puff year increased the rate ratio (RR) of respiratory symptoms by a factor of 11.36 (95% CI: 4.61-28.00; p<0.001) for never smokers, but among current daily smokers higher pack-equivalent years were not associated with more respiratory symptoms (RR=0.83; 95% CI: 0.23-3.11). Among current vapers, those using pod-style devices were more likely to have more respiratory symptoms (RR=1.25; 95% CI: 1.08-1.45) after adjusting for dose. CONCLUSIONS Vaping is associated with an increased risk of reporting respiratory symptoms among never smoking youth and non-daily ever cigarette smokers. Use of e-cigarettes among non-smokers should be discouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: To describe the prevalence of drug use in males in a provincial detention centre during the year before incarceration and to examine the association between socio-demographic and behavioural factors and drug use. METHODS: In 2009, 500 adult males completed a survey after admission to a provincial detention centre in Ontario. Past- year prevalence rates were calculated for the use of opioids, cocaine, crack and methamphetamine, and by route of administration. Bivariate logistic regression was used to examine associations between drug use and socio-demographic and behavioural factors. RESULTS: More than 56% of participants reported use of opioids, cocaine, crack or methamphetamine in the previous year. Risk factors for blood-borne and sexually transmitted infections were commonly reported for the previous year: 12.2% had injected drugs, 78.0% had had unprotected sex, and 48.0% had had more than one sexual partner. In unadjusted analyses, participants who were older than 24 years were more likely to have used any drugs and to have injected drugs in the previous year. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the first Canadian data in the past decade on drug use by recently incarcerated adults. We found that drug use and behaviours that increase the risk of transmission of sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections remain very common in this population. Incarceration provides an opportunity to provide services and links to programs for people who use drugs, which could decrease drug-related harms to individuals and society. KEY WORDS: Prisons; drug use disorders; substance use disorders; street drugs OBJECTIFS : Decrire la prevalence de la consommation de drogue dans la population carcerale masculine d'un centre de detention provincial durant l'annee precedant l'incarceration et examiner l'association entre les facteurs sociodemographiques et comportementaux et la consommation de drogue. METHODE : En 2009, 500 hommes adultes ont rempli un questionnaire apres leur arrivee dans un centre de detention provincial en Ontario. Les taux de prevalence de l'annee anterieure ont ete calcules pour la consommation d'opioides, de cocaine, de crack et de methamphetamine, et selon la voie d'administration de ces drogues. Une regression logistique bivariee a servi a examiner les liens entre la consommation de drogue et les facteurs sociodemographiques et comportementaux. RESULTATS : Plus de 56 % des participants ont declare avoir consomme des opioides, de la cocaine, du crack ou de la methamphetamine au cours de l'annee anterieure. Des facteurs de risque d'infections transmissibles sexuellement et par le sang ont souvent ete declares pour l'annee anterieure : 12,2 % s'etaient injecte de la drogue, 78 % avaient eu des rapports sexuels non proteges, et 48 % avaient eu plus d'une ou d'un partenaire sexuel. Selon nos analyses non ajustees, les participants de plus de 24 ans etaient plus susceptibles d'avoir consomme l'une de ces drogues et de s'etre injecte de la drogue au cours de l'annee anterieure. CONCLUSIONS : Cette etude presente les premieres donnees canadiennes de la derniere decennie sur la consommation de drogue chez des adultes recemment incarceres. Nous constatons que la consommation de drogue et les comportements qui augmentent le risque de transmission des infections transmissibles sexuellement et par le sang sont encore tres courants dans cette population. L'incarceration presente la possibilite d'offrir des services aux personnes qui consomment de la drogue et de les aiguiller vers des programmes, ce qui pourrait reduire les mefaits lies a la drogue au niveau individuel et societal. MOTS CLES : prison; troubles dus a la consommation de drogue; troubles lies a une substance; drogues de rue, International data reveal high rates of illicit drug use, misuse and dependence in incarcerated populations, and also of adverse sequelae of drug use such as blood-borne infections and death from [...]

In a nationwide study of Serbian births, in 2008, we estimated the influence of maternal prenatal smoking and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure on birth outcomes. Using stratified two-stage random cluster sampling, 2,721 women were interviewed in-person (response rates 98.1 %), and 2,613 singleton live births were included. Date of birth, gender, birthweight, birth height and head circumference were copied from the official hospital Birth Certificate. Six exposure categories were defined according to mother's smoking history and exposure to ETS. We calculated adjusted mean values and group differences by analysis of covariance, and adjusted odds ratios for the low birthweight (LBW < 2,500 g). Compared to the reference category (non-smoking, non-exposed to ETS) we observed birthweight reductions in infants whose mothers smoked continuously during the pregnancy and were exposed to ETS (-162.6 g) and whose mothers were not exposed to ETS (-173 g) (p = 0.000, and p = 0.003, respectively), as well as reduction in birth length (-1.01 and -1.06 cm; p = 0.003 and p = 0.000, respectively). Reduction in birthweight and birth length related to exposure categories was not linear. Adjusted OR for LBW was almost tripled for mothers who smoked over the entire pregnancy and were non-exposed to ETS (aOR 2.85; 95 % CI 1.46-5.08), and who were exposed to ETS (aOR 2.68; 95 % CI 1.15-6.25). Our results showed strong effects of smoking throughout the pregnancy on reduced birthweight, birth length and head circumference, and increased risk for LBW. We were not able to detect an effect for ETS exposure alone. Keywords Pregnancy * Smoking * Exposure to ETS * Pregnancy outcomes, Introduction Smoking in pregnancy has long been associated with a range of adverse outcomes including intrauterine growth restriction, preterm birth, stillbirth, low birthweight and sudden infant death syndrome [1-5]. A [...]