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Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree of agreement between the Fagerström Test for Cigarette Dependence (FTCD) and the Heaviness of Smoking Index (HSI) in daily smokers admitted to smoking cessation clinics from National Healthcare System in Spain and Argentine Republic. Material and methods: An observational, longitudinal, multicenter study (prospective cohort) conducted in smoking clinics in daily clinical practice. The patients were consecutively included as they attended the consultations. The statistical analysis was descriptive, and correlation and concordance tests as well as analysis and regression models were used. Results: In total, 308 subjects were included [161 women (52.3%)], with a mean age of 51.4 (10.8) years. We found an absence of agreement and the existence of a proportional difference between both tests [Regression coefficient for global series: 0.55 (0.52–0.59) p <.001]. This difference increased as the value of the FTCD score increased; that is, the higher the value of the FTCD score was, the greater the difference in relation to the value of the HSI score. Likewise, Cohen's kappa concordance coefficient, according to various combinations of categorization of both tests, showed that the agreement between these variables was only good. Approximately 20% of the subjects were not classified with the same degree of dependence by the two tests. Thus, a classification mismatch existed. Conclusions: We found an absence of agreement between both tests. These data imply that we should not substitute one test for the other when we analyze nicotine dependence in a population of smokers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective was to compare the impact factor to 2 years of self-citations (IF2Y) with impact factor 2 years without self-citations (IF2YWS) and IF2Y with the impact factor to 5 years (IF5Y) as well as IF2YWS with SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) about journals where they were published articles of excellence in smoking by Spanish authors in the period 2008-2012. The search was conducted in the SCI-E and the SSCI-E on November 25, 2013. Were selected documents that had the h index of the strategy global sample (number of articles that have at least that number of citations) to search using the descriptors "smok *" OR "tobac *". A total of 69 articles by Spanish authors were recovered from 55 journals. We found an almost perfect correlation between IF2Y and IF2YWS, reaching IF2Y the highest values. We also found an almost perfect correlation between IF2Y and IF5Y with good agreement, reaching FI5a highest values with a great variability and heterogeneity between journals. The correlation between IF2YWS and SJR is poor with a low concordance. Systematically, the IF2YWS have always higher values than SJR and both indicators measure, therefore, different aspects, not be extrapolated or interchangeable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The objective of this study was to investigate the funding received by papers of excellence on smoking at the global level between 2010 and 2014 through the Web of Science, and to find out if funding is associated with greater impact. Method. We searched the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) through the Web of Science platform on 20 May 2015 (typology consisting of originals and reviews for the period from 2010 to 2014). The search strategy was “smok*” OR “tobac*.” To select the papers of excellence, we picked those that had an h index (i.e., number of articles having at least that many citations) from among the papers in the overall sample generated by the strategy. Results. Of the 193 papers of excellence on smoking that were identified, 158 had received funding from 279 different financing institutions that intervened 522 times. The funding came primarily from government agencies, private foundations, and the pharmaceutical industry. Public funding declined and private funding increased over the years included in the analysis. Receipt of funding was not associated with greater impact at a later date. Conclusions. Most of the papers of excellence on smoking received external funding primarily from government agencies, private foundations, and the pharmaceutical industry. Public funding has decreased, while private funding has increased. Receipt of funding was not associated with greater impact at a later date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to analyse the network of scientific collaboration generated by the co-authorship of articles on smoking among different specialties on a world-wide level through the Science Citation Index (SCI) in the period 1999-2003. Material and methods: We selected collaboration articles on smoking research among different specialties listed in the SCI (1999-2003). The underlying network of collaboration among specialties was analysed, comparing production, visibility and centrality. Results: Forty-nine different specialties were identified, of which 47 (96%) had produced articles in collaboration (461 articles). The most productive specialty was Psychiatry--Psychology. The specialties that produced more studies in collaboration with others were Respiratory Medicine and Internal Medicine. Respiratory Medicine, however, was the specialty that received the greatest number of citations. Conclusions: Psychiatry--Psychology was the most productive specialty, while Internal Medicine and Respiratory Medicine produced more articles in collaboration. Respiratory Medicine was the specialty that received the greatest number of citations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a letter to the editor in response to the article "Smoking Patterns Among Adolescents With Asthma Attending Upper Secondary Schools: A Community-Based Study," by D. H. Precth, L. Keiding and M. Madsen, published in the 2003 issue of the journal "Pediatrics."

The aim of this study was to evaluate stages of self-change in smoking behavior in a group of young people. From May 1999 to October 2002, successive surveys were made, consisting of an anonymous, personal, and voluntary questionnaire that was distributed among enlisted personnel at military bases in Burgos and Madrid, Spain. The survey contained questions about personal data, characteristics of their smoking habit, reasons to stop smoking, and attempts to stop smoking. A descriptive statistical study was made 195% confidence interval). The questionnaire was given to 1,886 young people, of which 28 (1.48%) did not answer and 578 (31.10%) were women. The average age (+/- SD) of the subjects in the group was 21.6 +/- 2.91 years. Six hundred eighty-one (36.65%) were smokers, 479 men (37.42% of all men) and 202 women (34.94% of all women), and 82 (4.4%) were ex-smokers. Fourteen persons surveyed stated that they were nonsmokers but had stopped smoking less than a year earlier. Of the smokers, 300 (44.05%) were at the stage of precontemplation of smoking cessation and 295 (43.31%) were at the contemplation stage. Eighty-six (12.62%) of the smokers stated that they would be willing to stop smoking in the next 30 days (preparation stage). At the time that they completed the survey, 14 subjects were in the action stage. Forty-four percent (43.70%) had previously tried to stop smoking (p < 0.01) and had achieved abstinence for a mean (+/- SD) of 2.52 +/- 2.17 months. We found no significant differences between sexes. The relative distribution of stages of self-change in the smoking behavior of young smokers in this group did not differ from that found in developed countries around Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]