Biomedical subjects
R Sciandra
Publications and source records attributed to R Sciandra.
Results of an antismoking media campaign utilizing the Cancer Information Service.
In this paper, results are presented on the response to an antismoking media campaign designed to encourage women cigarette smokers with young children to call for information on quitting. The intervention campaign used a mix of professionally produced broadcast and print materials that encouraged smokers to call the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service (CIS) for information on quitting. The campaign was implemented in seven media markets in New York state, Pennsylvania, and Delaware; each of these markets was paired with a control market in one of the three states. Response to the campaign was gauged by monitoring calls to the New York and Pennsylvania area CIS offices from smokers residing in intervention and control media markets. Results from the 46-week campaign show that the number of calls for smoking-cessation information was five times greater from intervention markets than from control markets. The campaign also was successful in reaching the target audience of mothers of young children. Twenty-nine percent of calls received from intervention markets were from the target audience compared with 10% from the control markets. Forty-four percent of all calls received from intervention markets came during a 5-week period when time was purchased to air television spots.
The impact of tailored self-help smoking cessation guides on young mothers.
It has been suggested that tailoring self-help materials for specific target populations will increase their effectiveness. This study tested the value of a self-help guide tailored specifically for women with young children. These women were recruited through a media campaign that encouraged smokers to call the Cancer Information Service (CIS) for assistance in stopping smoking. Women smokers with young children (under the age of 6) who called the CIS were given telephone counseling on quitting and were mailed one of three stop smoking guides. One third of callers received Quitting Times, a guide written specifically for women with young children; one third received the American Lung Association guide, Freedom from Smoking for You and Your Family; and one third received Clearing the Air, a guide developed by the National Cancer Institute. Six months after calling the CIS, these women were contacted by telephone to assess changes in smoking behavior. Overall, 12.5% of the women reported not smoking for at least 1 week at the time of the 6-month follow-up interview. There were no significant differences between subjects in the three groups in use of the self-help guides, methods used to attempt quitting, and quitting behavior. Findings from this study do not support the hypothesis that using a tailored stop smoking guide increases the targeted audience's cessation rate or affects quitting-related behavior. However, it should be noted that the smokers who called were predominantly in the contemplation or action stages.
Health and economic impact of cigarette smoking in New York State, 1987-1989.
This study provides estimates of deaths attributable to smoking, years of potential life lost (YPLL), and economic costs for each of New York's 57 counties and New York City for the period 1987 to 1989. Results show that in New York State, cigarette smoking was responsible for an average of 30,359 deaths, 409,129 YPLL, and nearly $4 billion in economic costs annually. Overall, smoking-attributable deaths comprised 17.7% of all deaths, or more than the combined total from accidents, AIDS, homicide, and suicide. Findings demonstrate the enormous health and economic burden caused by tobacco use and reinforce the need for policies that discourage smoking, such as increased cigarette taxes, limited smoking in public places, enforcement of youth tobacco access laws, and funding for tobacco education programs.
What scientists funded by the tobacco industry believe about the hazards of cigarette smoking.
Despite overwhelming evidence documenting the hazards of cigarette smoking, the tobacco industry denies that smoking has been proven to cause disease. The industry professes a desire to clear up the smoking and health "question" and often points to its support of the Council for Tobacco Research (CTR) as evidence of its interest in investigating the health dangers of smoking. This paper presents results of a survey of CTR-funded scientists regarding their beliefs about the health dangers posed by smoking cigarettes. The vast majority of scientists funded by the CTR believe that cigarette smoking is an addiction that causes a wide range of serious, often fatal, diseases. This result suggests that the tobacco industry is unwilling to accept even the opinions of scientists it has deemed worthy of funding. Scientists should consider the ethical implications of accepting funds from the CTR and other tobacco industry-supported institutions.
An intervention to reduce the sale of cigarettes to minors.
This study reports the results of an intervention to stop the illegal sale of cigarettes to minors. Sixty-two of 120 stores in Erie County, New York, were randomly selected to receive in the mail an informational packet requesting their help in stopping the illegal sale of tobacco to minors. The packet included a letter to the store manager citing the law prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to minors and requesting their assistance in observing the law; a supply of warning signs; and a tip sheet designed to assist store managers in educating their employees about the law. Two weeks after the mailing, stores in the study were visited by study teenagers aged 14 to 16 who attempted to purchase cigarettes. The intervention resulted in an increased number of stores posting warning signs, but had no effect on deterring the sale of cigarettes to minors. Minors purchased cigarettes in 77% of stores that received the special mailing and in 86% of nonintervention stores. Warning signs were visible in 40% of stores that received the special mailing and in none of the nonintervention stores. The findings from this study suggest that a merchant education program to increase awareness of the law and posting of warning signs is not sufficient to discourage the sale of tobacco products to minors.
The public health benefit of increasing tobacco taxes in New York State.
The 1989-1990 New York State budget increased the tax on a package of cigarettes from 21 to 33 cents. In this paper we estimate the impact of this tax increase on smoking prevalence and smoking-induced deaths in New York State. Findings show that 115,967 New Yorkers will be encouraged to quit or not start smoking as a result of the increased cigarette tax. The reduced prevalence of smoking attributed to the tax will result in the avoidance of approximately 28,992 premature smoking-induced deaths over the next generation.
Format and quitting instructions as factors influencing the impact of a self-administered quit smoking program.
This article presents results from an experimental study designed to evaluate the effects of two features of self-help smoking cessation booklets, format (i.e., day-by-day plan for quitting versus a less structured menu format) and quitting instructions (i.e., "cold turkey" versus gradual reduction) on smoking cessation. Four separate self-help booklets were developed for comparison in this study. Each varied on a combination of the two study factors, but were similar in content, length, style, and readability. The four booklets provided similar advice on how to quit smoking, emphasizing behavioral self-management principles. In addition to the experimental booklets, a fifth control booklet provided general information about smoking and its adverse effects, but no specific advice on quitting. Study subjects included 1,534 adult cigarette smokers who called a stop smoking hotline in Buffalo, New York seeking information on how to quit. Subjects were followed up by phone one month and six months after enrollment to assess changes in smoking behavior. Overall, 18% of subjects reported of being off cigarettes for at least one week at the time of the six month follow-up interview. The format of the booklet and quitting instructions had no effect on smoking cessation rates. In addition, the four booklets emphasizing behavioral self-management skills were no more effective than the control booklet (6 month non-smoking prevalence rate: 17% versus 19%). It is recommended that future self-help quit smoking booklets include information aimed at motivating cessation and focus less attention on teaching strategies for quitting.
Impact of a newspaper mediated quit smoking program.
We present the results of a survey conducted to evaluate the impact of a newspaper mediated smoking cessation program conducted in Buffalo, New York in January 1987. Over half of all smokers surveyed reported exposure to the newspaper series; 13 per cent reported that the series prompted them to try to quit smoking, and 4 per cent stopped smoking for at least one week. We estimate that over 9,600 smokers in Erie County, New York stopped smoking for at least one week as a result of the newspaper's smoking cessation program.
Helping patients withdraw from smoking.
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Effective communications in cancer control.
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[Myocardial infarct and arterial hypertension].
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Community cancer-screening clinic. Evaluation of experiences.
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Tobacco advertising in retail stores.
Recent studies have described tobacco advertising in the print media, on billboards, and through sponsorship of cultural and sporting events. However, little attention has been given to another common and unavoidable source of tobacco advertising, that which is encountered in retail stores. In July 1987, we conducted a survey of 61 packaged goods retail stores in Buffalo, NY, to assess the prevalence and type of point-of-sale tobacco advertising. In addition, store owners or managers were surveyed to determine their store's policy regarding tobacco advertising, receipt of monetary incentives from distributors for displaying tobacco ads, and willingness to display antitobacco ads. Six types of stores were involved in the study: 10 supermarkets, 10 privately owned grocery stores, 9 chain convenience food stores that do not sell gasoline, 11 chain convenience food stores that sell gasoline, 11 chain pharmacies, and 10 private pharmacies. Two-thirds of the stores displayed tobacco posters, and 87 percent had promotional items advertising tobacco products, primarily cigarettes. Larger stores, and those that were privately owned, tended to display more posters and promotional items. Eighty percent of tobacco product displays were for cigarettes, 16 percent for smokeless tobacco products, and 4 percent for cigars and pipe tobacco. Convenience stores selling gasoline had the most separate tobacco product displays. Of tobacco product displays, 24 percent were located adjacent to candy and snack displays. Twenty-nine of the 61 store owners or managers indicated that their store had a policy regulating the display of tobacco ads and tobacco product displays. Policies dealt primarily with the location of tobacco posters (for example, no ads in the window) and number of product displays. Only 14 shop owners or managers indicated that they had previously displayed antitobacco information; more than half (31 of 61) said that they would be willing to display antitobaccoads.In many stores space availability is a barrier to displaying antitobacco information. Materials should be designed that have some utility for the store, such as posters that list store hours or directional information (that is, in and out signs).Antitobacco messages could also be displayed on check out dividers, check out mats, shopping carts,shopping bags, and milk cartons. In chain stores,decisions regarding the display of antitobacco information are likely to be made at the corporate level. Standards encouraging retailers to adopt more responsible policies related to advertising and sale of tobacco products should be established.
Physician advice to quit smoking: who gets it and who doesn't.
This is a study of physicians' stop-smoking advice to patients in a university-affiliated family medicine outpatient center. The study population consisted of 311 cigarette-smoking patients of 28 family-practice residents. Patients were monitored for three months to assess changes in their smoking habits and to measure the effects of advice from their physicians. Reports of advice were correlated with both patient and physician characteristics. Forty-one percent of the patients said they had been told by their physician to stop smoking during the three-month follow-up period. Heavy smokers (more than 26 cigarettes a day) (p = .02) and those being treated for tobacco-related conditions (p = .06) were most likely to report that their physician had advised them to quit smoking. Patients seen by a physician who was a cigarette smoker were less likely to report stop-smoking advice than patients seen by a nonsmoking physician (26 percent versus 44 percent, p = .02). Selectivity in the types of patients advised to quit smoking appears to reflect the physicians' personal judgments about the patients' likelihood of following their advice.