February 28, 2023
Sarcoidosis is a rare inflammatory disease that often affects the lungs and many other organ systems. The cause of sarcoidosis is unknown. Large epidemiological studies on sarcoidosis are scarce, but a few small studies in the past found a higher prevalence of sarcoidosis among nonsmokers. In this large epidemiologic study of the nationwide United States Veterans Affairs electronic medical records, Mohamed Seedahmed and colleagues identified 23,747 veterans with a diagnosis of sarcoidosis among over 13 million veterans who received care through or paid for by the Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. They found that a history of tobacco use was associated with a 58% higher likelihood of incident sarcoidosis.
February 21, 2023
Benowitz and coworkers published a public health warning in the Journal of Medical Toxicology about the potential for inhaled delta-8 THC-O-acetate (THC-O) to cause lung injury, similar to that seen in the EVALI epidemic in 2019. The lung injury seen in EVALI cases is believed to have been largely caused by inhalation of delta-9 THC oil containing vitamin E acetate (VEA), used as diluent. When heated, the acetate moiety of VEA is converted to ketene, a highly potent lung toxicant, similar in action to phosgene.
February 7, 2023
A new study examined the role of peer mentoring to enhance social media interventions to support adolescents and young adults who want to quit e-cigarette use. E-cigarettes are the most common tobacco product used by US adolescents and young adults. Nicotine contained in most e-cigarettes can harm young people, as brain development continues through the mid-20s. Being deeply integrated into the life of young people, social media have become a promising channel to deliver interventions to young people to help them quit e-cigarette use. However, many social media programs have a high dropout rate and declining participant engagement over time, which lower program efficacy. Peer mentoring is a promising way to enhance engagement, but it has not been studied in social media-based tobacco cessation programs.
December 1, 2022
Tobacco harm reduction (THR) discourse has been divisive for the tobacco control community, partially because it sometimes aligns public health and tobacco industry interests. Industry funding is contentious as it influences study outcomes, and is not always disclosed in scientific publications. Vassey and colleagues examined the role of disclosed and undisclosed industry support on THR publications via social network analysis. The study published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research revealed that authors with industry support exerted a stronger influence on the THR scientific discourse than non-industry-supported authors. They had twice as many publications (Median = 4), 1.25 as many collaborators on publications (Median = 5), and higher likelihood of connecting other authors and thus having more influence in the network, compared to non-industry-sponsored authors. E-cigarette industry-sponsored authors had stronger association with undisclosed industry support than authors supported by pharmaceutical or tobacco industry. The study is available on the NTR website and on PubMed.
September 8, 2022
The World Health Organization estimates there are 800,000 deaths related to secondhand smoke exposure each year. A large body of scientific evidence has demonstrated secondhand smoke exposure is a risk factor for pulmonary diseases, including chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD). However, we don’t know the long-term health consequences from excessive and prolonged secondhand smoke exposure, which occurred many years ago, on lung damage and function.
In a new study, Dr. Jelena Mustra Rakic and colleagues discovered ongoing lung tissue damage and impaired lung function many years after exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke in individuals who never smoked tobacco cigarettes. They evaluated nearly 300 people, most of whom were flight-attendants heavily exposed to cabin secondhand smoke before smoking was banned on all domestic and international flights in 1995.