Dear AJPM  reader,


Addressing tobacco control is a major public health priority in the U.S. dating back to the release of the Surgeon General’s report in 1964 ( Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee of the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service ) that first documented the harmful health effects of smoking. Now, more than 50 years later, public health has achieved substantial success in tobacco control with widespread public smoking bans and some form of smokefree legislation passed in all but 13 states . However, new challenges confront us given the rapidly increasing popularity of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), including e-cigarettes and vaping devices, that threaten to unravel past progress and potentially reverse hard-earned victories over the international tobacco conglomerate.

AJPM has a long history of publishing on a wide range of tobacco and nicotine research comprising empirical studies, critical reviews, and research papers examining the behavioral, epidemiological, sociological, and clinical factors relevant to nicotine and tobacco control. This month’s issue is no exception, featuring several tobacco-themed papers including: 

Cheslack-Postava K, Wall MM, Weinberger AH, Goodwin RD.
  • National survey data show that former smokers have reported increased rates in major depression, past-year marijuana use, and past-month binge alcohol use.

Levy DT, Yuan Z, Li Y, St Claire AW, Schillo BA.
  • The Minnesota SimSmoke model was updated to include smokeless tobacco (SLT) use, and although the model predicted cigarette use close to that reported in tobacco surveys, it was unable to predict the increases in SLT use.

Smith TT, Koopmeiners JS, Tessier KM, Davis EM, Conklin CA, Denlinger-Apte RL, Lane T, Murphy SE, Tidey JW, Hatsukami DK, Donny EC.
  • Researchers found participants assigned to either very low-nicotine cigarettes or a transdermal nicotine patch smoked a reduced number of cigarettes per day, yet assignment to both therapies concurrently did not significantly reduce cigarette smoking compared with assignment to very low-nicotine cigarettes alone.

Villanti AC, West JC, Mays D, Donny EC, Cappella JN, Strasser AA.
  • In this study, participants who had brief exposure to nicotine education messages reported fewer false beliefs about nicotine, nicotine-replacement therapy, e-cigarettes, and cigarettes with reduced nicotine content than the control group.


We hope you find these articles and the rest of our October issue to be timely, topical, and informative.  


Yours in prevention and health,


Matthew L. Boulton, MD, MPH
Editor-in-Chief

American Journal of Preventive Medicine