Smokeless tobacco provides nicotine to users through absorption across the membranes of the mouth or nose. Two main forms of smokeless tobacco are used in North America: chewing tobacco and oral snuff. Over two dozen cancer-causing agents have been i

Regional differences in prevalence of smoking across the province of Ontario have been reported at the public health unit level. Populations in which smoking behaviours remain high may be both geographically and socio-demographically distinct from ot

Bans on the display of tobacco products at the point of sale are expected to result in decreased rates of smoking initiation among young people, decreased rates of smoking in the general population and fewer relapses among quitters. This update revie

In response to the demand for accountability and performance management information, OTRU is developing a performance reporting system. This Update describes the development of the Performance Indicators Monitoring system (PIMS). PIMS is designed for

OTRU has updated two resources for the design and conduct of studies related to tobacco and tobacco control – the Directory of Public Use Data on Tobacco Use in Canada and the Searchable Database of Questionnaire Items from Population Surveys of Toba

The Ontario Tobacco Research Unit’s free online course, Tobacco and Public Health: From Theory to Practice, provides comprehensive, evidence-based information on tobacco control science, policy and practice to the Canadian tobacco control community.

Nicotine addiction is considered a major impediment to quitting smoking. Some investigators believe that the proportion of heavily addicted (or “hardcore”) smokers in the population will increase as more smokers give up smoking. But are heavily addic

The use of smokeless tobacco products, particularly among youth, is a topic of discussion in the tobacco control community. This update summarizes population survey findings on the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use by Canadians and discusses some o

Tobacco control mass media campaigns are key elements of comprehensive tobacco control strategies. In Canada, mass media campaigns have been identified as important components of both the Federal Tobacco Control strategy and the Smoke-Free Ontario st

The 2006 Smoke-Free Ontario Act prohibits smoking in all enclosed public places and workplaces, including company vehicles, but exempts private vehicles. This Update presents Ontarian public opinion data on support for bans on smoking in vehicles car

Tobacco use poses a significant economic burden to the people of Ontario, both in terms of direct costs such as health care, and indirect costs related to productivity losses resulting from disability and premature death. Recently, the Canadian Centr

The Ontario Tobacco Research Unit (OTRU) has recently developed a new online tobacco control course entitled Tobacco and Public Health: From Theory to Practice. This Update describes this free-of-charge course that addresses the tobacco control commu

As of May 31, 2006, all enclosed workplaces in Ontario will be smoke-free. While this provision of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act is being enacted to protect the health of nonsmokers, research suggests that it will also benefit smokers. Judging by studie

The Ontario Tobacco Research Unit has launched a new provincial survey monitoring tobacco use and opinions about tobacco control to inform the progress of the Smoke-Free Ontario Strategy. The Ontario Tobacco Survey is a major cross-sectional and pane

With the help of many of our Investigators and Affiliates across the province, our Principal Investigator team began work in the summer of 2005 on a research plan to identify tobacco control questions and issues of priority that can be addressed thro

The retail point-of-sale environment provides important opportunities for tobacco industry communication with current, former, and potential smokers. Point-of-sale marketing is one of the few remaining communication vehicles available to the tobacco

Now that nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), in the form of gum and patches, is sold in Canadian pharmacies without prescription, pharmacists may be the first or only health professional smokers consult when using this method to quit smoking. This Up

Adult smoking behaviour is known to be associated with restrictions on smoking, and this is true in both public places and workplaces. In the general adult population, the more extensive the restrictions on public smoking, the fewer the smokers, and

This update provides tips on writing specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time limited outcome objectives to help us to understand and communicate to others how we anticipate that our projects and services will contribute to the broader an

The 1994 Ontario Tobacco Control Act empowered local municipalities to restrict smoking in workplaces and public places. Since then, 73 of 446 Ontario municipalities have implemented smoke-free bylaws in restaurants or both restaurants and bars. Begi

Between May 2000 and December 2000, population-based data were collected by telephone interview with 1,285 Ontario residents 18 years or older regarding perceptions of environmental tobacco smoke (secondhand smoke) and exposure in the home and smokin

Although recent trends in several indicators of tobacco use are positive, the individual and societal costs of smoking remain unacceptably high. More than 45,000 current and former smokers die each year in Canada due to smoking, and dollar costs attr

School-based smoking prevention programs have been a major focus of efforts to address the problem of smoking among youth and the cost-effectiveness of school-based programs of even modest impact have been demonstrated. Unfortunately, evaluations of

Substantial proportions of Ontario smokers are being misled by the terms ‘light’ and ‘mild’ on cigarettes. The purpose of this update is to inform readers about three recent developments of direct relevance to public policy with regard to such decept

This update summarizes the findings of a special report prepared by the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit that examines comprehensive tobacco control programs in leading U.S. jurisdictions. The report focuses on evaluation infrastructure and methodologie

Studies carried out by the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit have identified key factors that may help predict whether legislators will support tobacco policies. This Update summarizes the study results which imply that political ideology and party membe

This update summarizes the main findings of the “Q2000” survey, a population-based telephone survey undertaken in Ontario in 2000. Respondents were asked about: smoking behaviours, purchasing practices, knowledge of health effects of active and passi