The health risks of second hand smoke (SHS) are now well established; in many places, including the province of Ontario, most indoor public places such as workplaces, bars, and restaurants are covered under smoke-free ordinances. People in outdoor en
Substantial government funding is necessary if tobacco control strategies are to be effective in reducing tobacco related illness and death. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2007) recommends sustained tobacco control funding
Comprehensive tobacco control includes age-related restrictions on access to tobacco products. These restrictions target young people who, as a group, are vulnerable to smoking initiation. This update reviews youth access provisions by provincial, te
Retail display refers to the visible presence of tobacco products and accessories at the point of sale. The tobacco industry uses powerwalls, countertop displays, signage and product accessories like brand-name lighters to communicate with customers.
Comprehensive tobacco control includes prohibition of tobacco sales in specific places in order to decrease the physical availability of tobacco products. A key aspect of availability is outlet density, meaning how many places sell tobacco per unit o
Taxation is a policy tool used to increase the retail price of tobacco products in order to decrease their economic accessibility. Surveys of Canadian adults show a positive relationship between higher cigarette price and the odds of being a nonsmoke
Comprehensive tobacco control includes age-related restrictions on access to tobacco products. Youth access restrictions reduce the availability of tobacco to young people who, as a group, are known to be vulnerable to smoking initiation (Ahmad and B
Substantial and stable government funding is necessary if tobacco control strategies are to be effective in reducing tobacco-related illness and death. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2007) recommends sustained tobacco control fu
Comprehensive tobacco control policy includes prohibition of tobacco sales in specific places in order to decrease physical availability. Physical availability can be measured in terms of outlet density, meaning how many places sell tobacco per unit
Taxation is a policy tool used to increase the retail price of tobacco products thereby decreasing their economic accessibility. Increased price of cigarettes has been shown to be effective in reducing smoking prevalence among young persons. For exam
Retail display is the visible presence of tobacco products and accessories at the point of sale. The tobacco industry uses powerwalls, countertop displays, signage and brand-name accessories like lighters to communicate with current, former and poten
The Youth Action Alliance program (YAA) is a key component of Smoke-Free Ontario youth prevention programming. This Special Report, produced by members of OTRU’s evaluation team, provides a formative evaluation of the YAA program including a descript
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
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 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
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
Abstract This study assesses the impact of an academic detailing quitline promotional outreach program on integration of patient referrals to the quitline by fax in healthcare settings and quitline utilization in Ontario, Canada. The study employed a
This special report presents the findings from simulation models that assessed the impact of five potential Tobacco Endgame interventions aimed at reaching the target smoking prevalence goal of less than 5% by 2035. The interventions included: plain
November 2019 The following is a monthly list of selected journal articles and reports on tobacco topics. Please note that this list is not all-inclusive. We try to choose titles of interest to our tobacco control network, but we realize that there a
Tobacco Endgame Canada needs to do better. Over the past several decades, we have seen progress through smoke-free public places, tax increases, public education campaigns and other measures contributing to a dramatic decline in smoking rates. Yet, a
With support from Health Canada, and in partnership with Physicians for Smoke Free Canada’s project “Addressing Knowledge Gaps Important to Tobacco Control”, OTRU has completed three reports about policy options for regulating vaping in Canada. Each
The e-cigarette policy environment in Canada is developing rapidly. With support from Health Canada, and in partnership with Physicians for Smoke Free Canada’s project “Addressing Knowledge Gaps Important to Tobacco Control”, the Ontario Tobacco Rese
Abstract Marginalized populations are being disproportionally affected by the current pandemic. Direct effects include higher infection rates with greater morbidity and mortality; indirect effects stem from the societal response to limit the spread o
Abstract This paper identifies factors that influence where people smoke outdoors and examines the impact of smoking on people who use outdoor public places. Direct observations of smoking at 12 outdoor public places and semi-structured interviews wi
Abstract: Objectives: The number of quit attempts it takes a smoker to quit successfully is a commonly reported figure among smoking cessation programmes, but previous estimates have been based on lifetime recall in cross-sectional samples of success
Despite declining prevalence of smoking in Ontario in the last few decades, rates of smoking cessation have not increased significantly in the last few years. OTRU will conduct Research on Advancing Cessation Treatment (REACT) to study the urgent nee
This Update provides a summary of the tobacco use cessation services provided at the local-level by all 36 Public Health Units across Ontario for the 2016 calendar year.
This brief Project News update on health insurance coverage and smoking cessation treatments presents the effectiveness of insurance coverage, factors affecting the adoption of insurance coverage by employers, and insurance coverage for smoking cessa
With limited population-level research, myths about smoking cessation persist. Research from the Ontario Tobacco Survey (OTS) has improved our understanding of smoking cessation in the general population. Key facts and findings are summarized, includ
OTRU has begun a new project to assess the implementation and impact of the new tobacco and e-cigarette policy measures being implemented in Ontario. This newsletter provides an overview of the new measures and outlines evaluation activities happenin
This formative evaluation study examines the process of implementation of the Youth Engagement Initiative as outlined in the 2010 scopes of service, and identifies facilitators and challenges to this process to inform Initiative improvement and advan
This newsletter reports on key findings from a formative evaluation of how the Initiative has been implemented in public health units across the province. Related publications: Evaluation of a Youth Engagement Initiative to Promote Healthy Choices (V
This evaluation is an ongoing multiyear effort that supports learning throughout the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport youth engagement initiative from its initiation, through initial roll-out and full implementation. Related publication
This OTRU Special Report provides evidence to inform the development of Ontario’s smoking cessation strategy. The report states the general case for smoking cessation, including the benefits of a comprehensive cessation system; presents a segmentatio
This is the report of the Tobacco Strategy Advisory Group, established by the Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport in March 2009, to inform the Ontario Government’s New Directions in Tobacco Control 5-year plan. The recommendations for a comprehens
In 2006, a vision for smoking cessation in Ontario was developed, providing a basis for evaluating the adequacy of the existing system. Those responsible for tobacco control need protocols to assess and plan local systems consistent with this vision.
This Update highlights indicators of progress in Ontario strategy goals of prevention, cessation, and protection reported in the 2004-2005 Monitoring and Evaluation Series.
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
This report is organized around the three objectives of the Ontario Tobacco Strategy (OTS) adopted by the OTS Steering Committee in 2003-2004. In each section of this report dealing with a Strategy goal, we consider the public health impact of projec