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
This report provides a summary of a more extensive knowledge synthesis that presents information on a wide-range of tobacco anti-contraband measures, in an effort to ascertain the relative effectiveness of various policy measures for addressing contr
Most nonsmokers in Canada and the United States are protected from secondhand smoke exposure at work and in indoor public places, but many are still exposed to smoke entering their homes from neighbouring dwellings, shared indoor spaces, ventilation
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.
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
Publications OTRU evidence-based publications serve a variety of information needs: OTRU Updates summarize highlights from recent research and evaluation findings Special Reports provide overviews and syntheses of research in special topic areas Stra
Abstract Introduction: An unintended consequence of indoor smoking restrictions is the relocation of smoking to building entrances, where non-smokers may be exposed to secondhand smoke, and smoke from outdoor areas may drift through entrances, exposi
Abstract Objective: To evaluate the impact of an indoor smoke-free bylaw in Toronto, Ontario, implemented June 2004. Methods: We used a pre-post comparison design to assess secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure among 79 eligible bar workers in Toronto, Ont
Abstract Introduction: Phillip Morris International (PMI) is pushing hard to promote IQOS heat-not-burn cigarettes in Ontario, Canada. Canada regulates IQOS as a tobacco product so that the robust tobacco marketing ban creates challenges to its promo
The use of e-cigarettes—particularly among youth and young adults—has become a growing concern in Ontario. Local health units have a strong interest in implementing evidenced-based interventions to counter the uptake of e-cigarette use. For this repo
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: Context: Selection of priority groups is important for health interventions. However, no quantitative method has been developed. Objectives: To develop a quantitative method to support the process of selecting priority groups for public hea
Abstract Aims: It has been hypothesized that the smoking population is represented by an increasingly ‘hardcore’ group of smokers who are resistant to quitting. Many definitions of ‘hardcore smokers’ have been used, but their predictive validity is u
Abstract Aims: To examine the use and role of planned quit attempts by smokers and their impact on abstinence. Design: Retrospective, using longitudinal data from the Ontario Tobacco Survey. Setting: Ontario, Canada. Participants: A total of 551 adul
Abstract Population-based samples of smokers are necessary for tobacco behavior monitoring and surveillance and for evaluating tobacco control programs and policies. We evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of a simple, one question screener as a
Abstract The availability of low-cost cigarettes undermines tobacco control’s most effective measure to reduce smoking prevalence: keeping cigarette prices high by raising tobacco taxes.1 The discount cigarette market share has grown considerably sin
Research Letter Previous research has classified smokers and non-smokers on the basis of their attitudes and behaviours towards smoking and smoking restrictions.1–3 Work by Poland et al,1 using data from 1996, concluded that Ontario smokers clustered
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
A risk categorization model for youth access enforcement was piloted in three public health units over a 12-month period in 2011-2012. Pilot findings suggest that 1) increasing the number of visits to moderate- and high-risk vendors can increase comp
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