UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention
A new report from the U.S. Surgeon General raises public health concerns about e-cigarette use among U.S. youth and young adults. The report comes amid alarming rates of youth and young adult use of e-cigarettes; in 2015, about 1 in 6 high school students used an e-cigarette in the past month. The report finds that, while nicotine …
The Wisconsin Smokers’ Health Study 2 (WSHS 2) was designed to help patients quit smoking and, from it, UW-CTRI researchers have gathered useful information. The five-year, $10 million study is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.One goal was to learn if some of the artery damage caused by smoking could be undone. To answer …
Five UW-CTRI staff members in March will present research findings at the 2017 Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) Annual Meeting in Florence, Italy.UW-CTRI Associate Research Director Dr. Megan Piper will be the discussant for a symposium about a technique to analyze data gathered from mobile devices to see how use of tobacco products …
UW-CTRI Director Dr. Michael Fiore is a recipient of the 2016 Alfred Ochsner Award for his contributions to helping people quit tobacco use and live longer, healthier lives. Dr. Ramaswamy Govindan also received the award, which comes with a medal and plaque.The Ochsner Award is named in honor of Doctor Alton Ochsner, co-founder of the Ochsner Clinic …
For UW-CTRI Researcher Dr. Stevens Smith, methods of analyzing research data have changed tremendously since he first started working at UW-CTRI 24 years ago. “I’ve come full circle during my time here,” said Smith, a clinical psychologist and senior investigator who is now the UW-CTRI Director of Biostatistical Operations. “UW-CTRI’s research operations have greatly expanded since the 1990s, …
Researchers have found that nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) eases an inability to experience pleasure, especially shortly after quitting, according to a new paper published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research. UW-CTRI researcher Dr. Jessica Cook, the paper’s lead author, said this is another reason NRT should be an important tool used to combat withdrawal from smoking. Abstinence from …
Though smoking increases the risk for severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and can reduce the effectiveness of RA treatment, rheumatologists rarely provide smoking-cessation counseling with their patients, according to a new paper co-authored by UW-CTRI Associate Director of Research Dr. Megan Piper. The paper, published in the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, looked at whether or not …
New research published in the journal Psychological Assessment may help researchers develop interventions to ease withdrawal in the moments smokers are experiencing them. People trying to quit smoking may feel they are on an emotional rollercoaster as they go through withdrawal, encounter stressful events, and deal with cravings to smoke. While peaks of agitation on that coaster …
A primary-care outpatient clinic in Wisconsin has begun testing an innovative system that allows clinicians to electronically refer smokers to the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line. The Gundersen Health System Clinic in Whitehall, Wisconsin is the first to use the system, featuring a “closed loop” of communication between the Quit Line and clinic staff via electronic health records (EHR). …
UW-CTRI staff working on the Breaking Addiction to Tobacco for Health (BREATHE) study are conducting qualitative research to understand how an innovative referral method is working in clinics. Clinic staff from Aurora Health Care and Dean clinics have been using electronic health records (EHR) to describe the quit-smoking study to patients who smoke and offer …