UW-CTRI colleagues presented and served in a plethora of roles at the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) 2026 Annual Conference in Baltimore.
Here is a rundown:
Pre-conference workshops
UW-CTRI Researcher Dr. Jesse Kaye and Dr. Andrea Weinberger were workshop co-chairs for “Tobacco and Cannabis Co–Use Through a Health Equity Lens.” At that workshop, UW-CTRI Research Director Dr. Megan Piper provided an overview of an American Thoracic Society Co–Use Research Statement, which describes the current state of research regarding common data elements and terminology, co–use patterns and prevalence, impact of co–use on tobacco cessation, and impact of co–use on lung health. The statement project was led by UW-CTRI Director Dr. Hasmeena Kathuria.
UW-CTRI Researcher Dr. Adrienne Johnson was also a workshop co-chair for “Tobacco Harm Reduction: Exploring Risks and Benefits of Noncombustible Tobacco/Nicotine Products for Smoking Cessation of Combustible Cigarettes.”
Treasurer’s Speech
Johnson also delivered her first presentation in her role as the new SRNT Treasurer.
“She nailed it,” said Piper, a former SRNT treasurer and president.
Clinical Plenary Presentation
Piper also delivered the clinical plenary talk, “Optimizing Treatment Engagement and Outcomes: The Importance of How and for Whom.”
“All of us are trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together to help people quit tobacco,” Piper said.
One key part of that puzzle, she said, is why people aren’t using the treatments we know to be most successful: Counseling and FDA-approved medications.
“What my colleagues and I have been working on is addressing this problem from four different perspectives. The 1st is treatment engagement and reach. The 2nd is optimizing treatment. The 3rd has to do with mechanisms, and the 4th is talking about moderation of treatment effects and engagement.
“So let’s start with treatment engagements. Remember Field of Dreams? Early in my career, I was trying to convince Dr. Tim Baker that if we had a super intense, amazing intervention for 50 or 60% of people everybody would flock to it. And then I worked in the field for a while and I realized that no, the question is, ‘If you build it, will they come?’ And now we’re to the point of, ‘if you build it, who will come?’ This is something I feel like we have not done a great job of: Connecting people with our treatments.”
She pointed out the importance of first, thinking about who we’re trying to reach – and second, designing the treatments and the engagement tools based on what those target audiences will actually use.
Some tools she discussed included electronic health records, opt-out invitations, inviting people not yet ready to quit (including Dr. Jess Cook’s work to widen the funnel from just “quitting” to “addressing” tobacco use in some way), and paying people to quit.
She called on healthcare professionals to consider health equity as well when determining treatments and engagement tools. She shared how UW-CTRI is doing just that with a Community Advisory Board and team science to design tools by Black people for Black people to quit smoking, called My Path to Quit Tobacco.
“What we’re doing is not just about improving health but also improving health equity.”
Piper also discussed ways UW-CTRI is working to better understand mechanisms and moderators of treatments, including partnerships with Dr. Linda Collins and others to create multifactorial studies.
Piper closed with gratitude. “I’ve had some amazing mentors. Tim Baker has forgotten more than I know. He is an amazing scientific mentor. Mike Fiore has been a powerhouse in public health and an inspiration. And I could not leave out Robin Mermelstein who has been a fantastic mentor throughout my career. I also want to acknowledge my Wisconsin colleagues.”
“This is absolutely a team sport,” working with various colleagues with specific and diverse expertise. “This is team science.”
Other Presentations
UW-CTRI Researcher Dr. Jesse Kaye presented “Reach, Acceptability, and Effectiveness of Proactive Outreach and Varenicline Treatment with Cancer-Specific Counseling among Adult Patients with Cancer: A Pilot Comparative Effectiveness Trial.” This study found that a proactive opt-out approach to connect with cancer patients who smoke with information about evidence-based tobacco treatment was both feasible and welcomed by patients. A pilot trial (of 52 patients) compared the effectiveness of standard treatment (2-weeks nicotine patches and standard counseling calls) versus more intensive treatment (12-weeks of varenicline and 7 cancer-targeted counseling calls). Varenicline along with counseling to quit smoking (tailored to the cancer journey) resulted in high satisfaction ratings from patients and showed promise in increasing smoking abstinence, Kaye said.
Kaye also served as the chair of a panel of presentations called “Advancing Tobacco Treatment in Cancer Care: From Behavioral Therapies to Digital and Environmental Interventions.”
UW-CTRI Researcher Dr. Jen Betts presented “Characteristics of Tobacco Pharmacotherapy Prescriptions in a National Sample of Veterans with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD).” Of the 168,061 veterans nationwide with OUD and nicotine dependence, 35% received varenicline or nicotine replacement therapy. Of eligible veterans, 16% received combination NRT (nicotine patch with lozenge or gum), whereas only 5% received varenicline. Veterans received an average of 3-4 prescriptions per medication and primary care was the most common prescribing clinic of those meds (40%-48%). Veterans who received vs. did not receive tobacco pharmacotherapy had higher rates of co-occurring substance use other than OUD (85% vs 66%) and co-occurring mental health disorders (94% vs 89%). In veterans that received buprenorphine treatment for OUD and tobacco pharmacotherapy, most (80%) received these treatments concurrently. The VA has opportunities to improve the reach of front-line tobacco treatments to help these veterans with OUD quit smoking, Betts said.
Piper also presented “Optimizing Cessation Pharmacotherapy and Counseling for Adult Primary Care Patients: A Factorial Randomized Controlled Trial.” Based on BREATHE 2 study data, Piper said there were no statistically significant main effects of the 4 factors on biochemically confirmed abstinence at 12-months. However, there was a 3-way interaction between Medication Type, Preparation Medication, and Counseling. Data showed that for combination nicotine-replacement meds, the Standard Preparation Medication (starting on the quit day) yielded higher abstinence rates with intensive counseling than with minimal counseling (19.7% vs. 10.9%). In contrast, varenicline with Standard Preparation Medication (starting 1 week pre-quit) yielded higher abstinence rates when paired with minimal counseling compared to intensive counseling (21.2% vs. 11.5%). There was also evidence that with 4-week Preparation Medication, varenicline yielded higher abstinence rates with intensive counseling than with minimal counseling (18.6% vs. 10.0%). “Different strategies may be needed to optimize the effects of these medications among primary care patients,” Piper said.
UW-CTRI Researcher Dr. Mike Shaw presented “Impact of PTSD Symptoms on Smoking Status during a Behavioral Activation Cessation Trial.” Shaw conducted a secondary analysis of a sample of 124 Veterans with PTSD who tried to quit smoking cigarettes. Shaw set out to first, test overall PTSD symptom severity and PCL-5 subscales as predictors of abstinence during a quit attempt; second, to test whether PTSD symptoms have a unique impact on abstinence while controlling for affective distress. He found that PTSD symptoms are a relevant correlate of tobacco smoking among Veterans during an active quit attempt. He also found that PTSD has several different symptom dimensions, some of which overlap with general affective distress and cigarette withdrawal symptoms. Finally, results showed that hyperarousal and physiological responses to stress appear to be especially relevant to Veterans making a quit attempt. It may be a worthwhile correlate to investigate for Veterans with PTSD during quit attempts.
Posters
UW-CTRI Director of Veterans Research Dr. Jess Cook presented her poster “From Evidence to Practice: The VA/DOD Clinical Practice Guideline for Tobacco Use Treatment.” In the picture, Cook told her colleague Mike Shaw about how she served as one of 10 tobacco experts on a workgroup that developed this guideline. The workgroup met weekly since June 2024 and gathered in Washington, DC for four days to review current evidence and develop treatment recommendations. The panel systematically reviewed 952 full-text publications, weighing the benefits and harms of interventions, and applicability across diverse populations and settings. Along with the 32 recommendations described in the guideline, there are also tailored summaries for clinicians and for patients. For example, for patients, it answers questions like, “If everyone in my unit smokes, why should I quit?”
UW-CTRI Researcher Dr. Brian Williams shared his poster, “Predicting E-Cigarette Quit Attempts and Quit Success in Young Adults.” Williams analyzed the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study data and found that most young adults had tried to quit vaping within the past year. Nearly 19% quit. Both the disapproval of family or friends and self-reported interest in quitting were associated with attempting to quit. Of the quit methods assessed, only substitution of cigarettes was associated with quitting vaping, a concerning finding, Williams said.