BACKGROUND In Iranian women, the use of hookah is the most common method of tobacco smoking. This study aimed to find the role of psycho-social needs and gaps as a possible risk factor for hookah smoking initiation in women. METHODS This qualitative study was conducted during 2012-2013 in Tehran, Iran. Thirty-six women participated in the study. They were current or former users of hookah. Da...

We investigated the impact of peers' opinions on the smoking initiation process among adolescents. We applied the Continuous Opinions and Discrete Actions (CODA) model to study how social interactions change adolescents' opinions and behaviors about smoking. Through agent-based modeling (ABM), we simulated a population of 2500 adolescents and compared smoking prevalence to data from 9 cohorts o...

IMPORTANCE Smoke-free laws are associated with a lower prevalence of smoking. OBJECTIVE To quantify the effect of 100% smoke-free laws on the smoking behavior of adolescents and young adults in a longitudinal analysis. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Pooled logistic regression and zero-inflated negative binomial regression analysis of participants in the National Longitudinal Survey of Yo...

Dopaminergic genes are likely candidates for heritable influences on cigarette smoking. In an accompanying article, Lerman et al. (1999) report associations between allele 9 of a dopamine transporter gene polymorphism (SLC6A3-9) and lack of smoking, late initiation of smoking, and length of quitting attempts. The present investigation extended their study by examining both smoking behavior and ...

OBJECTIVE To determine the factors contributing to the initiation and propagation of smoking in visitors to a major tertiary health center in Karachi, Pakistan. METHODS Seven major contributing factors to the initiation and propagation of smoking were presented to consenting study participants (n=170) in a questionnaire. Participants were then requested to use their experience and opinion to ...

AIMS To estimate associations between smoking initiation, smoking persistence and smoking heaviness and caffeine consumption in two population-based samples from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. DESIGN Observational study employing data on self-reported smoking behaviour and caffeine consumption. SETTING Adults from the general population in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. ...

AIMS To investigate cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between personality and smoking, and test whether socio-demographic factors modify these associations. DESIGN Cross-sectional and longitudinal individual-participant meta-analysis. SETTING Nine cohort studies from Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. PARTICIPANTS A total of 79 757 men and women (mea...

OBJECTIVE To identify one-year predictors of smoking initiation among never-smokers, and of continued smoking among ever-smokers. DESIGN Two sequential cohorts of grade 4 and 5 children. Data were collected as part of Coeur en sante St Louis du Parc, a non-randomised controlled trial to evaluate the impact of a school-based heart health promotion programme. SETTING 24 inner-city elementary ...