TY - JOUR
AU - Langley, Tessa E
AB - Article 12 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) calls on Parties to “promote and strengthen public awareness of tobacco control issues,” including the health risks of tobacco consumption, the benefits of quitting, the tobacco industry, and tobacco production.1 Each party is required to implement measures to promote awareness among both the general public and professional groups, including health workers, media professionals, and decision makers. The current issue of Nicotine & Tobacco Research includes articles from a range of countries addressing a variety of populations—low-income groups, young people, and health care professionals (HCPs)—which can support the implementation of Article 12. Sharma et al.2 investigate awareness of anti-smoking laws in slums in Delhi, India. In line with existing studies from Nigeria and Palestine,3,4 they find that a significant proportion of the population is unaware of key components of the legislation, such as bans on smoking in public places and bans on sales to minors. Lack of awareness is likely to be an indicator of, as well as a barrier to, effective implementation of the policy; the Sharma study also identifies inadequacies in the enforcement of smoke-free legislation. Social marketing campaigns are one way to try to reinforce knowledge of and positive attitudes toward smoke-free laws in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).5 Given that most smokers start in adolescence, young people remain a key target audience for measures which raise awareness about the harms of tobacco use and shift attitudes and intentions with a view to reducing uptake. Al-Sheyab et al.6 report the findings of a cluster-randomised trial testing the combination a “class smoke-free pledge” and peer-led asthma education intervention in Jordanian male adolescents. Similar interventions been found to be effective in European countries,7 and the Al-Sheyab study indicates the potential for this type of intervention to reduce youth smoking in the Middle East and other settings. An alternative approach to shifting attitudes and behavior among young people is mass media campaigns. Vallone et al.8 report on the impact of a new phase of the truth campaign, which was originally launched in the United States in 2000. Since then the campaign has focused heavily on exposing tobacco industry manipulation, and its success has been documented in numerous studies. The recent truth FinishIt campaign made extensive use of new media to encourage young people to spread messages focusing on de-normalizing smoking. The Vallone study supports existing findings and underlines the need to adapt campaign messages, target audiences and communication channels over time. Pharmacists are well placed to deliver smoking cessation support, and schools of pharmacy can play a key role in ensuring that they have the skills to do so effectively.9 El Hajj et al.10 report the findings of a cross-sectional study which aimed to assess whether pharmacy students in the Middle East are receiving appropriate training in tobacco control. While three-quarters of undergraduate pharmacy courses were found to cover some tobacco-related content, emphasis on practical skills such as providing smoking cessation counseling generally appears to be lacking. The authors conclude that there is a need for comprehensive harmonized tobacco education and practical training to ensure that pharmacy students graduate with the skills required to help tobacco users to quit. The need for standardized tobacco-related for HCPs is echoed in a systematic review by Ye et al.,11 which seeks to establish the characteristics of education and training which best prepare health care professionals to deliver care to tobacco users. Like the El Hajj study, the review finds significant variation in the time allocated to tobacco-related training in HCP curricula and identifies lack of expertise and time constraints as barriers to enhancing such training. The authors advocate for competency-based education, and while they underline the need for regular opportunities to undertake tobacco-related training throughout HCPs’ careers, they call for an increased emphasis on delivery of training to students. A review of the research needs for Articles 11 (packaging regulations) and 12 published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research in 2013 highlighted the importance of evidence in LMIC.12 This collection of studies in the current issue of NTR demonstrates that the evidence base in LMIC is growing but still limited. The tobacco research community’s efforts will be essential in enabling advocates and policymakers to achieve comprehensive implementation of Article 12 and the rest of the FCTC in LMIC. References 1. WHO. WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control . Geneva: World Health Organisation; 2003. 2. Sharma N, Anand T, Grover Set al.   Awareness about anti-smoking related laws and legislation among general population in slums of Delhi, India. Nicotine Tob Res . 2018; 20( 5): 643– 648 3. Olowookere SA, Adepoju EG, Gbolahan OO. Awareness and attitude to the law banning smoking in public places in Osun state, Nigeria. Tob Induc Dis . 2014; 12( 1): 6. Google Scholar CrossRef Search ADS PubMed  4. Abu Shomar RT, Lubbad IK, El Ansari W, Al-Khatib IA, Alharazin HJ. Smoking, awareness of smoking-associated health risks, and knowledge of national tobacco legislation in Gaza, Palestine. Cent Eur J Public Health . 2014; 22( 2): 80– 89. Google Scholar CrossRef Search ADS PubMed  5. Thrasher JF, Huang L, Pérez-Hernández R, Niederdeppe J, Arillo-Santillán E, Alday J. Evaluation of a social marketing campaign to support Mexico City’s comprehensive smoke-free law. Am J Public Health . 2011; 101( 2): 328– 335. Google Scholar CrossRef Search ADS PubMed  6. Al-Sheyab N, Khader Y, Shah S, Roydhouse J, Gallagher R. The effect of a “class smoke free pledge” on breath carbon monoxide in Arabic male adolescents. Nicotine Tob Res . 2018; 20( 5): 568– 574 7. Isensee B, Hanewinkel R. Meta-analysis on the effects of the smoke-free class competition on smoking prevention in adolescents. Eur Addict Res . 2012; 18( 3): 110– 115. Google Scholar CrossRef Search ADS PubMed  8. Vallone D, Cantrell J, Bennett Met al.   Evidence of the impact of the truth FinishIt Campaign. Nicotine Tob Res . 2018; 20( 5): 543– 551 9. McBane SE, Corelli RL, Albano CBet al.   The role of academic pharmacy in tobacco cessation and control. Am J Pharm Educ . 2013; 77( 5): 93. Google Scholar CrossRef Search ADS PubMed  10. El Hajj M, Awaisu A, Saleh Ret al.   Tobacco-related education in schools of pharmacy in the Middle East: a multinational cross-sectional study. Nicotine Tob Res . 2018; 20( 5): 561– 567 11. Ye L, Goldie C, Sharma Tet al.   Tobacco-nicotine education and training for health-care professional students and practitioners: a systematic review. Nicotine Tob Res . 2018; 20( 5): 531– 542 12. Hammond D, Wakefield M, Durkin S, Brennan E. Tobacco packaging and mass media campaigns: research needs for articles 11 and 12 of the WHO framework convention on tobacco control. Nicotine Tob Res . 2013; 15( 4): 817– 831. Google Scholar CrossRef Search ADS PubMed  © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com. This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/about_us/legal/notices)
TI - New Lessons for Addressing Article 12
JF - Nicotine and Tobacco Research
DO - 10.1093/ntr/nty023
DA - 2018-05-01
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/new-lessons-for-addressing-article-12-3tjSYVx8Lh
SP - 529
EP - 530
VL - 20
IS - 5
DP - DeepDyve
ER -