Tobacco Craving, Nicotine Dependence, and Quit Intentions among LGB and Non-LGB High School Students: A Quasi-Experimental Analysis

There is evidence of higher tobacco use among lesbian or gay and bisexual (LGB) populations. However, a limited number of studies have examined whether there are differences in potential indicators of future tobacco cessation behaviors between LGB and non-LGB populations. This study examined whether sexual identity is associated with craving, nicotine dependence, and quit intentions among high school students. Data were drawn from the 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey (n = 1642). A propensity score matching (PSM) technique was used to address covariate imbalance among sexual identity groups. Additionally, subgroup analyses were performed for both males and females. The PSM results showed higher odds of craving among students who were gay or lesbian (aOR, 1.70; 95% CI = 1.13–2.55) and bisexual (aOR, 1.89; 95% CI = 1.23–2.92) compared to heterosexual (straight) students. In the sex-based subgroup analyses, we found that gay or lesbian (aOR, 1.92; 95% CI = 1.10–3.34) and bisexual (aOR, 3.12; 95% CI, 1.46–6.66) male students had significantly higher odds of craving when compared to heterosexual/straight male adolescents. However, the association was not significant in female students. Additionally, female bisexuals had significantly lower odds for quit intention (aOR, 0.48; 95% CI = 0.29–0.81) when compared to heterosexual/straight female adolescents. Results also showed no significant differences between LGB and non-LGB students for nicotine dependence. Sexual minority adolescents, especially male adolescents, were more likely to have tobacco cravings and bisexual females had lower odds of quit intention than heterosexual peers. Prevention efforts targeting this subpopulation may be beneficial.

The effectiveness of graphic health warnings on tobacco products: a systematic review on perceived harm and quit intentions

Background Examination of the format and framing of the graphic health warnings (GHWs) on tobacco products and their impact on tobacco cessation has received increasing attention. This review focused on systematically identifying and synthesizing evidence of longitudinal studies that evaluate different GHW formats and specifically considered GHW influence on perceived risk of tobacco use and quit intentions. Methods Ten databases were systematically searched for relevant records in December 2017 and again in September 2019. Thirty-five longitudinal studies were identified and analyzed in terms of the formatting of GHWs and the outcomes of perceived risk and quit intentions. Quality assessment of all studies was conducted. Results This review found graphics exceeding 50% of packs were the most common ratio for GHWs, and identified an ongoing reliance on negatively framed messages and limited source attribution. Perceived harms and quit intentions were increased by GHWs. However, wear-out effects were observed regardless of GHW format indicating the length of time warnings are present in market warrants ongoing research attention to identify wear out points. Quit intentions and perceived harm were also combined into a cognitive response measure, limiting the evaluation of the effects of each GHW format variables in those cases. In addition, alternative GHW package inserts were found to be a complimentary approach to traditional GHWs. Conclusions This review demonstrated the role of GHWs on increasing quit intentions and perceptions of health risks by evaluating quality-assessed longitudinal research designs. The findings of this study recommend testing alternate GHW formats that communicate quit benefits and objective methodologies to extend beyond self-report.

Self-affirmation and responses to cigarette warning labels: The moderating role of message strength

The present research investigated whether message strength moderates the effect of self-affirmation on reactions given to cigarette warning labels. Three hundred eighty-four female (Study 1) and 383 male (Study 2) smokers completed a self-affirmation manipulation and then evaluated either strong or weak warning labels in terms of message derogation. Next, they reported their intentions to quit smoking. Only for the male sample, message strength moderated the effect of self-affirmation on message derogation. However, message strength did not have a moderating role on both message derogation and quit intentions for the female sample and on quit intentions for the male sample.

Evaluating Cigarette Pack Insert Messages with Tips to Quit

Objectives: Canada is the only country that currently uses cigarette pack inserts to communicate health messages to smokers, including tips to quit. Messages about strategies for quitting smoking are also central to the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Every Try Counts (ETC) campaign. This study assessed US smokers' responses to Canadian and ETC-based messages formatted for pack inserts. Methods: US adult smokers (N = 524) were recruited from an online consumer panel and rated 8 insert messages: 4 based on Canadian inserts and 4 based on ETC. Participants randomly viewed each message accompanied by an image of either a person or a symbolic representation of the topic. Participants rated the perceived effectiveness (PE) of each message. Paired t-tests were used to assess mean differences in PE across topics, image types, and quit intentions. Results: ETC messages were consistently rated as more effective than Canadian messages regardless of quit intentions. Image types did not significantly influence PE. Conclusions: Messages from ETC are perceived as more effective than messages used in Canada. The FDA has the authority to communicate with smokers through inserts and should consider adopting inserts to promote smoking cessation.

An investigation of the effects of organisational communication on work outcomes within agriculture research institutes in Nigeria

The study investigated the effects of organisational communication on work outcomes (job satisfaction, affective commitment and quit-intentions) of agriculture research personnel from six research institutes in Nigeria. Further, the mediational role of job satisfaction was determined among the constructs. Simple random sampling technique was used to elicit information from 209 researchers of the selected research institutes. Data were collected through a well-structured questionnaire and analysed using hierarchical regression and Sobel tests. Results obtained from hierarchical regression analyses indicated that organisational communication was related to job satisfaction (b = 0.18, P < 0.01), affective commitment (b1 = 0.20, P < 0.01) and quit-intentions (b1 = – 0.18, P < 0.01). Sobel test indicated that job satisfaction partially mediated the organisational communication-affective commitment relationship (Z = 5.42, P < 0.05). Similarly, job satisfaction was a partial mediator of the organisational communication – quit-intention relationship (Z = 4.13, P < 0.05). This is an indication that increased organisational communication fosters personnel’s satisfaction with job, improves affective commitment and reduces intents of quitting the organisation. Evidence of partial mediation revealed that job satisfaction may not be the only mediator of the predictor-criterions linkages.

Tobacco Quit Intentions and Behaviors among Cigar Smokers in the United States in Response to COVID-19

Combustible tobacco users appear to be at greater risk for serious complications from COVID-19. This study examined cigar smokers’ perceived risk of COVID-19, quit intentions, and behaviors during the current pandemic. We conducted an online study between 23 April 2020 to 7 May 2020, as part of an ongoing study examining perceptions of different health effects of cigars. All participants used cigars in the past 30 days (n = 777). Three-quarters of the sample (76.0%) perceived they had a higher risk of complications from COVID-19 compared to non-smokers. The majority of participants (70.8%) intended to quit in the next six months due to COVID-19, and almost half of the sample (46.5%) reported making a quit attempt since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Far more participants reported increasing their tobacco use since COVID-19 started (40.9%) vs. decreasing their tobacco use (17.8%). Black or African American participants, participants who reported using a quitline, and participants with higher COVID-19 risk perceptions had higher intentions to quit using tobacco due to COVID-19, and higher odds of making a quit attempt since COVID-19 started. More research is needed to understand how tobacco users are perceiving COVID-19 risks and changing their tobacco use behaviors.

Why Do High-Performance Human Resource Practices Matter for Employee Outcomes in Public Sector Universities? The Mediating Role of Person–Organization Fit Mechanism

Based on the attraction–selection–attrition (ASA) framework, this research aimed to investigate the mechanism which affects the link between high-performance human resource practices (HPHRPs) and the two negative employee outcomes of the present study: emotional exhaustion and quit intentions. Using the ASA framework, the authors examine one such mechanism namely person–organization (P-O) fit, through which HPHRPs influence both the studied employee negative outcomes. A sample of professionals working in the public sector universities of Pakistan is adopted for testing the mediation model by using structural equation modeling. Findings reveal that HPHRPs have positive association with P-O fit, and negative with emotional exhaustion and quit intentions. Moreover, the findings illustrated a full mediation effect of P-O fit on the relationship among HPHRPs and both of the employee outcomes. The study has important theoretical and practical implications.