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  • About
  • Research
    • YETI
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Upcoming Events



World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH) Leadership Summit

The 18th WCTOH is hosting the FIFTH WEBINAR in a series of open-access webinars in the run up to the Leadership Summit on Tobacco Control, 6-7 May 2021.  

Register here for the webinar on Tuesday 16 March 2021, 13:00 – 14:00 CET:  Can we achieve justice in health? Lessons from population health, human rights and the FCTC process

 This webinar will present the latest developments in tobacco control with key lessons and recommendations for advancing justice in health. Within the context of treaty frameworks that have been ratified by Parties, the speakers will highlight how to reduce health inequities by identifying opportunities for progressing tobacco control within existing frameworks for population health, sustainable development, human rights, and the WHO FCTC.

Dr Adriana Blanco Marquizo, Head of the Convention Secretariat WHO FCTC, will facilitate the discussion between expert speakers Mr Dudley Tarlton and Ms Kelsey Romeo-Stuppy.



​World Conference on Tobacco Or Health (WCToH) News

The Leadership Summit on Tobacco or Health is to take place 6-7 May 2021 with Mike Bloomberg to deliver the keynote address at the inaugural Session and Stephen Donnelly Minister for Health, Ireland to address the Summit Opening Plenary
For further information see https://wctoh.org

​18TH  WORLD CONFERENCE ON TOBACCO OR HEALTH  Dublin March 9-11th 2021. Re-scheduled - see more WCTOH events below in News section. 


ERS International Congress 2021

​ERS International Congress 2021 will be hosted in Barcelona, Spain on 4th to 8th September 2021



TFRI Activities


  • SRNT 27th Annual Meeting, 24th - 27th February (VIRTUAL)  
The 27th Annual Meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) took place 24th- 27th February. The Conference Theme was: Social Justice and Action in Tobacco and Nicotine Science, focussing on the timely and enduring issues of social justice, health inequality, and importantly, action to correct health disparities of nicotine and tobacco. 
TFRI had 2 abstracts accepted for publication, and Salome Sunday presented 2 posters for TFRI at the SRNT 27th Annual Meeting. See them here:

Joan Hanafin, Salome Sunday, Sheila Keogan, Luke Clancy.  Increase in boys' smoking threatens Ireland's Endgame Projections - European trend analysis of smoking prevalence 1995-2019
Joan Hanafin, Salome Sunday, Sheila Keogan, Luke Clancy. E-cigarette prevalence, motivations for use, and relationship with tobacco – the changing situation in Ireland


  • Newstalk Podcast Down to Earth Episode 1: Air Quality, 22nd January 2021
Down To Earth is Newstalk’s dedicated programme about our natural environment and how we address the limits of our planet's resources. From climate change to species extinction, in Down to Earth, Dr Cara Augustenborg covers the toughest challenges with leading experts and celebrated thinkers. In Episode 1 all about air pollution:
  • Dr Luke Clancy, Director General of TFRI, on life before and after the smoky coal ban.
  • Dr. Clare Noone, NUI Galway, explains why Ireland’s air quality is no laughing matter. 
  • Martin Fitzpatrick, Air Quality and Noise Control unit, Dublin City Council explains what we need to do next to breathe easier 
Listen here.

  • Irish Journal of Medical Science, Supplement 1,  January 2021​
Two abstracts accepted for the ITS annual conference 2020 were published in Irish Journal of Medical Science:
  • J Hanafin, S Sunday, S Keogan, L Clancy (2020). Worrying changes in adolescent e-cigarette use 2014-2019: A secondary analysis of five Irish health datasets. Irish Journal of Medical Science, Jan 2021, Vol 190, Suppl 1, S 31, S57-S58
  • ​J Hanafin, S Sunday, S Keogan, L Clancy (2020). Gender difference results in increase in adolescent smoking in 2019 in Ireland- European trend analysis of current smoking prevalence 1995-2019.  Irish Journal of Medical Science, Jan 2021, Vol 190, Suppl 1, S34, S57.
 
  • New European Respiratory Society Monograph published Supporting Tobacco Cessation, January 2021
    Dr Joan Hanafin and Prof Luke Clancy contributed to the latest ERS Monograph, Supporting Tobacco Cessation. The Monograph provides a comprehensive overview of tobacco cessation, from health policy to patient care. Broad in scope, this state-of-the art collection is broken down into four sections: the changing landscape of the tobacco epidemic and challenges to curb it; treatment of tobacco dependence (pharmacotherapy, behavioural support); improving the care of patients with particular conditions who smoke (asthma, COPD, TB, cardiovascular diseases, etc.); and prevention. It also deals with some of the more controversial topics such as e-cigarettes and web applications. Readers will gain an understanding of how to implement smoking cessation into their everyday practice, but will also expand their knowledge about the policy and systems changes needed for population-wide smoking cessation. Find it here: https://books.ersjournals.com/content/supporting-tobacco-cessation

The ERS Monograph is the quarterly book series from the European Respiratory Society. Each Monograph covers a specific area of respiratory medicine, providing in-depth reviews that give clinicians at all levels a concise, comprehensive guide to symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Supporting Tobacco Cessation, edited by Sofia Belo Ravara, Elif Dağli, Paraskevi Katsaounou, Keir E. Lewis and Charlotta Pisinger. 
​
Optimising health systems to deliver tobacco-dependence treatment
Lewis Keir E, Belo Ravara Sofia, Papadakis Sophia, Attar-Zadeh Darush, Hanafin Joan, Clancy Luke, Rasmussen Mette, Katsaounou Paraskevi, Fu Dongbo (2021). In: Belo Ravara S, Dağli E, Katsaounou P, et al., eds. Supporting Tobacco Cessation (ERS Monograph). Sheffield, European Respiratory Society, 2021; pp. 118–135. https://doi.org/10.1183/2312508X.10002520

  • New study by TFRI published December 2020 in the journal PlosOne: A qualitative study of e-cigarette use among young people in Ireland: Incentives, disincentives, and putative cessation
​A new qualitative study from the TobaccoFree Research Institute Ireland explores young adults’ experiences of using e-cigarettes. Smoking prevalence in Ireland is falling in all age groups in Ireland, but e-cigarette use is rising, particularly among young people. This study, consisting of interviews and focus groups with 18-22year-olds, identified 3 broad themes: features which 1) incentivised use, 2) dis-incentivised use, and 3) failure of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool for this group. Factors encouraging use were price, pleasing taste or flavours and the possibility of indoor use. Much more numerous were negative features relating to adverse health effects (pain, discomfort, sore throat, coughing, headache), bad product taste and faulty devices. As regards smoking cessation they complained that they had wanted to stop and had been told that they worked for stopping smoking but their reality was that it didn’t happen.
Prof Clancy said “instead of helping them to stop smoking they reported continuing to smoke or restarted or indeed, started ‘roll-your-own’ for the first time and none of them stayed off cigarettes.”
The participants were sceptical about the healthiness of e-cigarettes, concerned about addictiveness and worried about the long-term effects. They were critical of the advertising that had targeted them and indeed, industry strategies.  The study conclusion was that regulation of e-cigarettes through age restriction of access, licensing of outlets, pricing, point of sale and advertising restrictions as well as through the banning of indoor use should be considered by legislators and tobacco control policymakers.
Dr Joan Hanafin, Director of Social Research, TFRI pointed out that “there were health education opportunities suggested by the study in counteracting the misinformation about e-cigarettes young people are getting, largely through social media. They should be informed of the full facts about e-cigarettes, and also about proven successful smoking cessation methods.”
Full paper available here: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0244203

  • ENSP-ECTC Conference – The Online Edition - 16 December 2020
TFRI presented a paper on E-cigarettes and Teenagers at the ENSP-ECTC conference online webinar: ​E-cigarettes and Novel Tobacco Products: what do we know so far?
Read it here: Joan Hanafin, Salome Sunday, Luke Clancy. What's Happening with E-cigarettes in Teenagers? Ireland 2014-2019. Paper presented at ENSP-ECTC Conference e-cigarettes and Novell Tobacco Products? What do we know so far, 16 December, 2020, Virtual.​

  • Irish Thoracic Society Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting 3rd-4th December & Paediatric Forum 2nd Dec 2020
The ITS Annual Scientific Meeting 2020 took place on 3rd and 4th December and the ITS Paediatric Forum on 2nd December 2020. TFRI was represented at both, presenting 2 posters, a poster review and discussion, and 2 oral presentations. Click on links below to read them:
J Hanafin, S Sunday, S Keogan, L Clancy (2020).  Poster & Review and Discussion: Worrying Changes in E-cigarette use among Teens
J Hanafin, S Sunday, S Keogan, L Clancy (2020).  Poster: Gender Differences in Adolescent Smoking in Ireland and Europe Trend Analysis

J Hanafin, S Sunday, S Keogan, L Clancy (2020). Oral presentation to ITS ASM Paediatric Forum Worrying Changes in E-Cigarette Use  
J Hanafin, S Sunday, S Keogan, L Clancy (2020). Oral presentation to ITS ASM Paediatric Forum Gender Differences in Adolescent Smoking

​
  • Launch of ESPAD Ireland 2019, 16th November 2020​
TFRI is Irish PI for ESPAD, the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs. 
The ESPAD Ireland Report 2019, based on a survey of 1967 students born in 2003, who were 15-16 years old when the survey was carried out in a sample of Irish schools in 2019, was launched in November 2020 by TFRI and Department of Health.  It features information on students’ experience of, and perceptions about, a variety of substances, including: tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs, inhalants, pharmaceuticals and new psychoactive substances (NPS). Social media use, gaming and gambling are also covered. This is the seventh data-collection wave conducted by the ESPAD project since 1995, with data collected every 4 years in more than 35 countries.

On 16th November, the Minister of State with Responsibility for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Frank Feighan TD, launched ESPAD Ireland 2019. Read the Minister's Press Release here. On the same day, TFRI launched ESPAD Ireland 2019 with this press release below:
Main Findings
·      The decline in smoking has halted in Irish teens for the first time in 25 years (14%), and has significantly increased to 16% in boys while declining slightly to 13.6 in girls
Dramatic increase in e-cigarette use, especially among boys 39% have tried AND 16% are current users
·      Slight increase in drinking and heavy episodic ‘binge’ drinking
·      Almost 1 in 5 has tried cannabis and 1 in 10 is a current user
·      More than a third spend more than 6 hours on non-school days on social media
·      Boys (23%) more likely than girls (7%) to have gambled

Click here for the full report: 
S Sunday, S Keogan, J Hanafin, L Clancy (2020). ESPAD 2019 Ireland: Results from the European Schools Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs in Ireland. Dublin: TFRI. ISBN: 978-0-9557528-4-1
Click here for the summary report:
S Sunday, S Keogan, J Hanafin, L Clancy (2020). ESPAD 2019 Ireland: Summary Results from the European Schools Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs in Ireland. Dublin: TFRI. ISBN: 978-0-9557528-5-8


  • ​ENSP-ECTC 2020, October 2020
The European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP) held its 5th European Conference on Tobacco Control online. TFRI had three papers accepted for presentation at the conference: 
​Prof Luke Clancy, Changes in breathing during exposure to SHS in outside smoking areas of pubs with asthma and COPD in 3 EU countries​
Dr Joan Hanafin & Prof Luke Clancy, Does e-cigarette use support smoking cessation? A qualitative study of why young people use e-cigarettes in Ireland.
 Dr Joan Hanafin & Prof Luke Clancy, Tobacco-related health education in schools in seven EU cities. 
​
  • Milestones and Challenges of Medical Research
    On 26th September 2020, Prof Luke Clancy, Director General, TFRI gave a presentation entitled Role of Research in Changing Dublin Smog Forever  to FIRMST SS#02 Milestones and Challenges on Medical Research - Panel Discussion
​​
  • Tobacco and COVID-19: understanding the science and policy implications
​The 18th WCTOH has launched an open-access webinar series ahead of the Leadership Summit on Tobacco Control.
The first webinar, Tobacco and COVID-19: understanding the science and policy implications, was held on Tuesday 29 September 2020 at 14:00 – 15:00 CEST. 
This webinar reviewed the literature on the relationship between smoking and COVID-19 available to date; examined the biological mechanisms and risk factors influencing susceptibility to infection; and discussed opportunities afforded by the pandemic to progress tobacco control and reduce tobacco related deaths.
Prof Luke Clancy, Director General of the TobaccoFree Research Institute Ireland (TFRI) Dublin, facilitated discussion between expert speakers Dr Silvano Gallus, Dr Janice Leung and Dr Catherine O. Egbe.
The webinar aimed to: 
·     Make sense of the published results on the prevalence and severity of COVID-19 in smokers
·     Understand the biological mechanisms at play in the interaction between smoking and Sars-CoV-2, and ACE-2 at organ level in COVID-19 disease
·     Equip policy makers to prepare for the risks and opportunities which may arise in tobacco control during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 1st Satellite Event of FIRMST- Forum for Interdisciplinary Research in Medical Science & Technology
    Panel Discussion on Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and  Abstract Presentations by young scientists (under 35 years)
     23rd of August 2020.  https://www.firmst.tech/
    ​
  
  • ​FIRMST Forum for Interdisciplinary Research in Medical Science and Technology,  4-5 August 2020, Moscow | Online. 
The session on Tobacco Control was chaired by Prof Luke Clancy. Presentations from TFRI by Salome Sunday, Dr Joan Hanafin and Prof Luke Clancy on Adolescent e-cigarette use in Ireland 2015-2019 A Trend Analysis and Smoking in Schools in Ireland​.  Read them here: 
  • J Hanafin, S Sunday, S Keogan, L Clancy (2020). What’s Happening with E-cigarettes in Ireland: A Trend Analysis 2015 to 2019. FIRMST Forum for Interdisciplinary Research in Medical Science and Technology, Moscow 4th-5th August 2020 | Online. https://www.firmst.tech 
  • S Sunday, J Hanafin, S Keogan, L Clancy (2020). Smoking in Schools in Ireland. FIRMST Forum for Interdisciplinary Research in Medical Science and Technology, Moscow 4th-5th August 2020 | Online. https://www.firmst.tech ​
​
  • Conversations on Covid-19 Series 
    This series of webinars, a joint initiative between ESTHER Alliance for Global Health Partnerships and Irish Global Health Network, hosted experts to discuss COVID-19 topics.  
    For the 17th Webinar: Men and Covid 19 – How are men affected by Covid 19 and how can the response better include them?, streamed on 17 July 2020, Professor Luke Clancy, DG, TFRI joined Dr Noel Richardson, Director of the National Centre for Men’s Health in Ireland, Professor Maria Lohan, Chair in Social Sciences and Health, Queens University Belfast, Gary Barker, President and CEO, Promundo-US to discuss:
    ·       What disaggregated data exists on Covid 19 with respect to men 
    ·       How is Covid 19 impacting on men and how are they coping 
    ·       What should the response be doing more of to better meet the needs of men, women, boys and girls 
    The webinar was moderated by Niall Roche WaSH and Environmental Consultant and Hala Ali Co-coordinator for ESTHER Alliance for Global Health Partnerships. You will find a link to the webinar here and Professor Clancy’s talk on Men, COVID 19 and Smoking is at 46m20s.
    Here is a summary of the main points made by speakers at the webinar here: https://esther.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Men-and-COVID-19-Webinar-Summary-Final.pdf

  • New research from TFRI in BMJ Open shows Smoking ban and price increases dramatically reduce teen smoking: https://www.imt.ie/news/ban-sees-dramatic-teen-smoking-reduction-18-08-2020/                                    Full article published August 2020: Does smoke-free legislation work for teens too? A logistic regression analysis of smoking prevalence and gender among 16 years old in Ireland, using the 1995–2015 ESPAD school surveys is available here: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/8/e032630.info
  • TACK    SHS: Tackling tobacco-related chronic diseases in Europe: ​8_october_tackshs_icolc.docx  Novel data from the Horizon 2020 TackSHS project reveals the results of exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) from cigarettes and second-hand aerosols (SHA) from electronic cigarettes on the respiratory health of European population, the burden of associated mortality and morbidity, and economic consequences for national and European welfare. Press release from final conference.
  •  New technologies to tackle digital marketing of alcohol, tobacco and unhealthy foods aimed at children and adolescents.    A group of experts and stakeholders from all over the WHO European Region recently highlighted the role of new technologies in responding to the harmful impact of digital marketing of alcohol, tobacco and unhealthy foods targeted at children and adolescents.
  • New Irish research shows “Allen Carr”  is successful for smoking  cessation:   New study has just been published in the  BMJ’s Tobacco Control journal  which  shows results of the first published Randomised Clinical trial in the world  demonstrating that Allen Carr ‘s Easyway to stop smoking is a highly effective treatment to help smokers quit.     Full Paper   available here.
  • SILNER H2020 project launched its findings in Brussels on  October 17th 2018​
    • TFRI deliverable   'Development of policy recommendations'   used the empirical evidence generated in the project to develop recommendations for the prevention of youth smoking. More detailed recommendations can be found here.
  • Youth turning to cheaper Roll Your Own Tobacco Products: Newspaper Link
  • Tobacco Free Ireland   (‘TFI’), the report of the Tobacco Policy Review Group, was endorsed by Government and published in October 2013. An Action Plan for TFI was published in March 2015 and one of its actions committed the Department of Health to publish an annual report on the implementation of the Plan.Considerable progress was made in 2017 in implementing the Action Plan as set out in detail in the Annual Report. 
  • TOB-g project launched   its e-learning course   November 2017.   The Tob-g e-course constitutes a key part of this important project. This course is based on the structure and material of the Tob-g guidelines. Its aim is to provide an individualised approach to smoking cessation within five clearly distinctive sub-populations of smokers, who obviously cannot continue to be treated as a single entity. Teenagers, cardiovascular patients, pregnant women, patients with diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) belong to clearly distinct groups and reasonably so require a tailored approach to treatment.  
  • Tobacco Cessation Guidelines for  High risk populations - TOB-G   Now published ​
  • The first new building to be constructed on the Dublin Institute of Technology Grangegorman   campus has been opened.The Greenway Hub will be home to the institution’s postgraduate researchers as well as those commercialising their research and growing spin-out companies. The 5-storey €17 million euro building will host DIT’s Environmental Sustainability and Health Institute (ESHI) with researchers working in areas like vision science, food and water quality, energy, bio monitoring and diagnostics, and health policy development. More news:  
  • Global Public Health Advocates Open New Fronts in War on Tobacco Vienna, Austria—December 5, 2016—Efforts to control tobacco as a public health threat have escalated as clinicians and public health advocates have coalesced to beat back threats from tobacco companies through public advocacy, public health, and pension reform. Read more
  • ESPAD Ireland 2015 published,  20th September, 2016
    Ireland’s 2015 report on the European Schools Project on Alcohol & other Drugs in Ireland (ESPAD)  finds a dramatic reduction in teenage drinking and smoking but concerns over e-cigarettes, drugs and gambling.
    Smoking and drinking among 15-16 year-old school students are falling dramatically, but challenges posed by illicit drug use remain. In this age group, Ireland has much lower levels of drinking, binge drinking and smoking than the European average, but higher use of cannabis, inhalants and other drugs.  Find out more here.
    ​
  • E-cigarettes as a gateway to tobacco:  A US study finds that teenagers who use e-cigarettes are more to become tobacco-smokers.  ​
  • European Court of Justice upholds Tobacco Products Directive:Great news from the European Court of Justice – all three challenges against the EU Tobacco Products Directive were rejected today May 4th 2016.      The Court rejected the challenge brought by Philip Morris and British American Tobacco which sought to invalidate the TPD as a whole, or alternatively various provisions of the Directive including, inter alia, mandatory large pictorial warnings, the ban on characterising flavours and measures concerning tracking and tracing.​ ​
  • An assessment of the economic costs of smoking in Ireland: Key findings:   It is estimated that smoking causes 5,870 deaths per annum with an additional 92 per annum as a result of exposure to second hand smoke (SHS).  This is an increase from an estimated 5,200 deaths per annum previously calculated, the increase is due to more cancers and respiratory diseases being attributable to smoking than heretofore.
    Healthcare costs
    The estimated cost to the healthcare system as a result of smoking is over a half a billion euro (€506 million) as outlined below:
    ·        Hospital based costs €211 million
    ·        Primary care costs €256 million
    ·        Domiciliary care costs €40 million.



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