Active Research

Predicting and Understanding the Use of Nicotine Products In a Rapidly Evolving Nicotine Marketplace: The International Nicotine Product, Policy, and Market (INPAM) Study

This project collects experimental, observational and laboratory evidence on vaporized nicotine products (VPNs) across countries (US, UK, Canada) to assess how the policy environment influences uptake of and transitions from smoked tobacco to VNPs, as well as to validate methods for predicting responses to different VNP regulations.

Funding Agency: NCI/NIH (2-P01 CA200512)

People: K. Michael Cummings & Geoffrey Fong (PI); James F Thrasher (CI)

Dates: 09/2021 – 08/2026

Removing the marketing power of cigarettes: A multi-method study aimed at protecting the health of adolescents in Latin America

The study will conduct retail store audits and collect qualitative, survey, and experimental data from youth in Argentina, Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru, building capacity for research and advocacy around flavor-related and dissuasive stick messaging policies.

Funding Agency: Medical Research Council, UK

People: Crawford Moodie (PI); James F Thrasher (CI)

Dates: 09/2022 – 08/2025

The impact of tobacco control policies on health equity in the United States

This study will conduct secondary analysis of national data sets to determine impact of a range of tobacco control policies on youth initiation and adult cessation by race, SES and sex. I will lead efforts around communication-related policies and campaigns. Results will be integrated into simulation models to estimate longer-term public health equity impacts of different policies.

Funding Agency: NCI/NIH (R37 CA214787)

People: Nancy Fleischer (PI); James F Thrasher (CI)

Dates: 12/2017 – 12/2024

 

Completed Research (Selected Projects)

The Conceptual Framework for the International Food Policy Study: Evaluating the Population-Level Impact of Food Policy

An unhealthy diet is among the leading global causes of death and disability. Globally, a range of policies are being implemented to support healthy food choices at a population level, including novel polices in the areas of food marketing, nutrition labeling, and taxation of less healthy foods. There is a need to evaluate and inform the implementation of these policies, including their impacts on marginalized population subgroups. This study uses the International Food Policy Study (IFPS) consists of repeated cross-sectional surveys conducted in 5 high- and upper-middle-income countries: Australia, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States. IFPS surveys have 3 primary areas of focus: 1) knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs associated with specific policies; 2) diet-related behaviors; and 3) dietary intake, including 24-hour dietary recalls for adults in 4 of the 5 countries. Surveys also assess food insecurity, income adequacy, sex and gender, race/ethnicity, and a range of other measures to assess trends among priority subgroups. Overall, the IFPS project has the potential to address important gaps in national monitoring surveys for dietary patterns, and to evaluate the impacts of novel food policies implemented in any of the 5 countries over the study period.

Funding Agency: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (PJT-162167)

People: David Hammond, Lana Vanderlee, Christine M White, Rachel B Acton, Martin White, Christina A Roberto, Adrian Cameron, Gary Sacks, Sharon Kirkpatrick, Joel Dubin, Jean Adams, Alejandra Jauregui, and James F Thrasher

Exploring the Potential for Smoke-Free Laws to Reduce Smoking Disparities by Sexual Orientation in the USA

We examined associations between smoke-free laws and smoking outcomes in a nationally representative sample of US adults, including exploring whether theseassociations differed for heterosexual and sexual minority (SM) adults. We constructed county-level variables representing the percent of the population covered by state-, county-, or city-level smoke-free laws in workplaces and hospitality venues. We did not find evidence that smoke-free laws were differentially associated with smoking outcomes for heterosexual and SM adults. Additional studies are needed to further explore the potential for tobacco control policies to address the elevated risk of smoking in SM communities.

Funding Agency: P2C HD041028/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States; R37 CA214787/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States

People: Andrea R Titus, Kristi E Gamarel, James F Thrasher, Michael R Elliott, Nancy L Fleischer