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Biomedical subjects

G N Connolly

Publications and source records attributed to G N Connolly.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Brand differences of free-base nicotine delivery in cigarette smoke: the view of the tobacco industry documents.

The recent availability of internal tobacco industry documents provides significant insight into industry knowledge and manipulation of tobacco smoke delivery. One critical area of research is the role of smoke chemistry in determining the absorption and effects of smoke constituents, especially harm producing or pharmacologically active compounds. Independent scientific research has suggested that the nicotine dosing characteristics, hence the addiction potential of cigarettes, may be determined in part by the amount of free-base nicotine in cigarette smoke and its effects on the location, route, and speed of absorption in the body and on the sensory perception effects of the inhaled smoke. Tobacco industry documents describe the use of a number of methods internally for measuring free-base nicotine delivery. These include the common use of cigarette "smoke pH" as a means to estimate the fraction of free-base nicotine in the particulate matter (PM) in cigarette smoke, as well as efforts to measure free-base nicotine directly. Although these methods do not provide accurate absolute measures of free-base nicotine in smoke, consistencies observed in the findings across the various manufacturers indicate: (1) real relative differences in the acid/base chemistry of the smoke from different brands of cigarettes; (2) a connection between differences in free-base levels and brand-dependent differences in sensory perception and smoke "impact"; and (3) levels of free-base nicotine that are greater than have typically been publicly discussed by the industry. Furthermore, the results of these methods are generally consistent with those of a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which directly measured the free-base fraction of nicotine across a range of cigarette types. Consideration of the likely fundamental importance of free-base nicotine levels in cigarette smoke, together with the efforts discussed in the tobacco industry documents to measure such levels, indicates that the public health community would benefit from additional research to assess directly the delivery of free-base nicotine in cigarette smoke across brands. This may be especially useful for those products ("light", "ultralight", "reduced carcinogen", etc) that have been promoted, either explicitly or implicitly, as "harm reducing".

Documentation↗
PubMed2005

Toward a comprehensive long term nicotine policy.

Global tobacco deaths are high and rising. Tobacco use is primarily driven by nicotine addiction. Overall tobacco control policy is relatively well agreed upon but a long term nicotine policy has been less well considered and requires further debate. Reaching consensus is important because a nicotine policy is integral to the target of reducing tobacco caused disease, and the contentious issues need to be resolved before the necessary political changes can be sought. A long term and comprehensive nicotine policy is proposed here. It envisages both reducing the attractiveness and addictiveness of existing tobacco based nicotine delivery systems as well as providing alternative sources of acceptable clean nicotine as competition for tobacco. Clean nicotine is defined as nicotine free enough of tobacco toxicants to pass regulatory approval. A three phase policy is proposed. The initial phase requires regulatory capture of cigarette and smoke constituents liberalising the market for clean nicotine; regulating all nicotine sources from the same agency; and research into nicotine absorption and the role of tobacco additives in this process. The second phase anticipates clean nicotine overtaking tobacco as the primary source of the drug (facilitated by use of regulatory and taxation measures); simplification of tobacco products by limitation of additives which make tobacco attractive and easier to smoke (but tobacco would still be able to provide a satisfying dose of nicotine). The third phase includes a progressive reduction in the nicotine content of cigarettes, with clean nicotine freely available to take the place of tobacco as society's main nicotine source.

Health Policy↗
PubMed2005

Effect of the New York State cigarette fire safety standard on ignition propensity, smoke constituents, and the consumer market.

OBJECTIVES: This study examines empirical evidence from the New York experience testing tobacco industry arguments made in opposition to fire safety standards for cigarettes. DESIGN: Percentages of cigarettes exhibiting full length burns (FLBs), cigarette sales before and following the implementation of the New York standards, a sample of retail cigarette prices, brand availability, and selected smoke constituent yields were compared between cigarettes sold in New York and two other states. Cigarette paper analysis was conducted on cigarettes sold in New York. RESULTS: New York cigarette brands averaged 10.0% FLBs as compared to 99.8% for California and Massachusetts brands. Reduced ignition propensity (RIP) appears to have been achieved by cigarette paper banding. Cigarette sales, prices, and brand availability do not appear to have been affected by the New York standards. Yields of the majority of smoke constituents tested did not differ substantially between RIP cigarettes sold in New York as compared to the same brands sold in Massachusetts. Average yields of tar, carbon monoxide, and two compounds were slightly higher, the yields of seven compounds were higher for one brand only, and nicotine was lower, among New York brands tested. CONCLUSIONS: RIP cigarette brands have been designed to meet the New York fire safety standards. Their introduction has not affected cigarette sales or prices in New York. There is no evidence that the small increases in smoke constituent yields affect the already highly toxic nature of cigarette smoke. Data on smoking caused fires, deaths, and injuries dating from after the change in law are not yet available. Such data will be able to address the question of whether the demonstrated reduced ignition standards are associated with reduced fires and injuries. Based on the New York experience, prior industry objections to producing RIP cigarettes are unfounded. Other states and nations should adopt similar standards.

Commerce↗
PubMed2002

How cigarette design can affect youth initiation into smoking: Camel cigarettes 1983-93.

CONTEXT: Internal industry documents may shed light on how cigarettes are designed to promote youth smoking. OBJECTIVE: To determine changes in the design of Camel cigarettes in the period surrounding the "Smooth Character" advertising campaign and to assess the impact of these changes on youth smoking. DATA SOURCES: Internal documents made available through the document website maintained by RJ Reynolds, manufacturer of Camel cigarettes. STUDY SELECTION: Electronic searches using keywords to identify relevant data. DATA EXTRACTION: A web based index search of documents targeting "smoothness" or "harshness" and "younger adult smokers" ("YAS") or "first usual brand younger adult smokers" ("FUBYAS") in the 10 year period surrounding the introduction of the "Smooth Character" campaign was used to identify Camel related product design research projects. A snowball methodology was used: initial documents were identified by focusing on key words, codes, researchers, committees, meetings, and gaps in overall chronology; a second set of documents was culled from these initial documents, and so on. DATA SYNTHESIS: Product design research led to the introduction of redesigned Camel cigarettes targeted to younger adult males coinciding with the "Smooth Character" campaign. Further refinements in Camel cigarettes during the following five year period continued to emphasise the smoothness of the cigarette, utilising additives and blends which reduced throat irritation but increased or retained nicotine impact. CONCLUSIONS: Industry competition for market share among younger adult smokers may have contributed to the reversal of a decline in youth smoking rates during the late 1980s through development of products which were more appealing to youth smokers and which aided in initiation by reducing harshness and irritation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Cigarette advertising in magazines: the tobacco industry response to the Master Settlement Agreement and to public pressure.

OBJECTIVE: The Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) of November 1998 prohibited participating tobacco companies from directly or indirectly targeting youth in marketing. Widely publicised information in May 2000 showed increased cigarette advertising in magazines with substantial youth readership and companies were pressed to change their practices. The responses of the tobacco industry to the MSA and to the public pressure are examined. DESIGN: Expenditures on cigarette advertisements in national magazines in the USA are compared for three periods: January to November 1998, December 1998 to June 2000, and July 2000 to November 2001. Magazines in which at least 15% of readers are youth under age 18 are focused upon. Regression models test for the significance of period differences after controlling for seasonal and long term patterns. DATA SOURCES: Commercially maintained data on advertising in US magazines and on magazine readership by age. KEY MEASURES: Monthly cigarette ad expenditures in magazines with 15%+ youth readership, and monthly proportion of ad expenditures in 15%+ youth magazines. RESULTS: Cigarette advertising expenditures in magazines with 15%+ youth readership increased dramatically after MSA implementation and fell dramatically after public pressure. The percentage allocation of expenditures to 15%+ magazines fell significantly in both periods. Results differ somewhat by company. CONCLUSIONS: The tobacco industry response to the MSA was at best modest, reducing proportional allocations of advertising to youth magazines but increasing the absolute amount of such advertising. The value of public pressure was seen in substantial reductions in both absolute and proportional spending on youth magazines, although not by all companies.

Advertising↗
PubMed2000

Health risks associated with cigar smoking.

This article summarizes principal findings from a conference convened by the American Cancer Society in June 1998 to examine the health risks of cigar smoking. State-of-the-science reports were presented and 120 attendees (representing government and private agencies, academia, health educators, and tobacco control experts) participated in panels and summary development discussions. The following conclusions were reached by consensus: (1) rates of cigar smoking are rising among both adults and adolescents; (2) smoking cigars instead of cigarettes does not reduce the risk of nicotine addiction; (3) as the number of cigars smoked and the amount of smoke inhaled increases, the risk of death related to cigar smoking approaches that of cigarette smoking; (4) cigar smoke contains higher concentrations of toxic and carcinogenic compounds than cigarettes and is a major source of fine-particle and carbon monoxide indoor air pollution; and (5) cigar smoking is known to cause cancers of the lung and upper aerodigestive tract. JAMA. 2000;284:735-740

Humans↗
PubMed2000

How cigarette additives are used to mask environmental tobacco smoke.

OBJECTIVE: To understand the tobacco industry's research on and use of cigarette additives that alter the perception of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). DATA SOURCES: Internal documents from four websites maintained by the major US tobacco manufacturers and company patents pertaining to the use of ETS altering additives obtained from the US Patent and Trademark Office online database. STUDY SELECTION: Electronic searches of the four industry websites and the US patent database were conducted using keywords to identify relevant data. DATA EXTRACTION: Industry documents and patents obtained using an exploratory snowball sampling method were reviewed and grouped into four general categories according to whether the additive(s) described affected ETS visibility, odour, irritation, or emissions. Accuracy of isolated findings was validated through cross comparison of the data sources. DATA SYNTHESIS: Results of this preliminary study provide evidence that tobacco manufacturers have conducted extensive research on the use of chemical additives to reduce, mask, or otherwise alter the visibility, odour, irritation, or emission of ETS. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that the tobacco industry uses additives to reduce the perception of ETS. To protect the public, appropriate regulation of tobacco additives should be mandated.

Humans↗
PubMed1998

Adolescent exposure to cigarette advertising in magazines: an evaluation of brand-specific advertising in relation to youth readership.

CONTEXT: Understanding the relationship between cigarette advertising and youth smoking is essential to develop effective interventions. Magazine advertising accounts for nearly half of all cigarette advertising expenditures. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether cigarette brands popular among adolescent smokers are more likely than adult brands to advertise in magazines with high adolescent readerships. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of 1994 data on (1) the presence of advertising by 12 cigarette brands in a sample of 39 popular US magazines; and (2) the youth (ages 12-17 years), young adult (ages 18-24 years), and total readership for each magazine. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The presence or absence of advertising in each of the 39 magazines in 1994 for each of the 12 cigarette brands. RESULTS: After controlling for total magazine readership, the percentage of young adult readers, advertising costs and expenditures, and magazine demographics, youth cigarette brands (those smoked by more than 2.5% of 10- to 15-year-old smokers in 1993) were more likely than adult brands to advertise in magazines with a higher percentage of youth readers. Holding all other variables constant at their sample means, the estimated probability of an adult brand advertising in a magazine decreased over the observed range of youth readership from 0.73 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.50-0.96) for magazines with 4% youth readers to 0.18 (95% CI, 0.00-0.47) for magazines with 34% youth readers. In contrast, the estimated probability of a youth brand advertising in a magazine increased from 0.32 (95% CI, 0.00-0.65) at 4% youth readership to 0.92 (95% CI, 0.67-1.00) at 34% youth readership. CONCLUSION: Cigarette brands popular among young adolescents are more likely than adult brands to advertise in magazines with high youth readerships.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Five leading U.S. commercial brands of moist snuff in 1994: assessment of carcinogenic N-nitrosamines.

BACKGROUND: Moist snuff is the only tobacco product in the United States with increasing sales (an increase of 38.4% between 1981 and 1993) and with increased consumption, primarily by male adolescents aged 12-18 years old and young adults aged 19 years old or older. It is known from previous studies that levels of nicotine and the proportion of unprotonated (free) nicotine, as well as the pH, which affects nicotine delivery, vary considerably among the leading snuff brands. Whether concentrations of major carcinogens, such as the nicotine-derived tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines (TSNAs), like N'-nitrosonornicotine (NNN) and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), also vary among these brands has not been determined previously. PURPOSE: Our purpose was threefold: 1) to determine the concentrations of major carcinogenic nicotine-derived N-nitrosamines in each of the five most popular moist snuff brands; 2) to analyze the quantitative differences in the various snuff components (e.g., NNN) between two major brand categories: a category comprising the brands known to have high levels of unprotonated nicotine (Copenhagen, Skoal fine cut, and Kodiak) versus a category comprising the brands known to have low levels (Hawken and Skoal Bandits); and 3) to compare the differences in the concentrations of nicotine (previously determined), NNN, NNK, and total TSNAs between these two major brand categories. METHODS: Three boxes of each of the five leading U.S. moist snuff brands were bought in July 1994 from retailers in six areas and transferred immediately to the analytical laboratory. After extraction, N-nitrosamino acids and TSNAs were determined on a gas chromatograph interfaced with a thermal energy analyzer (GC-TEA) and integrator. Each 5-g sample of ground, freeze-dried tobacco was extracted twice, and each extract was analyzed twice by GC-TEA. All P values reported are two sided. RESULTS: Copenhagen, Skoal fine cut, and Kodiak as a group had statistically significant higher levels of nicotine (P = .0017), NNN (P < .0001), NNK (P = .0119), and total TSNAs (P < .0001) than the Hawken and Skoal Bandits group. Concentrations (means +/- SD) of nicotine, NNN, NNK, and total TSNAs comparing the two major brand categories are as follows: nicotine--11.6 +/- 1.01 mg/g versus 6.96 +/- 3.62 mg/g (P = .0017), NNN--7.74 +/- 1.70 micrograms/g versus 4.17 +/- 1.35 micrograms/g (P < .0001), NNK--1.23 +/- 0.68 micrograms/g versus 0.61 +/- 0.41 micrograms/g (P = .0119), and total TSNAs--14.3 +/- 3.82 micrograms/g versus 6.3 +/- 2.56 micrograms/g (P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: The three leading U.S. snuff brands (Copenhagen, Skoal fine cut, and Kodiak; making up 92% of the U.S. market) showed not only high levels of pH, nicotine, and unprotonated (free) nicotine, but also high concentrations of the strongly carcinogenic TSNAs in comparison with the fourth and fifth best selling moist snuff brands, Hawken and Skoal Bandits (3% of the U.S. market).

Carcinogens↗
PubMed1992

Snuffing tobacco out of sport.

Use of oral snuff has risen sharply among baseball players following a tobacco industry marketing campaign that linked smokeless tobacco with athletic performance and virility. Millions of adolescents have copied these professional role models and, today, are at risk of developing oral cancer and other mouth disorders. New policies and programs are needed to break the powerful grip that the tobacco industry has on professional sport. Health agencies, including the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute for Dental Research, have teamed up with major league baseball to help players quit and reduce public use of oral tobacco. If these efforts are successful, our national pastime will once again become America's classroom for teaching health and fitness, not nicotine addiction.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Worldwide expansion of transnational tobacco industry.

As smoking rates fall in North America and western Europe, transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) from the United States and Great Britain turn to cigarette markets of the developing world to replace those smokers who have quit or died from smoking. The majority of these markets are dominated by state tobacco monopolies that advertise and promote smoking minimally. Few women or adolescents smoke in those nations. The majority of men do, but they smoke far fewer cigarettes per year than their counterparts in developed nations. Trade barriers in the developing world prevent foreign cigarette companies from entering. TTCs employ various techniques to force open those markets, including trade pressure from the US government. Once the market is open, Western cigarette advertising and promotions target nonsmoking women and children. Retail tobacco outlets increase, smoking rates rise, and more death and disease result. Latin America was the TTC target in the 1960s, the newly developed nations of Asia during the 1980s, and, today, the tobacco giants are pushing into eastern Europe, China, and Africa. If nothing is done, emerging national smoking-control programs will be overwhelmed, and state-owned cigarette monopolies will be taken over by the TTCs. Policies and programs to curb smoking exist, but for various reasons many lesser developed countries have not adopted them. The threat of TTC entry into a closed market offers an opportunity to form national coalitions against smoking, educate the public about the dangers of tobacco use, and implement public health policies and programs to restrict marketing and use of cigarettes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Developing Countries↗