Browsing by Subject "Smoking cessation"
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Effects of smoking cessation on sexual health in men(2011-08) Harte, Christopher Brookes; Meston, Cindy M.; Telch, Michael J.; Carlson, Caryn L.; Beevers, Christopher G.; Perry, Cheryl L.Cigarette smoking represents the most preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in the world today, and is responsible for enormous health-related economic burdens. Among other medical sequelae, erectile impairment has been shown to be associated with chronic tobacco use. The primary aim of the present study was to provide the first empirical investigation of the effects of smoking cessation on physiological and subjective indices of sexual health. Sixty-five long-term, heavy smoking men participated in a smoking cessation program and were assessed at baseline (while smoking regularly), at mid-treatment (while using a high dose nicotine transdermal patch), and at 4-week follow-up. Physiological and subjective sexual arousal indices, as well as self-reported sexual functioning (as measured by the International Index of Erectile Functioning (IIEF)) were assessed during each visit. Intent-to-treat analyses indicated that at followup successful quitters (n = 20), compared to those who relapsed (n = 45), showed significant improvements in physiological and subjective sexual arousal. Specifically, men demonstrated enhanced erectile responses, decreased latencies to reach maximum erectile capacity, and faster onset to reach maximum subjective sexual arousal. Although participants displayed across-session enhancements in self reported sexual function, successful quitters did not show a differential improvement compared to participants who relapsed. The results of the present investigation provide the first empirical evidence that smoking cessation significantly enhances both physiological and self-reported indices of sexual health in long-term male smokers, irrespective of baseline erectile impairment. It is hoped that these results may serve as a novel and enticing means to influence men to quit smoking. Increasing successful smoking cessation in men would significantly enhance quality of life, substantially reduce premature death, and alleviate enormous economic burdens caused by smoking-related diseases.Item Examining differences between light and heavy smokers in a sample of technical college students(2007-12) De Araujo, Vanessa Alencar; Loukas, Alexandra; Gottlieb, Nell H.This study examined differences between light and heavy smokers in race/ethnicity, gender, use of other tobacco products (chewing tobacco and cigars), reasons for smoking, smoking contexts and propensity for smoking cessation. Data were obtained from the Texas Trade and Technical School Survey designed to examine individual and contextual influences on the tobacco use and cessation of a sample of East Texas vocational/technical students. Current analyses included 209 current smokers categorized into two groups based on the number of cigarettes smoked per day: light (≤ 10 cigarettes per day) and heavy smokers (≥ 11 cigarettes per day). Of the current smokers, 49.5% were female; 74% were European American, 14.8% were African American, 6.1% were Hispanic/Latino, and the remainder reported another race/ethnicity. Light smokers constituted 60.3% of the sample. Light smokers were more likely than heavy smokers to be of non-European American race/ethnicity (p = 0.001), to have used chewing tobacco for more than ten days in the past 30 days (19.7% versus 2.6%), and to report a desire to quit smoking on their own (p < 0.05). Heavy smokers (81.3%) were slightly (p = 0.056) more likely to report ever having attempted to quit smoking than light smokers (69.2%), and significantly more likely to use medication, such as the patch, as a resource for quitting (p < 0.05). As expected, heavy smokers were more addicted to cigarettes than light smokers as reflected in significant differences between the two groups in the following statements: " If I don't smoke, I shake" (p < 0.01), and "Out of a habit" (p < 0.001), showing a greater level of dependence among heavy smokers when compared to light smokers. Moreover, in comparison to light smokers, heavy smokers were more likely to smoke when feeling stressed and depressed (p < 0.001), at parties, and at bars (p < 0.05). Examining such subgroups variations in vocational/technical students will contribute to a better understanding of the smoking behaviors of this population, and will allow tailoring of health promotion programs that include tobacco prevention and cessation to a population of individuals at elevated risk for cigarette consumption and health related illnesses. This study fills the void in the literature of light and heavy smokers, and expands previous research on vocational/technical students.Item Social features of Web Assisted Tobacco Interventions (WATIS) : case studies(2014-05) Boa-Ventura, Ana, 1962-; Straubhaar, Joseph D.; Tyner, Kathleen; Beamish, Anne; McAlister, Alfred; Stein, LauraWeb Assisted Tobacco Interventions (WATIs) are proliferating due to their cost effectiveness and their compatibility with a fast-paced lifestyle that needs to be time and space detached. Following a general trend in web assisted interventions, WATIs are increasingly incorporating social media features. Often though, because they are added post-facto to a solid preexisting foundation that privileges information delivery, the social media and the informational sections are developed independently: the social component has no impact on the informational content. This forms the basis of this study, which proposes to do a detailed analysis of a WATI recommended by a panel of experts in the area of smoking cessation. An emphasis will be given to the visibility of social media features and the degree to which content from the social media component contributed by users impacts the informational component generated by content experts. This analysis will be supported by instruments for data collection especially adapted/designed for this study. This dissertation proposal is at the cusp of disciplinary boundaries as its theoretical underpinnings are in the intersections of three domains: design, health, and social media. This interdisciplinary approach is necessarily reflected in the study's conceptual vii framework, which draws from constructs such as "design with intent", tailored health interventions, and social networks for participatory culture. As a result of the detailed analysis, and the author's own expertise in social media across other fields, a set of recommendations will be proposed for the design of WATIs with social features aiming at a greater impact of these on the evidence-based informational content.