2020 Annual SRNT-E Conference

Download the 'At a glance' agenda below

The full PDF programme (inluding abstracts) is available for download here. You can also access the interactive programme on our conference platform Whova here.

The keynote speakers are programmed as follows, with all times in Cental European Summer Time (CEST):

17 September

12:00-12:45 (CEST) - Prof. Linda Bauld, chaired by Prof. Lynne Dawkins

15:15-16:00 (CEST) - Prof. Daniel Kotz, chaired by Prof. Ute Mons

18 September

12:00-12:45 (CEST) - Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos, chaired by Prof. Lion Shahab

15:15-16:00 (CEST) - Prof. Billie Bonevski, chaired by Prof. Caitlin Notley

Read more about the topic of each keynote under 'Keynote Speakers' below.

Posters:

Please see the full conference programme for information on posters, which can be downloaded from here.

Confirmed symposia:

Thursday 17th September 13.00-14.30 (CEST)

Evaluating the process and outcomes of implementing a national smokefree prisons policy across Scotland: study findings and lessons for other jurisdictions and high smoking prevalence groups

Objectives: To present findings from two complementary studies of tobacco and e-cigarette use in prison. The first is a multi-methods, 3-Phase comprehensive evaluation of the development, preparation for, implementation and outcomes of smokefree policy across Scotland’s prison system, known as the Tobacco in Prisons (TIPs) study. The second is a novel study of e-cigarette use in the prison population before and after implementation of the smokefree policy. Through these studies, we believe we provide the most in-depth evaluation internationally of a smokefree prison policy to date.  This evidence can inform transferable insights for other jurisdictions and high-smoking prevalence populations. 

By presenting papers using different methods (objective measurements of secondhand smoke (SHS); qualitative focus group/interview data and surveys with people in custody and prison staff; prisoner purchasing data), the workshop will demonstrate the success of implementing smokefree prison policy in Scotland and the factors contributing to this success and related outcomes. Within the session the authors will also discuss some of the challenging issues and decisions which other jurisdictions may face when considering smokefree policy.

The format of the workshop will comprise oral presentations by members of the study teams, followed by commentary by the discussant. It will begin with a brief overview of: a) the rationale for, and challenges of, implementing smokefree policies in the prison context; and b) the methods used during the studies. There will then be presentations examining: experiences and processes of implementing the smokefree prison policy in Scotland; the positive and negative consequences of making prisons smokefree; and use of e-cigarettes in the prison population.

Presenters: Dr Ashley Brown, Professor Kate Hunt, Dr Catherine Best

Discussant: Professor Linda Bauld

Friday 18th September 13.00-14.30 (CEST)

Smoking, vaping and COVID-19

There is substantial uncertainty around the impact of tobacco and nicotine use on COVID-19. On the one hand, there are good a priori reasons to assume that tobacco and vaping should be detrimental for infection, disease severity and mortality due to behavioural factors (frequent hand-to-mouth movement), actions on the immune system and increased likelihood of developing other diseases linked to worse COVID-19 outcomes. On the other hand, emerging evidence suggests lower than expected infection rates among smokers and lower smoking rates among those hospitalised with Covid-19, with little known about vaping. This has resulted in trials looking at the efficacy of nicotine use as a COVID-19 treatment. This symposium will provide an overview of current knowledge on how smoking and vaping impacts COVID-19 and vice versa to inform researchers and provide some guidance to policy makers and clinicians. Dr Perski will start by presenting the results of a living rapid review on the association of tobacco and nicotine use with SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalisation and mortality from COVID-19. Given limitations in the current available evidence, posing considerable interpretational problems, Mr Simons will go on to describe results of a sizable case-control study from a single UK hospital site to elucidate the association between smoking and hospitalisation for COVID-19 using historic respiratory viral infections as a control. Dr Jackson will present data from a large online survey on the association of smoking with self-reported COVID-19 infection as well as with adherence to guidelines and worry about COVID-19, with a focus on socio-economic inequalities. Lastly, given the lack of data in this area, Dr Kale will present results from another online survey to assess the association of vaping with self-reported COVID-19 infection as well as associated changes in vaping behaviour due to COVID-19 related concerns and risk perceptions. Professor Brown will act as discussant for this symposium, bringing together results across these different studies, to explore implications for policy and practice when it comes to dealing with tobacco and nicotine use during this pandemic.

Presenters: Dr Olga Perski, David Simons, Dr Sarah E. Jackson, Dr Dimitra Kale

Discussant: Professor Jamie Brown

Friday 18th September 16.15-17.40 (CEST)

E-cigarettes and the clinical encounter

The clinical encounter is a key opportunity to promote smoking cessation, yet physicians inconsistently provide best-practices cessation advice due to lack of time, knowledge, skills, and confidence. Counseling smokers about cessation is complicated by smokers’ increasing use of e-cigarettes for cessation and the uncertainty surrounding their efficacy and health consequences. Furthermore, most smokers who use e-cigarettes do not switch completely to e-cigarettes, whether for harm reduction or as a step towards cessation. This symposium brings together studies of smokers and physicians across countries in order to characterize discussions about e-cigarettes in clinical encounters, results from an intervention to encourage these discussions in the context of cessation assistance, and to understand the consequences of these discussions.  Salloum will discuss results from a discrete choice experiment with primary care practitioners in the US, describing the physician and patient characteristics that drive physician recommendations for using e-cigarettes in the United States, where physician guidelines do not recommend e-cigarettes for cessation. Jackson will describe results from ongoing surveys with smokers in the UK – where health authorities have begun to embrace a harm reduction approach to e-cigarettes for established smokers - to describe trends in e-cigarette use recommendations, frequency of recommendation relative to other cessation methods, and their association with smoking cessation behaviors. Cho’s longitudinal study of smokers in four countries with contrasting regulatory environments (UK, US, Canada, Australia) examines trajectories in tobacco product use as a function of physician discussions about and recommendations to use e-cigarettes. Finally, Strayer will discuss results from a pre/post assessment of a clinic-based, iPad-delivered decision aid that tailors information to smokers about smoking cessation and e-cigarettes based on their quit intentions and e-cigarette use. Overall, these studies illustrate the panorama and complexity of the intersection between the clinical encounter, e-cigarettes, and smoking across regulatory environments.

Presenters: Dr Ramzi Salloum, Dr Sarah E. Jackson, Dr Yoo Jin Cho, Dr Scott Strayer

Discussant: Dr James F. Thrasher