It remains unclear whether substance use in youth could be associated with a lower likelihood of accessing employment.

To examine prospectively associations between substance use and the risk of not getting employed among young people.

From the French population-based CONSTANCES cohort, 2,873 students who never worked were included between 2012 and 2018 and followed-up for 2.7 years in average. Generalized estimating equations computed the odds of being unemployed versus employed according to substance use at baseline controlling for sociodemographic factors and depressive state. Tobacco use (smoking status and number of cigarettes), cannabis use frequency, and at-risk alcohol use according to the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (total score >7) were introduced separately in the models.

Tobacco use wasn’t significantly associated with employment. Cannabis use at least weekly, and at-risk alcohol use, were associated with increased odds of being unemployed (OR=1.85, 95%CI(1.29, 2.64)) and OR=1.34, 95%CI(1.04, 1.71)), respectively. Additional analyses on sub-scores of alcohol use suggested that the association was mainly driven by alcohol dependence rather than frequency of use.

Public health campaigns must target youth by advising them of the detrimental roles of regular cannabis use and at-risk alcohol use and their lower chances of getting employed.

No significant relationships.

Research shows the mass distribution of free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is a high-impact, population-level strategy for smoking cessation; but underrepresentation of younger, and/or lighter, smokers challenges generalisability of findings to young adult smokers.

This naturalistic study examined how and with what effect young adult smokers used free nicotine patches provided through a mass mailout programme.

In total, 5,025 eligible 18–29 year-old smokers who accessed an online ordering platform received self-help materials and an 8-week course of patches matched to their consumption level (<10 cigarettes per day (cpd); ≥10 cpd). No other behavioural support occurred. Whether participants used patches correctly and achieved 30-day continuous abstinence at 6-month follow-up were assessed.

Among 694 participants with complete data: 89% used some patches; 8% used the patches correctly for 8 weeks; 31.0% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 27.6, 34.7) achieved abstinence. Adjusted logistic regression analysis showed the highest odds of abstinence was associated with the correct use of patches (odds ratio = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.5, 5.1).

Mass distribution of free patches may be an effective public health measure for supporting younger, lighter smokers to attempt cessation, reduce consumption, or achieve abstinence. Emphasising why and how to use NRT for the entire treatment course may enhance outcomes.

Tobacco smoking remains one of the leading causes of preventable illness and death and is heritable with complex underpinnings. Converging evidence suggests a contribution of the polygenic risk for smoking to the use of tobacco and other substances. Yet, the underlying brain mechanisms between the genetic risk and tobacco smoking remain poorly understood.

Genomic, neuroimaging, and self-report data were acquired from a large cohort of adolescents from the IMAGEN study (a European multicenter study). Polygenic risk scores (PGRS) for smoking were calculated based on a genome-wide association study meta-analysis conducted by the Tobacco and Genetics Consortium. We examined the interrelationships among the genetic risk for smoking initiation, brain structure, and the number of occasions of tobacco use.

A higher smoking PGRS was significantly associated with both an increased number of occasions of tobacco use and smaller cortical volume of the right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Furthermore, reduced cortical volume within this cluster correlated with greater tobacco use. A subsequent path analysis suggested that the cortical volume within this cluster partially mediated the association between the genetic risk for smoking and the number of occasions of tobacco use.

Our data provide the first evidence for the involvement of the OFC in the relationship between smoking PGRS and tobacco use. Future studies of the molecular mechanisms underlying tobacco smoking should consider the mediation effect of the related neural structure.

Despite declines in tobacco use during pregnancy and after childbirth, smoking remains unacceptably high among many parents. Smoking maintenance or relapse may be common in couple relationships when the other parent continues to smoke, when relationship satisfaction is low, or parental stress high.

To examine the longitudinal influence of partner tobacco use, relationship satisfaction and parental stress on tobacco use after childbirth.

Data was obtained from 115 Australian heterosexual adult couples (Mean age = 31.8) who reported being pregnant in the previous year and the female partner was a previous or current smoker. A household longitudinal survey was administered in which measures of tobacco use, relationship satisfaction and parental stress were assessed on four occasions over nine years.

Overall reductions in tobacco use occurred over the nine-year assessment period, although a small percentage (9.6%) of parents reported being daily smokers at every assessment. Similarly, a small proportion (13.1%) of parents relapsed to using tobacco during the assessment period. A random effects binary logit model indicated that mothers and fathers were more likely to continue or relapse to tobacco use if their partners smoked. Mothers were more likely to quit smoking if they became pregnant between the assessment waves, but for males, having a pregnant partner was not a significant predictor of tobacco cessation.

While pregnancy is associated with smoking cessation for mothers, both mothers and fathers are at elevated risk of continued tobacco smoking or relapse if their partner smokes during the first nine years after childbirth. For parents who continue to smoke cigarettes or relapse after childbirth, engagement of the partner in smoking cessation may be a key factor in promoting positive outcomes.

Patients who are tobacco users present to the emergency department (ED) with many medical conditions that are causally or potentially causally related to smoking. Previous studies have shown increased cessation rates for patients who accurately perceive that their ED visit is smoking-related. Our study goals were 1) to determine the prevalence of potential smoking-related conditions among tobacco users at a tertiary care academic ED, and 2) to determine which medical conditions are more or less likely to be perceived by patients as smoking-related.

We included adults≥19 years of age who reported smoking within 30 days of their ED visit, and were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01454375) from December 1, 2011 to August 31, 2012. Patients were asked whether they perceived their ED visit to be related to smoking. ED discharge diagnoses were coded as smoking-related or not smoking-related based on the 2004 U.S. Surgeon General’s Report.

We included 893 patients (62% male; mean age=40±15), of which 120 (13%) had a visit for a potential smoking-related condition: 6 (5%) of neoplasm, 18 (15%) of cardiovascular disease, 67 (56%) of respiratory disease, 3 (3%) of reproductive complication, 7 (6%) of postoperative complication, 9 (8%) of dental disease, 9 (8%) of peptic ulcer disease, 0 (0%) of eye condition, and 1 (1%) of bony condition. Of the potential smoking-related conditions, 46 (38%) were perceived by patients to be possibly smoking-related: 61% of cardiovascular disease, 33% of neoplasm, 43% of respiratory disease, 22% of dental disease, 14% of postoperative complication, 11% of peptic ulcer disease, and 0% of the remaining conditions.

In this study, 13% of all ED visits among smokers were for a potential smoking-related condition, of which 38% were perceived by patients to be smoking-related. Education to increase awareness of smoking-related conditions may increase cessation rates.