The UK’s Tobacco and Vapes Act puts the end of smoking within reach, but the job is not done New comment in Lancet Regional Health Europe with @hazelcheeseman.bsky.social and @jamiebrown.bsky.social www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

The UK’s Tobacco and Vapes Act puts the end of smoking within reach, but the job is not done

The UK’s Tobacco and Vapes Act marks a defining moment in tobacco control. Its smokefree generation policy—prohibiting the sale of all tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009—repres...

thelancet.com

Call for participants - chance to win a £50 shopping voucher! UCL MSc Health Psychology students are looking for people aged 16+ living in the UK to complete an online survey about nicotine products. You don't have to use nicotine to take part. Survey link ⬇️ redcap.idhs.ucl.ac.uk/surveys/?s=E...

In a commentary published today in Nature Human Behavior, we argue that regulating vaping needs pragmatic, evidence-based policy. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

To regulate vaping we need pragmatic, evidence-based policy - Nature Human Behaviour

Vaping regulation is a global challenge. We discuss evidence on health risks, smoking impacts and policy goals, and advocate for pragmatic, proportionate regulation that reduces smoking harms while mi...

nature.com

New paper suggests the UK disposable vape ban may have unintentionally made vaping more affordable for young people. The ban prompted vape manufacturers to introduce disposable-like reusable vapes with lower ongoing costs than disposable equivalents. tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/earl...

Changes in expenditure on vaping in the context of the rise of disposable vapes and impending regulatory changes: a population study in Great Britain, 2021–2025

Background The vaping market in Great Britain has shifted rapidly since 2021, driven by the rise of disposable vapes, regulatory announcements, changing consumer behaviours and market responses. This ...

tobaccocontrol.bmj.com

In her latest, Georgia Michelman talked to scientists and tobacco harm reduction advocates about the two sides of #vaping, and whether anti-vaping campaigns have gone too far, failing current smokers. Read more on Scienceline at buff.ly/2XkqiE5

Interesting substack by Bella Mackie on anxiety and giving up vaping bellamackie.substack.com/p/giving-up-...

Giving up vaping is really embarrassing

It’s funny, how self-aware a person can be whilst all the time honing a narrative which blinds them to reality and also continuing a behaviour they know hurts them greatly.

bellamackie.substack.com

The changing face of nicotine use in England: Age-specific annual trends, 2014 to 2024 buff.ly/5dsMlAa @drsarahejackson.bsky.social @lionshahab.bsky.social @tattanbirch.bsky.social @sharoncox.bsky.social @jamiebrown.bsky.social

buff.ly

About 1.6 million adults in England, Wales and Scotland used drugs such as Mounjaro to help lose weight between early 2024 and early 2025, with another 3.3 million interested in doing so in the near future, finds a new study led by @drsarahejackson.bsky.social @ucliehc.bsky.social

1.6 million UK adults used weight loss drugs in past year

An estimated 1.6 million adults in England, Wales and Scotland used drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro to help lose weight between early 2024 and early 2025, according to a new study by UCL researchers...

ucl.ac.uk

Our new paper suggests that approximately 1.6 million adults in Great Britain have recently used weight loss jabs (most commonly Mounjaro) and a further 3.3 million are interested in doing so in the near future. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

New paper shows nicotine use is rising among young adults in England, but they are increasingly moving away from daily cigarette smoking towards vaping or non-daily smoking. Traditional daily smoking patterns remain more prevalent among older adults. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

You may be interested in this preprint that Sarah Jackson, Linda Ng Fat and I have just published on improved mental wellbeing following health-behaviour changes. If you have any comments or suggestions please let us know. www.qeios.com/read/NY0ZS1

Benefits to Mental Wellbeing from Making Positive Changes in Health-Related Behaviours: An Ultra-Rapid Review

BACKGROUND AND AIMS. Changes in health-related behaviours that have a longer-term impact on physical health have also been found in many studies to lead to relatively rapid improvements in mental well...

qeios.com

We've got a new paper out in @addictionjournal.bsky.social led by @drsarahejackson.bsky.social looking at trends in cost as a motivating factor for people looking to reduce their alcohol consumption. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

In a letter published today in the BMJ, we call for urgent action to correct misperceptions of vaping. As long as public perceptions of vaping are misaligned with evidence, the opportunity for vaping to further reduce smoking is being missed. www.bmj.com/content/391/... @ashorguk.bsky.social

SRNT Europe's 2025 conference kicks off two weeks today and I'm delighted to be presenting alongside most of my colleagues from UCL's Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group. You can catch us across the three days at the following times. Hope to see lots of you there! #SRNTE2025

Associations between non-daily smoking and motivation to stop smoking: A population study in England 2021–2024 buff.ly/GigcYWP @drsarahejackson.bsky.social @jamiebrown.bsky.social @lionshahab.bsky.social @sharoncox.bsky.social

buff.ly

New in @addictionjournal.bsky.social , we find adults who smoke cigarettes non-daily tend to be more motivated to quit smoking than those who smoke every day, especially among older and less advantaged people. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Associations between non‐daily smoking and motivation to stop smoking: A population study in England 2021–2024

Background and aims An increasing proportion of adults in England who smoke cigarettes do not smoke every day and may see quitting smoking as less important than those who smoke daily. This study ai...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

The SRNT-E 2025 conference programme is now online! 🎉 See what we've got lined up here: srnt-e.org/conference/2... Looking forward to seeing many of you in Romania!

The Smoking Toolkit Study shows substantial declines in smoking prevalence and cigarette consumption among adults in England since 2007. However, the extent of these changes differs according to how the outcomes are defined. Research letter - Tobacco Control tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/earl...

Our new paper provides up-to-date evidence on cigarette consumption across Great Britain. 🟡~28.6 billion cigarettes are smoked each year. 🟡There are persistent disparities across socioeconomic groups, regions, and nations. academic.oup.com/ntr/advance-... @ntrjournal.bsky.social

Enjoying listening to this on my commute… and adding ‘profsplaining’ to my vocabulary! open.spotify.com/episode/5L7P... @robertjwest.bsky.social

Unlocking Behaviour Change Podcast Episode 2: So ... what is a decision?

Unlocking Behaviour Change · Episode

open.spotify.com

Changing patterns of nicotine product use and nicotine dependence among United States high-school students: The National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2014–2023 buff.ly/XL93VOm @drsarahejackson.bsky.social @jamiebrown.bsky.social @tattanbirch.bsky.social

Worth a read. We need to move beyond arbitrary categorisation of continuous variables or assuming that associations are linear - and use more flexible modelling approaches to capture non-linear relationships. www.bmj.com/content/390/...

New commentary with @hazelcheeseman.bsky.social, @jamiebrown.bsky.social, and @katieeast.bsky.social To reduce smoking harms, there is an urgent need to correct misperceptions about the risks of vaping. www.bmj.com/content/388/...

To reduce smoking harms, there is an urgent need to correct misperceptions about the risks of vaping

bmj.com

Concerns have been raised that vaping has created a 'new generation of nicotine addicts'. We examined changes in the proportion of US high-school students reporting symptoms of nicotine dependence, in the context of changing patterns of nicotine product use. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Changing patterns of nicotine product use and nicotine dependence among United States high‐school students: The National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2014–2023

Background and aim Concerns have been raised that e-cigarettes have created a new generation of people addicted to nicotine. This study aimed to measure changes in the proportion of US high-school s...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

“Dual Use” of e-cigarettes alongside cigarettes encompasses varied behavior patterns and motives that have different implications for health and smoking cessation. Editorial by Sarah Jackson. academic.oup.com/ntr/advance-... @drsarahejackson.bsky.social

“Dual Use” of e-cigarettes alongside cigarettes encompasses varied behavior patterns and motives that have different implications for health and smoking cessation

Sarah E Jackson; “Dual Use” of e-cigarettes alongside cigarettes encompasses varied behavior patterns and motives that have different implications for heal

academic.oup.com

Our new paper examines level of support for proposed vaping policies via an online survey of UK vapers age 16+. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @jamiebrown.bsky.social @lionshahab.bsky.social @ucl-targ.bsky.social @sharoncox.bsky.social

Level of support for proposed vaping policies: an online survey of UK vapers, 2024

The UK government has proposed a range of policies to reduce youth vaping. This study aimed to understand levels of support for the various policies a…

sciencedirect.com

Interested in smoking and vaping? I will be giving a UCL Lunch Hour Lecture covering lots of our recent research findings in this area. The lecture will take place online on 29 May, 1-2pm. It’s free and all are welcome to attend. You can register here: www.ucl.ac.uk/events/event...

Lunch Hour Lecture | Recent trends in smoking and vaping in England

The talk will include an overview of changes in the prevalence and patterns of smoking and vaping...

ucl.ac.uk

New in @addictionjournal.bsky.social - may be of interest to @ucl-targ.bsky.social colleagues onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Questionable generalizability of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test‐Consumption scoring warrants caution when used for outcome monitoring: Evidence from simulated and real‐world trial data

Background and Aims The “Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test – Consumption” (AUDIT-C), designed for primary-care screening, is frequently repurposed for outcome monitoring in brief interventio...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Four cigarette products for sale in England in 2021/22 appeared non-compliant with the ban on menthol as a characterising flavour in sensory and chemical tests, find Debbie Robson et al. academic.oup.com/ntr/advance-...

I spoke to BBC Radio 4's Today programme about our findings. You can listen back here (from 1.23.29): www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Today - 16/04/2025 - BBC Sounds

News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

bbc.co.uk

Sarah Jackson@drsarahejackson.bsky.social · last yr.

New paper reveals two key changes in vaping trends since the UK government announced plans to ban disposable vapes. 1. The rise in vaping prevalence has stalled, including among young adults. 2. People who vape are increasingly using reusable devices. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...