Luke Clancy

TobaccoFree Research Institute Ireland | TRI · TobaccoFree Research Institute Ireland

Background: Ireland’s Smoking Ban reduced health inequalities known to be associated with smoking but some groups may not have benefitted. Mental ill-health and smoking are known to be associated with health inequalities. Whether similar patterns exist for e-cigarette use is less clear, as few data exist. Objectives: To examine: (1) self-reported d...

Background: Tobacco use is strongly associated with social and health inequalities, being linked with economic vulnerability, morbidity and premature death. Young adults with disabilities face pervasive social and material hardship, inequalities that are potentially exacerbated by tobacco use. Relatively little is known about smoking and even less...

Introduction Tobacco use is a major threat to health globally. A number of countries have adopted “endgame goals” to minimize smoking prevalence. The INSPIRED project aims to describe and compare the experiences of the first six countries to adopt an endgame goal. Aims and Methods Data were collected on the initial experiences of endgame goals in...

We analyse parental smoking and cessation (quitting) associations with teenager e-cigarette, alcohol, tobacco smoking and other drug use, and explore parental smoking as a mechanism for social reproduction. We use data from Waves 1–3 of Growing Up in Ireland (Cohort ’98). Our analytic sample consisted of n = 6,039 participants reporting in all 3 Wa...

INTRODUCTION Allen Carr's (AC) method is a pharmacotherapy-free approach to quit smoking that is delivered through seminars, online courses, or in the form of a book. It has gained popularity, but its effectiveness remains controversial due to a lack of scientific evidence. This systematic review aims to provide an updated overview of the current e...

This report presents evidence on gambling activities of children aged 16 years in Ireland. The evidence was developed to inform the development of regulation, policy, programmes and services seeking to protect children from gambling harms. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) classifies gambling and gaming disorders as addictive b...

Background: Smoking is inversely related to people's Physical Activity Level (PAL). As the behavior of friends may affect the choices and behavior of adolescents, having friends with a high PAL may potentially protect against adolescent smoking. This study aims to assess whether adolescents' smoking is associated with the PAL of their friends. Me...

Smokefree laws are intended to protect against second-hand smoke (SHS) in outdoor areas. We examined if exposure to PM2.5 particles in outdoor smoking areas changed breathing rates in 60 patients with asthma (n = 30) or with COPD (n = 30), in an open, non-randomised, interventional study model in Czechia, Ireland and Spain. The patients wore a PM2....

The association between current smoking and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) progression remains uncertain. We aim to provide up-to-date evidence of the role of cigarette smoking in COVID-19 hospitalisation, severity and mortality. On 23 February 2022 we conducted an umbrella review and a traditional systematic review via PubMed/Medline and Web...

Objective: This study aimed to quantify SHS exposure in homes with residents who smoke in Europe according to households' characteristics, tobacco consumption habits, and national contextual factors. Methods: Cross-sectional study (March 2017-September 2018) based on measurements of air nicotine inside 162 homes with residents who smoke from nin...

Objective To measure, exposure to PM2.5 particles in outdoor smoking areas and changes in breathing rates in patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Setting Sixty venues in Czechia, Ireland and Spain, in an open, non-randomised, clinical trial. Participants We studied 60 patients-30 asthma patients (Female 63.3%), with...

Background School staff members’ consistent enforcement of school tobacco policies (STPs) is needed to decrease adolescent smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke. Staff’s confidence, indicating their perceived ability to cope with students’ negative responses, explains variations in staff’s STPs enforcement, yet understanding of the determinants for...

Background Smoking cessation improves pregnancy outcomes, yet there is uncertainty around the efficacy of models of antenatal interventions for smoking cessation in pregnancy. Objective To test the Smoking cessation Through Optimization of clinical care in Pregnancy (STOP) clinic as a novel antenatal care pathway for smoking cessation in pregnancy....

2022 ENSP-ECTC International Conference on Tobacco Control Crete, Greece | 6 – 8 July 2022 Title: Teenagers’ perceptions of risk from cigarettes and e-cigarettes Authors: Joan Hanafin, Salome Sunday, Luke Clancy Background Perception of risk deters teenage smoking but less is known about e-cigarettes and risk perception. Objectives To examine the d...

Background: European countries differ considerably in the scope and the extent of their policies to protect people from the harms of secondhand smoke exposure. Public opinion may have a substantial influence on several stages of policy development, implementation, and compliance. For this reason, we aimed to evaluate the population level of support...

Background: Heated tobacco products (HTP) are new forms of tobacco consumption with limited information available on their use among the general population. Our objective was to analyze the prevalence and associations of use of HTP across 11 countries in Europe. Methods: Within the TackSHS Project, in 2017-2018 we conducted a cross-sectional study...

INTRODUCTION E-cigarette ever use has risen significantly in recent years in Ireland, similar to trends elsewhere in Europe, the United States, and Asia-Pacific region.Results from ESPAD Ireland (European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs) show teenage e-cigarette ever use increased from 18% (2015) to37% (2019). Given this increase,...

Background: Limited data on electronic cigarette prevalence, patterns and settings of use are available from several European countries. Methods: Within the TackSHS project, a face-to-face survey was conducted in 2017-2018 in 12 European countries (Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spa...

Background E-cigarette ever-use and current-use among teenagers has increased worldwide, including in Ireland. Methods We use data from two Irish waves (2015, 2019) of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD) to investigate gender and teenage e-cigarette use (n = 3421 16-year-olds). Using chi-square analyses, we report...

Smoking prevalence decreased in Irish teenagers in all ESPAD survey waves from 1995 until 2015. However, in ESPAD 2019, current teen smoking and e-cigarette use increased, threatening Ireland's 5% prevalence tobacco endgame strategy. https://bit.ly/3yXVAyN.

Introduction European estimates of adolescent smoking cessation are lacking and studies on the role of schools in quit behaviour are scarce. We aimed to describe smoking cessation attempts and success among adolescents in Europe and explored the association with school policy and programmes. Methods We used cross-sectional data from the 2013 and 2...

The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) has been collecting comparable data on risk behaviours and substance use among adolescent students for almost 25 years, in order to monitor trends in and between countries. The study is conducted in each participating country as a school survey for students reaching the age of 16...

Aim Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use among Irish teenagers has risen significantly. In 2019, prevalence of current use (last 30 days) among 15–17-year-olds was 17.3%. We examine social determinants of adolescent e-cigarette current use. Subject and methods A stratified random sample of 50 schools in Ireland was surveyed in 2019, part of the...

E-cigarette ever-use and current-use among teenagers has been increasing worldwide, including in Ireland. Boys are widely observed to have increased prevalence compared with girls. We use data from two waves of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD) in Ireland and focus on gender and teenage e-cigarette use. We examin...

Objective Due to partial or poorly enforced restrictions secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) is still present in outdoor hospitality venues in many European countries. This study aimed to assess SHS concentrations in outdoor hospitality venues across Europe and identify contextual exposure determinants. Methods Cross-sectional study. We measured airbor...

Secondhand electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) aerosol (SHA) might impair indoor air quality and expose bystanders. This study aims to investigate exposure to SHA in controlled conditions of enclosed settings simulating real-world scenario. An experiment was performed in a car and in a room, in which SHA was generated during a 30-minute ad libitum u...

The design of e-cigarettes (e-cigs) is constantly evolving and the latest models can aerosolize using high-power sub-ohm resistance and hence may produce specific particle concentrations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the aerosol characteristics generated by two different types of electronic cigarette in real-world conditions, such as a sit...

The design of e-cigarettes (e-cigs) is constantly evolving and the latest models can aerosolize using high-power sub-ohm resistance and hence may produce specific particle concentrations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the aerosol characteristics generated by two different types of electronic cigarette in real-world conditions, such as a sit...

The design of e-cigarettes (e-cigs) is constantly evolving and the latest models can aerosolize using high-power sub-ohm resistance and hence may produce specific particle concentrations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the aerosol characteristics generated by two different types of electronic cigarette in real-world conditions, such as a sit...

Aim: Electronic cigarette use among Irish teenagers has risen significantly. In 2019, prevalence of current use (last 30 days) among 15-17-year olds was 17.3%. We examine social determinants of adolescent e-cigarette current use. Subject and Methods: A stratified random sample of 50 schools in Ireland was surveyed in 2019, part of the European Scho...

Significance Adolescent smoking has decreased in Europe in recent decades, although not homogenously. We compare trends in current (last 30-day use) smoking among adolescents in Ireland and Europe from 1995 to 2019. Methods ESPAD (European Schools Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs) is a cross-sectional survey carried out every four years between...

E-cigarette prevalence, motivations for use, and relationship with tobacco – the changing situation in Ireland Authors: J Hanafin, S Sunday, S Keogan, L Clancy Significance Adolescent e-cigarette use is increasing worldwide amid concerns about: identified and as yet unknown harms; nicotine addiction; being a “gateway” drug; and renormalisation of...

Exposure to secondhand aerosol from electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) may pose harms to bystanders, but they are used in many indoor settings. Less evidence exists on e-cigarette use in outdoor settings. This study aims to assess the use of e-cigarettes in outdoor settings in Europe. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the entrances of prim...

Introduction: Exposure to secondhand aerosol from e-cigarette (SHA) may pose harmful effects to bystanders. This study aims to investigate the prevalence, duration and determinants of SHA exposure in various indoor settings in 12 European countries. Methods: In 2017-2018, we conducted a cross-sectional study, the TackSHS survey, on a representativ...

Introduction: Smoking remains a notable issue for young people. The health effects of long-term use are well known and very serious, causing 8 million deaths worldwide annually from Cancer, Heart attacks, COPD and many other diseases In Ireland there is a national determination to become tobacco free by 2025 by which is meant a prevalence of smokin...

Introduction: E-cigarette use has increased rapidly worldwide since 2013 and there have been worryingincreases in the use of e-cigarettes by adolescents and young people. In Ireland, smoking prevalence hasdeclined significantly in recent decades but the availability of e-cigarettes in Ireland in recent years has led toconcerns about the Tobacco End...

Background Heated tobacco products (HTP) are new forms of tobacco consumption with limited information available on their use among the general population. Our objective is to analyse the prevalence and associations of use of HTP across 11 countries in Europe. Methods Within the TackSHS Project, in 2017-2018 we conducted a cross-sectional study wit...

Background Smoking during pregnancy is associated with adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. Tobacco tax avoidance and tax evasion undermine the effectiveness of tobacco tax policies, resulting in cheaper prices for smokers and increased tobacco usage.AimsThe purpose of this study was to explore the purchasing habits of pregnant smokers with regard...

Background Heated tobacco products (HTP) are new forms of tobacco consumption with limited information available on their use among the general population. Our objective is to analyse the prevalence and associations of use of HTP across 11 countries in Europe. Methods Within the TackSHS Project, in 2017-2018 we conducted a cross-sectional study w...

We examine trends in 30-day smoking among adolescents in Ireland and Europe, 1995-2020. Ireland has participated in seven data collection waves of ESPAD (European Schools Project for Alcohol and Other Drugs) between 1995 and 2019, during which time more than 500,000 students have completed questionnaires on substance use, including cigarettes. In...

E-cigarette use is increasing worldwide. Concerns about adolescent use include harms (known and unknown), nicotine addiction, and as a “gateway” drug. Secondary analysis was carried out on five Irish health datasets, with questions on adolescent e-cigarette, all stratified random samples in school-based settings: ECIGS-TFRI 2014 (N=817), ESPAD-TFR...

INTRODUCTION: Exposure to secondhand aerosol from e-cigarette (SHA) may pose harmful effects to bystanders. This study aims to investigate the prevalence, duration and determinants of SHA exposure in various indoor settings in 12 European countries. METHODS: In 2017-2018, we conducted a cross-sectional study, the TackSHS survey, on a representativ...

Background Smoking prevalence in Ireland is falling in all age groups, but e-cigarette use is rising among young people. This qualitative study explores young people’s accounts of e-cigarette use in Ireland. Methods Semi-structured individual (22) and focus group (8) interviews were conducted with 62 young people aged 18–22 years, recruited from a...

E-cigarettes and Novel Tobacco Products: what do we know so far?

Ireland has participated in seven data collection waves of ESPAD (European Schools Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs) between 1995 and 2019. In 2019, some 100,000 students in 35 European countries participated in ESPAD. In Ireland, 1,949 students, born in 2003, were surveyed from a stratified random sample of 50 Irish schools. We compared preval...

Worrying changes in adolescent e-cigarette use 2014-2019: A secondary analysis of five Irish health datasets Authors: J Hanafin, S Sunday, S Keogan, L Clancy Address: TobaccoFree Research Institute Ireland (TFRI), TU Dublin, Dublin 8 E-cigarette use is increasing worldwide and e-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among adolescen...

Smoke-free legislation reduced second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure in public places, and indirectly promoted private smoke-free settings. Nevertheless, a large proportion of adults is still exposed to SHS at home. The aim of this paper is to quantify the burden of disease due to home SHS exposure among adults in the 28-European Union (EU) countries fo...

Introduction: Tobacco presence in outdoor children's playgrounds is concerning not only because it leads to secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure, but also cigarette butt pollution and tobacco normalization. Objectives: This study aimed to assess SHS exposure in children's playgrounds, according to area-level socioeconomic status (SES), smoke-free reg...

The main purpose of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) is to collect comparable data on substance use and other forms of risk behaviour among 15- to 16-year-old students in order to monitor trends within, as well as between, countries. Between 1995 and 2019, seven waves of data collection were conducted across 49...

ABSTRACT Background: Schools have been key settings for health education for over a century1. Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in Europe and smoking typically begins during adolescence. Therefore, the school setting is frequently used to provide tobacco-related health education, to educate about risks and to implement tobacco p...

Background Smoking prevalence in Ireland is falling in all age groups, but e-cigarette use is rising among young people. This qualitative study explores young people’s accounts of e-cigarette use in Ireland. Methods Semi-structured individual (22) and focus group (8) interviews were conducted with 62 young people aged 18–22 years, recruited from a...

Background: Studies comparing adolescent e-cigarette use in different countries are scarce. We study students' e-cigarette and conventional cigarette ever-use, their social correlates and e-liquid use in seven EU countries. Methods: SILNE-R data (N=12 167, response rate 79.4%) of 14-17-year-olds from Amersfoort (NL), Coimbra (PT), Dublin (IR), H...

Objectives To assess the role of tobacco control legislation (TCL) in youth smoking in Ireland. To examine the effects of smoke-free legislation in youth. To consider whether TCL contributed to the gender equalisation in prevalence in 16 years old seen between 2003 and 2015. Setting Data are from the 4 yearly European School Survey Project on Alco...

Introduction Although smoking restrictions at child-related settings are progressively being adopted, school outdoor entrances are neglected in most smoke-free policies across Europe. Objectives To describe secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and tobacco-related signs in outdoor entrances of primary schools in Europe according to area-level socioecono...

Background: Further evidence is needed on the effects that short- and long-term exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) have on the respiratory health of patients with lung disease. Within the TackSHS project we aimed to assess the acute respiratory effects in lung function that result from short-term SHS exposure among patients with asthma and chronic...

Background: Further evidence is needed on the effects that short- and long-term exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) have on the respiratory health of patients with lung disease. Within the TackSHS project we aimed to assess the acute respiratory effects in lung function that result from short-term SHS exposure among patients with asthma and chronic...

Smoking and second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure have been recently linked to a higher risk of breast cancer in women. The aim of this work is to estimate the number of deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from breast cancer attributable to these two risk factors in the European Union (EU-28) in 2017. The comparative risk assessment method...

Smoking and second‐hand smoke (SHS) exposure have been recently linked to a higher risk of breast cancer in women. The aim of this work is to estimate the number of deaths and disability‐adjusted life years (DALYs) from breast cancer attributable to these two risk factors in the European Union (EU‐28) in 2017. The comparative risk assessment method...

Background: Population data on tobacco use and its determinants require continuous monitoring and careful inter-country comparison. We aimed to provide the most up-to-date estimates on tobacco smoking from a large cross-sectional survey, conducted in selected European countries. Methods: Within the TackSHS Project, a face-to-face survey on smoking...