Tobacco sales through vending machines: Insights from owners and managers of Australian alcohol-licenced premises with different licencing schemes.

OBJECTIVE: Tobacco sales in alcohol-licenced premises present a very problematic trigger for tobacco sales-a trigger that is particularly problematic for attempting quitters and people who smoke occasionally. This study reports on the attitudes, beliefs, and experiences of owners or managers of alcohol-licenced venues that sell tobacco exclusively through vending machines. METHODS: The study involved a telephone survey of alcohol-licenced venue owners or managers in New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia. Associations between outlet characteristics and current selling of tobacco exclusively via vending machines were examined, and responses to the open-ended question asking why the venue was likely or unlikely to stop selling cigarettes were manually coded. RESULTS: For most alcohol-licenced venues that sold tobacco exclusively through a vending machine, the profit from these sales was not considered important for the business. However, only a small minority (4%) of these venues reported that they were likely to stop selling tobacco. The most commonly cited concerns about stopping were customer dissatisfaction and potential loss of customers. CONCLUSION: The study provides the first evidence on the attitudes of owners/managers to the importance of tobacco sales, revealing that the vast majority of those owners/managers do not believe that tobacco sales are important for their venue. IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH: The presence of tobacco vending machines implicitly promotes tobacco products and therefore contravenes Australia's obligations under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The results provide powerful evidence that restrictions on tobacco sales can be implemented without major financial damage to those vendors.

Hospital staff perspectives on the provision of smoking cessation care: a qualitative description study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the perspectives of hospital staff regarding the provision of smoking cessation care. STUDY DESIGN: A qualitative description study using focus group discussions. STUDY SETTING: Data were collected across metropolitan regional and rural hospitals in Victoria, Australia, between November and December 2019. PARTICIPANTS: Clinical and non-clinical hospital staff. RESULTS: Five focus groups were conducted across four hospitals. Staff (n=38) across metropolitan regional and rural hospitals shared similar views with regards to barriers and facilitators of smoking cessation care. Four themes were present: (1) Clinical Setting wherein views about opportunity and capacity to embed smoking cessation care, relevant policies and procedures and guidelines were discussed; (2) Knowledge consisted of the need for training on the provision of pharmacotherapy and behavioural interventions, and awareness of resources; (3) Consistency represented the need for a consistently applied approach to smoking cessation care by all staff and included issues of staff smoking; and (4) Appropriateness consisted of questions around how smoking cessation care can be safely delivered in the context of challenging patient groups and different settings. CONCLUSIONS: Staff across metropolitan regional and rural hospitals experience similar views and identified shared barriers in implementing smoking cessation care. Responding to staff concerns and providing support to address smoking with patients will help to foster a consistent approach to cessation care. Clear practice guidelines for multidisciplinary clinical roles need to underpin staff training in communication skills, include priorities around smoking cessation care, and provide the authorising environment in which clinical staff actively provide smoking cessation care.

Receptiveness to smoking cessation training among community service organisation staff.

ISSUE ADDRESSED: Smoking rates among people experiencing disadvantage are significantly higher than for the general population. Community service organisations (CSOs) have been suggested as appropriate settings to address tobacco use among this subgroup. This study aimed to (a) assess CSO staff members' interest in receiving smoking cessation training, (b) explore the factors associated with interest and (c) identify preferred cessation support information formats. METHODS: An online survey was administered to CSO staff across Australia. Respondents were asked about the main groups targeted by their service, their role in the organisation and their interest in receiving smoking cessation training. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with receptiveness to smoking cessation training. RESULTS: Of the 242 CSO staff members responding to the survey, 53% were interested in receiving training. Having more frequent contact with clients and working at an organisation supporting people with a mental illness were positively associated with being interested in undertaking training. Online resources were identified as a preferred form of information relating to cessation support provision. CONCLUSIONS: CSO staff who have frequent contact with clients may be receptive to training that would enable them to provide smoking cessation support to people experiencing disadvantage. SO WHAT?: CSOs represent an important setting for smoking cessation interventions given their existing relationship with people who have high smoking rates and the apparent receptiveness of CSO staff to participate in such initiatives.

Potential sources of cessation support for high smoking prevalence groups: a qualitative study.

Objective This study aimed to: i) explore potential sources of cessation support as nominated by disadvantaged smokers; and ii) identify factors influencing decisions to use these sources. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 84 smokers accessing community service organisations from the alcohol and other drugs, homeless, and mental health sectors. Transcripts were coded and thematically analysed. Results Doctors emerged as the most commonly recognised source of cessation support, followed by Quitline, community service organisation staff; and online resources. The main factors contributing to the possible use of these sources of support were identified as awareness, perceived usefulness and anticipated emotional support. Conclusions The results suggest that doctors are an important group to consider when developing cessation interventions for disadvantaged smokers due to their recognised ability to provide practical and emotional support. However, efforts are needed to ensure doctors are aware of the benefits of cessation for these groups. Community service organisations appear to be another potentially effective source of cessation support for disadvantaged smokers. Implications for public health The results indicate that cessation interventions among high-priority groups should endeavour to provide personalised emotional and practical support. Doctors and community service organisation staff appear to be well-placed to deliver this support.