GHPU staff are involved in a range of research activities concerning the relationship between tobacco and inequalities. They form a core part of the University’s cross-College Group for Research on Inequalities and Tobacco (GRIT), the UK’s leading centre for research in tobacco control and inequalities. This inter-disciplinary research group advances research to better understand and address the determinants of smoking uptake and inequalities in these determinants.

SILNE-R

SILNE-R is multi-centre collaborative project funded by the EU’s Horizon2020 programme. Led by Prof Anton Kunst of the University of Amsterdam, the project draws on qualitative and quantitative data from six European countries to better understand how tobacco control policies can be made more effective in preventing smoking uptake among young people. Together with Amanda Amos, Sarah Hill is co-lead on Work Package 9 in which 56 focus groups were held with young people (aged around 15 years) in six European cities. Analysis of focus group data (led by Dr Rebecca Hewer) is helping us understand young people’s engagement with smoking, including how they interact with smoke-free policies and minimum age-of-sale legislation.

More information about this project is available on the website.

E-cigarettes, harm reduction and inequalities: a review of evidence and stakeholder claims

This interdisciplinary project – funded by Cancer Research UK (grant no. C55561/A21553) – explored expectations and evidence concerning the impact of e-cigarettes on inequalities in smoking. The project was headed by Sarah Hill in collaboration with Jeff Collin, Kat Smith and Amanda Amos. Running from July 2016 to June 2018, the project comprised two parts: a systematic review of existing academic evidence on e-cigarettes and inequalities in tobacco use (led by Mark Lucherini); and an exploration of how ‘equity’ is understood in relation to e-cigarettes and tobacco control, based on analysis of submissions to a Scottish Government consultation (led by Rosie Anderson).

Outcomes from the project include a number of journal articles (currently under submission) and an engagement seminar on e-cigarettes and tobacco inequalities that was attended by representatives of public health bodies, academia, Scottish local and national government, the NHS and the third sector (including Martin Dockrell of Public Health England).