Tobacco smoking is the major cause of many chronic diseases, especially lung cancer. Knowledge about population-wide tobacco use and exposure is essential to characterise its burden on public health and evaluate policy efficacy. Obtaining such knowledge remains challenging with current methods (e.g., surveys, biomonitoring) but can be achievable with wastewater analysis, a promising tool of retrieving epidemiology information. This study examined population-wide exposure to tobacco toxicants and carcinogens through wastewater analysis and explored relationships among these chemicals. Cotinine, trans-3′-hydroxycotinine, anabasine, anatabine and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) were analysed in samples from Greece, Switzerland and Belgium, where tobacco control policies are different. Measured per-capita mass loads were ranked as: nicotine biomarkers ≫ tobacco markers > carcinogens. Relationships between nicotine biomarkers and tobacco markers implied substantial use of non-tobacco nicotine items besides tobacco products. Geographic profiles of tobacco markers revealed higher levels in Geneva and Athens than Geraardsbergen and Ninove. Environmental third-hand smoke led to NNK detection, with elevated levels observed in Athens where indoor smoking is widespread, posing potential health risks to the population. Our novel outcomes are relevant for public health authorities as they provide indications about external exposure and can thus be used to plan and evaluate tobacco control policies.
This study shows the efficiency of passive sampling to reveal industrial and agricultural pollution trends. Two practical applications for nonpolar and polar contaminants are presented. Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) samplers were deployed for one year in the Venoge River (VD) to monitor indicator PCBs (iPCBs, IUPAC nos. 28, 52, 101, 138, 153 and 180). The results showed that the impact of PCB emissions into the river is higher in summer than in other seasons due to the low flow rate of the river during this period. Polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) were deployed for 4 months in the Sion-Riddes canal (VS) to investigate herbicides (terbuthylazine, diuron and linuron). Desisopropylatrazine-d5 (DIA-d5) was tested as a performance reference compound (PRC) to estimate aqueous concentration. The results showed an increase of water contamination due to the studied agricultural area. The maximal contamination was observed in April and corresponds to the period of herbicide application on the crops.
BACKGROUND: General population surveys present
a useful tool for getting information on drug use
prevalence, but they often fail to reach a sufficient
number of users, which is required to get detailed
information on use patterns or other characteristics. Web
surveys, especially when they use social networking sites,
might present a complementary mechanism for getting
a better picture of drug use by reaching hard-to-reach
populations. AIM: The main objective of this study was
to examine Facebook advertisements as a recruitment
strategy in the “European Web Survey on Drugs: patterns
of use”, a project organized by the European Monitoring
Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. METHODS:
Recruitment campaigns invited adults aged 18+ years
who had consumed at least one drug (cannabis, MDMA/
ecstasy, amphetamines, or cocaine) in the past 12 months
to complete an online survey. The advertisements were
created in Facebook’s Advertisement program and
were used in Croatia, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
RESULTS: Among the eligible participants recruited via
Facebook (N=5256), 68.1% were from Croatia, 24.4% from
Switzerland, and 7.5% from the Netherlands. The Croatian
and Swiss participants were younger and more likely to
be males compared to the Dutch participants. Chi-square
tests showed that there were significant differences in
the frequency of drug use between the samples from the
different countries for almost all drugs. CONCLUSION:
The Facebook recruitment strategy was successful in
reaching young adults, as well as recreational drug
users, although the costs, campaign duration, available
budget, and content of the ad images differed among
the countries.
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