Previous studies among Buddhist monks in Thailand have reported smoking rates to be as high as 55%. Because 95% of Thais are Buddhist, monks are highly influential in establishing normative behavioral patterns. As the first population-based study on smoking among Buddhist monks in Thailand, this study aims to determine the smoking prevalence in six regions of the country, and to examine smoking knowledge, risk perceptions, behaviors, and associated demographics among full-fledged and novice monks (n = 6,213). Results demonstrated that the overall prevalence for current smoking monks is 24.4% (95% confidence interval [24.453, 24.464]), with regional differences ranging from 14.6% (North) to 40.5% (East). Findings suggest that integrating prevention and cessation programming into religious courses may be one avenue for reaching many incoming monks. Further, involving monks in tobacco control education and setting a nonsmoking standard among them is vital to the success of reducing smoking rates among the general population in Thailand.

Background. Foot reflexology is a treatment with the hypothesis that such massage stimulation on the feet may cause a therapeutic effect which should be helpful for smoking cessation. However, its mechanism of action in the brain of smoking people remains unknown. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is helpful for real-time brain activity detection. We aim to compare the brain activity effects of foot reflexology with fMRI between smoking and nonsmoking subjects. Materials and Methods. We divided participants into experimental (smokers) and control groups (nonsmokers). Both groups received similar foot reflexology under the fMRI examination. Then, we compared the mean response score in each brain area before and after foot stimulation among groups and between groups. Results. Five nonsmokers and fifteen smokers had completed the study. All participants were right-handed males, with a mean age of 38.6 years. The fMRI brain response in the areas correlated with foot stimulation, including the precentral gyrus of the frontal lobe and the postcentral gyrus of the parietal lobe, was present for all participants. The fMRI response outside the correlated area, including other parts of the frontal and parietal lobes, the temporal and occipital cortices, and the thalamus, was also found in all participants, but was not consistent. Conclusions. The fMRI of the brain is feasible and safe for demonstrating foot reflexology reactions. The response signal outside the correlated motor-sensory cortical area with foot reflexology may have clinical significance and may be helpful for smoking cessation. We suggest conducting a large-scale, randomized controlled trial to confirm these findings.

Articles reporting research may be full length or brief reports. These should report original research findings within the journal's scope. Papers should generally be a maximum of 4000 words in length, excluding tables, references, abstract and key points of the article, whilst references should not exceed 36. Review PapersComprehensive, authoritative, reviews within the journal's scope. Review articles provide a review of the literature. There are two types of review papers:-systematic review papers: respond to a specific research question, accrue from criterion-based selection of sources, include a quantitative synthesis that includes a statistical method (meta-analysis) and should adhere to PRISMA guidelines. Guidelines used for abstracting data and assessing data quality and validity should be noted in methods section. -narrative reviews: the research question may be broad, and the scope of this review is to discuss a specific topic and keep the readers up-to-date about it. This type of review does not necessarily include a methodological approach and its synthesis is usually qualitative. Narrative reviews should include a "developments" section, with details regarding data sources used, keywords applied, time restrictions and study types selected. All review papers should be generally less than 6000 words, excluding abstract, tables, figures and references. References should not exceed 50 unless on a topic that has an extensive evidence base. The conclusion of the reviews must be specific and stem from the findings. Short ReportsBrief reports of data from original research. Short reports are shorter versions of original articles, may include one table or figure, should not exceed 1500 words and 15 references. Short reports are suitable for the presentation of research that extends previously published research, including the reporting of additional evidence and confirmatory results in other settings, as well as negative results. Authors must clearly acknowledge any work upon which they are building, both published and unpublished. Study ProtocolsArticles describing a research protocol of a study. This article type can be for proposed or for ongoing research and should contain the background, research hypothesis, rationale a detailed methodology of the study. The SPIRIT 2013 Checklist guidelines ideally should be applied. Study protocols submitted for publication must have received ethics approval. Protocols of randomized trials should follow the CONSORT guidelines and must have a trial registration number, while observational studies should follow STROBE guidelines. Methodology PapersPapers that present different methodological approaches that can be used to investigate problems in a relevant scientific field and to encourage innovation. It is suggested that case studies or practical examples, which can be existing ones, are included to demonstrate the consistency and applicability of the methodology. Methodology papers should be generally less than 6000 words, excluding abstract, tables, figures and referen...

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Articles reporting research may be full length or brief reports. These should report original research findings within the journal's scope. Papers should generally be a maximum of 4000 words in length, excluding tables, references, abstract and key points of the article, whilst references should not exceed 36. Review PapersComprehensive, authoritative, reviews within the journal's scope. Review articles provide a review of the literature. There are two types of review papers:-systematic review papers: respond to a specific research question, accrue from criterion-based selection of sources, include a quantitative synthesis that includes a statistical method (meta-analysis) and should adhere to PRISMA guidelines. Guidelines used for abstracting data and assessing data quality and validity should be noted in methods section. -narrative reviews: the research question may be broad, and the scope of this review is to discuss a specific topic and keep the readers up-to-date about it. This type of review does not necessarily include a methodological approach and its synthesis is usually qualitative. Narrative reviews should include a "developments" section, with details regarding data sources used, keywords applied, time restrictions and study types selected. All review papers should be generally less than 6000 words, excluding abstract, tables, figures and references. References should not exceed 50 unless on a topic that has an extensive evidence base. The conclusion of the reviews must be specific and stem from the findings. Short ReportsBrief reports of data from original research. Short reports are shorter versions of original articles, may include one table or figure, should not exceed 1500 words and 15 references. Short reports are suitable for the presentation of research that extends previously published research, including the reporting of additional evidence and confirmatory results in other settings, as well as negative results. Authors must clearly acknowledge any work upon which they are building, both published and unpublished. Study ProtocolsArticles describing a research protocol of a study. This article type can be for proposed or for ongoing research and should contain the background, research hypothesis, rationale a detailed methodology of the study. The SPIRIT 2013 Checklist guidelines ideally should be applied. Study protocols submitted for publication must have received ethics approval. Protocols of randomized trials should follow the CONSORT guidelines and must have a trial registration number, while observational studies should follow STROBE guidelines. Methodology PapersPapers that present different methodological approaches that can be used to investigate problems in a relevant scientific field and to encourage innovation. It is suggested that case studies or practical examples, which can be existing ones, are included to demonstrate the consistency and applicability of the methodology. Methodology papers should be generally less than 6000 words, excluding abstract, tables, figures and referen...