CHS Represented at 2024 Meeting of Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco

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EDINBURGH, Scotland — From March 20-24, Research Associate Zhanna Sargsyan (MPH ’18) from the Avedisian Onanian Center for Health Services Research and Development at the American University of Armenia’s Turpanjian College of Health Sciences (CHS) attended the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) held at the Edinburgh International Conference Center.

SRNT represents the union of researchers, academics, treatment professionals, government employees, and many others working across disciplines in the field of nicotine and tobacco research from over 40 countries. This year, the SRNT celebrated its 30th anniversary, and its 2024 meeting was attended by more than 1,200 participants from all over the globe. 

Sargsyan presented two posters based on the “Smoke-free air coalitions in Armenia and Georgia project: A community randomized trial” (GATHER) project, implemented in partnership with Emory University, George Washington University, the National Institute of Health named after academician S. Avdalbekyan, the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Armenia, and the Georgian National Center for Disease Control and Public Health.

One of the posters was titled “Exposure to e-cigarette and heated tobacco product advertisements via digital, traditional media, and point of sale: an examination of associations with use intentions and perceived risk among adults in Armenia and Georgia.” Sargsyan’s study aimed to assess the relationship between advertisement exposure and e-cigarette and heated tobacco product (HTP) use intentions and perceived risks among adults in Armenia and Georgia. The study found that for e-cigarettes, advertisement exposure via digital media was associated with greater use intentions, advertisement exposure via traditional media and point of sale was associated with lower risk perceptions. For HTPs, advertisement exposure via digital media and point of sale was associated with greater use intentions, and advertisement exposure and point of sale was associated with lower risk perceptions. This study recommends that tobacco control efforts should monitor and regulate e-cigarette and HTP marketing, particularly via digital media which may effectively promote use, and via point of sale which may target and influence risk perceptions.

The second poster, titled “The inclusion of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products in smoke-free home and car rules: A cross-sectional survey of adults in Armenia and Georgia,” was authored by CHS Research Associate Varduhi Hayrumyan (MPH ’16). This research aimed to explore the factors influencing the inclusion of e-cigarettes and HTPs in smoke-free home and car rules among adults in Armenia and Georgia. Findings revealed that in both home and car settings, a significant percentage of participants did not include e-cigarettes and HTPs in their smoke-free rules. Factors associated with the inclusion of these products were related to country of residence, the comprehensiveness of smoke-free rules, e-cigarette and HTP use intentions, and perceived risk of e-cigarettes and HTPs. Hayrumyan’s study recommends interventions to increase the perceived risk of e-cigarettes and HTPs and to address tobacco use comprehensively in personal settings. 

Both abstracts are published in the Abstract Book of the SRNT 2024 Meeting (pages 140 and 188). The SRNT organizers generously covered Sargsyan’s registration fee, facilitating her participation.

The American University of Armenia’s Turpanjian College of Health Sciences works actively to improve population health and health services in Armenia and the region through interdisciplinary education and development of health professionals to be leaders in public health, nursing, health services research and evaluation, and health care delivery and management.