The 2023 Annual Report: A Forward Looking Retrospective

Health and Science Research

2023 Health and Science Research Spotlight

Helping people who smoke switch away from cigarettes is of crucial public health importance.

In determining research priorities, Global Action considers the broad spectrum of ongoing, global research to identify important gaps in knowledge about smoking cessation, with an emphasis on marginalized and diverse communities and within low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Global Action focuses its grantmaking on research associated with smoking cessation, including the potential role of alternative, non-combustible, reduced-risk products.

Examples of research topics addressed by Global Action’s grantees during 2023 are:

smoking cessation strategies, especially those that can be utilized in marginalized populations and in LMICS;
effects of integrating reduced-risk options into smoking cessation approaches;
assessing the health effects of reduced-risk product use;
Analyses, including health economic studies, of the effect of tobacco policies and regulations on subsequent smoking as well as the use of reduced-risk products; and
Supporting medical and other health care professionals in advising people who smoke or use other tobacco products about the full range of options available to assist them in stopping and reducing their risk of illness and premature death.

The Doctors' Survey

The Doctor’s Survey, which was funded by a Global Action to End Smoking grant, was conducted by Sermo, a private social media network for physicians in 150 countries. Sermo surveyed 15,355 physicians online in 11 countries (China, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Africa, United Kingdom, and the United States).The survey findings showed that a significant majority of doctors across the globe mistakenly attributes negative health consequences of smoking to nicotine, directly jeopardizing advancements made in helping people who smoke quit.

Percentage of Physicians that Mistakenly Believe Nicotine Causes Lung Cancer

Indonesia 97%

China 91%

India 88%

Japan 88%

South Africa 82%

Germany 77%

Israel 69%

Italy 67%

USA 67%

Greece 65%

UK 60%

Misconceptions About Nicotine Among Doctors

Percentage of doctors worldwide that mistakenly believe nicotine causes the following ailments

0 %

Lung Cancer

0 %

Atherosclerosis

0 %

COPD

0 %

Bladder Cancer

The Doctors' Survey Webinar

Tobacco control experts discussed the Doctors’ Survey findings.

InSilico Science

The InSilico Science project, a study by the Center of Excellence for the Acceleration of Harm Reduction of the University of Catania, conducts systematic and umbrella reviews of research on the effects of reduced-risk products. Funded by a Global Action to End Smoking grant to the University of Catania’s spinoff ECLAT, the InSilico Science project team is led by Dr. Renée O’Leary, investigating potential biases in studies and aggregates the results of numerous research projects to create comprehensive umbrella reviews.

Play Video

2023 InSilico Science Publications

The InSilico Science Project researchers published two systematic reviews and identified a bias in a published research note.

Respiratory health effects of e-cigarette substitution for tobacco cigarettes: a systematic review

This systematic review explores the impact of substituting electronic nicotine delivery systems for tobacco cigarettes on respiratory health. It concludes that while most studies showed no significant differences, the low quality and high risk of bias across many studies necessitate more robust research to accurately assess potential benefits or harms.

Clinical testing of the cardiovascular effects of e-cigarette substitution for smoking: a living systematic review

This living systematic review analyzes human clinical studies to assess the cardiovascular impact of substituting e-cigarettes for tobacco cigarettes. It revealed that most analyses showed no significant difference in heart rate, blood pressure, or other cardiovascular metrics. Some studies indicated reduced systolic blood pressure in participants with hypertension, suggesting potential benefits, but these studies had low to very low certainty due to high risk of bias.

Identifying spin bias of nonsignificant findings in biomedical studies

This research note presents a technique to objectively identify spin bias in biomedical studies by tracking and recording discrepancies in data and findings. It focuses on how nonsignificant results are misrepresented as causal or significant, with the aim of promoting transparency and encouraging peer reviewers and journal editors to correct misleading information in scientific publications.

Healthy Initiatives

Healthy Initiatives supports and implements research projects that analyze and review key health risk factors such as tobacco and alcohol to promote and strengthen public health and well-being.

In 2023, Healthy Initiatives hosted a series of forums with a diverse array of health care professionals, public health experts, economists, and scientists to shed light on the ongoing challenges and opportunities in combatting the smoking epidemic, with a particular focus on countries such as Ukraine, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Turkey. The ongoing instability in the region, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has further contributed to high smoking rates.

Healthy Initiatives convened experts to discuss issues surrounding tobacco control in Eastern Europe.

We are accelerating comprehensive, science-based global efforts to end the smoking epidemic, with a focus on marginalized communities and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).