Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by CAsToR TCORS

JAMA @jama.com · 9h

💬 Perspective: The evaluation of moderate alcohol consumption on health is complex due to known harms of heavy drinking, potential benefits of low consumption, varying evidence quality, and biases.

ja.ma/3KIU12Q

A JAMA article titled "The Complexity of Research on Moderate Alcohol Consumption and Health: The Consensus Report From NASEM" by Ned Calonge et al., published online September 30, 2025.

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Rutgers Institute for Nicotine and Tobacco Studies (INTS) @ru-ints.bsky.social · 9d

INTS Associate Professor, Jamie Tam, comments on a recent story about how the tobacco industry is fighting proposed nicotine cuts in its products.

Read more ➡️

news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-a...

Tobacco Industry Fights Biden’s Proposed Cigarette Nicotine Cut

The future of a Biden-era proposal to slash nicotine levels in cigarettes is uncertain after the Trump administration excluded it from a key regulatory roadmap amid growing industry pressure to scrap ...

news.bloomberglaw.com

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Jonas Haslbeck @jmbh.bsky.social · 19d

Two new preprints on multilevel HMMs! Time series data is now pervasive in psychology and new methods are needed to model the dynamics in such data. Hidden Markov Models (HHMs) are powerful models for dynamics in which a system is switching between a number of discrete states.

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Rutgers Institute for Nicotine and Tobacco Studies (INTS) @ru-ints.bsky.social · 26d

Please join us in welcoming our new faculty member, Rafael Meza, PhD! @rutgerscancer.bsky.social @rwjms.bsky.social Learn more about Dr. Meza here: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Please join us in welcoming our new faculty member, Rafael Meza, PhD! Rafael Meza, PhD, has joined the Rutgers Institute for Nicotine & Tobacco Studies as a Core Member and the Rutgers Cancer… | ...

Please join us in welcoming our new faculty member, Rafael Meza, PhD! Rafael Meza, PhD, has joined the Rutgers Institute for Nicotine & Tobacco Studies as a Core Member and the Rutgers Cancer Institu...

www.linkedin.com

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CAsToR TCORS @centertobacco.bsky.social · Jul 29

CAsToR junior investigator and pilot project PI, Dr. Clinton Durney, describes his research project modeling social network influences on teenage nicotine use.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIBO...

CAsToR Pilot Projects Updates: Clinton Durney (British Columbia Cancer Research Institute)

YouTube video by TCORS: CAsToR UM, GU & BCCRI

www.youtube.com

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JAMA Network Open @jamanetworkopen.com · Jul 24

In this modeling study, biennial screening from ages 50 to 60, then annually, was estimated to maintain 96% of the deaths prevented by lung cancer screening while decreasing CT scans by 21%. ja.ma/45hXpt1

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CAsToR TCORS @centertobacco.bsky.social · Jul 22

CAsToR is hosting a webinar "A COPD Natural History Simulation Model for Tobacco Regulation Evaluation: Policy Implications" with Dr. Luz Sanchez Romero on October 9. Register here: myumi.ch/9pqbJ

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The BMJ @bmj.com · Jul 21

This article provides an overview of the current state of handling continuous variables in healthcare research.

It discusses the potential limitations of assuming a linear relationship between independent and dependent variables
www.bmj.com/content/390/...

Linear predictor plot for three modelling approaches to analyse continuous variables in a case study of cerebrospinal fluid glucose and acute bacterial meningitis

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Sarah Jackson @drsarahejackson.bsky.social · Jul 17

Worth a read. We need to move beyond arbitrary categorisation of continuous variables or assuming that associations are linear - and use more flexible modelling approaches to capture non-linear relationships.

www.bmj.com/content/390/...

Dealing with continuous variables and modelling non-linear associations in healthcare data: practical guide

Proper handling of continuous variables is crucial in healthcare research, for example, within regression modelling for descriptive, explanatory, or predictive purposes. However, inadequate methods ar...

www.bmj.com

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CAsToR TCORS @centertobacco.bsky.social · Jul 15

CAsToR junior investigator and pilot project PI, Dr. Mona Issabakhsh, describes her project, “A Machine Learning Approach to Cluster Similar Flavors of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems,” sharing initial results and their implications for her research approach. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhh5...

CAsToR Pilot Projects Updates: Mona Issabakhsh (Georgetown University)

YouTube video by TCORS: CAsToR UM, GU & BCCRI

www.youtube.com

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OncoDaily @oncodaily.bsky.social · Jul 7

IARC and American Cancer Society Launch The Cancer Atlas, Fourth Edition

oncodaily.com/blog/the-can...

#OncoDaily #Oncology #Cancer #Health #Medicine #MedEd #MedOnc #MedNews #IARC #ACS

IARC and American Cancer Society Launch The Cancer Atlas, Fourth Edition - OncoDaily

IARC and American Cancer Society Launch The Cancer Atlas, Fourth Edition / American Cancer Society, cancer, Headlines, IARC, IARC - International Agency for

oncodaily.com

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CAsToR TCORS @centertobacco.bsky.social · Jul 7

CAsToR Pilot PI, Dr. Dae-Hee Han, shares his progress on his work that uses inverse probability weighting and machine learning to estimate the impact of oral nicotine product and inhaled tobacco product co-use on inhaled tobacco product use trajectories among youth. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kaw...

CAsToR Pilot Projects Updates: Dae Hee Han (University of Southern California)

YouTube video by TCORS: CAsToR UM, GU & BCCRI

www.youtube.com

CAsToR TCORS @centertobacco.bsky.social · Jul 5

Reducing Lung Cancer Mortality by Providing Smoking Cessation Support in the Lung Cancer Screening Setting: Missed Opportunities and Lessons Learned on Both Sides of the Atlantic - Journal of Thoracic Oncology www.jto.org/article/S155...

Reducing Lung Cancer Mortality by Providing Smoking Cessation Support in the Lung Cancer Screening Setting: Missed Opportunities and Lessons Learned on Both Sides of the Atlantic

National guidelines for the implementation of lung cancer screening (LCS) for high-risk older adults have been issued by several countries, largely in Europe, North America, and Australia. Typically, ...

www.jto.org

CAsToR TCORS @centertobacco.bsky.social · Jun 24

Dr. Nancy Jao gives an update on her CAsToR Pilot Project, “Impact of flavored e-cigarette use and nicotine metabolism on systemic inflammatory biomarkers of cardiovascular disease risk.” www.youtube.com/watch?v=g39-...

CAsToR Pilot Projects Updates: Nancy Jao (Rosalind Franklin University)

YouTube video by TCORS: CAsToR UM, GU & BCCRI

www.youtube.com

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Nicotine & Tobacco Research Journal @ntrjournal.bsky.social · Jun 11

Modelling study by Victoria Salgado et al. indicates further tobacco control interventions in Argentina could considerably reduce premature deaths and years of life lost.

academic.oup.com/ntr/advance-...

Modeling the impact of smoking on mortality in Argentina from 2000 to 2100. A Maximum Potential Reduction in Premature Mortality analysis

AbstractIntroduction. In Argentina, 23% of adults smoke; the future burden of smoking on mortality in the country is unknown. We estimate future smoking-at

academic.oup.com

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Politico @politico.com · Jun 10

RFK Jr. wants to Make America Healthy Again. But he's ignoring the country's leading cause of preventable deaths: smoking.

There’s one vice RFK Jr. isn’t talking about

The health secretary, who wants Americans to make healthier choices, rarely mentions smoking.

www.politico.com

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Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group @cochranetag.bsky.social · Jun 4

Out now April Let's talk #e-cigarettes podcast @jhb19.bsky.social & @drnlindson.bsky.social interview Steve Cook @umichsph.bsky.social CaSToR TCORS re probs using cross-sectional data to look at health effects of #vapes
Thanks @cancerresearchuk.org
Spotify & iTunes podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/lets-...

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Rutgers Institute for Nicotine and Tobacco Studies (INTS) @ru-ints.bsky.social · Jun 2

There's still time to register! ⏰

2025 ESIL awardee, Dr. Julia Chen-Sankey, will deliver her lecture in the second of three NIH ODP Early Stage Investigator Lectures of 2025 on June 5 at 10 a.m. ET.

➡️ ow.ly/MLwI50VUboR

@rutgerssph.bsky.social

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CAsToR TCORS @centertobacco.bsky.social · May 30

Meet CAsToR Postdoctoral Fellow and Pilot PI, Dr. Clinton Durney. Clinton uses computational modeling to understand tobacco use behaviors and potential policy impacts. For his pilot project, he is modeling the spread of tobacco use through adolescent social networks.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR_v...

CAsToR Postdoctoral Research FellowClinton Durney, PhD

YouTube video by TCORS: CAsToR UM, GU & BCCRI

www.youtube.com

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Eli Perencevich @eliowa.bsky.social · Apr 29

“Cohort life expectancy in the South, especially among females, changed little for those born from 1900 to 2000. For several states in the West and Northeast, cohort life expectancy improved substantially, and Washington DC, exhibited the greatest improvement” #medsky jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

All-Cause Mortality and Life Expectancy by Birth Cohort Across US States

This cohort study characterizes trends in mortality and life expectancy by birth cohort for US states and Washington, DC.

jamanetwork.com

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Jonathan Foulds PhD @jonathanfoulds.bsky.social · Apr 21

792 smokers were randomized to (a) placebo (b) 6 weeks cytisinicline or (c) 12 weeks cytisinicline. % abstinent from smoking for weeks 9-24 (and CO<10ppm) was (a) 4.2% (b) 12.2% and (c) 20.5%. Cytisinicline is safe and effective for smoking cessation. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40257755/

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CAsToR TCORS @centertobacco.bsky.social · Mar 27

Check out this new video recording of a primer on systematic reviews and evidence synthesis in TRS, facilitated by CAsToR investigators Drs. Hartmann-Boyce and Livingstone-Banks. www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAfd...

Systematic reviews and other types of evidence synthesis in tobacco regulatory science: a primer

YouTube video by TCORS: CAsToR UM, GU & BCCRI

www.youtube.com

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Jonathan Foulds PhD @jonathanfoulds.bsky.social · Mar 25

Why the FDA is right about Zyn. "It may seem like authorizing another nicotine product- especially one with its own youthful cultural cachet- is a risky decision. But when evaluating all the factors (e g 2.4% youth use after 10y), it actually makes sense." www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

Opinion | Why the FDA is right about Zyn

Zyn has proven to be an especially controversial nicotine product. But there is some good news.

www.msnbc.com

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Human Mortality Database @hmdatabase.bsky.social · Mar 24

📢 #episky #mortality #opendata
Weekly death series #STMF revised and updated ☑️

Data 👉 mortality.org/Data/STMF

Check out our visualization toolkit to explore data on weekly mortality and #excessmortality across years and countries ⬇️
mpidr.shinyapps.io/stmortality/

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