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  1. Billy TJ, Sreeramareddy CT, Oo PS, Aye SN
    Nicotine Tob Res, 2024 Mar 22;26(4):508-511.
    PMID: 37819726 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntad198
    INTRODUCTION: Exposure to tobacco imagery creates a positive impression about smoking and is associated with youth smoking uptake.

    METHODS: From the list of movies released during 2015-2019, we selected the top 10 movies per year rated by the Malaysian Film Development Corporation. Two researchers coded tobacco imagery in each movie considering 5-minute time intervals as a unit. The 5-minute interval coding was adopted from previous research for comparability. Frequencies and the average occurrence of tobacco imagery were compared by movie language, genre, and age categorization.

    RESULTS: In 50 movies analyzed, there were a total of 1037 five-minute intervals of which 26 (52%) movies and 277 (26.7%) of intervals tobacco imagery were present. Brand appearances were absent and health warnings about tobacco use were present in just one movie. The proportions of intervals containing actual use, paraphernalia, and implied use were 63.5%, 22.0%, and 14.5%. Tobacco imagery of actual use, paraphernalia, and implied use was present in 25, 20, and 10 movies, respectively. In those movies with tobacco imagery, the average number of occurrences of actual use, paraphernalia, and implied use was 3 (interquartile range [IQR] 2-11.5), 2.5 (IQR 1.3-4.0), and 1 (IQR 1-4), respectively. Movies classified as "p13" (median 6, IQR 6-13) and "18" (median 5, IQR 0-15) had higher average occurrences of tobacco imagery than "U" movies (median 0, IQR 0-2; p = .028).

    CONCLUSIONS: The lack of health warnings despite the presence of tobacco imagery in Malaysian movies calls for measures to regulate tobacco-related content and reclassify such movies as "for adults-only."

    IMPLICATIONS: Tobacco imagery was prevalent in Malaysian movies that are allowed viewing by individuals aged 13 years and above. A review of the age categorization of Malaysian movies and the placement of health warnings in movies is needed. A comprehensive implementation of the ban on tobacco advertisements, promotion, and sponsorship should also include a ban on tobacco imagery in movies.

  2. Sreeramareddy CT, Acharya K, Manoharan A, Oo PS
    Nicotine Tob Res, 2024 Jan 22;26(2):142-150.
    PMID: 37466212 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntad124
    INTRODUCTION: The increasing use of e-cigarettes among the youth is a public health problem that needs surveillance. We report changes in e-cigarette use, cigarette smoking, and "dual use" among youth in 10 countries.

    AIMS AND METHODS: Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS)s from Georgia, Iraq, Italy, Latvia, Montenegro, Paraguay, Peru, Qatar, Romania, and San Marino were analyzed. Changes in prevalence of "awareness of e-cigarettes," "ever use" (even tried a few puffs) and "current use" (during last 30 days) of e-cigarettes and cigarette smoking, and "dual use" (both e-cigarette and cigarette smoking) between baseline (2013 and 2014) and most recent (2017-2019) surveys were estimated.

    RESULTS: "Awareness of e-cigarettes" and "ever e-cigarette use" significantly increased (p  50% in most countries. During the most recent surveys, "current e-cigarette" use was > 10% in five countries Italy (18.3%) and Latvia (18.5%) being the highest. Cigarette smoking significantly declined in Italy, Latvia, Peru, and San Marino (p 

  3. Yee AWM, Oo PS, Aye SN, Lim WJ, Chee VCX, Krishnappa P
    Med J Malaysia, 2023 Jan;78(1):98-108.
    PMID: 36715199
    INTRODUCTION: Since constant long-term exposure to formaldehyde endangers the health of laboratory personnel, sugar-based natural products have become interesting alternative fixatives to formaldehyde because of their preservative and antibacterial properties. However, there are controversial findings on the fixative effects of natural fixatives. This study systematically reviews the evidence comparing natural fixatives' types, dilutions, fixative properties and staining quality in normal tissues and histopathological specimens.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comprehensive search was performed for studies comparing the natural fixatives- and formaldehyde-fixed tissues using databases from inception to January 2022: PubMed, Ovid Medline and Google Scholar. Two independent reviewers did data extraction. The data were pooled for the type of natural fixatives, their concentrations and fixative qualities compared to formaldehyde.

    RESULTS: Fifteen studies were included in this systematic review. Nine studies used one natural fixative with different dilutions, while six used several natural fixatives to compare their fixative properties with formaldehyde. The most used natural fixative was honey (n = 12) followed by jaggery (n = 8), sugar (n = 3) and others (n = 1). Honey showed the most promising results in fixation and staining, which are compatible with formalin. Jaggery and sugar also showed the possibility of replacing formaldehyde in tissue fixation and staining in smaller tissue samples.

    CONCLUSION: Natural fixatives showed promising results in tissue fixation. However, optimising the concentrations and conditions of natural fixatives is difficult because of the different chemical constituents and production steps. More comprehensive studies are necessary for application.

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