[Instruments used to evaluate smoking habits: a systematic review]

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Smoking remains a leading global cause of morbidity and mortality.
• Accurate assessment of tobacco use patterns is essential for effective public health interventions.
• Standardized and validated instruments are crucial for reliable and comparable research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and compare instruments and domains used in population-based smoking studies.
• To evaluate the characteristics of instruments used in smoking pattern research over a five-year period.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of articles published between September 2002 and September 2007.
• Searched databases using terms related to smoking, tobacco, and research instruments (questionnaires, scales, etc.).
• Included studies that reported on instrument validation, cultural adaptation, or psychometric properties.

Main Results:

• 91 articles reported using instruments, identifying 49 distinct tools.
• Prevalence and profile (38%) and dependence (24%) were the most studied domains.
• Validated instruments were used in 96% of addiction studies, while 79% of profile/prevalence studies used self-developed questionnaires.

Conclusions:

• Significant variation exists in instruments used for assessing smoking patterns.
• A preference for self-developed questionnaires in profile and prevalence studies contrasts with the use of standard instruments for addiction.
• Enhancing transparency, standardization, and utilization of validated instruments is critical for improving the quality and reproducibility of smoking research.