Nicotine Research Group

Established in 2013, the Nicotine Research Group (NRG) has quickly gained an international profile, particularly for research on vaping.

The NRG leads and collaborates on a variety of projects on tobacco harm reduction and e-cigarettes, and in wider consortia such as SPECTRUM and the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project.

Members of our group have been involved in, led or are reviewers for Cochrane Systematic Reviews in the Tobacco/Nicotine field, such as the Cochrane Review on Tobacco Standardised Packaging and the current Cochrane review, aiming to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs) for smoking cessation and the impact of HTPs on smoking prevalence.

Other important areas of the NRG’s work and research include:

the development and implementation of evidence-based tobacco control policies at a local, national and global level
health inequalities in relation to smoking, in particular mental health
smoking cessation treatment in healthcare services

Our research is translational, collaborative, impactful and truly international, and you can find out more about our work via the project links below.

Members

Sarah Aleyan

Visiting Research Associate

Farzana Ali

Researcher

Leonie Brose

Reader in Addiction Education and Nicotine Research

Katie East

Research Associate

Rhian Jones

Research Coordinator to the NRG & PA to Prof. Ann McNeill

Ann McNeill

Professor of Tobacco Addiction

Maria Nikolaidou

Research Associate

Matilda Nottage

Research Assistant

Parvati Perman-Howe

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Debbie Robson

Senior Lecturer in Tobacco Harm Reduction

Erikas Simonavičius

Research Associate

Eve Taylor

Research Assistant

Bernadett Tildy

PhD Student

Hannah Walsh

PhD student

Harm Reduction

Aiming to reduce the harmfulness of nicotine use for those who wish to continue using it, or those who cannot stop smoking.

Policy

To reduce smoking in populations, a comprehensive strategy involving a number of different tobacco control policies is required.

Vulnerable Populations

Smoking is much more common among vulnerable populations in society. We have a number of projects which aim to reduce smoking among these vulnerable populations

Please see below a list of some of our latest publications.
Click 'View all publications' to see the complete list in KCL's Research Portal.

Non-cigarette combustible tobacco use and its associations with subsequent cessation of smoking among daily cigarette smokers: findings from the International Tobacco Control Four Country Smoking and Vaping Surveys (2016–20)
Li, L., Borland, R., Cummings, K. M., Hyland, A., Le Grande, M., Fong, G. T. & McNeill, A., 2022, (Accepted/In press) In: Addiction. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1111/add.16023
Medium- and longer-term cardiovascular effects of e-cigarettes in adults making a stop-smoking attempt: a randomized controlled trial
Klonizakis, M., Gumber, A., McIntosh, E. & Brose, L. S., 16 Aug 2022, In: BMC Medicine. 20, 1, p. 276 276. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-022-02451-9
Exposure to Negative News Stories About Vaping, and Harm Perceptions of Vaping, Among Youth in England, Canada, and the United States Before and After the Outbreak of E-cigarette or Vaping-Associated Lung Injury ('EVALI')
East, K., Reid, J. L., Burkhalter, R., Wackowski, O. A., Thrasher, J. F., Tattan-Birch, H., Boudreau, C., Bansal-Travers, M., Liber, A. C., McNeill, A. & Hammond, D., 1 Sep 2022, In: Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. 24, 9, p. 1386-1395 10 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntac088
The association between smokers’ self-reported health problems and quitting: Findings from the ITC Four Country Smoking and Vaping Wave 1 Survey
Li, L., Borland, R., O’Connor, R. J., Fong, G. T., McNeill, A., Driezen, P. & Cummings, M. K., 2019, In: Tobacco Prevention and Cessation. 5, December, 49. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.18332/tpc/114085
Protocol for a feasibility study of longitudinal surveys to assess the impact of policies on tobacco use among school-going adolescents in South Asia
Iqbal, R., Mishu, M. P., Siddiqi, K., McNeill, A., Kanaan, M., Jackson, C., Huque, R., Kanan, S., Abdullah, S. M., Fieroze, F., Garg, S., Singh, M. M., Borle, A. L., Deshmukh, C., Akhter, Z., Mazhar, L., Khan, Z., Rehman, K., Ullah, S., Han, L. & 1 others, Readshaw, A., 1 Mar 2022, In: F1000Research. 9, 1123. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.25796.2
SUBSTANCE USE AND HOMELESSNESS: A LONGITUDINAL INTERVIEW STUDY CONDUCTED DURING COVID-19 WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY AND PRACTICE
Neale, J., Parkin, S., Hermann, L., Metrebian, N., Roberts, E., Robson, D. & Strang, J., 31 Jul 2022, (Unpublished) In: International Journal of Drug Policy. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
A cross-sectional survey of smoking and cessation support policies in a sample of homeless services in the United Kingdom
Cox, S., Murray, J., Ford, A., Holmes, L., Robson, D. & Dawkins, L., Dec 2022, In: BMC Health Services Research. 22, 1, 635. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08038-7
E-Cigarette Flavors, Devices, and Brands Used by Youths Before and After Partial Flavor Restrictions in the United States: Canada, England, and the United States, 2017‒2020
Hammond, D., Reid, J. L., Burkhalter, R., Bansal Travers, M., Gravely, S., Hyland, A., Kasza, K. & McNeill, A., 1 Jul 2022, In: American Journal of Public Health. 112, 7, p. 1014-1024 11 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306780
Age-Related Interactions on Key Theoretical Determinants of Smoking Cessation: Findings from the ITC Four Country Smoking and Vaping Surveys (2016-2020)
Le Grande, M., Borland, R., Yong, H. H., McNeill, A., Fong, G. & Cummings, K. M., 1 May 2022, In: Nicotine and Tobacco Research. 24, 5, p. 679-689 11 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntab230
Differences in cigarette smoking quit attempts and cessation between adults who did and did not take up nicotine vaping: Findings from the ITC Four Country Smoking and Vaping Surveys
Gravely, S., Meng, G., Hammond, D., Hyland, A., Cummings, K. M., Borland, R., Kasza, K. A., Yong, H-H., Thompson, M. E., Quah, A. C. K., Ouimet, J., Martin, N., O'Connor, R. J., East, K., McNeill, A., Boudreau, C., Levy, D. T., Sweanor, D. T. & Fong, G. T., 17 Apr 2022, (Accepted/In press) In: Addictive Behaviors. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

View all publications

Highlighted Projects

Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA) Fellowship Projects

Current PhD Projects

Click here for a full list of the Nicotine Research Group's projects