| ||
T
| Tar | (1) sticky black residue found in tobacco smoke that contains hundreds of chemicals and causes cancer and lung damage; (2) technically, total particulate matter in tobacco smoke minus nicotine and water content |
| Tax Decrease | synonym for Tax Rollback |
| Tax-Exempt Cigarettes | synonym for Untaxed Cigarettes |
| Tax Increase | provincial, territorial or federal tobacco control measure that normally leads to an increase in the retail price of cigarettesReference: Ontario Tobacco Research Unit. The Tobacco Control Environment: Ontario and Beyond. [Special Reports: Monitoring and Evaluation Series, 2007-2008 (Vol. 14, No. 1)]. Tobacco Taxes. Monitoring Update. Ontario Tobacco Research Unit, Toronto, 2008. Available at: http://www.otru.org/pdf/14mr/14mr_no1_3.pdf; accessed Feb. 11, 2009. |
| Tax Rollback | reduction of tax on tobacco products to a previous level, which normally results in lower retail priceReference: Breton E, Richard L, Gagnon F, Jacques M, Bergeron P. Fighting a tobacco-tax rollback: a political analysis of the 1994 cigarette contraband crisis in Canada. Journal of Public Health Policy 2006;27(1):77-99. |
| Taxation of Tobacco Products | a provincial and federal tobacco control measure and source of government revenue considered to be highly effective in reducing tobacco use and prevalence of smoking, especially among young persons, the current total taxation rate in Canada being about 70% to 75% of the retail price of a carton of cigarettes, depending on the province or territoryAvailable at: http://www.nsra-adnf.ca/cms/index.cfm?group_id=1199; accessed Mar. 2, 2009.
Reference: Stephens T, Pederson LL, Koval JJ, Macnab J. Comprehensive tobacco control policies and the smoking behaviour of Canadian adults. Tobacco Control 2001;10:317-322. |
| TC | Tobacco Control |
| TCAN | (Ontario) Tobacco Control Area Network |
| TCLC | (Canadian federal, provincial or territorial) Tobacco Control Liaison Committee http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/pubs/tobac-tabac/prtc-relct-2003/appendixb-annexeb8-eng.php |
| TEACH | Training Enhancement in Applied Cessation Counseling and Health, an Ontario program providing training in cessation counseling for healthcare professionals since June 2006http://www.teachproject.ca/ |
| Tear Tape | plastic ribbon wrapped around a pack of cigarettes or fine-cut tobacco which facilitates the opening of the cellophane wrapping that encloses the package and indicates by prescribed markings the geographic origin and legal tax status of the product |
| Telephone Quitline/Telephone Support Hotline | synonyms for Quitline |
| Termination | in the Transtheoretical Model, the last stage of a successful attempt to quit smoking |
| Territorial Legislation | laws made by the government of any of the three Canadian territories, namely, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut or Yukon |
| Test Shopper | young person employed by legitimate authority to attempt to buy cigarettes in a retail outlet to see whether or not the retailer complies with the youth access provisions of tobacco control legislation, e.g., under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act the retailer must request identification of anyone attempting to buy tobacco who appears to be under the age of 25Reference: Dubray J, Schwartz R, Garcia J, Bondy S, Victor JC. Formative evaluation of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act. Comparison of Baseline and Two Post-SFOA Measurements. Ontario Tobacco Research Unit, Toronto, November 2007. Available at: http://www.otru.org/pdf/special/special_nov2_2007.pdf; accessed Feb. 12, 2009. |
| The Patch | synonym for Nicotine Patch |
| Theory of Planned Behaviour | theory of individual behaviour that specifies the nature of the relationship between beliefs, attitudes, intentions and actions on the one hand and perceived control over actions on the other handReference: Ajzen I. The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 1991;50(2):179-211. |
| Thiocyanate | a biochemical substance produced by smoking tobacco products which is used as a biomarker of smoking in cessation studies and treatment programs |
| Thirdhand Smoke | a relatively new concept in tobacco control referring to residual tobacco smoke left on surfaces, e.g., clothing, furniture, walls, after the smoked tobacco product is extinguished, which contains many of the toxic chemicals found in secondhand smoke and upon exposure leaves biomarkers, e.g., cotinine, in urine, including the urine of infants and children (see also Off-Gassing)Reference: Winickoff JP, Friebely J, Tanski SE, Sherrod C, Matt GE, Hovell MF, McMillen RC. Beliefs about the effects of “thirdhand” smoke and home smoking bans. Pediatrics 2009;123(1):e74-e79. |
| TI | Tobacco Industry |
| TID | Tobacco Industry Denormalization |
| TIS | (Ontario) Tobacco Inspection System, an administrative tool of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for monitoring retailer compliance with the Smoke-Free Ontario ActReference: Dubray J, Schwartz R, Garcia J, Bondy S, Victor JC. Formative evaluation of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act. Comparison of Baseline and Two Post-SFOA Measurements. Ontario Tobacco Research Unit, Toronto, November 2007. Available at: http://www.otru.org/pdf/special/special_nov2_2007.pdf; accessed Feb. 12, 2009. |
| Tobacco | (1) a large-leafed plant (Nicotiana tabacum or Nicotania rustica) that contains nicotine, an addictive drug, and can be grown on all continents other than Antarctica; (2) general term for tobacco products |
| Tobacco Act | 1997 Canadian federal legislation prohibiting the sale of tobacco by vending machine and to persons under the age of 18, among other provisionsAvailable at: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/tobac-tabac/legislation/federal/tobac-tabac-eng.php; accessed Oct. 5, 2009. |
| Tobacco Advertising | see Advertising |
| Tobacco Behaviour | synonym for Smoking Behaviour |
| Tobacco Company | individual company that forms part of the tobacco industry, e.g., in Canada, Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited (ITL), JTI-McDonald Corporation (JTI), Rothmans, Benson & Hedges (RBH) |
| Tobacco Control | prevention, containment, reduction and elimination of harms caused by the use of tobacco products, especially health-related harms, by means of advocacy, research, education, knowledge exchange, programs, policies and legislationReference: Cunningham R. Smoke & Mirrors. The Canadian Tobacco War. International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, 1996. |
| Tobacco Control Act | 1994 Ontario tobacco control legislation superseded by the Smoke-Free Ontario Act in 2006 |
| Tobacco Control Activist | a person who is committed to action to protect the health of individuals and the public from the avoidable harm caused by the use of tobacco products |
| Tobacco Control Advocacy | argument, action or behaviour on the part of a group or individual that is intended to reduce the harms caused by tobacco products, especially an attempt to influence local, governmental and legislative bodies in this direction |
| Tobacco Control Area Network (TCAN) | any of 7 geographic divisions across Ontario (South West, Central West, Toronto, Central East, East, North West, North East) encompassing all 36 Public Health Units (PHUs), which provide tobacco control administration and leadership under the Smoke-Free Ontario StrategyReference: Dubray JM, Schwartz RM, Garcia JM, Bondy SJ. Vendor compliance with Ontario’s tobacco point of sale legislation. Canadian Journal of Public Health 2009;100(2):109-112. |
| Tobacco Control Funding | money dedicated to tobacco control on the part of government and other agencies, which may be a funding commitment (projected expenditure as per budgetary statements and press releases) or an actual expenditure (see also Per Capita Funding)Reference: Ontario Tobacco Research Unit. The Tobacco Control Environment: Ontario and Beyond. [Special Reports: Monitoring and Evaluation Series, 2007-2008 (Vol. 14, No. 1)]. Tobacco Control Funding Commitments. Monitoring Update. Ontario Tobacco Research Unit, Toronto, 2008. Available at: http://www.otru.org/pdf/14mr/14mr_no1_5.pdf; accessed Feb. 10, 2009. |
| Tobacco Control Innovation | an approach, activity or program for discouraging tobacco use that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption |
| Tobacco Control Intervention | general term for an action, activity or program designed to discourage tobacco use |
| Tobacco Control Policy | overall plan especially of a governmental body embracing general goals of tobacco control and acceptable procedures for attaining those goals |
| Tobacco Control Program | a plan or system under which action is taken towards some tobacco control objective, e.g., Aboriginal Tobacco Program (ATP), Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.), Driven to Quit (DTQ), Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL), Leave the Pack Behind (LTPB), Lungs Are For Life (LAFL), Media Network for a Smoke-Free Ontario (Media Network), Public Health Research Education and Development Program (PHRED), Smoke-Free Long-Term Care Homes Project, TEACH, Youth Action Alliance (YAA), Youth Advocacy Training Institute (YATI), Youth Tobacco Vortal Project (YTVP) |
| Tobacco Control Strategy | see Strategy |
| Tobacco Corporation | a legal instrument created for the purpose of facilitating trade in and maximizing profits from the sale of tobacco products, e.g., JTI-McDonald CorporationReference: Callard C, Thompson D, Collishaw N. Curing the Addiction to Profits: A Supply-Side Approach to Phasing Out Tobacco. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, Ottawa, 2005. |
| Tobacco Dependence | synonym for Nicotine DependenceReference: Juliano LM, Hutsmuller EJ, Stitzer ML. A preliminary investigation of rapid smoking as a lapse-responsive treatment for tobacco dependence. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology 2006:14(4):429-438. |
| Tobacco Epidemic | see Epidemic |
| Tobacco Firm | synonym for Tobacco Company |
| Tobacco-Free | (1) synonym for Smoke-Free; (2) describes a product that does not contain tobacco though it might be expected to contain tobacco, e.g., tobacco-free betel nut quid |
| Tobacco in Bulk | for import-export taxation purposes, 10,000 or more cigarettes, 200 or more cigars, or 10 kilograms or more of any other tobacco product |
| Tobacco Industry (TI) | collective term for producers, manufacturers, shippers, distributors and promoters of tobacco products |
| Tobacco Industry Denormalization (TID) | tobacco control strategy that focuses on the tobacco industry as the cause of the tobacco epidemic and demonstrates through initiatives such as media campaigns that tobacco companies operate outside the rules of normal business practice and that tobacco is not an acceptable product in the marketplaceAvailable at: http://www.nsra-adnf.ca/cms/file/pdf/Denormalization_English_Booklet.pdf; accessed Feb. 18, 2009. |
| Tobacco Industry Documents | internal records and communications of the tobacco industry sometimes used in litigation against the tobacco industry as evidence of its deceptive practicesReference: Lavack AM, Toth G. Tobacco point-of-purchase promotion: examining tobacco industry documents. Tobacco Control 2006;15(5):377-384. |
| Tobacco Industry Marketing | tobacco industry activities designed to encourage smokingand maintain and increase tobacco product sales (see also Brand Awareness, Brand Image, Brand Line Extension, Lifestyle Advertising, Power Wall, Predatory Marketing Strategy, Product Cue, Product Placement, Sponsorship, Tobacco Product Accessories)Reference: Pierce JP. Tobacco industry marketing, population-based tobacco control and smoking behavior. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2007;33(Supplement 6):S327-S324. |
| Tobacco Industry Self-Regulation | controversial approach to tobacco control whereby the tobacco industry is allowed to impose certain limitations on its own practices rather than being required by law to observe those limitations, e.g., in Canada, the voluntary agreement by the major tobacco companies to stop using the labels “light” and “mild” as of July 31, 2007 |
| Tobacco Juice | colloquial term for saliva coloured brown by the use of snuff and other types of smokeless tobacco products |
| Tobacco Marketing | synonym for Tobacco Industry Marketing |
| Tobacco Policy | synonym for Tobacco Control Policy |
| Tobacco Product | any smoked or smokeless product that contains tobacco and is intended for consumption, e.g., cheroot, chew, cigar, cigarette, cigarillo, loose tobacco, plug, scrap, snuff, snus, spit tobacco, tobacco stick, twist |
| Tobacco Product Accessories | paraphernalia associated with tobacco products, e.g., ashtrays, lighters, matches, which are sometimes labeled with a tobacco-related brand name, logo or colour scheme |
| Tobacco Product Advertising | see Advertising |
| Tobacco Product Marketing | synonym for Tobacco Industry Marketing |
| Tobacco Product Regulation | legislation governing the contents and design of tobacco products and ingredient disclosureReference: World Health Organization. The Scientific Basis of Tobacco Product Regulation. WHO Technical Report Series 945. Report of a WHO Study Group. World Health Organization, Geneva, 2007. Available at: http://www.who.int/tobacco/global_interaction/tobreg/who_tsr.pdf; accessed Feb. 9, 2009. |
| Tobacco Products Information Regulations | as of June 2000, regulations adopted under the 1997 Canadian federal Tobacco Act, requiring tobacco manufacturers to include graphic health warnings, a toxic emissions statement and health information messages on tobacco product containersAvailable at: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/pubs/tobac-tabac/rc/index-eng.php; accessed Feb. 18, 2009. |
| Tobacco Program | synonym for Tobacco Control Program |
| Tobacco Promotion | any direct or indirect activity that encourages people to buy, sell and use tobacco products or causes people to think well of tobacco products and the tobacco industryReference: Cohen JE, Planinac LC, Griffin K, Robinson DJ, O’Connor SC, Lavack A, Thompson FE, Di Nardo J. Tobacco promotions at point-of-sale. The last hurrah. Canadian Journal of Public Health 2008;99(3):166-171. |
| Tobacco Retail Display | see Retail Display |
| Tobacco Retail Environment | see Retail Environment |
| Tobacco Retail License | see Retail License |
| Tobacco Retail License Fee | see Retail License Fee |
| Tobacco Retail Outlet | see Retail Outlet |
| Tobacco Smoke Pollution (TSP) | synonym for secondhand smoke especially with reference to the serious health hazard created for children when they are exposed to tobacco smoke in carsReference: Sendzik T, Fong G, Travers MJ, Hyland A. An experimental investigation of tobacco smoke pollution in cars. Special Report. Ontario Tobacco Research Unit, Toronto, March 2008. Available at: http://www.otru.org/pdf/special/special_mar_2008.pdf; accessed Feb. 10, 2009. |
| Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamines (TSNA) | carcinogens found only in tobacco products, which are associated with tumours of the lung, oral cavity, esophagus, pancreas and liverReference: Breland AB, Acosta MC, Eissenberg T. Tobacco specific nitrosamines and potential reduced exposure products for smokers: a preliminary evaluation. Tobacco Control 2003;12:317-321. |
| Tobacco Stick | roll or tubular construction of a smoked tobacco product other than a cigar that requires further preparation before being consumed |
| Tobacco Strategy | synonym for Tobacco Control Strategy |
| Tobacco Tax Act | 1990 Ontario provincial legislation governing numerous aspects of provincial tobacco product taxation, manufacturing, import, export and stamping and marking of tobacco product containersAvailable at: http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90t10_e.htm; accessed Mar. 2, 2009. |
| Tobacco Taxation/Taxes | see Taxation of Tobacco Products |
| Tobacco Test Shopper | see Test Shopper |
| Tobacco Use | use of smoked or smokeless tobacco productsReference: Mills C, Stephens T, Wilkins K. Summary report of the workshop on data for monitoring tobacco use. Chronic Diseases in Canada 1994;15(3):105-110. |
| Tobacconist | retailer who sells tobacco products primarily or exclusively, and who is sometimes exempted from provisions of tobacco control legislation that apply to other tobacco retailers |
| Tombstone Advertising | advertising of tobacco products that is limited to black and white with no use of human or animal images, cartoon characters or music |
| Total n | synonym for Total Sample |
| Total Sample | the total number of survey respondents or other study participants |
| Toxic | poisonous |
| Toxicity | the state of being poisonous or the degree to which something is poisonous, e.g., the toxicity of secondhand smoke |
| Toxin | a poison, e.g., in tobacco smoke, ammonia, carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide, among others (see also Carcinogen) |
| TPM | Total Particulate Matter |
| TPP | Transfer Payment Program, a financial program managed by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)Available at: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/rpp-2005-06/transferpayments-eng.php; accessed Feb. 18, 2009. |
| Tracking and Tracing | an anti-contraband measure recommended by the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) that consists of an effective marking system for tobacco product packaging allowing for close monitoring of shipments of tobacco using special scanners, currently in use in Malaysia and CaliforniaAvailable at: http://www.nsra-adnf.ca/cms/file/pdf/A_DEADLY_THREAT_TO_TAXATION.pdf; accessed Oct. 14, 2009. |
| Trajectory of Tobacco Use | history and pattern of individual smoking behaviour throughout a lifetime, consisting of various dimensions, e.g., smoking initiation, dependence, quit attempts, relapses |
| Transactional Cost | cost associated with a purchase other than actual payment for the product, especially relating to time, hassle and inconvenience, e.g., travel time to a store that sells tobacco products |
| Transdermal | through the skin, e.g., Transdermal Nicotine Patch |
| Transtheoretical Model (TTM) | description of an individual’s motivation and readiness to change a health-related behaviour (e.g., smoking), conceptualized in 6 stages, namely, precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance and terminationReference: Prochaska JO, Velicer WF. The transtheoretical model of health behavior change. American Journal of Health Promotion 1997;12(1):38-48. |
| Trigger | situations, thoughts, feelings or behaviours that triggerthe urge to smoke, e.g., drinking alcohol or coffee (see also Nicotine Craving) |
| TSNA | Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamines |
| TSP | Tobacco Smoke Pollution |
| TTB | official abbreviation of the federal U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau http://www.ustreas.gov/ |
| TTC | Transnational Tobacco Company |
| TTM | Transtheoretical Model |
| Tumour | abnormal mass of tissue that is not inflammatory, arises without obvious cause from cells of pre-existing tissue, possesses no physiologic function, and may be non-cancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant) |
| Twist | a form of smokeless tobacco consisting of braided tobacco leaves that are twisted into a rope while green and then cured in the same manner as other tobacco and consumed by being chewed |
| Type A Carcinogen | class of substance that causes cancer in human beings, e.g., benzene |
Back to top
The OTRU Glossary of Tobacco Control provides brief definitions of over 1,000 tobacco control terms, abbreviations and acronyms. Definitions are based on many sources including dictionaries, legislative texts, websites, reports, books, peer-reviewed journal articles and communications from tobacco control experts. A single definition often reflects material from more than one source.
While we have tried to be comprehensive in producing this resource, the language of tobacco control is constantly evolving and there may be relevant terms that are not listed or terms whose meanings may have changed.
Comments about the glossary or particular definitions are welcome and can be sent to lise_anglin@camh.net. For technical assistance, please contact sonja_johnston@camh.net