Senior Fellow Takahiro Tabuchi has published a number of public-health-related papers in leading journals on such topics as tobacco control, alcohol use, and epidemiology.

In BMJ Open, he reports on a cohort study assessing the outcomes of a telemedicine smoking cessation program, in which he points out that those who only used heated tobacco products (HTP) achieved higher rates of continuous abstinence than cigarette smokers but that the rate was lower for dual HTP-cigarette users.

Also in BMJ Open, he shares the findings of an Internet survey that revealed that burnout was prevalent among both health-care workers and the general working population in Japan during the pandemic, highlighting the need for targeted interventions aimed at burnout prevention.

Using data from a web survey conducted in 2022, he writes in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research that more than half of the respondents consumed strong chu-hai, a new ready-to-drink, premixed high-alcohol beverage, suggesting risks for hazardous and harmful alcohol use.

A cohort study conducted with data from an Internet survey in 2021 and 2022 in Japan examined the association between loneliness and alcohol dependence. In the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, he notes that while high-risk drinkers and those with alcohol dependence were assessed with the highest loneliness scores, nondrinkers also reported greater loneliness than low- and medium-risk drinkers.

And in BMJ Open, Tabuchi and his co-authors, including Research Director Masaharu Tsubokura, reported that while there was limited postponement of elective surgery during Japan’s first COVID wave, the declaration of a state of emergency increased the likelihood of postponement.

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“Outcomes of a telemedicine smoking cessation programme for heated tobacco product users in Japan: a retrospective cohort study,” BMJ Open
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/12/e063489

“Burnout and its associated factors among healthcare workers and the general working population in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide cross-sectional internet-based study,” BMJ Open
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36424113/

“Strong chū-hai, a Japanese ready-to-drink high-alcohol-content beverage, and hazardous alcohol use: A nationwide cross-sectional study,” Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36478596/

“Loneliness and Increased Hazardous Alcohol Use: Data from a Nationwide Internet Survey with 1-Year Follow-Up,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36231395/

“Association between COVID-19 incidence and postponement or cancellation of elective surgeries in Japan until September 2020: a cross-sectional, web-based survey,” BMJ Open
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36216420/

Profile of Senior Fellow Takahiro Tabuchi
https://www.tokyofoundation.org/experts/detail.php?id=676

Profile of Research Director Masaharu Tsubokura
https://www.tokyofoundation.org/experts/detail.php?id=679