Funding for this research was provided by:
Cancer Research UK (C27061/A18679 and C27061/A24481)
British Heart Foundation (PG/16/56/32246)
Article History
Received: 30 May 2018
Accepted: 16 January 2019
First Online: 4 February 2019
Authors’ information
: CS is a male PhD student at University College London. He attended and completed a five-day training course in qualitative research methods before the focus groups were conducted.AM is a female professor in tobacco control at King’s College London.LK is a male PhD student at University College London.LS is a senior lecturer (associate professor) at University College London.
: Participants received information sheets outlining the study and provided written consent before focus groups commenced. The study was approved by the University College London (UCL) ethics committee (application reference 10,093/001).
: Not applicable.
: LS is a HEFCE funded member of staff at University College London. He has received honoraria for talks, an unrestricted research grant and travel expenses to attend meetings and workshops from Pfizer and an honorarium to sit on advisory panel from Johnson&Johnson, both pharmaceutical companies that make smoking cessation products. He has acted as paid reviewer for grant awarding bodies and as a paid consultant for health care companies. Other research has been funded by the government, a community-interested company (National Centre for Smoking Cessation) and charitable sources. He has never received personal fees or research funding of any kind from alcohol, electronic cigarette or tobacco companies.CS is a male PhD student at University College London. Before this post, he was an honorary Assistant Psychologist for a community forensic psychological treatment service and so was known to one focus group of the present study. The other authors have no competing interests to declare.
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