The Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group, based at the University of Oxford in the UK, is one of the oldest groups working on Cochrane Reviews. It has produced dozens of these during the last two decades and in 2016, it embarked on a project to identify the top priorities for future research into tobacco control. 

The Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group's research prioritization exercise involved more than 300 people and identified a total of 183 unanswered questions in tobacco control through two online surveys and an Oxford-based workshop. It identified 24 priority questions, grouped into eight priority themes. This new set of research priorities to support tobacco control will help ensure future research provides the greatest benefit to public health and value for money.

"The range, appearance, and accessibility of tobacco products has changed significantly in recent years," said Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, Senior Researcher and Managing Editor in the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group, which is based in Oxford University's Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences. "Technology has given rise to new ways of delivering nicotine that can help reduce the harms associated with traditional cigarettes.

"To ensure our research continues to address the contemporary issues in tobacco control, we aimed to develop a set of research priorities that represent the views of the widest group possible."

• Read about the findings of the Tobacco Addition Priorities Report
• Read the full report: Setting research priorities in tobacco control: A stakeholder engagement project
• Read the press release from the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford
• Listen to the podcast about how priorities were set and what it covers with Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, Senior Researcher and Managing Editor in the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group
• Learn more about the Priority Setting project
• Learn more about the Priority Setting Workshop
• Visit the Cochrane Tobacco Addition Group website