Brittney Keller-Hamilton, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor
Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Center for Tobacco Research
Q: Please describe your current position and research interests.
A: My research lab is broadly focused on figuring out the best way to regulate oral nicotine and tobacco products to promote public health. Our focus on oral nicotine and tobacco products stems from our interest in reducing cancer disparities between Appalachian and non-Appalachian areas of the United States.
Q: What do you think is an emerging issue related to nicotine and tobacco?
A: I appreciate that a lot of our current studies at OSU are zeroing in on the specific characteristics of nicotine that drive the use of tobacco products. For example, in nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes, we’re not just looking at their total nicotine strength, but also the amount of nicotine that is freebase and the amount of nicotine that is the S- vs. R- isomer. This will allow us to provide comprehensive evidence for regulation that promotes public health.
Q: What advice or tips would you offer to new nicotine and tobacco researchers?
A: It might seem counterintuitive, but reading about the tobacco industry’s strategies can be a helpful way to approach tobacco control. Learning about how the industry manipulated the nicotine form and length of tobacco leaf in moist snuff (“dip”) to increase its addictive potential gave me an idea for a grant application, which got funded. That research is investigating how nicotine form and the length of the tobacco leaf could be targets of tobacco regulation aiming to reduce moist snuff use and improve health equity in Appalachia.
Q: How did you first become interested in nicotine and tobacco research?
A: I got a job! When I finished my MPH degree, I was hired to work as a program manager on OSU’s first TCORS (Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science). That was my first exposure to nicotine and tobacco research, and once I crested the learning curve, I found the work to be satisfying. It isn’t often that there is a clear “villain” in a public health problem. When I became aware of how rich the tobacco industry got by selling deadly products to the public—driving health disparities along the way—the work became even more motivating.
Q: Describe one of your projects related to nicotine and tobacco research and why you are proud of the project.
A: Soon, we are expecting to start a study that compares smoking reduction outcomes between nicotine pouches (e.g., Zyn) and medicinal nicotine replacement therapy in rural Appalachia. I can’t wait to start this study, because it’s a win-win: If nicotine pouches reduce smoking better than nicotine replacement therapy, then we found a new way to reduce the harms of cigarette smoking in a population that continues to experience a disparately high prevalence of lung cancer. If nicotine pouches do not reduce smoking any better than nicotine replacement therapy, then we’ve provided evidence that nicotine pouches provide no harm reduction benefit and should potentially be removed from the market to protect youth from nicotine addiction.
Q: What do you do in your spare time (what are your hobbies)?
A: I love to read: I am always reading at least one fiction book, and I read a handful of non-fiction books each year, often on US history or science. I really enjoy running as well, especially when it’s freezing cold outside.