Kenneth Michael Cummings, Ph.D.

My training and research interests are in the in the study of health behaviors, especially tobacco use prevention and cessation. Over my 40+ year career I have directed more than 70 grants and contracts, have had continuous grant support from NIH dating back to 1983, and have published more than 600 scientific papers on a wide range of topics related to tobacco prevention and control. My research interests in the field of tobacco control have included studies evaluating methods for smoking cessation, consumer risk perceptions, tobacco product marketing and predictors of product uptake, the impact of tobacco product designs on smoking behaviors and health risks, tobacco industry documents, the role of public policies on tobacco use behaviors, and epidemiology of tobacco use and cancer and other health risks. I currently manage a large multi-institution P01 exploring how differences in tobacco use behaviors across different countries influence disease risks and are mediated by national level tobacco control policies including policies implemented as part of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Recent work has focused on evaluating the behavioral impact of restricting the marketing of menthol in cigarettes and other flavors in different types of tobacco products (i.e., cigars, e-cigarettes).