Reassessing the VaxTax
To counter the imbalance in vaccine distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic, Albertsen and more recently Germani et al have suggested a new system of taxation coined as ‘VaxTax’ that would force higher-income countries to fund the access of low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to new vaccines in times of pandemic. I will argue that this idea faces numerous challenges of ethical, sociopolitical and economical nature that may hinder any effort to solve the numerous health challenges that LMICs face. I argue that while it is an interesting idea, it is neither sufficient nor will it ever be easily imple...
Source: Journal of Medical Ethics - March 20, 2024 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Petrovic, N. Tags: COVID-19 Current controversy Source Type: research
Enhancing social value considerations in prioritising publicly funded biomedical research: the vital role of peer review
The main goal of publicly funded biomedical research is to generate social value through the creation and application of knowledge that can improve the well-being of current and future people. Prioritising research with the greatest potential social value is crucial for good stewardship of limited public resources and ensuring ethical involvement of research participants. At the National Institutes of Health (NIH), peer reviewers hold the expertise and responsibility for social value assessment and resulting prioritisation at the project level. However, previous research has shown that peer reviewers place more emphasis on...
Source: Journal of Medical Ethics - March 20, 2024 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Saylor, K. W., Joffe, S. Tags: Original research Source Type: research
Tobacco control policy and regulation from diverse perspectives and contexts
This issue brings together studies providing different perspectives of tobacco regulation and policy for cigarettes, heated tobacco products (HTPs), waterpipe tobacco, e-cigarettes and other products. Taxation is cost-effective for governments while reducing smoking prevalence. Ngo et al provide evidence for the underused potential of this policy lever.1 Using the Tobacconomics scorecard and drawing on 2014-2020 data, they show that modest improvement in tax policy scores globally reduced cigarette consumption by 3.27%, but this could have been reduced by 20.74% with optimal tax policies. Low-income and middle-income count...
Source: Tobacco Control - March 19, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Hefler, M. Tags: Open access Editorial Source Type: research
The impact of cigarette prices on smoking onset and cessation: evidence from Vietnam
Conclusion
Vietnam should continue to increase excise taxes on tobacco products to reduce smoking onset. Since smokers are resilient to excise tax increases, other tobacco control policies, such as smoke-free areas and tobacco advertisement bans, should be better enforced to encourage people to quit. Other policies not yet implemented, such as plain packaging of tobacco products, may also encourage smokers to quit. (Source: Tobacco Control)
Source: Tobacco Control - March 19, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Nguyen, C. V., Vellios, N., Nguyen, N. H., Le, T. T. Tags: Original research Source Type: research
Cigarette prices and smoking among adults in eight sub-Saharan African countries: evidence from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey
Conclusions
Higher cigarette prices significantly decrease the likelihood of smoking and decrease the intensity of cigarette consumption among African adults. Increases in the excise tax that increase the retail price of cigarettes will play an important role in reducing adult tobacco use on the continent. Governments are encouraged to increase excise taxes to improve public health. (Source: Tobacco Control)
Source: Tobacco Control - March 19, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Filby, S. Tags: Open access Original research Source Type: research
Impact of waterpipe tobacco taxation on consumption, government revenue and premature deaths averted in Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine: a simulation study
Discussion
Increases in waterpipe tobacco-specific excise taxes substantially reduce smoking and increase government revenue and averted premature deaths in Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. This has positive implications for both public health and financing and should be considered a policy priority. (Source: Tobacco Control)
Source: Tobacco Control - March 19, 2024 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Jawad, M., Awawda, S., Abla, R., Chalak, A., Khader, Y. S., Nakkash, R. T., Mostafa, A., Salloum, R. G., Abu-Rmeileh, N. M. E. Tags: Open access Original research Source Type: research
Towards true prices in food retailing: the value added tax as an instrument transforming agri-food systems
AbstractCurrent crises (i.e., climate crisis, COVID-19 pandemic, Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the resulting energy and food shortages) indicate the need for robust, and sustainable supply chains with regional food production and farmland to secure food supply in the European Union (EU). Recent research shows that organic food is more resilient to supply chain disruptions and price fluctuations. In this context, we examine an approach for the sustainable and resilient transformation of agri-food networks: can an adaptation of value added tax (VAT) levels work as a financial incentive to amplify resilient agricultural pr...
Source: Sustainability Science - March 15, 2024 Category: Science Source Type: research
Effectiveness of the Children's Fitness Tax Credit: A scoping review
CONCLUSION: The CFTC had limited to no impact in promoting PA among Canadian children, particularly for those experiencing low income.PMID:38472639 | DOI:10.17269/s41997-024-00861-1 (Source: Canadian Journal of Public Health)
Source: Canadian Journal of Public Health - March 13, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: John C Spence Amie Mangan Allison Sivak Source Type: research
Effectiveness of the Children's Fitness Tax Credit: A scoping review
CONCLUSION: The CFTC had limited to no impact in promoting PA among Canadian children, particularly for those experiencing low income.PMID:38472639 | DOI:10.17269/s41997-024-00861-1 (Source: Canadian Journal of Public Health)
Source: Canadian Journal of Public Health - March 13, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: John C Spence Amie Mangan Allison Sivak Source Type: research
News at a glance: Methane-hunting satellite, Elsevier ’s earnings, and protecting Kinsey
ENVIRONMENT
White House wants to weigh ecosystem benefits
President Joe Biden’s administration published guidance last week for U.S. federal agencies to weigh benefits to human health and welfare provided by natural resources when considering whether to undertake or approve actions that could harm them. These “ecosystem benefits” include clean water and air and intangible perks such as spiritual connections to nature. Until now, federal rules have required agencies to analyze costs and benefits when building roads or issuing permits for logging or mining, for example, but did not explicitly men...
Source: Science of Aging Knowledge Environment - March 7, 2024 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
Landscaping analysis of immunization progress and program structures in selected middle income Southeast Asian countries
This study examined the performance and structures of national immunization program in five middle-income Southeast Asian countries - Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Viet Nam, and Myanmar, and analyzed how the different structures relate to the difference in program performance to identify effective strategies in the study countries that facilitated good immunization performance. Data were derived from published literature, and WHO/UNICEF/Gavi databases, with 2010 as the baseline year. UMICs Malaysia and Thailand maintained ≥90 % coverage from 2010 to 2020 and even during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. LMICs Viet Nam an...
Source: Vaccine - March 6, 2024 Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Jessabelle E Basa Ralf Clemens Sue Ann Costa Clemens Martin Nicholson Source Type: research
Landscaping analysis of immunization progress and program structures in selected middle income Southeast Asian countries
This study examined the performance and structures of national immunization program in five middle-income Southeast Asian countries - Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Viet Nam, and Myanmar, and analyzed how the different structures relate to the difference in program performance to identify effective strategies in the study countries that facilitated good immunization performance. Data were derived from published literature, and WHO/UNICEF/Gavi databases, with 2010 as the baseline year. UMICs Malaysia and Thailand maintained ≥90 % coverage from 2010 to 2020 and even during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. LMICs Viet Nam an...
Source: Vaccine - March 6, 2024 Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Jessabelle E Basa Ralf Clemens Sue Ann Costa Clemens Martin Nicholson Source Type: research
Evaluating and Improving the Metropolitan Economic Freedom Index
This study investigates the statistical consistency of MEFI through Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Multiple models investigate current variable selection by providing a potentially better indicator of labor market freedom, aggregation assumptions by removing the requirements for fixed and equal weights, and statistical consistency by evaluating the fit between the data and models. Results indicate that the current MEFI model is not statistically consistent with the data, that weighting of variables should not be equal, that variable selection should be investigated, and that constructs should be re-imagined. The models inve...
Source: Social Indicators Research - March 4, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research
Deaths from Excessive Alcohol Use - United States, 2016-2021
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2024 Feb 29;73(8):154-161. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7308a1.ABSTRACTDeaths from causes fully attributable to alcohol use have increased during the past 2 decades in the United States, particularly from 2019 to 2020, concurrent with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, previous studies of trends have not assessed underlying causes of deaths that are partially attributable to alcohol use, such as injuries or certain types of cancer. CDC's Alcohol-Related Disease Impact application was used to estimate the average annual number and age-standardized rate of deaths from excessive alcohol use in the...
Source: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkl... - February 29, 2024 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Marissa B Esser Adam Sherk Yong Liu Timothy S Naimi Source Type: research
Emotional modulation of memorability in mnemonic discrimination
Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2024 Feb 27:107904. doi: 10.1016/j.nlm.2024.107904. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTAlthough elements such as emotion may serve to enhance or impair memory for images, some images are consistently remembered or forgotten by most people, an intrinsic characteristic of images known as memorability. Memorability explains some of the variability in memory performance, however, the underlying mechanisms of memorability remain unclear. It is known that emotional valence can increase the memorability of an experience, but how these two elements interact is still unknown. Hippocampal pattern separation, a comput...
Source: Neurobiology of Learning and Memory - February 29, 2024 Category: Neurology Authors: Fernanda Morales-Calva Stephanie L Leal Source Type: research
