scholarly journals Australia’s $40 per pack cigarette tax plans: the need to consider equity

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine T Hirono ◽  
Katherine E Smith
Keyword(s):  
Family Income ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Illicit Trade ◽  
The Public ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Cigarette Tax ◽  
Tobacco Tax ◽  
The Cost

In May 2016, the Australian Government announced that it would implement annual increases in tobacco excise of 12.5% up to and including 2020, raising the cost of a pack of cigarettes to $A40. This increase will lead to Australia having one of the highest prices of cigarettes in the world. Increasing the cost of tobacco is considered by public health experts to be one of the most effective strategies to reduce tobacco use, and is generally well supported by the public. However, tobacco tax increases differentially impact various subgroups of the population. Based on a review of existing literature, this paper examines some of the potential (unintended) consequences of the tax to individual and family income; illicit trade; social stigma and opportunities for lobbying by the tobacco industry. In light of these considerations, we offer strategies that might be used by policymakers to mitigate potential harms. While this paper focuses on the impacts primarily on populations in Australia, the consequences and strategies offered may be useful to other countries implementing tobacco excise increases.

scholarly journals IMPLEMENTASI PENGALOKASIAN DANA PAJAK (EARMARKING TAX) DARI PENERIMAAN PAJAK ROKOK TERHADAP UPAYA KESEHATAN MASYARAKAT DI PROVINSI SULAWESI UTARA

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
Damayanti Rante Tambing ◽  
David Saerang ◽  
Heince Wokas
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Tax Policy ◽  
Public Health Service ◽  
Public Health Services ◽  
The Public ◽  
North Sulawesi ◽  
Cigarette Tax ◽  
Tobacco Tax ◽  
Public Health Effort

The cigarette tax is applied in the province of North Sulawesi in 2014. Cigarette tax is a regulate tax that is specific to the health, then the purpose of applying cigarette tax is to protect the public against the dangers of cigarettes. Therefore, cigarette tax in earmarking tax policy is allocated at least 50% for public health service. The purpose of this study is to analyze the implementation of earmarking tax of Cigarettes tax to public health services in North Sulawesi Province has been in accordance with applicable legislation. The method used is descriptive qualitative. The results of this study can be seen that for the year 2016, earmarking tax policy of tobacco tax has not been applied in accordance with the appropriate. This is because spending on public health efforts has not reached the minimum value of 50% of tax revenues for provinces. Earmarking tax in North Sulawesi province runs with revenue and expenditure budget system (APBD), which is implemented through the regional public treasury account (RKUD) in terms of income and expenditure. Dinas Kesehatan as an agency that budgeted for public health effort would improve public health service standard by maximizing spending for the designation. Agencies related to the cigarette tax budgeting policy would prescribe standard operating procedures so that control over these policies can be done as appropriateKeywords: Earmarking tax policy, cigarette tax

Marginal cost of multiple nomenclature conventions for SARS-CoV-2 variants (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiwen Hu ◽  
Zhangqiu Huang ◽  
Qihao Hu ◽  
Mengting Liu ◽  
Haihua Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Social Stigma ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Online News ◽  
Scientometric Analysis ◽  
Visual Narratives ◽  
Standard Nomenclature ◽  
The Public ◽  
Genomic Epidemiology ◽  
Analysis Experiment ◽  
The Cost

BACKGROUND Scientists placed less aligned emphasis on naming the emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, and yet a holistic standard nomenclature scheme for viral variants remains to be fleshed out and full-fledged. In the context of the COVID-19 infodemic, the global profusion of stigmatizing geographical names for those variants have found their way into daily communication at the cost of social stigma in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE This study examines why standard nomenclature for SARS-CoV-2 variants rises to the occasion, as well as the rational principles of a curated nomenclature framework for viral variants and abbreviations. METHODS In the scientometric analysis experiment, we retrieved the metadata of 693 articles from the Web of Science Core Collections between 30 December 2019 and 25 March 2021, to demonstrate the stigmatizing geographical names of SARS-CoV-2 variants in the scientific sphere. In the global online news coverage experiments, we examined the compiled global online news volumes and emotional tones between December 2019 and May 2021 to demonstrate the emotional polarity of the contextualizing stigma over time. The results could cover 65 multilingual textual and visual narratives by leveraging the capacity of GDELT’s machine translation and neural network image recognition. In the genomic epidemiology experiment, we reproduced the genomic epidemiology of evolutionary SARS-CoV-2 exemplified by 3955 genomes from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic based on the Nextstrain database. RESULTS The results of the scientometric analysis show that some racial stereotypes of SARS-CoV-2 variants like “UK variant” have found their way in scientific literature. The global online news coverage experiments also indicate that such flawed word-blends are widely professed in news outlets in 65 different languages. After December 2020, those contextualizing stigmas in textual and visual narratives with extremely negative tones are fuelling the current COVID-19 infodemic in up to 100 countries. The genomic epidemiology experiment exemplifies that simply distinguishing variants based on the presumed locations would introduce new confusions in both the scientific sphere and the public. CONCLUSIONS The surveys suggest that current collective propensities to contextualizing stigmas would result in social costs, without a one-size-fits-all nomenclature framework for SARS-CoV-2 variants. Such urgent concern that evoked by multiple nomenclature conventions needs coordinated global responses. As an integral component of preparedness, we propose the rational principles of a standard nomenclature framework for viral variants and abbreviations based on heuristic introspection of naming practices for viral variants.

A comparison of the cost of research in South Africa's public research and higher education institutions

2008 ◽  
Vol 104 (11/12) ◽  
Author(s):  
D.R. Walwyn
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Public Research ◽  
Pricing Policy ◽  
The Public ◽  
Annual Salary ◽  
Research Sector ◽  
Salary Survey ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Comparative Information

Despite the importance of labour and overhead costs to both funders and performers of research in South Africa, there is little published information on the remuneration structures for researchers, technician and research support staff. Moreover, there are widely different pricing practices and perceptions within the public research and higher education institutions, which in some cases do not reflect the underlying costs to the institution or the inherent value of the research. In this article, data from the 2004/5 Research and Development Survey have been used to generate comparative information on the cost of research in various performance sectors. It is shown that this cost is lowest in the higher education institutions, and highest in the business sector, although the differences in direct labour and overheads are not as large as may have been expected. The calculated cost of research is then compared with the gazetted rates for engineers, scientists and auditors performing work on behalf of the public sector, which in all cases are higher than the research sector. This analysis emphasizes the need within the public research and higher education institutions for the development of a common pricing policy and for an annual salary survey, in order to dispel some of the myths around the relative costs of research, the relative levels of overhead ratios and the apparent disparity in remuneration levels.

The Internet Trap

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Hindman
Keyword(s):  
The Internet ◽  
Net Neutrality ◽  
The Public ◽  
Attention Economy ◽  
Digital News ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Over Time

The Internet was supposed to fragment audiences and make media monopolies impossible. Instead, behemoths like Google and Facebook now dominate the time we spend online—and grab all the profits from the attention economy. This book explains how this happened. It sheds light on the stunning rise of the digital giants and the online struggles of nearly everyone else—and reveals what small players can do to survive in a game that is rigged against them. The book shows how seemingly tiny advantages in attracting users can snowball over time. The Internet has not reduced the cost of reaching audiences—it has merely shifted who pays and how. Challenging some of the most enduring myths of digital life, the book explains why the Internet is not the postindustrial technology that has been sold to the public, how it has become mathematically impossible for grad students in a garage to beat Google, and why net neutrality alone is no guarantee of an open Internet. It also explains why the challenges for local digital news outlets and other small players are worse than they appear and demonstrates what it really takes to grow a digital audience and stay alive in today's online economy. The book shows why, even on the Internet, there is still no such thing as a free audience.

The Awareness Level of the Safety and Health of the Operational Level

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Roshanira Che Mohd Noor ◽  
Nur Atiqah Rochin Demong
Keyword(s):  
Health And Safety ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Operational Level ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Health Factors ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Awareness Level

Providing a safe and healthy workplace is one of the most effective strategies in for holding down the cost of doing construction business. It was a part of the overall management system to facilitate themanagement of the occupational health and safety risk that are associated with the business of the organization. Factors affected the awareness level inclusive of safety and health conditions, dangerous working area, long wait care and services and lack of emergency communication werethe contributed factors to the awareness level for the operational level. Total of 122 incidents happened at Telekom Malaysia Berhad as compared to year 2015 only 86 cases. Thus, the main objective of this study was to determine the relationship between safety and health factors and the awareness level among operational workers.The determination of this research was to increase the awareness level among the operational level workerswho committing to safety and health environment.

Assessing the quality of public health in the Russian Federation and Israel: Main problems and solutions

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 618-632
Author(s):  
A.S. Panchenko
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Population Based ◽  
The Public ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life ◽  
Problems And Solutions ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life Year ◽  
Practical Recommendations

Subject. The article addresses the public health in the Russian Federation and Israel. Objectives. The focus is on researching the state of public health in Russia and Israel, using the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project methodology, identifying problem areas and searching for possible ways to improve the quality of health of the Russian population based on the experience of Israel. Methods. The study draws on the ideology of the GBD project, which is based on the Disability-Adjusted Life-Year (DALY) metric. Results. The paper reveals the main causes of DALY losses and important risk factors for cancer for Russia and Israel. The findings show that the total DALY losses for Russia exceed Israeli values. The same is true for cancer diseases. Conclusions. Activities in Israel aimed at improving the quality of public health, the effectiveness of which has been proven, can serve as practical recommendations for Russia. The method of analysis, using the ideology of the GBD project, can be used as a tool for quantitative and comparative assessment of the public health.

Strategy for Protecting the North Sea: A Chemical Industry Perspective

1991 ◽  
Vol 24 (10) ◽  
pp. 269-276
Author(s):  
J. R. Lawrence ◽  
N. C. D. Craig
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Chemical Industry ◽  
Important Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
The North ◽  
Anthropogenic Inputs ◽  
Seven Principles ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Cost

The public has ever-rising expectations for the environmental quality of the North Sea and hence of everreducing anthropogenic inputs; by implication society must be willing to accept the cost of reduced contamination. The chemical industry accepts that it has an important part to play in meeting these expectations, but it is essential that proper scientific consideration is given to the potential transfer of contamination from one medium to another before changes are made. A strategy for North Sea protection is put forward as a set of seven principles that must govern the management decisions that are made. Some areas of uncertainty are identified as important research targets. It is concluded that although there have been many improvements over the last two decades, there is more to be done. A systematic and less emotive approach is required to continue the improvement process.

Summary and conclusions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas F. Babor ◽  
Jonathan Caulkins ◽  
Benedikt Fischer ◽  
David Foxcroft ◽  
Keith Humphreys ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
International Organizations ◽  
Drug Policy ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Public Health Approach ◽  
Drug Supply ◽  
The Public ◽  
Balanced Approach

Among the 47 options reviewed in this book, most show some evidence of effectiveness in at least one country, but the evidence is less than definitive for many others, either because the interventions are ineffective, or the research is inadequate. Unfortunately, policies that have shown little or no evidence of effectiveness continue to be the preferred options of many countries and international organizations. The evidence reviewed in this book supports two overarching conclusions. First, an integrated and balanced approach to evidence-informed drug policy is more likely to benefit the public good than uncoordinated efforts to reduce drug supply and demand. Second, by shifting the emphasis toward a public health approach, it may be possible to reduce the extent of illicit drug use, prevent the escalation of new epidemics, and avoid the unintended consequences arising from the marginalization of drug users through severe criminal penalties.

scholarly journals Punishment Strategies across Societies: Conventional Wisdoms Reconsidered

Games ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Ramzi Suleiman ◽  
Yuval Samid
Keyword(s):  
Public Goods ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Public Goods Game ◽  
The Public ◽  
Free Riders ◽  
The World ◽  
Emergence Of Cooperation ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Cost

Experiments using the public goods game have repeatedly shown that in cooperative social environments, punishment makes cooperation flourish, and withholding punishment makes cooperation collapse. In less cooperative social environments, where antisocial punishment has been detected, punishment was detrimental to cooperation. The success of punishment in enhancing cooperation was explained as deterrence of free riders by cooperative strong reciprocators, who were willing to pay the cost of punishing them, whereas in environments in which punishment diminished cooperation, antisocial punishment was explained as revenge by low cooperators against high cooperators suspected of punishing them in previous rounds. The present paper reconsiders the generality of both explanations. Using data from a public goods experiment with punishment, conducted by the authors on Israeli subjects (Study 1), and from a study published in Science using sixteen participant pools from cities around the world (Study 2), we found that: 1. The effect of punishment on the emergence of cooperation was mainly due to contributors increasing their cooperation, rather than from free riders being deterred. 2. Participants adhered to different contribution and punishment strategies. Some cooperated and did not punish (‘cooperators’); others cooperated and punished free riders (‘strong reciprocators’); a third subgroup punished upward and downward relative to their own contribution (‘norm-keepers’); and a small sub-group punished only cooperators (‘antisocial punishers’). 3. Clear societal differences emerged in the mix of the four participant types, with high-contributing pools characterized by higher ratios of ‘strong reciprocators’, and ‘cooperators’, and low-contributing pools characterized by a higher ratio of ‘norm keepers’. 4. The fraction of ‘strong reciprocators’ out of the total punishers emerged as a strong predictor of the groups’ level of cooperation and success in providing the public goods.

scholarly journals The association between varying levels of palliative care involvement on costs during terminal hospitalizations in Canada from 2012 to 2015

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarina R. Isenberg ◽  
Christopher Meaney ◽  
Peter May ◽  
Peter Tanuseputro ◽  
Kieran Quinn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Metastatic Cancer ◽  
Estimating Equation ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Chronic Obstructive ◽  
Discharge Abstract Database ◽  
High Involvement ◽  
Hospitalization Costs ◽  
The Cost

Abstract Background Inpatient palliative care is associated with lower inpatient costs; however, this has yet to be studied using a more nuanced, multi-tiered measure of inpatient palliative care and a national population-representative dataset. Using a population-based cohort of Canadians who died in hospital, our objectives were to: describe patients’ receipt of palliative care and active interventions in their terminal hospitalization; and examine the relationship between inpatient palliative care and hospitalization costs. Methods Retrospective cohort study using data from the Discharge Abstract Database in Canada between fiscal years 2012 and 2015. The cohort were Canadian adults (age ≥ 18 years) who died in hospital between April 1st, 2012 and March 31st, 2015 (N = 250,640). The exposure was level of palliative care involvement defined as: medium-high, low, or no palliative care. The main measure was acute care costs calculated using resource intensity weights multiplied by the cost of standard hospital stay, represented in 2014 Canadian dollars (CAD). Descriptive statistics were represented as median (IQR), and n(%). We modelled cost as a function of palliative care using a gamma generalized estimating equation (GEE) model, accounting for clustering by hospital. Results There were 250,640 adults who died in hospital. Mean age was 76 (SD 14), 47% were female. The most common comorbidities were: metastatic cancer (21%), heart failure (21%), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (16%). Of the decedents, 95,450 (38%) had no palliative care involvement, 98,849 (38%) received low involvement, and 60,341 (24%) received medium to high involvement. Controlling for age, sex, province and predicted hospital mortality risk at admission, the cost per day of a terminal hospitalization was: $1359 (95% CI 1323: 1397) (no involvement), $1175 (95% CI 1146: 1206) (low involvement), and $744 (95% CI 728: 760) (medium-high involvement). Conclusions Increased involvement of palliative care was associated with lower costs. Future research should explore whether this relationship holds for non-terminal hospitalizations, and whether palliative care in other settings impacts inpatient costs.

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