Taxes, Cigarette Consumption, and Smoking Intensity

This paper analyses the compensatory behavior of smokers. Exploiting data on cotinine concentration—a metabolite of nicotine—measured in a large population of smokers over time, we show that smokers compensate for tax hikes by extracting more nicotine per cigarette. Our study makes two important contributions. First, as smoking a given cigarette more intensively is detrimental to health, our results question the usefulness of tax increases. Second, we develop a model of rational addiction where agents can also adjust their intensity of smoking, and we show that the previous empirical results suffer from estimation biases.

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Taxes, Cigarette Consumption, and Smoking Intensity: Comment

The American Economic Review ◽

10.1257/aer.102.4.1751 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 102 (4) ◽

pp. 1751-1763 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Jason Abrevaya ◽

Laura Puzzello

Keyword(s):

Cigarette Consumption ◽

Standard Errors ◽

Sampling Weights ◽

Compensatory Behavior ◽

Smoking Intensity ◽

Cigarette Taxes ◽

Larger Sample ◽

Cigarette Prices

This paper re-examines Adda and Cornaglia's (2006) evidence on the compensatory behavior of smokers who, in face of higher taxes, are found to reduce their consumption of cigarettes while maintaining their cotinine––a biomarker for nicotine––levels constant. This comment examines the robustness of the empirical findings in Adda and Cornaglia (2006) using: appropriate clustered standard errors, a larger sample from the same years and survey as the data in Adda and Cornaglia (2006), cigarette-prices instead of and in addition to cigarette-taxes, and sampling weights. The empirical findings of Adda and Cornaglia (2006) are not robust. Further, little systematic evidence of compensatory behavior is found among subsamples of smokers

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The New Economic Populism and the Future of Inequality in the United States

10.1093/oso/9780190671013.003.0008 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

William W. Franko ◽

Christopher Witko

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Federal Government ◽

Labor Unions ◽

Republican Party ◽

The United States ◽

The Public ◽

Empirical Results ◽

Income Disparities ◽

The Face ◽

Over Time

The authors conclude the book by recapping their arguments and empirical results, and discussing the possibilities for the “new economic populism” to promote egalitarian economic outcomes in the face of continuing gridlock and the dominance of Washington, DC’s policymaking institutions by business and the wealthy, and a conservative Republican Party. Many states are actually addressing inequality now, and these policies are working. Admittedly, many states also continue to embrace the policies that have contributed to growing inequality, such as tax cuts for the wealthy or attempting to weaken labor unions. But as the public grows more concerned about inequality, the authors argue, policies that help to address these income disparities will become more popular, and policies that exacerbate inequality will become less so. Over time, if history is a guide, more egalitarian policies will spread across the states, and ultimately to the federal government.

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Trends in the Prevalence of Dementia in Japan

International Journal of Alzheimer s Disease ◽

10.1155/2012/956354 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Hiroko H. Dodge ◽

Teresa J. Buracchio ◽

Gwenith G. Fisher ◽

Yutaka Kiyohara ◽

Kenichi Meguro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Diagnostic Criteria ◽

Large Population ◽

National Level ◽

Population Attributable Risk ◽

Vascular Diseases ◽

Epidemiological Studies ◽

Regional Variability ◽

Large Variability ◽

Dementia Prevalence ◽

Over Time

There is a paucity of data regarding trends in dementia and its subtype prevalence in Japan. Our aims in the current paper are to: (1) summarize epidemiological studies of dementia in Japan including relevant details of study protocol and diagnostic criteria, (2) compare the age-specific prevalence of all-cause dementia among studies, and (3) assess the trends in Alzheimer's disease (AD) versus vascular dementia (VaD) over time. We reviewed diagnostic criteria, all-cause dementia prevalence, and the AD/VaD ratio from 8 large population studies of dementia in Japan. Compared with the Okinawa 1992 study, studies conducted in 1994, 1998, 2005, and 2008 had a higher prevalence of all-cause dementia using Poisson regression models, after controlling for age and sex. In contrast to the US and some European countries, all-cause dementia prevalence is increasing in Japan. The prevalence of AD as opposed to VaD seems to be increasing over time, but large variability in diagnostic criteria, possible regional variability, and differences in prevalence of subtypes of dementia between men and women make it difficult to draw a conclusion about this trend at the national level. Further studies, for example, comparing the population attributable risk of vascular diseases to the prevalence and incidence of dementia could help to clarify the regional variations in etiological subtypes.

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Patterns of Survival Among Patients With Myeloproliferative Neoplasms Diagnosed in Sweden From 1973 to 2008: A Population-Based Study

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2012.42.1925 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 30 (24) ◽

pp. 2995-3001 ◽

Cited By ~ 112

Author(s):

Malin Hultcrantz ◽

Sigurdur Yngvi Kristinsson ◽

Therese M.-L. Andersson ◽

Ola Landgren ◽

Sandra Eloranta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Life Expectancy ◽

Excess Mortality ◽

Myeloproliferative Neoplasms ◽

Treatment Options ◽

Large Population ◽

Relative Survival ◽

Population Based ◽

Population Based Study ◽

Over Time

PurposeReported survival in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) shows great variation. Patients with primary myelofibrosis (PMF) have substantially reduced life expectancy, whereas patients with polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET) have moderately reduced survival in most, but not all, studies. We conducted a large population-based study to establish patterns of survival in more than 9,000 patients with MPNs.Patients and MethodsWe identified 9,384 patients with MPNs (from the Swedish Cancer Register) diagnosed from 1973 to 2008 (divided into four calendar periods) with follow-up to 2009. Relative survival ratios (RSRs) and excess mortality rate ratios were computed as measures of survival.ResultsPatient survival was considerably lower in all MPN subtypes compared with expected survival in the general population, reflected in 10-year RSRs of 0.64 (95% CI, 0.62 to 0.67) in patients with PV, 0.68 (95% CI, 0.64 to 0.71) in those with ET, and 0.21 (95% CI, 0.18 to 0.25) in those with PMF. Excess mortality was observed in patients with any MPN subtype during all four calendar periods (P < .001). Survival improved significantly over time (P < .001); however, the improvement was less pronounced after the year 2000 and was confined to patients with PV and ET.ConclusionWe found patients with any MPN subtype to have significantly reduced life expectancy compared with the general population. The improvement over time is most likely explained by better overall clinical management of patients with MPN. The decreased life expectancy even in the most recent calendar period emphasizes the need for new treatment options for these patients.

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Abstract P602: Stroke Risk Factors Among the Young Over Time in the GCNKSS

Stroke ◽

10.1161/str.52.suppl_1.p602 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 52 (Suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Tracy E Madsen ◽

Jane C Khoury ◽

Kathleen S Alwell ◽

Opeolu M Adeoye ◽

Felipe De Los Rios La Rosa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Risk Factor ◽

Stroke Risk ◽

Large Population ◽

High Cholesterol ◽

Stroke Incidence ◽

Stroke Risk Factors ◽

Obesity And Diabetes ◽

Trends Over Time ◽

Over Time

Background: Data from the Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky Stroke Study (GCNKSS) have demonstrated stable or increasing stroke incidence rates in young adults with differences by sex and race, suggesting the need for targeted approaches to stroke prevention in the young. We aimed to describe trends over time in prevalence of stroke risk factors among adults ages 20-54 with stroke by sex and race. Methods: Cases of incident stroke (IS, ICH, SAH) occurring in those 20-54 years old and living in a 5-county area of southern Ohio/northern Kentucky were ascertained during 5 study periods (1993-1994, 1999, 2005, 2010, 2015). All physician-adjudicated inpatient events and a sampling of outpatient events were included, excluding nursing home events. Data on risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, obesity (BMI≥30), and high cholesterol) diagnosed prior to stroke were abstracted from medical records, and prevalence of each risk factor was reported over time in race/sex groups. Trends over time were examined using the Cochran-Armitage test. Results: Over the 5 study periods, 1204 incident strokes were included; 49% were women, 33% were black, and mean age was 46 (SD 7) years. Premorbid hypertension increased over time in Black women (48% in 1993/4 to 76% in 2015, p=0.005) but not in any other race/sex group (all p>0.05). Premorbid high cholesterol increased significantly in all race/sex groups (Figure, all p<0.05) except for White men (p=0.06). There were no significant trends over time in pre-stroke diagnoses of diabetes or obesity in any of the race/sex groups (Figure). Conclusions: Among patients aged 20-54 with incident stroke in a large population-based study, the change in the prevalence of hypertension and high cholesterol differed by sex and race, while obesity and diabetes were stable over time in all race/sex groups. Future research is needed to address risk factor control at a population level and to understand the role of undiagnosed pre-stroke risk factors in the young.

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Some Empirical Results Concerning Causal Learning and Representation

10.1093/oso/9780197585412.003.0005 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 169-226

Author(s):

James Woodward

Keyword(s):

Young Children ◽

Nonhuman Primate ◽

Causal Learning ◽

Additional Structure ◽

Empirical Results ◽

Adult Human ◽

Causal Representation ◽

Adult Humans ◽

Causal Cognition ◽

Over Time

This chapter explores some empirical results bearing on the descriptive and normative adequacy of different accounts of causal learning and representation. It begins by contrasting associative accounts with accounts that attribute additional structure to causal representation, arguing in favor of the latter. Empirical results supporting the claim that adult humans often reason about causal relationships using interventionist counterfactuals are presented. Contrasts between human and nonhuman primate causal cognition are also discussed, as well as some experiments concerning causal cognition in young children. A proposal about what is involved in having adult human causal representations is presented and some issues about how these might develop over time are explored.

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The Economics of Viral Outbreaks

AEA Papers and Proceedings ◽

10.1257/pandp.20201016 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 110 ◽

pp. 265-268 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Imran Rasul

Keyword(s):

Social Interaction ◽

Morbidity And Mortality ◽

Health Shocks ◽

Economic Exchange ◽

Economic Costs ◽

Empirical Results ◽

Future Work ◽

Over Time

The frequency and complexity of viral outbreaks is increasing over time. The economic costs of outbreaks are severe; this is not only because of increased morbidity and mortality but also because viral outbreaks--representing aggregate health shocks--can severely restrict social interaction and economic exchange. Such aggregate health shocks lead to behavioral and prevalence responses along many margins. We describe some important response channels, discuss emerging empirical results on these margins from a nascent literature, and stress important avenues for future work.

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Definitions of medication-overuse headache in population-based studies and their implications on prevalence estimates: A systematic review

Cephalalgia ◽

10.1177/0333102413512033 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 34 (6) ◽

pp. 409-425 ◽

Cited By ~ 64

Author(s):

Maria L Westergaard ◽

Ebba Holme Hansen ◽

Charlotte Glümer ◽

Jes Olesen ◽

Rigmor H Jensen

Keyword(s):

Medication Overuse ◽

Medication Overuse Headache ◽

Large Population ◽

Population Based ◽

Case Definition ◽

Practical Case ◽

Case Definitions ◽

Wide Range ◽

Concurrent Medication ◽

Over Time

Background Case definitions of medication-overuse headache (MOH) in population-based research have changed over time. This study aims to review MOH prevalence reports with respect to these changes, and to propose a practical case definition for future studies based on the ICHD-3 beta. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted to identify MOH prevalence studies. Findings were summarized according to diagnostic criteria. Results Twenty-seven studies were included. The commonly used case definition for MOH was headache ≥15 days/month with concurrent medication overuse ≥3 months. There were varying definitions for what was considered as overuse. Studies that all used ICHD-2 criteria showed a wide range of prevalence among adults: 0.5%–7.2%. Conclusions There are limits to comparing prevalence of MOH across studies and over time. The wide range of reported prevalence might not only be due to changing criteria, but also the diversity of countries now publishing data. The criterion “headache occurring on ≥15 days per month” with concurrent medication overuse can be applied in population-based studies. However, the new requirement that a respondent must have “a preexisting headache disorder” has not been previously validated. Exclusion of other headache diagnoses by expert evaluation and ancillary examinations is not feasible in large population-based studies.

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Impacts of Canada’s minimum age for tobacco sales (MATS) laws on youth smoking behaviour, 2000–2014

Tobacco Control ◽

10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2017-053869 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 27 (e2) ◽

pp. e105-e111 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Russell Clarence Callaghan ◽

Marcos Sanches ◽

Jodi Gatley ◽

James K Cunningham ◽

Michael Oliver Chaiton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Smoking Status ◽

Age Groups ◽

Smoking Behaviour ◽

Cigarette Consumption ◽

Institute Of Medicine ◽

Youth Smoking ◽

Absolute Increase ◽

Smoking Intensity ◽

Tobacco Sales ◽

Minimum Age

BackgroundRecently, the US Institute of Medicine has proposed that raising the minimum age for tobacco purchasing/sales to 21 years would likely lead to reductions in smoking behavior among young people. Surprisingly few studies, however, have assessed the potential impacts of minimum-age tobacco restrictions on youth smoking.ObjectiveTo estimate the impacts of Canadian minimum age for tobacco sales (MATS) laws on youth smoking behaviour.DesignA regression-discontinuity design, using seven merged cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey, 2000–2014.ParticipantsSurvey respondents aged 14–22 years (n=98 320).ExposureCurrent Canadian MATS laws are 18 years in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, the Yukon and Northwest Territories, and 19 years of age in the rest of the country.Main outcomesCurrent, occasional and daily smoking status; smoking frequency and intensity; and average monthly cigarette consumption.ResultsIn comparison to age groups slightly younger than the MATS, those just older had significant and abrupt increases immediately after the MATS in the prevalence of current smokers (absolute increase: 2.71%; 95% CI 0.70% to 4.80%; P=0.009) and daily smokers (absolute increase: 2.43%; 95% CI 0.74% to 4.12%; P=0.005). Average past-month cigarette consumption within age groups increased immediately following the MATS by 18% (95% CI 3% to 39%; P=0.02). There was no evidence of significant increases in smoking intensity for daily or occasional smokers after release from MATS restrictions.ConclusionThe study provides relevant evidence supporting the effectiveness of Canadian MATS laws for limiting smoking among tobacco-restricted youth.

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