The impact of state fire safe cigarette policies on fire fatalities, injuries, and incidents

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 379 ◽  
Author(s):  
David H. Folz, PhD ◽  
Chris Shults, PhD

Cigarettes are a leading cause of civilian deaths in home fires. Over the last decade, state fire service leaders and allied interest groups succeeded in persuading state lawmakers to require manufacturers to sell only low-ignition strength or “fire safe” cigarettes as a strategy to reduce these fatalities and the injuries and losses that stem from them. This article examines whether the states’ fire safe cigarette laws actually helped to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce the incidence of home fires ignited by cigarettes left unattended by smokers. Controlling for the effects of key demographic, social, economic, and housing variables, this study finds that the states’ fire-safe cigarette policies had significant impacts on reducing the rate of smoking-related civilian fire deaths and the incidence of fires started by tobacco products. The findings also suggest that the states’ fire safe cigarette policies may have helped to reduce the rate of smoking-related fire injuries. The study shows that collective actions by leaders in the fire service across the states can result in meaningful policy change that protects lives and advances public safety even when a political consensus for action is absent at the national level.

Author(s):  
Lisa Andersson ◽  
Anders Håkansson ◽  
Jonas Berge ◽  
Björn Johnson

Abstract Background Opioid-related mortality is high and increasing in the Western world, and interventions aimed at reducing opioid-related deaths represent an important area of study. In Skåne County, Sweden, a patient choice reform resulted in increased access to opioid substitution treatment (OST). In addition, a gradual shift towards less restrictive terms for exclusion from OST has been implemented. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of these policy changes on opioid-related deaths. Methods Detailed data on opioid-related deaths in Skåne during the 2 years prior to and following the policy change were obtained from forensic records and from health care services. Data on overdose deaths for Skåne and the rest of Sweden were obtained using publicly available national register data. Time periods were used as the predictor for opioid-related deaths in the forensic data. The national level data were used in a natural experiment design in which rates of overdose deaths were compared between Skåne and the rest of Sweden before and after the intervention. Results There was no significant difference in the number of deaths in Skåne between the data collection periods (RR: 1.18 95% CI:0.89–1.57, p= 0.251). The proportion of deaths among patients enrolled in OST increased between the two periods (2.61, 1.12–6.10, p= 0.026). There was no change in deaths related to methadone or buprenorphine in relation to deaths due to the other opioids included in the study (0.92, 0.51–1.63, p= 0.764). An analysis of national mortality data showed an annual relative decrease in unintentional drug deaths in Skåne compared to the rest of Sweden following the onset of the reform (0.90, 0.84–0,97, p= 0.004). Conclusions Opioid-related deaths, as assessed using forensic data, has not changed significantly in Skåne following a change to lower-threshold OST. By contrast, national level data indicate that the policy change has been associated with decreased overdose deaths. The discrepancy between these results highlights the need for more research to elucidate this issue. The result that more patients die during ongoing OST following an increase in access to treatment underlines the need for further preventive interventions within the OST treatment setting.


2020 ◽  
pp. 35-67
Author(s):  
Leah Cardamore Stokes

Chapter 2 provides the book’s theory and core argument. The chapter reviews models of policy change that emerged from debates over social policy in advanced democracies at the national level. It defines the book’s key concepts, including interest groups, policy expansion, and retrenchment. It then develops a new model of policy change focused on the fog of enactment and organized combat, outlining both direct and indirect pathways that advocate and opponent interest groups exploit to influence policy post-implementation. Drawing on original survey data from US state legislators and their staff, it provides additional evidence for the book’s theory, supplementing the historical institutionalist case studies in the rest of the book.


2021 ◽  
pp. 139156142110048
Author(s):  
Sumudu Perera ◽  
Ananda Rathnayake ◽  
Janaka Fernando ◽  
Thilani Navaratne ◽  
Dilan Rajapakshe

In 2016, the Sri Lankan government introduced a policy change related to fertilizer subsidy by converting the in-kind transfer into a direct cash transfer. This research article analyses the consequences of this policy change on the paddy production from economics perspective. The analysis uses national-level data from 1961 to 2013 and farm-level data collected in 2016. Macro-level findings manifest that the use of fertilizer significantly increases the paddy production in Sri Lanka. It was also identified that the cash amount granted under the direct cash transfer policy is not equivalent to the in-kind transfer programme. As a result, paddy production is expected to decline under the direct cash transfer programme when compared to the material subsidy scheme. However, this is against the preference of economists on direct cash transfers over in-kind transfers. The findings reveal that direct cash transfers increase the paddy production under two conditions: (a) when rational farmers effectively utilize the cash grants to optimize their production inputs; and (b) an equivalent amount of in-kind transfer is provided as direct cash transfer. Hence, direct cash transfers are not always better than in-kind transfers; it is better when in-kind transfer is compensated with an equivalent amount of cash transfer. JEL: A1, B1, B2, C1, C5, D6, N5


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 506-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rijo M John ◽  
Estelle Dauchy ◽  
Mark Goodchild

ObjectiveTo examine the potential impact of the goods and services tax (GST) on price, consumption and tax revenue from tobacco products in India and across states.MethodsData on prices, tax rates and tax revenue are used to estimate a benchmark scenario prior to the GST implementation in 2017–2018. Using own-price elasticity of demand for tobacco products, we estimate the impact of GST at the state level and the aggregate state-wise impact to obtain the national level impact.FindingsWe predict that the statutory GST rate of 28% plus compensation cess will increase the price of cigarettes, bidi and smokeless tobacco by 0.18%, 8.8% and 6%, respectively, and, as a result, it will reduce the weighted average consumption by 0.3%, 10% and 6% and increase tax revenue by 0.17%, 35% and 4.7%, respectively. Most states will experience a fall in tax revenue from tobacco products by more than 50% compared with the value-added tax revenue they collected pre-GST. The GST compensation cess will have to be used to compensate states’ revenue shortfalls.ConclusionsThe GST has increased the complexity of the tax system for tobacco products. In particular, for cigarettes, the specific cess constitutes the majority of tax revenue, and therefore, it must be revised regularly to protect revenue and keep real prices from falling. In addition, India should reintroduce excise taxation on all tobacco products, at least in part, on top of the GST, to make them less affordable and to smooth the transition after the expiration of the compensation cess.


Author(s):  
Priyastiwi Priyastiwi

The purpose of this article is to provide the basic model of Hofstede and Grays’ cultural values that relates the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and Gray‘s accounting value. This article reviews some studies that prove the model and develop the research in the future. There are some evidences that link the Hofstede’s cultural values studies with the auditor’s judgment and decisions by developing a framework that categorizes the auditor’s judgments and decisions are most likely influenced by cross-cultural differences. The categories include risk assessment, risk decisions and ethical judgments. Understanding the impact of cultural factors on the practice of accounting and financial disclosure is important to achieve the harmonization of international accounting. Deep understanding about how the local values may affect the accounting practices and their impacts on the financial disclosure are important to ensure the international comparability of financial reporting. Gray’s framework (1988) expects how the culture may affect accounting practices at the national level. One area of the future studies will examine the impact of cultural dimensions to the values of accounting, auditing and decision making. Key word : Motivation, leadership style, job satisfaction, performance


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (10) ◽  
pp. 19-33
Author(s):  
Nadiia NOVYTSKA ◽  
◽  
Inna KHLIEBNIKOVA ◽  

The market of tobacco products in Ukraine is one of the most dynamic and competitive. It develops under the influence of certain factors that cause structural changes, therefore, the aim of the article is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of transformation processes in the market of tobacco and their alternatives in Ukraine and identify the factors that cause them. The high level of tax burden and the proliferation of alternative products with a potentially lower risk to human health, including heating tobacco products and e-cigarettes, are key factors in the market’s transformation process. Their presence leads to an increase in illicit turnover of tobacco products, which accounts for 6.37% of the market, and the gradual replacement of cigarettes with alternative products, which account for 12.95%. The presence on the market of products that are not taxed or taxed at lower rates is one of the reasons for the reduction of excise duty revenues. According to the results of 2019, the planned indicators of revenues were not met by 23.5%. Other reasons for non-fulfillment of excise duty revenues include: declining dynamics of the tobacco products market; reduction in the number of smokers; reorientation of «cheap whites» cigarette flows from Ukraine to neighboring countries; tax avoidance. Prospects for further research are identified, namely the need to develop measures for state regulation and optimization of excise duty taxation of tobacco products and their alternatives, taking into account the risks to public health and increasing demand of illegal products.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 1183-1189
Author(s):  
Dr. Tridibesh Tripathy ◽  
Dr. Umakant Prusty ◽  
Dr. Chintamani Nayak ◽  
Dr. Rakesh Dwivedi ◽  
Dr. Mohini Gautam

The current article of Uttar Pradesh (UP) is about the ASHAs who are the daughters-in-law of a family that resides in the same community that they serve as the grassroots health worker since 2005 when the NRHM was introduced in the Empowered Action Group (EAG) states. UP is one such Empowered Action Group (EAG) state. The current study explores the actual responses of Recently Delivered Women (RDW) on their visits during the first month of their recent delivery. From the catchment area of each of the 250 ASHAs, two RDWs were selected who had a child in the age group of 3 to 6 months during the survey. The response profiles of the RDWs on the post- delivery first month visits are dwelled upon to evolve a picture representing the entire state of UP. The relevance of the study assumes significance as detailed data on the modalities of postnatal visits are available but not exclusively for the first month period of their recent delivery. The details of the post-delivery first month period related visits are not available even in large scale surveys like National Family Health Survey 4 done in 2015-16. The current study gives an insight in to these visits with a five-point approach i.e. type of personnel doing the visit, frequency of the visits, visits done in a particular week from among those four weeks separately for the three visits separately. The current study is basically regarding the summary of this Penta approach for the post- delivery one-month period.     The first month period after each delivery deals with 70% of the time of the postnatal period & the entire neonatal period. Therefore, it does impact the Maternal Mortality Rate & Ratio (MMR) & the Neonatal Mortality Rates (NMR) in India and especially in UP through the unsafe Maternal & Neonatal practices in the first month period after delivery. The current MM Rate of UP is 20.1 & MM Ratio is 216 whereas the MM ratio is 122 in India (SRS, 2019). The Sample Registration System (SRS) report also mentions that the Life Time Risk (LTR) of a woman in pregnancy is 0.7% which is the highest in the nation (SRS, 2019). This means it is very risky to give birth in UP in comparison to other regions in the country (SRS, 2019). This risk is at the peak in the first month period after each delivery. Similarly, the current NMR in India is 23 per 1000 livebirths (UNIGME,2018). As NMR data is not available separately for states, the national level data also hold good for the states and that’s how for the state of UP as well. These mortalities are the impact indicators and such indicators can be reduced through long drawn processes that includes effective and timely visits to RDWs especially in the first month period after delivery. This would help in making their post-natal & neonatal stage safe. This is the area of post-delivery first month visit profile detailing that the current article helps in popping out in relation to the recent delivery of the respondents.   A total of four districts of Uttar Pradesh were selected purposively for the study and the data collection was conducted in the villages of the respective districts with the help of a pre-tested structured interview schedule with both close-ended and open-ended questions.  The current article deals with five close ended questions with options, two for the type of personnel & frequency while the other three are for each of the three visits in the first month after the recent delivery of respondents. In addition, in-depth interviews were also conducted amongst the RDWs and a total 500 respondents had participated in the study.   Among the districts related to this article, the results showed that ASHA was the type of personnel who did the majority of visits in all the four districts. On the other hand, 25-40% of RDWs in all the 4 districts replied that they did not receive any visit within the first month of their recent delivery. Regarding frequency, most of the RDWs in all the 4 districts received 1-2 times visits by ASHAs.   Regarding the first visit, it was found that the ASHAs of Barabanki and Gonda visited less percentage of RDWs in the first week after delivery. Similarly, the second visit revealed that about 1.2% RDWs in Banda district could not recall about the visit. Further on the second visit, the RDWs responded that most of them in 3 districts except Gonda district did receive the second postnatal visit in 7-15 days after their recent delivery. Less than half of RDWs in Barabanki district & just more than half of RDWs in Gonda district received the third visit in 15-21 days period after delivery. For the same period, the majority of RDWs in the rest two districts responded that they had been entertained through a home visit.


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