Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Nov 2014
ReviewReduced nicotine product standards for combustible tobacco: building an empirical basis for effective regulation.
Both the Tobacco Control Act in the U.S. and Article 9 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control enable governments to directly address the addictiveness of combustible tobacco by reducing nicotine through product standards. Although nicotine may have some harmful effects, the detrimental health effects of smoked tobacco are primarily due to non-nicotine constituents. Hence, the health effects of nicotine reduction would likely be determined by changes in behavior that result in changes in smoke exposure. ⋯ A coordinated effort must be made to provide the best possible scientific basis for regulatory decisions. The outcome of this effort may provide the foundation for a novel approach to tobacco control that dramatically reduces the devastating health consequences of smoked tobacco.
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Preventive medicine · Nov 2014
Nicotine reduction as an increase in the unit price of cigarettes: a behavioral economics approach.
Urgent action is needed to reduce the harm caused by smoking. Product standards that reduce the addictiveness of cigarettes are now possible both in the U. S. and in countries party to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. ⋯ A nicotine reduction policy might be considered an increase in the unit price of nicotine because smokers are paying more per unit of nicotine. This perspective allows principles from behavioral economics to be applied to nicotine reduction research questions, including how nicotine consumption, smoking behavior, use of other tobacco products, and use of other drugs of abuse are likely to be affected. This paper reviews the utility of this approach and evaluates the notion that a reduction in nicotine content is equivalent to a reduction in the reinforcement value of smoking-an assumption made by the unit price approach.
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Preventive medicine · Nov 2014
ReviewObesity treatment in disadvantaged population groups: where do we stand and what can we do?
Obesity is now the second leading cause of death and disease in the United States leading to health care expenditures exceeding $147 billion dollars. The socioeconomically disadvantaged and racial/ethnic minority groups are at significantly increased risk for obesity. Despite this, low income and minority individuals are underrepresented in the current obesity treatment literature. ⋯ Further gains may be achieved with the use of material incentives to enhance uptake of new behaviors. Regardless of what novel strategies are deployed, the need for further research to improve the health disparities associated with obesity in disadvantaged groups is critical. The purpose of this manuscript is to review the weight loss intervention literature that has targeted socioeconomically disadvantaged and racial/ethnic minority populations with an eye toward understanding outcomes, current limitations, areas for improvement and need for further research.
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Preventive medicine · Nov 2014
ReviewA Competing Neurobehavioral Decision Systems model of SES-related health and behavioral disparities.
We propose that executive dysfunction is an important component relating to the socio-economic status gradient of select health behaviors. We review and find evidence supporting an SES gradient associated with (1) negative health behaviors (e.g., obesity, excessive use of alcohol, tobacco and other substances), and (2) executive dysfunction. ⋯ Collectively these data support the dual system model of cognitive control, referred to here as the Competing Neurobehavioral Decision Systems hypothesis. The implications of these relationships for intervention and social justice considerations are discussed.
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Preventive medicine · Nov 2014
EditorialBehavior change, health, and health disparities: an introduction.
This Special Issue of Preventive Medicine (PM) focuses on behavior change, health, and health disparities, topics of fundamental importance to improving population health in the U. S. and other industrialized countries. While the U. ⋯ S. alone and 5 million globally. So more needs to be done, especially in economically disadvantaged populations. The same certainly applies to the challenges of the obesity epidemic, which of course is a more recent problem and understandably efforts to curtail it are in earlier stages of development.