Preventive medicine
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Preventive medicine · Jun 2021
Association between gun owner attitudes and their behavior in private firearm sales.
Federal law places no regulations on unlicensed, private firearm sellers. However, a majority of the firearms used in crime come from these unregulated markets. This study aims to characterize the demographics of gun owners who engage in private sales, determine how often these individuals engage in selling behaviors, and ascertain whether sellers' attitudes are associated with their reported behaviors in the private market. ⋯ Among private sellers, only 44% checked purchasers for eligibility and 32% denied a sale due to concerns about whether the firearm would be used safely. Sellers who agreed it was their responsibility to ensure purchasers were eligible to buy a gun had 4.52 (95% CI:1.78 to 11.5) times greater odds of reporting checking for a permit or conduct a background check on their last sale. it. These findings suggest a need for strategies to increase gun sellers' perceptions of responsibility for ensuring only eligible purchasers purchase guns, potentially including communication campaigns or educational programs.
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Preventive medicine · Jun 2021
Is the ongoing obesity epidemic partly explained by concurrent decline in cigarette smoking? Insights from a longitudinal population study. The Tromsø Study 1994-2016.
The increase of obesity coincides with a substantial decrease in cigarette smoking. We assessed post-cessation weight change and its contribution to the obesity epidemic in a general population in Norway. A total of 14,453 participants (52.6% women), aged 25-54 years in 1994, who attended at least two of four surveys in the Tromsø Study between 1994 and 2016, were included in the analysis. ⋯ The scenario where none quit smoking would imply a 13% reduction in BMI gain in the population, though substantial age-related differences were noted. We conclude that smoking cessation contributed to the increase in obesity in the population, but was probably not the most important factor. Public health interventions should continue to target smoking cessation, and also target obesity prevention.