Addiction
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There is a growing interest in very low rate [fewer than one cigarette per day (CPD)] and light (one to nine CPD) smokers and in some parts of the world their numbers appear to be increasing. This paper examined changes in prevalence over the past 5 years, cessation patterns, and smoking and demographic characteristics of very low rate, light and moderate-to-heavy (10+ CPD) smokers in England. ⋯ Very low rate (fewer than one cigarette per day) and light (one to nine cigarettes per day) smokers in England are at least as motivated to quit as heavier smokers. Although they use cessation medication less than heavier smokers and are more likely to succeed, they still use such medication and fail in quit attempts to a substantial degree.
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Minimum alcohol prices in British Columbia have been adjusted intermittently over the past 20 years. The present study estimates impacts of these adjustments on alcohol consumption. ⋯ Increases in minimum prices of alcoholic beverages can substantially reduce alcohol consumption.
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No modern jurisdiction has ever legalized commercial production, distribution and possession of cannabis for recreational purposes. This paper presents insights about the effect of legalization on production costs and consumption and highlights important design choices. ⋯ The legal production costs of cannabis will be dramatically below current wholesale prices, enough so that taxes and regulation will be insufficient to raise retail price to prohibition levels. We expect legalization will increase consumption substantially, but the size of the increase is uncertain since it depends on design choices and the unknown shape of the cannabis demand curve.