The globalisation strategies of five Asian tobacco companies : a comparative analysis and implications for global health governance

The global tobacco industry, from the 1960s to mid 1990s, saw consolidation and eventual domination by a small number of transnational tobacco companies (TTC). This paper draws together comparative analysis of five case studies in the special issue on \u27The Emergence of Asian Tobacco Companies: Implications for Global Health Governance.\u27 The cases suggest that tobacco industry globalisation is undergoing a new phase, beginning in the late 1990s, with the adoption of global business strategies by five Asian companies. The strategies were prompted foremost by external factors, notably market liberalisation, competition from TTCs and declining domestic markets. State protection and promotion enabled the industries in Japan, South Korea and China to rationalise their operations ahead of foreign market expansion. The TTM and TTL will likely remain domestic or perhaps regional companies, JTI and KT&G have achieved TTC status, and the CNTC is poised to dwarf all existing companies. This global expansion of Asian tobacco companies will increase competition which, in turn, will intensify marketing, exert downward price pressures along the global value chain, and encourage product innovation. Global tobacco control requires fuller understanding of these emerging changes and the regulatory challenges posed by ongoing globalisation

Establishing baseline criteria of cardio-ankle vascular index as a new indicator of arteriosclerosis: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) has been developed to represent the extent of arteriosclerosis throughout the aorta, femoral artery and tibial artery independent of blood pressure. To practically use CAVI as a diagnostic tool for determining the extent of arteriosclerosis, our study objectives were (1) to establish the baseline CAVI scores by age and gender among cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk-free persons, (2) to compare CAVI scores between genders to test the hypothesis that the extent of arteriosclerosis in men is greater than in women, and (3) to compare CAVI scores between the CVD risk-free group and the CVD high-risk group in order to test the hypothesis that the extent of arteriosclerosis in the CVD high-risk group is greater than in the CVD risk-free group.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Study subjects were 32,627 urban residents 20-74 years of age who participated in CVD screening in Japan during 2004-2006. A new device (model VaSera VS-1000) was used to measure CAVI scores. At the time of screening, CVD high-risk persons were defined as those having any clinical abnormalities of CVD, and CVD risk-free persons were defined as those without any clinical abnormalities of CVD. Age-specific average CAVI scores were compared between genders and between the CVD risk-free group and the CVD high-risk group. Student's t-test using two independent samples was applied to a comparison of means between two groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Average age-specific baseline scores of CAVI in the CVD risk-free group linearly increased in both genders as their age increased. Average age-specific baseline scores of CAVI in the CVD risk-free group were significantly greater among men than among women. Average age-specific baseline scores of CAVI in the CVD risk-free group were significantly smaller than those in the CVD high-risk group in both genders after 40 years of age.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The baseline CAVI scores from the CVD risk-free group are useful for future studies as control values. The CAVI method is a useful tool to screen persons with moderate to advanced levels of arteriosclerosis.</p

Building primary care in Japan: Literature review.

Japan's health system is well known for achieving one of the world's highest life expectancy with universal health coverage. However, the country now faces challenges of a rapidly aging population and changes in patterns and burden of disease. Primary care is an important component of a well-functioning health system. In Japan, primary care services are provided in both the community and hospital settings. The distinction between primary and secondary care may not always be clear. This review is based on the framework from the 2015 WHO publication on primary care systems in Europe. Our aim is to describe the journey of primary care in Japan, with its past, present, and future as a valuable addition to the academic English literature. We also hope that this article would inspire readers outside of Japan who might face similar issues in their respective countries

Status inconsistency and return to work among foreign-born and native Swedes

We investigated potential differences in status inconsistency and time to return to work (RTW) from sickness absence between foreign-born and native Swedes, whether inconsistency was associated with RTW, and if this association was stronger for foreign-borns than natives. Significantly fewer native than foreign-born Swedes reported negative status inconsistency, but RTW did not differ between the groups and inconsistency was not associated with RTW. A positive selection of individuals to the Swedish labour market might help explain the findings. This first study of status inconcistency and RTW requires follow-ups in different settings of labour markets and insurance regulations

Clinical practice of sports medicine and the role of sports physicians in a university of physical education and health science

As the number of university departments where sports and/or health science are studied has been becoming increased, certified sports physicians are more demanded in their curriculums. They not only engage in conventional education of sports medicine but also are appointed to faculties who give the lectures necessary for the qualifications of the health fitness programmer or the athletic trainer approved by Japan Health Promotion and Fitness Foundation or Japan Sports Association, respectively. Given the nature of sports medicine, however, sports physicians are endorsed by their practical skill, such as judgment of eligibility for participating in competitive sports and prevention/treatment of sports injuries. From this point of view, we established Hosei University Sports Clinic in 2011 to organize practice of sports medicine and to take the advantage of the clinical expertise of sports physicians into the education. A total of 61 students have visited the clinic for nearly 2 years and the 2 major reasons to come were seeking medical evaluation of sports injuries and medical advice on cardiovascular abnormalities in terms of the eligibility. Sports physicians, beyond their educational responsibility, can expertly partake in clinical practice to benefit students in a university of physical education and health science even without an affiliated medical school or hospital

フッ化物無配合歯磨剤を使用する児童の保護者における歯科保健行動：横断研究

One of the dental health goals of Health Japan 21, in which the Japanese government clarified its health policy, was to ensure the use of fluoride toothpaste in 90% or more of schoolchildren. This goal was not achieved. The aim of this cross-sectional questionnaire study was to evaluate the characteristics of parents whose children use non-fluoride toothpaste.In December 2010, questionnaire forms were sent to 18 elementary schools or school dentists. Students (6-12 years old) were asked to take the forms home for their parents to fill in, and to bring the completed questionnaire to school. The collected questionnaires were mailed from schools to the author\u27s institution by the end of March 2011. The relationship between fluoride in toothpaste and reasons for choice of toothpaste, the child\u27s toothbrushing habits, and attitude toward child caries prevention was examined in the 6,069 respondents who answered all the questions for the analyses and indicated that their children use toothpaste.Non-fluoride toothpaste users accounted for 5.1% of all toothpaste users. Among the children using non-fluoride toothpaste, significantly greater numbers gave \u27anti-gingivitis\u27, \u27halitosis prevention\u27 or \u27tartar control\u27 as reasons for choice of toothpaste; did not give \u27has fluoride\u27, \u27is cheaper\u27 or \u27tastes good\u27 as reasons for choice of toothpaste; or used toothpaste sometimes, or were in 4th - 6th grades. There was no significant relationship between use of non-fluoride toothpaste and measures taken for caries prevention in children. Multilevel (first level: individual, second level: school) logistic regression analysis indicated that use of non-fluoride toothpaste was significantly related to: giving \u27anti-gingivitis\u27 (odds ratio: 1.44) as a reason for choice of toothpaste; not giving \u27has fluoride\u27 (0.40), \u27tastes good\u27 (0.49) or \u27is cheaper\u27 (0.50) as the reason for choice of toothpaste; to toothbrushing less often (twice a day: 1.34, once a day or less: 1.46) and to using toothpaste less often (sometimes: 1.39).It is necessary to teach parents that dental caries is the dental health issue with the highest priority for children, and therefore fluoride toothpaste should be used.神奈川歯科大学201

Association between smoking, exercise habits and dental checkups among community residents in Japan

Background:Poor lifestyle is a risk factor for oral diseases, and dental checkups are very useful for preventingoral disease. But association between lifestyle and dental checkups is unclear. The aim of this studywas to examine the association between lifestyle and participation in dental checkups.Methods:A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted in a city of Japan, from where wewere asked to evaluate the health promotion program conducted in the city. Three thousand subjects aged20 years or over were randomly selected from about 35,000 inhabitants. Completed questionnaires were obtainedfrom 1,670 persons (741 men and 929 women). The odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervalfor having dental checkups was calculated using age-adjusted logistic regression models.Results:Of 1,670 subjects, 57.4% of men and 53.7% of women had dental checkups. The current smokerand ex-smoker rate were 30.2% and 29.2% for men and 9.6% and 10.7% for women, respectively. The proportionof subjects who did not perform 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise twice or more a weekwas 60.6% in men and 70.2% in women. Compared with non-smokers, the OR of having dental checkupswas significantly lower among current smokers:0.59 for men and 0.53 for women. There were no significantdifferences among ex-smokers compared with non-smokers. The OR of having dental checkups wassignificantly lower for women who never performed exercise:0.55.Conclusions:We conclude that people who have poor lifestyle, especially smokers and women who neverperform exercise, should be advised to have dental checkups

Associations between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Health-Related Quality of Life

© 2009 Sloan et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Public awareness of risk factors for cancer among the Japanese general population: A population-based survey

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to provide information on awareness of the attributable fraction of cancer causes among the Japanese general population. METHODS: A nationwide representative sample of 2,000 Japanese aged 20 or older was asked about their perception and level of concern about various environmental and genetic risk factors in relation to cancer prevention, as a part of an Omnibus Survey. Interviews were conducted with 1,355 subjects (609 men and 746 women). RESULTS: Among 12 risk factor candidates, the attributable fraction of cancer-causing viral and bacterial infection was considered highest (51%), followed by that of tobacco smoking (43%), stress (39%), and endocrine-disrupting chemicals (37%). On the other hand, the attributable fractions of cancer by charred fish and meat (21%) and alcohol drinking (22%) were considered low compared with other risk factor candidates. For most risk factors, attributable fraction responses were higher in women than in men. As a whole, the subjects tended to respond with higher values than those estimated by epidemiologic evidence in the West. The attributable fraction of cancer speculated to be genetically determined was 32%, while 36% of cancer was considered preventable by improving lifestyle. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that awareness of the attributable fraction of cancer causes in the Japanese general population tends to be dominated by cancer-causing infection, occupational exposure, air pollution and food additives rather than major lifestyle factors such as diet