Public Goods v. Private Rights: Analyzing Government Inefficiencies in Environmental Protection

In this project, I describe the intergenerational nature of environmental public goods, and argue that the Supreme Court's inconsistent doctrine of legal standing is as an obstacle to the enforcement of environmental laws that provide these public goods. Public goods are goods that do not diminish as they are used or consumed and those that cannot be restricted in who consumes them, such as stable soil, an ecosystem, or clean air. Environmental public goods are particular in that they are intergenerational, meaning their provision is dependent upon consistent and long term commitment. Although Congress has passed numerous statutes that protect environmental goods, the executing agencies are often unmotivated or unable to uphold these laws and provide these goods. Though the courts offer a way for citizens to become involved in ensuring the consistency of an agency's official commitment, the Supreme Court's application of the standing doctrine poses three challenges to external actors seeking legal review. An institutional difference between the private nature of the Court and the public nature of environmental legislation explains the challenges groups have in demonstrating standing under environmental protection laws. These challenges are made increasingly difficult as the Court inconsistently applies this doctrine to limit access to rigorously demonstrated injuries felt by only a minority of the population. Finally, this paper proposes that by changing the definition of the injury or the injured, Congress can reconcile this public-private tension in a way that ensures access to the courts while meeting the Court's standing requirements

#NicotineAddictionCheck: Puff Bar Culture, Addiction Apathy, and Promotion of E-Cigarettes on TikTok

This study aimed to classify and delineate types of user-generated content about the disposable e-cigarette Puff Bar shared on the popular video-based social media platform TikTok. We qualitatively analyzed 148 popular TikTok videos collected in July 2020. During an iterative process of data reduction and thematic analysis, we categorized videos by overarching genres and identified emergent themes. Young adults were engaged at all stages of the research process. Together, videos were viewed over 137 million times on TikTok. Seven genres of Puff Bar content emerged: skits and stories, shared vaper experiences, videos to show off, product reviews, product unboxing, promotion of Puff Bar, and crafts. Videos depicted Puff Bar users’ apathy about addiction and a lack of concern of the health effects of e-cigarette use. Additionally, Puff Bar promotion content from underground retailers was extensive and some targeted underage persons. Qualitative analysis of social media content can richly describe emerging online culture and illuminate the motivations of adolescent and young adult e-cigarette use. Social media can facilitate new product adoption; comprehensive e-cigarette regulation and enforcement can counteract these effects by closing loopholes through which new products emerge

Electronic Cigarette Use and Progression From Experimentation to Established Smoking.

It has been shown that never-smoking adolescents who try electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are at increased risk of subsequent conventional cigarette smoking. We evaluated associations between e-cigarette use and progression to established smoking among adolescents who had already tried cigarettes. Among participants (age 12-17 years) in the nationally representative Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health survey who had smoked a cigarette (≥1 puff) but not yet smoked 100 cigarettes (N = 1295), we examined 3 outcomes at 1-year follow-up as a function of baseline e-cigarette use: (1) having smoked ≥100 cigarettes (established smoking), (2) smoking during the past 30 days, and (3) both having smoked ≥100 cigarettes and past 30-day smoking (current established smoking). Survey-weighted multivariable logistic regression models were fitted to obtain odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) adjusted for smoking risk factors. Versus e-cigarette never use, having ever used e-cigarettes was positively associated with progression to established cigarette smoking (19.3% vs 9.7%), past 30-day smoking (38.8% vs 26.6%), and current established smoking (15.6% vs 7.1%). In adjusted models, e-cigarette ever use positively predicted current established smoking (OR: 1.80; 95% CI: 1.04-3.12) but did not reach statistical significance (α = .05) for established smoking (OR: 1.57; 95% CI: 0.99-2.49) and past 30-day smoking (OR: 1.32; 95% CI: 0.99-1.76). Among adolescent cigarette experimenters, using e-cigarettes was positively and independently associated with progression to current established smoking, suggesting that e-cigarettes do not divert from, and may encourage, cigarette smoking in this population

Flavored Cannabis Product Use Among Adolescents in California.

Given the well-documented role of flavors in encouraging tobacco use among adolescents and diversity of the cannabis market, we describe flavored cannabis product use, both smoked and aerosolized ("vaped"), among a sample of adolescents. We surveyed 1,423 students in 8 Northern and Central California public high schools (2019-2020) to record flavored tobacco and cannabis use. Among past 30-day cannabis users, use of flavored cannabis, most often fruit-flavored, was common for smoked (48.1%) and vaped (58.0%) products. Given that youth-appealing flavors may contribute to underage cannabis use, emerging cannabis control policies should consider lessons from tobacco control to prevent youth cannabis use

Real-World Effectiveness of Smoking Cessation Strategies for Young and Older Adults: Findings From a Nationally Representative Cohort.

IntroductionYoung adults have high combustible cigarette and e-cigarette use rates, and low utilization of evidence-based smoking cessation strategies compared to older adults. It is unknown whether young adults who try to quit smoking without assistance, with evidence-based strategies, or with e-cigarettes, are equally successful compared to older adults.Aims and methodsThis analysis used a population-based sample from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study of young adult (aged 18-24, n = 745) and older adult (aged 25-64, n = 2057) established cigarette smokers at Wave 1 (2013-2014) who reported having made a quit attempt at Wave 2 (2014-2015). Cessation strategies were: behavioral therapy, pharmacotherapy, product substitution, 2+ strategies, and unassisted. Logistic regression estimated associations between cessation strategy and short-term cessation status at Wave 2 (quit, no quit); multinomial logistic regression predicted long-term cessation patterns at Waves 2 and 3 (sustained quit, temporary quit, delayed quit, no quit).ResultsNo cessation strategy (ref: unassisted) significantly predicted short-term cessation. No cessation strategy (ref: unassisted) significantly predicted long-term cessation patterns for young adults. Substitution with e-cigarettes predicted short-term cessation for older daily smokers of ≥5 cigarettes/day (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.70; 95% confidence interval: 1.08, 2.67) but did not predict long-term cessation patterns.ConclusionsDespite differences in cessation strategy use between young and older adult smokers, strategy effectiveness largely did not differ by age group. No strategy examined, including e-cigarettes, was significantly associated with successful cessation for young adults. More work is needed to identify effective interventions that help young adult smokers quit.Implications(1) Neither behavioral support, pharmacotherapy, nor product substitution was associated with short-term cessation for young or older adults compared to quitting unassisted. (2) Neither behavioral support, pharmacotherapy, nor product substitution was associated with longer-term cessation for young or older adults compared to quitting unassisted. (3) Substitution with e-cigarettes predicted short-term cessation for older daily smokers of ≥5 cigarettes/day but was not associated with longer-term cessation

Cold Turkey and Hot Vapes? A National Study of Young Adult Cigarette Cessation Strategies.

IntroductionYoung adults have high smoking rates and low utilization of evidence-based smoking cessation strategies. We investigated smoking cessation intentions, strategy use, and socioeconomic predictors of strategy use among young adult smokers (age 18-24) and compared patterns with those of older adults (age 25-64).MethodsWe used a population-based sample from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study of young adult (n = 1,881) and older adult (n = 6,366) established smokers of conventional cigarettes at Wave 1 (2013-2014), who were surveyed at Wave 2 (2014-2015). Simple regression analysis compared intentions to quit between age groups. Among Wave 1 smokers who reported a Wave 2 quit attempt (young adults [YA] n = 748; older adults [OA] n = 2,068), bivariate and multinomial logistic regression estimated differences in use of behavioral support, pharmacotherapy, product substitution, and unassisted quit attempts. Interaction terms estimated age-group differences in relationships between predictors and cessation strategy use.ResultsYoung adults planned to quit on a longer time frame, expressed lower interest in quitting, and were more confident they would be successful, compared with older adults. Young adults were significantly less likely to use pharmacotherapy (adjusted odds ratio: 0.15; confidence interval: 0.09, 0.24; reference: quitting unassisted). Both groups reported using product substitution (YA: 31.6%; OA: 28.5%), primarily with e-cigarettes, more than any evidence-based cessation strategy. Socioeconomic predictors of cessation strategy use did not differ between age groups.ConclusionsMore research on why young adult smokers underutilize evidence-based cessation support is needed, as are innovative efforts to increase intentions to quit and utilization of cessation assistance.ImplicationsYoung adulthood is a key transition time for tobacco use, and early cessation substantially reduces the risk of morbidity and mortality from smoking. In the context of high e-cigarette and polytobacco use, this study finds young adults have significantly less intention to quit than older adults and are less likely to use evidence-based cessation strategies to help quit. Innovative methods are needed to increase young adult intentions to quit and use of evidence-based cessation assistance

Organic Farming in West Virginia: A Behavioral Approach

Although organic production continues to expand and remains the fastest growing segment of the U.S. agricultural economy, demand for organics continues to outpace supply, causing a lag in the supply chain. One of many important elements to remedying this issue is for more farmers to adopt organic practices and/or transition to organic certification. One state well positioned to tap into eastern U.S. metro markets is West Virginia. Our study sought to understand the factors affecting West Virginia farmers' decision to farm organically, as well as the barriers limiting pursuit of certification. Though West Virginia has the highest number of small farms in the U.S., only five farms were USDA organic–certified in 2012. We used a mixed-methods approach to explore the barriers to implementing organic practices and pursuing organic certification. The methods included interviews and mailed surveys, garnering responses from more than 230 farmers in West Virginia. We applied a social-ecological system lens for the development of a statistical model to parse out the major variables affecting transition to organic methods. Our results suggest that the decision to farm organically is largely an economic one, with a lack of perceived benefits being nearly as influential as perceived constraints as barriers. We also found that social ties to certified organic farmers reduced the likelihood of others implementing organic production practices. Finally, we propose that the choice to farm organically and pursue organic certification be studied in a holistic manner that assesses motives, constraints, and barriers to implementing organic practices in conjunction with relevant contextual attributes (farm characteristics and personal demographics) that affect the decision-making process

“I’m both smoking and vaping”: a longitudinal qualitative study of US young adults who tried to quit smoking cigarettes by using electronic cigarettes

ObjectiveTo describe how young adults use electronic cigarettes (electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS)) for smoking cessation and reasons why they may or may not successfully quit smoking.MethodsLongitudinal qualitative data were collected annually from 2017 to 2019 for 25 young adult tobacco users (aged 18-29 years) in California (USA) who used ENDS to quit/reduce smoking. Thematic and trajectory analyses were used to identify key within-person and between-person changes in tobacco/nicotine use over time.ResultsFive types of tobacco use transition were identified among baseline dual users of cigarettes and ENDS: sustained dual use without reduced smoking (n=8), transition to exclusive daily ENDS use (n=6), sustained dual use with reduced smoking (n=5), transition back to exclusive smoking (n=4) and transition to neither smoking nor vaping (n=2). Participants' ENDS use behaviour varied over time in terms of vaping quantity and device characteristics (eg, changing nicotine concentrations/flavours, switching between multiple devices). Three themes that related to successfully replacing cigarettes with ENDS were perceived positive physical effects, perceived satisfaction and enjoyment and context changes. Four themes for unsuccessful replacement were perceived negative physical discomforts, perceived addictiveness and harm, unsatisfactory substitution for cigarettes and device malfunction.ConclusionsYoung adults' experiences with using ENDS as a smoking cessation aid were highly variable. Adequate nicotine delivery and perceived safety and benefits contributed to successfully reducing or quitting cigarettes. Providing behavioural counselling and standardising ENDS products may enhance cessation for young adults