The Impact of Lending, Borrowing, and Anti-Smoking Policies on Cigarette Consumption by Teens

A major factor contributing to smoking initiation and experimentation by teenagers is the ability to 'bum' cigarettes. Yet research until now has ignored the impact of a lending/borrowing market on the smoking decisions of teenagers. In this paper, we develop a theoretical model where smoking decisions are determined by an individual's utility maximization process that includes an incentive to lend cigarettes. Predictions from this model are tested using data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveys that can distinguish between teens who primarily buy and those who primarily bum their cigarettes. We show the ways in which price and restrictions on smoking will impact the decision to buy or bum cigarettes, as well as the impact on the allocation of purchased cigarettes between those self-consumed and those lent to others. Key results indicate that as prices and restrictions increase, teenagers are less likely to be regular smokers who purchase cigarettes and are more likely to consume smaller quantities obtained via the lending market. The basic conclusions are that anti-smoking policies have significant effects on the quantity of cigarettes consumed by teens and that these policies can help reduce the number of teens that escalate from experimental to regular smoking.

Noteworthy: News Briefs from PA Libraries

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Noteworthy: News Briefs From PA Libraries

News Briefs From PA Libraries - Fall 201

One Thing Leads to Another--Examining the relationship between health insurance status and access to selected screening services by women, aged 45 to 64.

Being without health insurance or being "underinsured" creates a variety of special problems for women aged, 45 to 64, which is perhaps the most complex of all developmental periods in the lives of American women. "One Thing Leads to Another. . ." explored the relationship between health insurance status and the utilization of primary screening services among women, aged 45 to 64. Secondary data drawn from the 1996 BRFSS was used to develop a non-experimental study that examined the association between health insurance status, and access to selected primary screening services as measured by their responses to the BRFSS and as compared to demographic covariates of interest. Several key findings emerged: 1. Health insurance significantly affects a woman's use of primary health care services; 2. While insurance status or lack of coverage matters tremendously for women, it alone does not guarantee access to health care. Othe determinants, such as income and educational levels, are important forces affecting health behaviors; 3. The rate of being uninsured in the 45-64 females cohort was slightly higher than national averages in 1996; 4. Reduced rates of access were observed across all covariates when women did not have insurance but higher rates of poor outcomes were more consistently associated with uninsured women who were of a race or ethnicity other than "White Non-Hispanic," were unmarried, were unemployed and had lower levels of income and less years of education completed. The public health significance of the study directly relates to one of the "Year 2010 National Health Objectives--to increase the proportion of persons with health insurance to 100 percent." To meet that goal, all Americans should be included in a comprehensive health care system that guarantees timely access to health care, assures a high quality of health services with adequate and stable reimbursement for health care providers and rationally apportions the costs of care. A major focus of that process should include curretn and immediate attention toward improving the health care of all women, with a special emphasis on those aged 45 to 64, who have inadequate insurance coverage. The final chapter includes a review of current state health care reform initiatives and several major approaches to extending coverage to midlife women. Public health and social policy implications along with suggestions for future research and the study's limitations are also provided

"Cover Me": Rolling Stone Coverage of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, 1973-2007

This study investigated how a hugely influential magazine, Rolling Stone, has covered one of popular music’s biggest icons in order to discover how the magazine fixes public memory and thereby creates celebrity. It examined how the magazine’s coverage of Springsteen changed over time; whether it corresponded to events in his career or personal life; what subjects it dealt with; the location, size and general tone of articles; and what recurring themes characterized coverage. Examined in the study were the magazine’s 387 articles about Springsteen and the E Street Band from their first mention in the magazine on March 15, 1973, until their most recent on June 1, 2007, when it reported that the group would reunite for an album and tour. A complete list of articles pertaining to them was obtained from the Asbury Park Public Library, home to a Springsteen collection including more than 4,915 holdings, such as books, song books, tour books, comic books, magazines, fanzines, Internet articles and academic articles and papers. Several major themes emerged in the coverage. His concerts were given a nearly monumental status, and his reputation as a live performer was regarded as nearly unparalleled. He was portrayed as a man who never lost his connection to his fans and his working-class roots despite his massive success. Later, he became the voice of the downtrodden and marginalized. The magazine’s coverage did not reflect the negativity that appeared in other places. Through its editorial decisions, Rolling Stone affected public memory of Springsteen. By taking a laudatory stance on him from the beginning and building upon that over the course of his career while at the same time downplaying controversies, the magazine presented a one-sided picture of him. This approach to coverage ultimately changed little during thirty-four years of coverage. By occupying its position as the premier American music magazine, Rolling Stone had the ability to make its version of him the legitimate, generally accepted one

Effects of craving and DRD4 VNTR genotype on the relative value of alcohol: an initial human laboratory study

BACKGROUND: Craving for alcohol is a highly controversial subjective construct and may be clarified by Loewenstein's visceral theory, which emphasizes craving's behavioral effects on the relative value of alcohol. Based on the visceral theory, this study examined the effects of a craving induction on the relative value of alcohol as measured by a behavioral choice task. In addition, based on previous evidence of its role in the expression of craving, the influence of DRD4 VNTR genotype (DRD4-L vs. DRD4-S) was also examined. METHODS: Thirty-five heavy drinkers (54% male; 31% DRD4-L) were randomly assigned to receive either a craving induction (exposure to personally relevant alcohol cues) or a control induction (exposure to neutral cues), which was followed by an alcohol-money choice task. Participants were assessed for craving and positive/negative affect throughout the procedure, and relative value of alcohol was derived from participant choices for alcohol versus money. DRD4 VNTR status was assessed retrospectively via buccal samples using previously established protocols. RESULTS: Factorial analysis of the craving induction revealed that it was associated with significant increase in craving (p < .001), but not greater relative value of alcohol. Factorial analyses including DRD4 VNTR genotype of did not suggest an influence on reactivity to the craving induction, although this analysis was substantially compromised by small cell sample sizes. Continuous analyses revealed that craving was significantly associated with the relative value of alcohol (p < .05) and possession of the DRD4-L allele further amplified this relationship (p < .001). CONCLUSION: These results are interpreted as generally supporting Loewenstein's visceral theory of craving and evidence of a functional role of DRD4 VNTR genotype in the expression of craving for alcohol. Methodological limitations, mechanisms underlying these findings, and future directions are discussed