Suchergebnisse

Objective. To estimate cigarette demand and to simulate a tax policy targeted to reduce tobacco consumption. Materials and methods. Demand was estimated using a vector error correction model. Simulation exercises present the impact of a tax increase on consumption and revenues. Results. Changes in real income and the real price of cigarettes affect the demand for cigarettes in Argentina. The long term price elasticity is 0.279 (a 10% increase in real prices reduces cigarette consumption by 2.79% per quarter) and the long term income elasticity is 0.411 (a 10% increase in real income raises consumption by 4.11% per quarter). Even in a conservative scenario, imulations show that increasing the price of cigarettes by 100% using excise taxes would maximize revenues and reduce cigarette consumption. Conclusion. There is sufficient room to increase taxes, reducing cigarette consumption, while still increasing tax revenues.

The tobacco epidemic continues to spread through Latin America and the Caribbean. Philip Morris and British American Tobacco Company control the market through their subsidiaries. In the past, governments in this region have shown little or no commitment to tobacco control. This, however, has changed in recent years as the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control has been signed by most and ratified by several countries in the region. Non-governmental organizations, sometimes rallied by the InterAmerican Heart Foundation, have played a crucial role in supporting Treaty ratification. Latin America and the Caribbean have the momentum to move forward in tobacco control and also the support to approve the necessary legislation to halt the tobacco epidemic.

Background: Chronic diseases are the leading cause of premature death and disability in the world with over-nutrition a primary cause of diet-related ill health. Excess quantities of energy, saturated fat, sugar and salt derived from fast foods contribute importantly to this disease burden. Our objective is to collate and compare nutrient composition data for fast foods as a means of supporting improvements in product formulation. METHODS/DESIGN: Surveys of fast foods will be done in each participating country each year. Information on the nutrient composition for each product will be sought either through direct chemical analysis, from fast food companies, in-store materials or from company websites. Foods will be categorized into major groups for the primary analyses which will compare mean levels of saturated fat, sugar, sodium, energy and serving size at baseline and over time. Countries currently involved include Australia, New Zealand, France, UK, USA, India, Spain, China and Canada, with more anticipated to follow. DISCUSSION: This collaborative approach to the collation and sharing of data will enable low-cost tracking of fast food composition around the world. This project represents a significant step forward in the objective and transparent monitoring of industry and government commitments to improve the quality of fast foods. ; E Dunford is supported by a Sydney Medical School Foundation scholarship and B Neal by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship. ; http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/559 ; am2013