Trade liberalisation and tobacco control: moving from a policy of exclusion towards a more comprehensive policy

Notwithstanding the fact that it has been 10 years since empirical confirmation that trade liberalisation may increase tobacco consumption, tobacco control policy with respect to trade liberalisation and related processes remains largely underdeveloped. The most commonly articulated policy, that tobacco be excluded from the scope of trade agreements, is problematic for a number of reasons and has not been widely implemented. In light of this fact and the potential role of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, further research and policy development are needed in the area.     

Tobacco on campus: industry marketing and tobacco control policy among post-secondary institutions in Canada

Objective: Post-secondary institutions provide a unique opportunity to implement and evaluate leading edge tobacco policies, while influencing a key group of young adults. To date, however, we know little about the tobacco control environment at post-secondary institutions outside the USA.     

Tobacco policy rating form: a tool for evaluating worksite and tribal smoking control policies

OBJECTIVE: To report on the development and validation of a rating scale to code the various components of written tobacco policies. DESIGN: A one-page Tobacco Policy Rating Form (TPRF) was developed to apply to written policies in both worksites and American Indian tribes. Fifteen worksite and 24 tribal tobacco policies from a diverse set of companies and tribes of varying size and economic status were rated on the TPRF by two separate sets of experienced and inexperienced raters. Kendall's coefficient of concordance (W) was computed to measure inter- rater agreement. RESULTS: The scale was found to produce a high level of agreement when used by both experienced and inexperienced raters on both tribal and worksite policies. For experienced raters, W = 0.92, P < 0.0001 for tribal policies and W = 0.97, P < 0.0001 for worksite policies; for inexperienced raters, W = 0.89, P < 0.0001 for tribal policies and W = 0.96, P < 0.0001 for worksite policies. CONCLUSIONS: The TPRF seems worthy of future use as a tool to rate the strength and comprehensiveness of written tobacco policies. It may be extended to other settings such as schools and municipalities, or used by investigators studying behavioural or economic consequences of smoking policies. Those interested in policy change may find the TPRF useful as a way of describing existing policies and as a quantitative measure of change.


     

Biotechnology, biofortification, and global health

Deficiencies of micronutrients such as iron, zinc, and vitamin A afflict over three billion people (more than 50% of the world's population), most of them women, infants, and children in resource-poor families in the developing world. This global crisis in nutritional health is the result of dysfunctional food systems that do not consistently supply enough of these essential nutrients to meet the nutritional requirements of high-risk groups. Deficiencies of micronutrients result in increased morbidity and mortality rates, lost worker productivity, stagnated national development, permanent impairment of cognitive development in infants and children, and large economic costs and suffering to those societies affected. Because agricultural systems are the primary source of all micronutrients for all people, changes in agricultural policies and systems must be made that will ensure consistent and adequate supplies of all essential nutrients to all people. Additionally, the nutrition and health sectors must turn to agricultural interventions as a primary tool in their efforts to eliminate malnutrition from the world if they want to ensure sustainability. Biotechnological advances show great promise for improving the output of bioavailable micronutrients from agricultural systems that feed the poor. This paper reviews some of these opportunities and discusses the questions and concerns that should be raised when these technologies are used to improve the micronutrient status of vast numbers of people who are dependent on staple food crops for their sustenance. Further, important issues surrounding micronutrient bioavailability and plant food factors that affect it are discussed.     

The vital role of science in global policy decision-making: An analysis of past, current, and forecasted trends and issues in global red meat trade and policy

As global populations and economies change, the dynamics of global trade and policy change as well. In analyzing the past trends and projections for global populations, economic developments, animal product production and consumption, global trade policy, and current issues being faced, one can begin to make some predictions or projections as to how the global red meat and poultry infrastructure will change and, more importantly, point to areas where a proactive approach is necessary to shape these changes to meet the most globally beneficial end. Many issues face the global red meat industry, from food safety to animal disease, and are becoming more and more complicated as consumer knowledge increases and as politics intervene. Internationalized science is key and vital in the future of global trade policy as science can address the more informed consumer in a manner, which reduces anxiety over unknowns. The role of the industry is to provide the information and knowledge to the consumer necessary to convey the validity of globally accepted standards, which relate to ensuring consumer safety, animal welfare, and provide assurances that these standards are being met within the production sector.     

Integrating tobacco control into health and development agendas

Tobacco use is one of the major risk factors for non-communicable diseases, with a profound impact on resource-poor low-income and middle-income countries such as India, where tobacco use is high and where socioeconomic as well as health inequalities are rampant. Effective implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control requires multisectoral efforts that can fructify through integration of tobacco control into broader health and development agendas such as food and water security, environment, the right to education and human rights. The global tobacco control community will need to explore innovative partnerships beyond its traditional confines and build a global coalition that supports tobacco control by partnering with others having convergent concerns on common determinants. A firm political commitment and intersectoral coordination between government and non-government agencies is paramount in order to implement effective tobacco control programmes. Integration of tobacco control into other health and development agendas as described in this paper has the potential to contribute to the achievement of all the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals. This paper explores why the whole of government should accord a high priority to tobacco control, and how this integration could be achieved.     

Policy integration in the EU governance of global food security

The global food price spikes of 2007–8 and 2010 led to increased awareness of the complexity of food (in)security as a policy problem that crosscuts traditional sectoral, spatial and temporal scales. At the European Union (EU) level, this awareness resulted in calls for better integrated approaches to govern food security. This paper addresses the question of to what extent these calls were followed by an actual shift towards better integrated EU food security governance. We address this question by applying a processual policy integration framework that distinguishes four integration dimensions: (i) the policy frame, (ii) subsystem involvement, (iii) policy goals, and (iv) policy instruments. The empirical body of evidence for assessing shifts in these dimensions draws upon an extensive analysis of EU documents complemented with interview data. We find that policy integration advanced to at least some degree: the policy frame expanded towards new dimensions of food security; a wider array of subsystems started discussing food security concerns; food security goals diversified somewhat and there was an increased awareness of coherence and linkages with other issues; existing instruments, including internal procedural instruments, were expanded and made more consistent; and new types of instruments were developed. At the same time, significant differences exist between policy domains and policy integration efforts seem to have come to a halt in recent years. We conclude with various policy recommendations and suggestions for follow-up research.