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11 – 20 of over 6000Hien Thu Thi Nguyen, Long Thanh Giang and Toan Ngoc Pham
The purpose of this study was to evaluate how higher tax on tobacco would influence output and employment in Vietnam.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to evaluate how higher tax on tobacco would influence output and employment in Vietnam.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used micro-simulation techniques proposed by Walbeeck (2010). Both national data (from Input–Output Table) and household data (Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey) were utilized.
Findings
The results showed that any increase in the excise tax for tobacco would have positive net impacts on both national output and employment. The tobacco industry would not be significantly affected due to its small contribution to national economy and employment. More importantly, money released from reduced tobacco consumption would be reallocated to other goods and services, and thus outputs and jobs in nontobacco sectors would increase.
Research limitations/implications
The key limitation of this study was due to unavailability of updated data, especially Input–Output Table as well as household living standard survey.
Practical implications
This study concluded that government should increase tax on cigarette along with a well-planned roadmap to avoid unexpected consequences on income and employment of laborers in this sector.
Originality/value
This study replicated a popular approach in order to verify an important government policy (i.e. effect of tax on tobacco on output and employment) under Vietnamese context.
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Ian Thomson, Colin Dey and Shona Russell
The purpose of this paper is to provide theoretical and empirical insights into the effective use of external accounts by social activists in conflict arenas in order to bring…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide theoretical and empirical insights into the effective use of external accounts by social activists in conflict arenas in order to bring about change.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a longitudinal case study of Action on Smoking and Health UK (ASH) and their use of external accounts and other activist practices during the period 1999-2010. The authors explore these practices from the perspective of one organisation engaged in conflict arenas concerning the (un)acceptability of tobacco production, consumption and governance. The authors conduct the exploration based upon a dynamic conflict arena framework that attends to the range of external accounting and activist practices, tactical intentions and states of conflict used by ASH to confront the tobacco industry and bring about change in tobacco governance.
Findings
The study identifies the use of a diverse range of external accounts and other activist practices. This assemblage of practices was used to confront, counter-act and to co-operate with actors engaged in tobacco-related conflicts. The evidence suggests that the deployment of different types of external accounts by ASH was aligned to the context of the particular conflict arena involved, and was influenced by the strategy and engagement tactics of the activists and other actors, as well as power dynamics and acceptability of the tobacco governance in the conflict arena. Whilst ASH used different external accounts in specific episodes of activism, these individual accounts also contributed to an emerging holistic account of the unacceptable consequences of tobacco production, consumption and governance.
Originality/value
This study provides new theoretical and empirical insights into how external accounts can contribute to the problematisation of governance and development of social and environmental change agendas. The dynamic conflict arena framework developed in this paper creates new visibilities and possibilities for developing external accounting practices and for researching this fast-developing area of social and environmental accounting.
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The purpose of this paper is to compare the response to HIV/AIDS and drug use (drugs harm reduction) with tobacco harm reduction.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare the response to HIV/AIDS and drug use (drugs harm reduction) with tobacco harm reduction.
Design/methodology/approach
Analysis of historical and contemporary sources, combined with personal knowledge of key stakeholders in the history and development of both fields.
Findings
Both drugs harm reduction and tobacco harm reduction share a similar objective – to reduce health risks for people who are unwilling or unable to stop using their drug of choice. Both also share a broader public health aim of helping people to make healthier decisions. Drugs harm reduction – as a response to HIV/AIDS – included the adoption of a wide range of radical harm reduction interventions and was a public health success. It became an established part of the professional Public Health agenda. In contrast the Public Health response to e-cigarettes and tobacco harm reduction has ranged from the negative to the cautious. A recent Public Health England report is exceptional for its endorsement of e-cigarettes.
Originality/value
Highlights contradictions in Public Health responses to drugs and tobacco; and that public health interventions can be implemented without and despite the contribution of professional Public Health.
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This chapter seeks to reveal what are the implications of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) debate on international investment law by focusing on the specific example of…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter seeks to reveal what are the implications of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) debate on international investment law by focusing on the specific example of public health. The right to health is one of the human rights secured in international law and in the national legislation of a majority of States. This chapter will provide examples of investment cases concerning tobacco control measures, imposed by the Host States for the purpose of improving public health, though challenged by the tobacco companies under International Investment Agreements (IIAs) in investment tribunals. These specific examples cast rather general questions regarding the legal framework of international investment framework and its role in providing sufficient policy space for Host States to implement the public policies and to ensure that foreign companies adhere to the CSR standards.
Methodology/approach
In order to investigate what are the implications of the CSR debate on international investment law on the example of tobacco industry, the author performs a literature review and analyze two tobacco disputes and its possible implication on the public health debate and protection of foreign investors.
Findings
This case study illustrates the complex paradigm that interlink economic and human rights obligations of States on one side of the spectrum and property rights and social responsibilities of tobacco companies on the other side.
Originality/value of chapter
This chapter addresses a very topical and pertinent issue in public international law, namely: the role of public interest norms in the regime of foreign direct investment.
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Mai-Huong Vo, Ngoc-Anh Nguyen, Estelle Dauchy and Nuong Nguyen
This study aims to estimate the pass-through rate of the increases in the excise tax and TCF tax on tobacco in Vietnam. This study seeks to shed light on how the tax burden is…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to estimate the pass-through rate of the increases in the excise tax and TCF tax on tobacco in Vietnam. This study seeks to shed light on how the tax burden is split between consumers and producers and inform policy discussions in the country. Using panel micro-level data collected from three waves of a nationwide retailer's survey, this study provides an evidence-based pass-through estimation for tobacco tax in Vietnam and contributes to the understanding of tax policy on smoking and smoking-related issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Following increases in the excise tax and TCF tax on tobacco in 2019, the differential effect of the tax hike on the “treatment group” (domestic cigarettes) versus the “control group” (illicit cigarettes) using a difference-in-difference (DID) analysis has been studied. The study utilized unique longitudinal retailers’ data on cigarettes prices in Vietnam from 2018 to 2019 to estimate the tax pass-through rate for some of the most popular factory-made cigarette brands.
Findings
This study found evidence of an over-shifting of cigarette taxes on smokers. Specifically, it discovered that the tax increase is absorbed more by low-priced brand smokers compared to premium brand users due to (1) the limited increase in prices under a pure ad valorem system and (2) the way the Vietnamese currency is denominated. Additionally, there is evidence of cushioning to mitigate price shock on consumers as the real prices increase gradually over the period of one year after the tax change.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to collect and analyze a unique panel micro-level data from three waves of a nationwide retailers’ survey, which captures the changes in marketing and pricing strategies of the tobacco industry in Vietnam before and after an increase in excise tax in 2019. The results of this study could be used as a reference for future policymakers in considering increasing taxes on tobacco.
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Dunjin Zhou, Yaqiong Yan, Huihong Yu, Qinghua Xia, Niannian Yang, Zhifeng Zhang, Zhaoyang Zhu, Fang Li and Jie Gong
This study aims to examine whether, in the opinion of patients selected in 13 hospitals of Hubei province, China, hospitals are smoke free. Patients were also asked whether their…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine whether, in the opinion of patients selected in 13 hospitals of Hubei province, China, hospitals are smoke free. Patients were also asked whether their physicians had inquired about their smoking status.
Design/methodology/approach
Patients were recruited through an intercept method (i.e. stopped by the interviewer while in the hospital); data were collected through interviews, with a response rate of 96.1 percent.
Findings
Among the intercepted patients, 48.3 percent reported having seen people smoking in hospitals; 22.3 percent had seen a doctor and/or nurse smoking; 23.8 percent had smelled tobacco in hospitals; 68.4 percent reported having seen “no‐smoking” signs in hospital settings; 42.6 percent reported having been asked about smoking status in their latest visit to a doctor and 23.8 percent reported receiving tobacco cessation counseling. Compared to hospitals in large cities, patients from medium/small city hospitals reported significantly higher levels of cigarette smoking among physicians, and poorer implementation of regulations for a smoking‐free hospital, and less smoking cessation counseling by physicians.
Originality/value
Findings of this study point to the need for greater efforts to be made in promoting a smoke free environment in hospitals, as well as encouraging physicians to provide more smoking cessation counseling to smoking patients, particularly physicians in small and medium hospitals.
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Nathan Cowie, Marewa Glover and Dudley Gentles
Taxing tobacco is one of the most effective means to reduce smoking but concerns about the impact on poor smokers are a barrier. New Zealand resumed increasing tobacco taxes in…
Abstract
Purpose
Taxing tobacco is one of the most effective means to reduce smoking but concerns about the impact on poor smokers are a barrier. New Zealand resumed increasing tobacco taxes in April 2010. The paper hypothesised smokers would attempt to stop smoking and/or adapt, changing their smoking behaviours in response to price increases. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a door knock survey of smokers and recent ex-smokers who were home when visited. Participants (n=428) were from socioeconomically deprived neighbourhoods of Auckland with large proportions of Māori and Pacific Island people.
Findings
Many smokers (66 per cent) attempted to quit an average of 3 times. More than 40 per cent stopped for at least 24 hours without intending to quit altogether, monthly or more. Consumption reduced among 40 per cent of participants, by an average 7.1 cigarettes daily. More than a fifth of participants switched to cheaper brands. Switching from factory made cigarettes to roll your own tobacco (6 per cent) or vice versa (5 per cent) was uncommon.
Research limitations/implications
The method resulted in a low response rate. Tobacco tax is associated with reduced consumption and high levels of frequent quit attempts in socioeconomically deprived communities therefore our study supports tax increases as a means of reducing smoking.
Originality/value
This is the first paper to investigate the effect of large recent New Zealand tobacco tax increases on low-income smokers’ adaptive behaviours.
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Nathalia Christiani Tjandra, Thomas N. Garavan, Lukman Aroean and Yayi Suryo Prabandari
The authors explore the metaphors people from Indonesia use to describe their propriety beliefs about the ethical legitimacy of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors explore the metaphors people from Indonesia use to describe their propriety beliefs about the ethical legitimacy of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship (TAPS). This paper aims to understand why there is a consensus of propriety beliefs about the ethical legitimacy of TAPS in the face of increased government regulations and international criticism of such marketing practices.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected from 71 study participants using both focus groups and in-depth photo-elicitation interviews.
Findings
The participants use three sets of metaphors to describe propriety beliefs. First, participants used metaphors that described the centrality of TAPS and smoking in Indonesian society. Second, they used metaphors that described TAPS regulations and regulators and third, they used metaphors that described the activities of tobacco firms. Participants’ photographs revealed strong collective validity of TAPS within Indonesia and strong propriety beliefs consensus.
Research limitations/implications
This study is one of the first to integrate legitimacy-as-perception theory and the ecological systems framework to gain a multilevel insight into the TAPS activities are perceived as legitimate and, therefore, not unethical.
Practical implications
The findings have important implications for tobacco control regulators who wish to curtail TAPS in a country where all levels of the ecological system reinforce their collective validity. Policy and regulative initiatives must, therefore, be used in a systemic way to change this collective validity.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to use a legitimacy perspective to understand the ethical legitimacy of TAPS in marketing literature. It is also the first, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to use the three legitimacy-as-perception constructs: propriety beliefs, collective validity and consensus of propriety beliefs. The authors show that despite increased government regulations and international disapproval, TAPS continues to be considered ethically legitimate in Indonesia.
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This chapter examines whether the European Union or the United States set the parameters in the field of consumer protection and environmental regulations. The analysis points out…
Abstract
This chapter examines whether the European Union or the United States set the parameters in the field of consumer protection and environmental regulations. The analysis points out that there is no straightforward answer because leadership rotates or fluctuates depending on the extent to which societies and decision makers feel strongly about a particular issue. Examples are tobacco control and regulations with regards to genetically modified crops and food. The US identified the risks related to the wide availability of cigarettes before the EU, while the EU highlighted the risks related to the introduction of GM crops/products in the absence of similar American concerns. Both cultural and institutional developments account for this divergence. A unique combination of factors heightened the salience of anti-smoking measures in the US, while an equally distinctive matrix of developments highlighted the social, economic, health, and safety challenges of genetically modified organism (GMO). However, in spite of different constellations of institutional and cultural factors, the EU has embraced tobacco control and the American private sector is slightly more cautious about pushing GM crops onto the market.
Iraj Abedian and Rowena Jacobs
The South African government’s objectives relating to tobacco, primarily deterrence and revenue generation, have since the early 1970s not been maintained. The real value of…
Abstract
The South African government’s objectives relating to tobacco, primarily deterrence and revenue generation, have since the early 1970s not been maintained. The real value of tobacco taxes fell over the 20‐year period 1970 to 1990 and, as a result, consumption steadily increased. Since 1990, however, the government has, despite vociferous opposition from the industry, embarked on a stronger programme of tobacco control and has increased excise taxes in real terms. Uses a simulation model of the government’s non‐optimal tax policy to show that revenue could have increased by 2 per cent, had the government maintained the real value of excise duties. These findings suggest that, despite government moves in the right direction, there is still much room for a stronger tobacco taxation policy in South Africa that will enhance government revenue and contain consumption.