January 7, 2013
The $240 million tax break for Hollywood movie and TV producers inserted in the "fiscal cliff" bill last week is not new.
The bill extends a tax break (IRC Section 181) first granted Hollywood producers in 2004. Essentially, it lets producers immediately write off their first $15 million in production costs.
Porn movies are already explicitly disqualified from taking this tax break. But movies with smoking are getting the subsidy, which means that federal taxpayers will continue helping to pay for movies that addict kids to cigarettes.
Movies with tobacco imagery should also be disqualified. Unlike porn, which is merely objectionable, smoking in movies kills thousands of people in real life.
The U.S. Surgeon General concluded that smoking in movies causes youth smoking and two-thirds of state attorneys general, Democrat and Republican, agree on the harm and the urgent need to reduce kids' exposure.
The federal tax code should not subsidize that killing.
January 3, 2013
January 3, 2013
Academic Background Required:Doctorate/Equivalent Degree
The purpose of the fellowship is to attract individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds in medical, biological, social, behavioral, and policy sciences to develop a new generation of academic leaders in tobacco control. Upon completion of training, fellows will be well positioned to be active participants in crucial policy debates about the future development and implementation of tobacco control interventions.
The fellowship supports two years of postdoctoral training in tobacco related research. Postdoctoral fellows participate in diverse training including both didactic coursework and individualized mentoring to build a personalized research program. Fellows have come from an array of disciplines, including medicine, public health, nursing, economics, political science, law, sociology, psychology, and cell biology. Prior tobacco research experience is relevant, but not necessary for acceptance.
December 25, 2012
Mark Vander Weg and colleagues at the University of Iowa just published a paper in Health Affairs that analyzes Medicare hospital admissions for the entire country from 1990 through 2008 and estimates how hospital admissions change following passage of smokefree workplace, restaurant and bar laws. The found that risk-adjusted admission rates for acute myocardial infarction dropped 14-16 percent following implementation of new laws, with the effect growing with time. They also found a drop of 5 percent for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease following the law, growing to 17 percent at 36 months.
Confirming the meta-analysis Crystal Tan and I recently published in Circulation, they found a "dose-response" effect, with more comprehensive laws being followed by bigger drops in hospital admissions.
They also look at admission rates for gastrointestinal hemorrhage and hip fracture. They found no relationship with GI hemorrhage and a modest effect on hip fracture. as one would expect based on the biology.
December 19, 2012
Two organizations of shareholders who work on social issues have filed shareholder resolutions calling on the major media companies to get smoking out of their youth-rated films and support an industry-wide R rating for smoking. Here is their press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, December 19, 2012
CONTACTS: Katherine Kassing, As You Sow, (510) 735-8144, [email protected]
Rev. Michael Crosby, Midwest Capuchin Franciscans, (414) 406-1265, [email protected]