Adoption Of Bans Research Articles

The EU use of restrictive measures as a response to the War on Ukraine – a brief overview

As a response to Russia’s 24th February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the European Union (EU) imposed restrictive measures on Russian and Ukrainian individuals and has repeatedly increased their scope since. These restrictive measures build upon already existing measures adopted as a response to the annexation of Crimea and to the escalation of the tension in Ukraine that have occurred since. However, the reaction after the invasion in 2022 was unprecedented – not in terms of the legal framework, but in terms of the scope and the content of the restrictive measures applied. The present article presents the framework of the EU restrictive measures and develops the sanctions adopted against Russia. It then addresses two particular problems related with the imposition of restrictive measures against EU citizens, and the adoption of bans against Russian media outlets.

It's in the bag? The effect of plastic carryout bag bans on where and what people purchase to eat

AbstractThis paper examines how banning the use of plastic carryout bags at grocery stores affects where and what people purchase to eat. Using quasi‐random variation in local bag ban adoption across California and two data sources (retail scanner data and consumer survey data), I show that banning plastic carryout bags shifted some food sales away from regulated grocery stores toward unregulated grocery stores and restaurants. Specifically, I find that bag bans cause a 1.8% decline in food‐at‐home sales and a 1.9 percentage point increase in consumers' food‐away‐from‐home expenditure share. The decline in food‐at‐home sales is larger in jurisdictions more likely to experience cross‐border shopping, whereas the increase in food‐away‐from‐home expenditures is larger farther from jurisdiction borders. Together these results suggest that a small share of consumers find a way to bypass the bag bans—either by cross‐border shopping if near a border or by shifting to restaurants if not near a border. Heterogeneity analyses reveal the policy effects are strongest for those with higher incomes, those under 65 years, and those with young children, suggesting both income effects and time constraints as mechanisms behind the behavioral change. By quantifying consumer avoidance behaviors, these results enable policymakers to more accurately measure the impacts of their regulations and to understand the potential trade‐offs between their environmental and public health objectives.

The Significance of Race: Overcoming Obstacles in the Adoption of Ban the Box Laws

ABSTRACT Using mixed-methods guided by social movements and racial threat literatures, we examine advocacy and passage of “Ban-the-Box” policies removing criminal history inquiries from employment applications. Our content analysis reveals that organizations integral to passage centered their identity around racial justice, coalition-building, and addressing harms of the criminal justice system. Event history analyses among cities, counties, and states shows opportunities (larger Black populations, urbanicity, Black mayor, prior in-state passages) and impediments to passage (conservativism, White-Black unemployment gap). Together, they highlight factors regarding success of a policy designed to address racial inequality and restore opportunity to jobseekers affected by mass incarceration.

Pathways to Racial Equity in Higher Education: Modeling the Antecedents of State Affirmative Action Bans

Eight states currently have bans on affirmative action, yet little research has focused on the characteristics of states that predict ban adoption. To begin filling this gap in the literature, I conduct discrete-time survival analysis on an aggregated data set of 47 states from 1995 to 2012 to investigate the extent to which various characteristics of a state predict its likelihood of adopting a statewide affirmative action ban. Results show that scarcity of access to state public flagship institutions and policy diffusion are associated with ban adoption. Aligning with the racial threat literature, the findings suggest that these bans are associated with concerns about the scarcity of access to selective higher education institutions (operationalized as state public flagships) for White students.

DO CELL PHONE BANS CHANGE DRIVER BEHAVIOR?

In response to concerns that distracted driving due to cell phone use has become a threat to roadway safety, many states have passed laws that prohibit drivers from texting and talking on handheld cell phones. In light of recent evidence that these bans do not reduce traffic accidents, this article asks whether this is because the laws are ineffective in reducing usage. Using data on observed driver cell phone usage combined with a difference‐in‐differences approach that exploits the within‐state variation in the adoption of bans, I find that prohibiting drivers from texting and talking on handheld cell phones reduces each by 60% and 50%, respectively. This suggests the policy is effective at reducing the targeted behavior, which leads me to discuss other factors and behavioral responses that may counteract the reduction in observed usage (JEL K32, D04, R41).

Full and home smoking ban adoption after a randomized controlled trial targeting secondhand smoke exposure reduction.

The current study examined home and full (i.e., home plus car) smoking ban adoption as secondary outcomes to a randomized controlled trial targeting reduced secondhand smoke exposure (SHSe) for children under treatment for cancer. Families with at least 1 adult smoker who reported SHSe for their children (n = 119) were randomized to control or intervention conditions and followed for 1 year with 5 assessments. Both groups were advised of the negative health outcomes associated with SHSe; the intervention group provided more in-depth counseling from baseline to 3 months. Parents reported on household and car smoking behavior, demographic, psychosocial, and medical/treatment-related information. Regardless of group assignment, there was an increase in home (odds ration [OR] = 1.16, p = .074) and full (OR = 1.37, p = .001) smoking ban adoption across time. Families in the intervention group were more likely to adopt a full ban by 3 months, but this difference was nonsignificant by 12 months. Married parents (OR = 2.33, p = .006) and those with higher self-efficacy for controlling children's SHSe (OR = 1.11, p = .023) were more likely to have a home smoking ban; parents who reported smoking fewer cigarettes were more likely to adopt a home (OR = 1.62, p < .0001) or full (OR = 7.32, p = .038) ban. Smoking bans are in-line with Healthy People 2020's tobacco objectives and may be more feasible for parents with medically compromised children for immediate SHSe reduction. Furthermore, interventions targeting full smoking bans may be a more effective for comprehensive elimination of SHSe.

Why some, but not all, countries have banned asbestos

Out of 143 countries that consumed asbestos between 2003 and 2007, only 44 have banned asbestos. This study tried to explain why some countries have banned asbestos while others have not, based on a synthesis that asbestos ban policy of a country will rely on a process of cognition of threats and exploration of safer alternatives. As we hypothesized that increased social cost of mesothelioma, capacity of health-related infrastructures, and policy diffusion from adjacent countries were related to asbestos ban adoption, published databases of asbestos ban years, mesothelioma mortality, country rankings in health care and human rights standings, and distribution of banning countries over 14 regions were analyzed accordingly. The average mesothelioma death rate was significantly higher for countries with asbestos bans than in those with no ban (4·59 versus 1·83/million). No-ban countries had less well-developed health-related infrastructures. Among European countries, there was a tendency toward geographical diffusion of asbestos ban policy from Nordic to Western and then other European countries over the years. Even though aberrant cases were also noted where bans were instituted even without mesothelioma database, these were rather exceptions than rules. Risk cognition is a complex process, but the presence of well-functioning health infrastructures, as well as the increased social cost of mesothelioma, that can make the plight of asbestos victims visible to the eyes of public and policy makers, may have contributed to this process. Asbestos ban policy from adjacent countries might have facilitated the adoption of alternative solutions.

Smoking’s Shrinking Geographies

Smoking bans are the most geographical aspect of contemporary tobacco control policy, and are eliminating smoke from many of the spaces of everyday life, particularly in high-income countries. In this paper, we emphasize that the adoption of bans both reflects, and reinforces, changing social norms around smoking and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. Specifically, as understandings of the health consequences of environmental tobacco smoke have developed, social acceptance of smoking has declined. Bans cement this norm shift by making the behaviour more difficult to perform, relocating smokers to marginal places, and contributing to stigmatization. We draw upon a diverse, multi-disciplinary scholarship examining contemporary trends in the spatial regulation of smoking. While its focus is on the formal, large-scale bans implemented by public authorities, increasing attention is now being paid to the myriad small-scale, voluntary decisions of private actors to limit smoking. As smoking is permitted in ever fewer places, the behaviour is denormalized and its social status markedly eroded.

The Ban on “Off-Label” Pharmaceutical Promotion: Constitutionally Permissible Prophylaxis against False or Misleading Commercial Speech?

Critics of the Food & Drug Administration's ban on off-label promotion often claim that it violates the First Amendment because it suppresses pharmaceutical manufacturers' truthful speech about their legal--and beneficial--products. Characterizing the ban on off-label promotion in this way has more than rhetorical significance. Bans on truthful, non-misleading speech elicit special skepticism because of the belief that they "usually rest solely on the offensive assumption that the public will respond 'irrationally' to the truth." The legislative history of the provisions of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act that underlie the ban on off-label promotion, however, reveals that Congress was concerned that physicians were responding rationally to false and misleading promotional claims. In this Article, I explore the doctrinal questions raised by conceiving of the ban on off-label promotion not as a ban on "truthful speech to physicians" but instead as a prophylaxis against false and misleading pharmaceutical promotion. I review the evidence that false and misleading claims were commonplace before the ban's adoption and persist today, along with the enforcement challenges the FDA confronted at that time and would confront were the ban lifted, and conclude the government likely could develop the factual record necessary to establish that Congress' rejection of an after-the-fact case-by-case approach to combating false and misleading prescription drug promotion is constitutional.

Incidence of acute myocardial infarction after implementation of a public smoking ban in Graubünden, Switzerland: Two year follow-up

In the first year after implementation of a public smoking ban a significant decrease in the incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was observed in Graubünden. In the present study we analyzed the incidence of AMI in the second year of the ban. In addition, we investigated the contribution of smoking ban-unrelated factors to the reduced incidence of AMI incidence observed after enactment of the ban. Data of all AMI patients who underwent coronary angiography at the Kantonsspital Graubünden, the only tertiary care hospital with a cardiac catheterization laboratory in Graubünden, between March 1st, 2009 and February 28th, 2010 were collected prospectively. Data were compared with those of the three preceding 12-month periods. We also estimated AMI incidence during the corresponding time period in Lucerne, a region with no smoke-free legislation, using data of the AMIS Plus registry. The influence of outdoor air pollution was analyzed with the help of official measurements of PM(10)- and NO(2)-concentrations in Graubünden. The prescription of lipid-lowering drugs was estimated by using sales figures in Graubünden and Lucerne. In Graubünden, the number of patients with AMI in the second year after adoption of the smoking ban was similar to that in the first year of the ban (188 vs. 183; P = ns) and significantly lower than in each of the two years preceding the ban (229 and 242, respectively; P <0.05 vs. each of the 12-month periods after the ban). Overall, the number of AMI patients in the two post-ban years was 21% lower than in the two pre-ban years. The reduction in the number of patients with AMI was most pronounced in non-smokers and individuals with known coronary artery disease. During the corresponding time period, no similar decrease in the incidence of AMI was observed in Lucerne. No association was found between the magnitude of outdoor air pollution and the incidence of AMI. During the observation period, the use of lipid-lowering drugs increased similarly in Graubünden and Lucerne. Compared with the two years preceding the implementation of a smoking ban, the incidence of AMI remained significantly reduced in the second year of the ban in Graubünden, whereas no similar reduction was seen in a comparable area without smoke-free legislation. Changes in outdoor air pollution or the use of lipid-lowering drugs did not substantially contribute to the decrease in the incidence of AMI that occurred after adoption of the ban in Graubünden.

Longitudinal Study of Household Smoking Ban Adoption Among Korean Americans

Few longitudinal studies have examined the adoption of bans on smoking in private homes. This longitudinal study examined: (1) the prevalence of home smoking bans at baseline, (2) the incidence and predictors of new ban implementation by follow-up, and (3) the reasons for banning smoking and the difficulties with enforcement. The sample consisted of 1360 adults of Korean descent residing in California who were interviewed by telephone (in English/Korean) at baseline during 2001-2002 and re-interviewed in 2006-2007. Data analyses were conducted in 2007-2008. The proportion of respondents with a complete household smoking ban grew from 59% at baseline to 91% by the follow-up interview. Among the 552 respondents who did not have a ban at baseline, 84% had adopted a ban by follow-up. Three baseline factors independently predicted ban adoption during the follow-up period: the presence of a nonsmoking respondent or spouse, the presence of nonsmoking family members, and respondent's belief that secondhand smoke caused lung cancer. The most highly rated reasons for banning smoking were as follows: because smoke annoys others, to protect family members, to avoid the odor, to discourage youth from smoking, and to encourage smokers to quit. Finally, respondents indicated that they would find it most difficult to ask their parent-in-law not to smoke. The proportion of households with smoking bans increased substantially, but households with smokers or family members who smoke remained less likely to implement bans. The importance of culturally sensitive programs to promote household bans cannot be overstated.

Factors associated with the adoption of a smoking ban in Quebec households

The home represents an important source of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke for non-smokers, including children, who live with smokers. Our goal is to identify the sociodemographic factors associated with the adoption of smoking bans in "smoker households" in Quebec. Selected associations are compared with three other Canadian provinces (Ontario, British Columbia and Nova Scotia). This is a cross-sectional study involving 2648 respondents. Logistic regression analysis is employed. Few smoker households in Quebec (21%) have a ban on smoking; the presence of a non-smoker is strongly linked to the existence of such a ban; the presence of a child under the age of 6 is less strongly associated with the adoption of a ban in Quebec than in the other provinces, and the presence of an adolescent shows no association whatsoever. In addition to the child health benefits of household smoking bans, greater emphasis should be placed on the impact that such bans can have on children's future smoking behaviour. One option from a health promotion standpoint might be to organize a campaign aimed at non-smokers who live with smokers, in order to urge them to be less tolerant of environmental tobacco smoke.

Recent mortality from pleural mesothelioma, historical patterns of asbestos use, and adoption of bans: a global assessment.

BackgroundIn response to the health risks posed by asbestos exposure, some countries have imposed strict regulations and adopted bans, whereas other countries have intervened less and continue to use varying quantities of asbestos.ObjectivesThis study was designed to assess, on a global scale, national experiences of recent mortality from pleural mesothelioma, historical trends in asbestos use, adoption of bans, and their possible interrelationships.MethodsFor 31 countries with available data, we analyzed recent pleural mesothelioma (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision) mortality rates (MRs) using age-adjusted period MRs (deaths/million/year) from 1996 to 2005. We calculated annual percent changes (APCs) in age-adjusted MRs to characterize trends during the period. We characterized historical patterns of asbestos use by per capita asbestos use (kilograms per capita/year) and the status of national bans.ResultsPeriod MRs increased with statistical significance in five countries, with marginal significance in two countries, and were equivocal in 24 countries (five countries in Northern and Western Europe recorded negative APC values). Countries adopting asbestos bans reduced use rates about twice as fast as those not adopting bans. Turning points in use preceded bans. Change in asbestos use during 1970–1985 was a significant predictor of APC in mortality for pleural mesothelioma, with an adjusted R2 value of 0.47 (p < 0.0001).ConclusionsThe observed disparities in global mesothelioma trends likely relate to country-to-country disparities in asbestos use trends.

Longitudinal study of household smoking ban adoption among households with at least one smoker: Associated factors, barriers, and smoker support

We conducted a longitudinal study among Oregon households with at least one smoker to assess smoking-related associations with ban adoption, to examine smoker support for bans, and to examine barriers to ban establishment. We followed a cohort of 1,604 baseline survey respondents for a median time of 21 months and re-interviewed 825 respondents (51.4% response rate). Of these, 512 did not have a full household ban in place at baseline. Thirty-two percent of the respondents without a ban at baseline adopted a full ban. Baseline smoking-related factors associated with ban adoption were: longer time until first cigarette, stage of change, and attitudes towards respondent's smoking. Associated follow-up factors included cessation and reduced consumption. Ninety-one percent of respondents reported smoker support of a ban. Future work should focus on ban establishment in households with more highly addicted smokers.