Search

Heroin overdose, more accurately termed ‘heroin-related overdose’ due to the frequent involvement of other drugs, is the leading cause of mortality among regular heroin users. (Degenhardt et al., 2010) Heroin injectors are at greater risk of hospital admission for heroin-related overdose (HOD) in the eastern United States where Colombian-sourced powder heroin is sold than in the western US where black ‘tar’ heroin predominates. (Unick et al., 2014) This paper examines under-researched influences on HOD, both fatal and non-fatal, using data from a qualitative study of injecting drug users of black tar heroin in San Francisco and powder heroin in Philadelphia Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews carried out in 2012 that were conducted against a background of longer-term participant-observation, ethnographic studies of drug users and dealers in Philadelphia (2007–12) and of users in San Francisco (1994–2007, 2012). Our findings suggest three types of previously unconsidered influences on overdose risk that arise both from structural socio-economic factors and from the physical properties of the heroin source-types: 1) retail market structure including information flow between users; 2) marketing techniques such as branding, free samples and pricing and 3) differences in the physical characteristics of the two major heroin source forms and how they affect injecting techniques and vascular health. Although chosen for their contrasting source-forms, we found that the two cities have contrasting dominant models of drug retailing: San Francisco respondents tended to buy through private dealers and Philadelphia respondents frequented an open-air street market where heroin is branded and free samples are distributed, although each city included both types of drug sales. These market structures and marketing techniques shape the availability of information regarding heroin potency and its dissemination among users who tend to seek out the strongest heroin available on a given day. The physical characteristics of these two source-types, the way they are prepared for injecting and their effects on vein health also differ markedly. The purpose of this paper is to examine some of the unexplored factors that may lead to heroin-related overdose in the United States and to generate hypotheses for further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To examine disparities in the price of tobacco and nontobacco products in pharmacies compared with other types of stores Methods. We recorded the prices of Marlboro, Newport, the cheapest cigarettes, and bottled water in a random sample of licensed tobacco retailers (n = 579) in California in 2014.Wecollected comparable data from retailers (n = 2603) in school enrollment zones for representative samples of US 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in 2012. Ordinary least squares regressions modeled pretax prices as a function of store type and neighborhood demographics. Results. In both studies, the cheapest cigarettes cost significantly less in pharmacies than other stores; the average estimated difference was $0.47 to $1.19 less in California. We observed similar patterns for premium-brand cigarettes. Conversely, bottled water cost significantly more in pharmacies than elsewhere. Newport cost less in areas with higher proportions of African Americans; other cigarette prices were related to neighborhood income and age. Neighborhood demographics were not related to water prices. Conclusions:Compared with other stores, pharmacies charged customers less for cigarettes and more for bottled water. State and local policies to promote tobacco-free pharmacies would eliminate an important source of discounted cigarettes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

California avocado producers, concerned about sharp increases in imports from Chile and Mexico, secured passage of national legislation to include financial participation by imports in U.S. generic promotion programs. Estimated demand parameters for avocados indicate that new advertising and promotion funded by the 2.5 cents per pound assessment on all Hass avocados sold in the U.S. can offset a portion of the price impact of increased imports. Producers of other specialty crops may want to investigate the feasibility of using national promotion and research orders to expand demand when faced with increased production or imports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the impact of quality information on the willingness of consumers to enroll in health plans that restrict provider access.Data Sources and Setting: A survey administered to respondents between the ages of 25 and 64 in the West Los Angeles area with private health insurance.Study Design: An experimental approach is used to measure the effect of variation in provider network features and information about the quality of network physicians on hypothetical plan choices. Conditional logit models are used to analyze the experimental choice data. Next, choice model parameter estimates are used to simulate the impact of changes in plan features on the market shares of competing health plans and to calculate the quality level required to make consumers indifferent to changes in provider access.Principal Findings: The presence of quality information reduced the importance of provider network features in plan choices as hypothesized. However, there were not statistically meaningful differences by type of quality measure (i.e., consumer assessed versus expert assessed). The results imply that large quality differences are required to make consumers indifferent to changes in provider access. The impact of quality on plan choices depended more on the particular measure and less on the type of measure. Quality ratings based on the proportion of survey respondents "extremely satisfied with results of care" had the greatest impact on plan choice while the proportion of network doctors "affiliated with university medical centers" had the least. Other consumer and expert assessed measures had more comparable effects.Conclusions: Overall the results provide empirical evidence that consumers are willing to trade high quality for restrictions on provider access. This willingness to trade implies that relatively small plans that place restrictions on provider access can successfully compete against less restrictive plans when they can demonstrate high quality. However, the results of this study suggest that in many cases, the level of quality required for consumers to accept access restrictions may be so high as to be unattainable. The results provide empirical support for the current focus of decision support efforts on consumer assessed quality measures. At the same time, however, the results suggest that consumers would also value quality measures based on expert assessments. This finding is relevant given the lack of comparative quality information based on expert judgment and research suggesting that consumers have apprehensions about their ability to meaningfully interpret performance-based quality measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes the influence of venture capital financing on product market strategies and outcomes of start-up firms using a dataset of Santa Clara County, California-based start-up companies. Involvement of venture capitalist in development path of entrepreneurial companies; Relationship between venture capital financing and the time to bring products to market.

Focuses on the intervention program of the community in Salinas, California in reducing alcohol-related traffic injuries from November 1993 to December 1996. Increase of sobriety checkpoints enforced by the police; Interventions addressing the marketing of alcoholic beverages to minors; Use of comparison community in evaluating the program.