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Tobacco tax increases, the most cost-effective measure in reducing consumption, remain underutilized in low and middle-income countries. This study estimates the health and economic burden of smoking in Argentina and forecasts the benefits of tobacco tax hikes, accounting for the potential effects of illicit trade. Using a probabilistic Markov microsimulation model, this study quantifies smoking-related deaths, health events, and societal costs. The model also estimates the health and economic benefits of different increases in the price of cigarettes through taxes. Annually, smoking causes 45,000 deaths and 221,000 health events in Argentina, costing USD 2782 million in direct medical expenses, USD 1470 million in labor productivity loss costs, and USD 1069 million in informal care costs-totaling 1.2% of the national gross domestic product. Even in a scenario that considers illicit trade of tobacco products, a 50% cigarette price increase through taxes could yield USD 8292 million in total economic benefits accumulated over a decade. Consequently, raising tobacco taxes could significantly reduce the health and economic burdens of smoking in Argentina while increasing fiscal revenue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low calcium intake and its impact on maternal and child health are a major concern in low‐ and middle‐income countries. Given the low calcium in diet, as well as the low adherence and acceptability of calcium pills in those settings, the discussion about policies to increase calcium intake has moved toward staple food fortification strategies. Nevertheless, there is scarce information on the economic feasibility of implementing these strategies. We aimed to design and propose a novel costing tool to estimate the cost of the flour fortification with calcium by carrying out a literature review about costing studies for staple food fortification programs and costing tools previously developed. A deliberative meeting with stakeholders was held to discuss and face‐validate the conceptual framework proposed. We showed the costing tool application for the case of Costa Rica (a country with a population with low calcium intake), including the absolute cost of the staple food fortification production process, the incremental cost of fortification according to the public/private sector, and the incremental cost by target population. This open‐source and publicly available costing tool can be useful to inform policymaking in countries considering the implementation of staple food fortification programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To contextualize the scholarship in this special issue, I argue that primary tenets of existentialism are transtheoretical in the counseling profession. Specifically, issues of authenticity, freedom, and responsibility to others are articulated as having shared heritage in existentialism. Deepening the well of existential scholarship can catalyze a renewed relationship between theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides evidence to support developing interventions for addressing the mental health concerns of Black sexual minority youth. The authors identify how to incorporate a culturally responsive existential‐phenomenological approach with storytelling to facilitate the development of a healthy self‐concept among a host of socially enforced categories. Implications are provided to supplement counselors' conceptualization of this population within therapeutic relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce the second installment of the special issue on existentialism by briefly rendering the call to serve others as professional counselors from the framework of existentialism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors discuss the results from an early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC) intervention delivered by a professional counselor to 6 teachers in urban, culturally diverse, and economically challenged school environments. Results from a phenomenological analysis of the data evince the influence of the ECMHC intervention, which combined social–emotional learning with mindfulness‐based learning. In particular, results show how the teachers experienced growth in emotional regulation in and beyond the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Counselors encounter fundamental philosophical problems when attempting to understand another person, including the notion of agency and the nature of reality outside the mind. This author discusses the Kantian conception of truth, agency, and the relationship of the mind's external reality to psychotherapy, and its implications for humanism and theories of knowing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors analyzed findings from a counselor‐delivered social and emotional learning and mindfulness‐based intervention with twenty‐three 3‐ and 4‐year‐olds from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Using a multilevel modeling approach to illustrate students' growth across multiple behavioral observations in a randomized controlled design, the authors found that the treatment group exhibited more self‐regulatory‐related behaviors on days when the intervention occurred. Qualitative analyses revealed that the students adopted kindness language consistent with the intervention. Implications for practice are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]