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Introduction Considering recent and proposed bans on menthol cigarettes, methods are needed to understand the substitutability of potential menthol cigarette alternatives (MCAs) for menthol cigarettes. This study examined the prospective relationship between behavioral economic demand indices and subjective effects of usual brand menthol cigarettes (UBMC) and preferred MCAs with subsequent performance on a laboratory-based concurrent-choice task comparing UBMC and MCAs. Methods Eighty participants who typically smoked menthol cigarettes completed this clinical laboratory study. After sampling each product, participants completed the cigarette purchase task (CPT) and modified cigarette evaluation questionnaire (mCEQ). Following 1 week of substituting their preferred MCA for their UBMC, participants completed a 90-minute concurrent-choice self-administration (SA) task comparing their UBMC and preferred MCA. Linear regression models explored associations between CPT demand indices and mCEQ subjective effects in the laboratory with subsequent response effort for UBMCs on the concurrent-choice task. Results Three demand indices for UBMC were positively associated with UBMC response effort: essential value (EV; p  = .02), O max (p  = .02), and breakpoint (p  = .04). Four CPT demand indices for the preferred MCA significantly corresponded with UBMC response effort: EV (p  = .03), price associated with maximal expenditure (P max) (p  = .04), maximal expenditure (O max) (p  = .03), and breakpoint (p  = .03). Subjective effects captured by the mCEQ were not associated with response effort. Conclusions Demand indices reflecting Persistence (ie, sensitivity to escalating price) predicted effort to obtain UBMC puffs on the concurrent-choice task. Among this sample, the CPT captured information on the relative reinforcing value (ie, addiction potential) of combustible tobacco products similar to the longer SA task. Implications In an ever-changing product market, assessing the reinforcing efficacy of menthol cigarettes and putative substitutes quickly and with validity is an important methodological tool for understanding abuse liability. Results suggest that behavioral economic demand indices of CPT efficiently capture information on the relative reinforcing value of UBMC and plausible alternative tobacco products, similar to a 90-minute in-laboratory SA task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: In 2004, the Philippine Guidelines on Periodic Health Examination (PHEX): Effective Screening for Diseases among Apparently Healthy Filipinos was published with recommendations for screening for vision impairment. Since that time, the Philippine education system has shifted to the K to 12 curriculum, and with full implementation of Republic Act 10157 (Kindergarten Education Act), Filipino children entered school earlier at age 5 years. This made the previous recommendations unenforceable in this new age group. NEW RECOMMENDATIONS: The 2014 revised recommendations were: (1) Vision screening for amblyopia and strabismus is recommended for all children at least once using an age-appropriate chart (Level 2); and (2) Screening infants at 6 months of age for ocular problems, and at age 2 to 3 years, at 5 years, and every 1 to 2 years thereafter for visual acuity and ocular alignment may be done (Level 4). COMMENT: The Philippine Eye Research Institute (PERI) incorporated the LEA Symbols in its vision screening kit, as the LEA Symbols was not only an age-appropriate chart but also had the added features of equal blurring of the optotypes precluding guesswork, and fulfilled the criteria set by international bodies. Included in this kit was a LEA symbol and number chart, right occluder glasses, left occluder glasses, and a 10-foot string to measure distance consistently. The vision screening kit has been pilot tested in several public schools and have gained the reputation for ease of use, reliability, and reproducibility CONCLUSION: The younger age of Filipino children at school entry, pegged at 5 years of age or more, meant that the initial recommendations for students age 7 years were no longer enforceable. The LEA symbols chart, now endorsed internationally as an effective preschool vision test, offered the advantages of being validated and having undergone repeated calibration; lacking in cultural bias as symbols were easy to recognize across cultures; and having the actual screening process akin to a "play" situation. Currently, the LEA symbols chart form part of the PERI Vision Screening kit and is available locally through the PERI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]