The existing situation and challenges regarding the use of plastic carrier bags in Europe

Since day one, retailers and consumers have favoured plastic carrier bags. However, owing to the numerous environmental disadvantages, lightweight plastic carrier bags have been drawing the attention of the European Union competent authorities. Therefore, many European Union member states have taken action so as to reduce the use of plastic carrier bags. Based on the existing legislation and voluntary initiatives for the reduction of lightweight plastic carrier bags, the challenges and achieved outcomes from the implemented policy options in the various European Union member states are discussed and commented regarding the forthcoming transposition of the 'Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste to reduce the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags' into the European Union member states' national law.

Effects of first exposure to plain cigarette packaging on smoking behaviour and attitudes: a randomised controlled study

BACKGROUND

Plain packaging requires tobacco products to be sold in packs with a standard shape, method of opening and colour, leaving the brand name in a standard font and location. We ran a randomised controlled trial to investigate the impact of plain packaging on smoking behaviour and attitudes.

METHODS

In a parallel group randomised trial design, 128 daily smokers smoked cigarettes from their usual UK brand, or a plain Australian brand that was closely matched to their usual UK brand for 24 hours. Primary outcomes were number of cigarettes smoked and volume of smoke inhaled per cigarette. Secondary outcomes were self-reported ratings of motivation to quit, cigarette taste, experience of using the pack, experience of smoking, attributes of the pack, perceptions of the health warning, changes in smoking behaviour, and views on plain packaging.

RESULTS

There was no evidence that pack type had an effect on either of the primary measures (ps > 0.279). However, smokers using plain cigarette packs rated the experience of using the pack more negatively (-0.52, 95% CI -0.82 to -0.22, p = 0.001), rated the pack attributes more negatively (-1.59, 95% CI -1.80 to -1.39, p < 0.001), and rated the health warning as more impactful (+0.51, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.78, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Plain cigarette packs reduce ratings of the experience of using the cigarette pack, and ratings of the pack attributes, and increase the self-perceived impact of the health warning, but do not change smoking behaviour, at least in the short term.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN52982308. Registered 27 June 2013.

Cost-effectiveness analyses of self-harm strategies aimed at reducing the mortality of pesticide self-poisonings in Sri Lanka: a study protocol

INTRODUCTION

An estimated 803,900 people worldwide died as a result of self-harm in 2012. The deliberate ingestion of pesticides has been identified as the method most frequently used to commit fatal self-harm globally. In Sri Lanka, it is estimated that up to 60% of all suicides are committed using this method. The aim of the present study is to assess the cost-effectiveness of an ongoing safe storage intervention currently taking place in a rural Sri Lankan district and to model the cost-effectiveness of implementing the safe storage intervention as well as four potential interventions (legislative, medical management, follow-up contact and mobile phone contact) on a national level.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

Study design for all the strategies is a cost-effectiveness analysis. A governmental perspective is adopted. The time horizon for tracking the associated costs and health outcomes of the safe storage intervention on district level runs over 3 years. The time horizon is extended to 5 years when modelling a full national roll-out of the respective interventions. The discounting of costs and health outcomes are undertaken at the recommended real rate of 3%. Threshold analyses of the modelled strategies are employed to assess the strategies potential for cost-effectiveness, running scenarios with health outcome improvements ranging from 1% to 100%. Sensitivity analyses are also performed. The main outcome measures of the safe storage intervention are incremental cost-effectiveness ratios.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval was granted for the safe storage project from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, in March of 2008. An amendment for the present study was granted from Rajarata University of Sri Lanka in November of 2013. Findings will be disseminated to public and private stakeholders in local and national government in Sri Lanka as well as the wider academic audience through peer-reviewed publications and international conferences.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

The safe storage cluster trial is registered with the Clinical Trials, ref: NCT1146496 (http://clinicaltrialsfeeds.org/clinical-trials/show/NCT1146496).

Young women smokers' response to using plain cigarette packaging: qualitative findings from a naturalistic study

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to explore in-depth the response of young women smokers (18-35 years) to using dark brown 'plain' cigarette packs in naturalistic settings.

METHODS

Participants were recruited in six towns and cities in Scotland to take part in a naturalistic study, where they used plain cigarette packs for a week. Participants completed a number of questionnaires during the study period (reported elsewhere), and a sub-sample participated in post-study telephone interviews to explore their experiences of using the plain packs. Of the 187 participants who completed the study, 23 were randomly selected to participate in the post-study interviews. Within the interviews a semi-structured topic guide was used to assess perceptions of the plain pack, feelings created by the pack, feelings about smoking, and avoidant and smoking behaviour.

RESULTS

The brown (plain) packs were perceived negatively due to the colour, the undesirable image the pack conveyed, and the reaction from others. The plain packs were also associated with negative feelings, such as embarrassment, discomfort and guilt. Some participants also commented that they felt differently about the product, considered to be less enjoyable or more harmful, when using the plain packs, and were less interested in, or felt more negatively about, smoking. A number of participants said that they had engaged in avoidant behavior with the plain packs, such as hiding it, due to their negative thoughts about the packs and the reaction of others. Some participants also mentioned cessation-related behaviours when using the plain packs, such as forgoing cigarettes, stubbing cigarettes out early and thinking about quitting, largely due to the decreased enjoyment of smoking.

CONCLUSIONS

The experience of using cigarettes in plain packs prompted a range of negative responses from young women smokers, who are a crucial target group for tobacco control interventions.

Packaging waste recycling in Europe: is the industry paying for it?

This paper describes and examines the schemes established in five EU countries for the recycling of packaging waste. The changes in packaging waste management were mainly implemented since the Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste entered into force. The analysis of the five systems allowed the authors to identify very different approaches to cope with the same problem: meet the recovery and recycling targets imposed by EU law. Packaging waste is a responsibility of the industry. However, local governments are generally in charge of waste management, particularly in countries with Green Dot schemes or similar extended producer responsibility systems. This leads to the need of establishing a system of financial transfers between the industry and the local governments (particularly regarding the extra costs involved with selective collection and sorting). Using the same methodological approach, the authors also compare the costs and benefits of recycling from the perspective of local public authorities for France, Portugal and Romania. Since the purpose of the current paper is to take note of who is paying for the incremental costs of recycling and whether the industry (i.e. the consumer) is paying for the net financial costs of packaging waste management, environmental impacts are not included in the analysis. The work carried out in this paper highlights some aspects that are prone to be improved and raises several questions that will require further research. In the three countries analyzed more closely in this paper the industry is not paying the net financial cost of packaging waste management. In fact, if the savings attained by diverting packaging waste from other treatment (e.g. landfilling) and the public subsidies to the investment on the "recycling system" are not considered, it seems that the industry should increase the financial support to local authorities (by 125% in France, 50% in Portugal and 170% in Romania). However, in France and Portugal the industry is paying local authorities more than just the incremental costs of recycling (full costs of selective collection and sorting minus the avoided costs). To provide a more definitive judgment on the fairness of the systems it will be necessary to assess the cost efficiency of waste management operators (and judge whether operators are claiming costs or eliciting "prices").

Roll-to-roll gravure with nanomaterials for printing smart packaging

Roll-to-roll (R2R) gravure is considered one of the highest throughput tools for manufacturing inexpensive and flexible ubiquitous IT devices called "smart packaging" in which NFC (near-field communication) transponder, sensors, ADC (analog-to-digital converter), simple processor and signage are all integrated on paper or plastic foils. In this review, we show R2R gravure can be employed to print smart packaging, starting from printing simple electrodes, dielectrics, capacitors, diodes and thin film transistors with appropriate nanomaterial-based inks on plastic foils.

Attempts to reduce exposure to fungi, β-glucan, bacteria, endotoxin and dust in vegetable greenhouses and a packaging unit

Indoor handling of large amounts of plant materials occurs in different occupational settings including greenhouses and causes exposure to bioaerosols. The bioaerosol components fungi, β-glucan, bacteria and endotoxin are involved in different airway symptoms and health effects can be dose-dependent. Therefore, there is a persistent need to reduce exposure. The aims of this study were to identify tasks causing exposure and to evaluate preventive measures aimed at reducing exposure of greenhouse workers to bioaerosols, and to study factors affecting the exposure. We have focused on different exposure scenarios; one with high short-term exposure found during clearing of old cucumber plants; the other with long-term, mid-level exposure found during tomato picking, leaf nipping, stringing up tomato plants, and packaging of cucumbers. Clearing of non-dried cucumber plants compared with clearing of dried cucumber plants significantly reduced the exposure to dust, endotoxin, bacteria, fungal spores and β-glucan. More endotoxin and fungi are emitted and more of the emitted particles were of respirable size if the leaves were dried. Along the cucumber packaging line, exposure levels were highly specific to each personal subtask. The subtask 'unloading of cucumbers' was the source of exposure making task ventilation or shielding of the process a possibility. Elimination of leaf debris on the floor reduced the exposure to fungi significantly. However, leaf debris on the floor did not contribute significantly to the exposure to dust, endotoxin and bacteria. Furthermore, to eliminate leaf debris, it had to be cleared away and this was associated with a higher exposure to dust and endotoxin. The age of the plants affected the exposure level to bioaerosols with higher exposures from old plants. In conclusion, different tasks and subtasks cause very different exposure levels. It is possible to reduce exposure by identifying subtasks causing the exposure and by modifying work processes, e.g., not drying out of plants.

The effect of cigarette plain packaging on individuals' health warning recall

PURPOSE

To examine the extent to which increasingly plainer packaging might increase recall of health warnings.

DESIGN

A 4 (pack ID levels) x 2 (smoking status: smokers and non-smokers) between-subjects design in which participants were randomly assigned to view one package.

SAMPLE

Two hundred and twenty students from three universities in Nova Scotia, Canada, participated in the survey.

MEASURES

Participants were asked to recall the health warning on their package.

ANALYSIS

A sequential binary logistic regression test to examine whether plain packaging and/or smoking status affects health warning recall.

RESULTS

The odds of recalling the correct health warnings were significantly higher for the two plainest packages relative to the original package. The odds of recalling the correct health warning were also higher for non-smokers relative to smokers.

CONCLUSIONS

The results provide compelling evidence that health warnings on plain packages can be more easily recalled.

Nanocomposite microcontainers

Versatile all-nanocomposite capped microcontainers are made using layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly. The microcontainers can act as inert packaging with slow/controlled release for virtually any type of encapsulating material based on clay nanocomposites 3D molded by PDMS templates and capped with another LBL film.

Young adult smokers' perceptions of illicit tobacco and the possible impact of plain packaging on purchase behaviour

Plain (unbranded) packaging for cigarettes is at the top of the tobacco control agenda in both Australia and Europe. The evidence suggests that it will benefit public health by decreasing the appeal of tobacco products and increasing the power of the health warning. The tobacco industry instead argues that plain packaging would make it easier to counterfeit cigarettes, which would both confuse consumers and reduce price; thereby increasing consumption. Using focus group research we examined young adult smokers (N = 54) perceptions of, and ability to recognize, illicit tobacco and the possible impact of plain packaging on illicit tobacco purchasing behaviour. We found that the pack has no impact on the decision to buy illicit tobacco. Smokers were easily able to identify counterfeit cigarettes, not least by the pack, and buy it knowingly and in the full expectation that it will be inferior in quality. Illicit tobacco purchase, including that for counterfeit tobacco, was instead driven by availability and price. Given the extremely low manufacturing cost, per pack, of certain types of illicit cigarettes, it is difficult to envisage how plain packaging would alter the price of illicit tobacco in any meaningful way. The findings therefore suggest that a move to plain packaging would have no impact on young adult smokers' purchase behaviour.

[Discussion on packaging and marking of the sterile urethral catheter(catheterization bag)]

This paper gathered the problem in the Sterile Urethral Catheter(Catheterization bag)'s packaging and marking, analyzed the harmfulness and gave the improvement suggestion.

Young people's perceptions of cigarette packaging and plain packaging: an online survey

INTRODUCTION

In the United Kingdom, with most marketing channels prohibited, packaging is one of the few remaining ways that tobacco companies can promote their products.

METHODS

An online survey with young people aged 10-17 years (N = 658) was used to explore why youth choose cigarettes, perceptions of pack color, and perceptions of plain (nonbranded) cigarette packaging. Young people were also shown an image of 3 plain packs, which differed by shape and method of opening, and asked which they liked most and thought others their age would smoke.

RESULTS

Price and what significant others smoke were key factors for choosing cigarettes, with packaging also an important influence. More than a third of the sample associated lighter pack color with weak tasting and less harmful cigarettes. Plain packs were rated negatively as were perceptions of plain pack users. One in 3 showed a preference for either a narrow "perfume type" plain pack or a plain "slide" pack that opened from the side, and 1 in 3 also thought that young people would smoke these packs.

CONCLUSIONS

Packaging appears to both attract young people and mislead them about product strength and relative harm. Innovative pack construction (novel pack shape and method of opening) and the use of color are instrumental in these effects. The findings therefore suggest that any move to plain packaging should not only consider the benefits of removing branding (including color) but also of standardizing pack construction in terms of shape and method of opening.

Environmental evaluation of municipal waste prevention

Waste prevention has been addressed in the literature in terms of the social and behavioural aspects, but very little quantitative assessment exists of the environmental benefits. Our study evaluates the environmental consequences of waste prevention on waste management systems and on the wider society, using life-cycle thinking. The partial prevention of unsolicited mail, beverage packaging and food waste is tested for a "High-tech" waste management system relying on high energy and material recovery and for a "Low-tech" waste management system with less recycling and relying on landfilling. Prevention of 13% of the waste mass entering the waste management system generates a reduction of loads and savings in the waste management system for the different impacts categories; 45% net reduction for nutrient enrichment and 12% reduction for global warming potential. When expanding our system and including avoided production incurred by the prevention measures, large savings are observed (15-fold improvement for nutrient enrichment and 2-fold for global warming potential). Prevention of food waste has the highest environmental impact saving. Prevention generates relatively higher overall relative benefit for "Low-tech" systems depending on landfilling. The paper provides clear evidence of the environmental benefits of waste prevention and has specific relevance in climate change mitigation.

Physicochemical properties of biodegradable polyvinyl alcohol-agar films from the red algae Hydropuntia cornea

Agar obtained from the red alga Hydropuntia cornea was blended with polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) in order to produce biodegradable films. In this study, we compare the properties of biopolymeric films formulated with agars extracted from H. cornea collected at different seasons (rainy and dry) in the Gulf of Mexico coast and PVOH as synthetic matrix. The films were prepared at different agar contents (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) and their optical, mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties analyzed. The tensile strength of PVOH-agar films increased when agar content was augmented. The formulation with 50% agar from rainy season (RS) had a significant higher tensile strength when compared to those from dry season (DS; p < 0.05). Tensile modulus also displayed an increasing trend and likewise, for 50% and 75% agar blends from RS showed higher values than those from DS (p < 0.05). In contrast, elongation at break decreased as the agar content increased, independently of the season. Environmental scanning electron microscopy images of PVOH-agar 75% biofilms from RS showed a homogeneous structure with good interfacial adhesion between the two components. The changes evidenced in the FTIR spectrum of this blend suggest that hydrogen bonding is taking place between the agar ether linkages (C-O-C) and the hydroxyl groups (OH) of the PVOH. Based on the above mentioned results, blends of PVOH and 75% agar from H. cornea collected in rainy season showed good properties for applications in the biodegradable packaging industry.

Transnational tobacco industry promotion of the cigarette gifting custom in China

OBJECTIVE

To understand how British American Tobacco (BAT) and Philip Morris (PM) researched the role and popularity of cigarette gifting in forming relationships among Chinese customs and how they exploited the practice to promote their brands State Express 555 and Marlboro.

METHODS

Searches and analysis of industry documents from the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library complemented by searches on LexisNexis Academic news, online search engines and information from the tobacco industry trade press.

RESULTS

From 1980-1999, BAT and PM employed Chinese market research firms to gather consumer information about perceptions of foreign cigarettes and the companies discovered that cigarettes, especially prestigious ones, were gifted and smoked purposely for building relationships and social status in China. BAT and PM promoted their brands as gifts by enhancing cigarette cartons and promoting culturally themed packages, particularly during the gifting festivals of Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival to tie their brands in to festival values such as warmth, friendship and celebration. They used similar marketing in Chinese communities outside China.

CONCLUSIONS

BAT and PM tied their brands to Chinese cigarette gifting customs by appealing to social and cultural values of respect and personal honour. Decoupling cigarettes from their social significance in China and removing their appeal would probably reduce cigarette gifting and promote a decline in smoking. Tobacco control efforts in countermarketing, large graphic warnings and plain packaging to make cigarette packages less attractive as gifts could contribute to denormalising cigarette gifting.

Laser-micromachined, chip-scaled ceramic carriers for implantable neurostimulators

Hermetic encapsulation of long-term implantable devices using ceramics has been investigated over several decades. Our studies focus on the miniaturization of ceramic encapsulations for large numbers of stimulation channels. Laser-patterning of screen printed platinum (Pt) paste on cofired ceramics has been shown to enable the construction of features comparable in size to classical screen printing. A novel technique for embedding Pt structures into the surface of Al(2)O(3) substrates is shown to produce features with a line width minimum of 20 μm and a pitch of 40 μm. Polishing the ceramic substrates enables flip-chip bonding of application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) using gold stud bumps. A new technique for fine tuning of an ASIC stimulator with stud bump bridges is described. The technique eliminates the need for wire bond loops and increases reliability and integration density of the system, which are major requirements used to construct a visual prosthesis or other implantable devices requiring miniaturization. The methods for laser-patterned Pt tracks in alumina for fine pitch structures are described. Feasibility studies for flip-chip bonding and stud bump bridges were undertaken and the results were found to be promising.

Are current tobacco pictorial warnings in India effective?

BACKGROUND

Warning labels on tobacco products provide an effective way of communicating the consequences of tobacco use. Research has shown that larger and colorful warnings placed on packaging are more effective for informing consumers and general public. However, primarily due to powerful lobbying by the industry, pictorial health warnings in India experienced constant delay in introduction and dilution of content. The current warnings appearing on tobacco products consist of drawing of a scorpion on smokeless forms of tobacco and pictures and X- rays of diseased lungs for smoking forms.

METHODOLOGY

To understand people's attitude towards the pictorial warning and their understanding of the pictures, a study was planned in two phases. The first phase was qualitative with focus group discussion and second, a population based survey for validating the findings.

RESULTS

The findings of the study suggested that the mandated pictorial warnings do not serve the desired purpose since they are not properly understood. The scorpion becomes associated with the product in a non-scientific manner. X-rays of lung are hardly understood by anybody and pictures of diseased lungs are not used by tobacco manufacturers.

CONCLUSION

The results of both the focus group discussions and the field survey indicate that most people have seen text and pictorial warnings on smokeless and smoking tobacco products, but that they lack relevance to the text messages. Irrespective of education the early proposed pictorial warnings by the government were more effective than the currently implemented warnings. People would like to see the warnings mainly in Hindi and Marathi (local language) and want them to be placed on the top or middle of both sides of tobacco packaging.

Fentanyl intranasal. Breakthrough cancer pain: unsafe packaging

There is no firm evidence that intranasal fentanyl is more effective than buccal fentanyl. The packaging is not entirely safe, thus exposing patients and others to major risks.

Hazards in the home: using older adults' perceptions to inform warning design

Older adults' perceptions of hazards associated with home product usage and beliefs about product warnings were assessed. Focus group interview data were coded along the dimensions of (a) product type; (b) hazard type; (c) hazard knowledge; (d) hazard avoidance; (e) product warning presence; and (f) product warning necessity. A survey supplemented the focus group results by gathering measures of usage patterns and usability difficulties associated with various types of household products. Older adults reported routine use of products they considered to be hazardous and identified an array of home safety concerns. Furthermore, personal experience was an important source of older adults' hazard knowledge and they described a number of hazard avoidance strategies. These data provide insight into older adults' home safety behaviour and suggest a number of approaches to improving hazard communication and warning design.

Contributing to shipping container security: can passive sensors bring a solution?

Illicit trafficking of fissionable material in container cargoes is recognized as a potential weakness in Nuclear Security. Triggered by the attacks of 11 September 2001, measures were undertaken to enhance maritime security in extension to the Safety Of Life At Sea Convention and in line with the US Container Security Initiatives. Effective detection techniques are needed that allow the inspector to intercept illicit trafficking of nuclear weapons components or components of other nuclear explosive devices. Many security measures focus on active interrogation of the container content by X-ray scan, which might be extended with the newly developed tagged neutron inspection system. Both active interrogation techniques can, with the current huge volume of container traffic, only be applied to a limited number of selected containers. The question arises whether a passive detection technique can offer an alternative solution. This study investigates if containers equipped with a small passive detector will register during transport the neutron irradiation by fissionable material such as plutonium in a measurable way. In practice, 4/5 of the containers are about 1/8 filled with hydrogenous material and undergo a typical 2 months route. For this reference case, it was found that the most compatible passive detector would be an activation foil of iridium. Monte-Carlo simulations showed that for the reference case the activity of a 250 microm thin foil with 6 cm(2) cross-section would register 1.2 Bq when it is irradiated by a significant quantity of Reactor-Grade PuO(2). However this activity drops with almost two orders of magnitude for other fillings and other isotopic compositions and forms of the Pu-source. The procedure of selecting the target material for Pu detection is detailed with the theoretical methods, in order to be useful for other applications. Moreover the value of such additional passive sensors for securing maritime container transport is situated within the global framework of the First, Second and Third Line of Defense against illicit trafficking.

Characteristics and quitting success of roll-your-own versus tailor-made cigarette smokers

AIMS

Roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco use is exceptionally high in New Zealand with 61% of current smokers using it exclusively or in conjunction with tailor-made (TM) cigarettes. This study examines the characteristics of RYO users and their likelihood of quitting smoking compared to TM and mixed tobacco users.

METHODS

A random sample of Quitline callers with a booster sample of Māori, was invited to participate in a telephone survey three times within a 12-month period. The response rates for the first survey were 57% for Māori and 63% for non-Māori, resulting in a total of 2002 participants. Among these participants, 64% completed the 6-month follow-up and 42% completed the entire study. Two participants were excluded from this analysis as they smoked neither RYO nor TM. We compared the eligible participants' characteristics and quitting outcomes by tobacco type. Quit status was assessed by 7-day abstinence at 6- and 12-month and we used a conservative approach to treat missing cases.

RESULTS

RYO use was common among particular smokers such as Māori, male, and low socioeconomic status subjects. When sociodemographic and smoking variables were controlled for using a logistic regression model, quit rates were not different by tobacco type.

DISCUSSION

This study confirms the different characteristics of RYO, TM and mixed tobacco users, and fills a gap of limited research about quitting success of RYO smokers.

Design of compact freeform lens for application specific Light-Emitting Diode packaging

Application specific LED packaging (ASLP) is an emerging technology for high performance LED lighting. We introduced a practical design method of compact freeform lens for extended sources used in ASLP. A new ASLP for road lighting was successfully obtained by integrating a polycarbonate compact freeform lens of small form factor with traditional LED packaging. Optical performance of the ASLP was investigated by both numerical simulation based on Monte Carlo ray tracing method and experiments. Results demonstrated that, comparing with traditional LED module integrated with secondary optics, the ASLP had advantages of much smaller size in volume (approximately 1/8), higher system lumen efficiency (approximately 8.1%), lower cost and more convenience for customers to design and assembly, enabling possible much wider applications of LED for general road lighting. Tolerance analyses were also conducted. Installation errors of horizontal and vertical deviations had more effects on the shape and uniformity of radiation pattern compared with rotational deviation. The tolerances of horizontal, vertical and rotational deviations of this lens were 0.11 mm, 0.14 mm and 2.4 degrees respectively, which were acceptable in engineering.