Cigarette diffusion and sex differences in smoking

Because the recent narrowing of the sex differential in smoking (and mortality from smoking-related causes) coincides with movement toward gender equality and independence among women, it suggests that rising status among women has contributed to their adoption of male smoking behavior (and ultimately to worsening longevity). However, an alternative "cigarette diffusion" explanation suggests that convergence in male and female smoking is the byproduct of a female lag in the process of cigarette adoption, diffusion, and abatement. Using multilevel models and data for 16 European nations from 1988-1995, the analysis demonstrates consistent support for the predictions of the cigarette diffusion explanation. Smoking of men and women becomes more similar in nations that have the longest history of cigarette use rather than the greatest gender equality.     

National Income, Inequality and Global Patterns of Cigarette Use

Declining tobacco use in high-income nations and rising tobacco use in low- and middle-income nations raises questions about the sources of worldwide patterns of smoking. Theories posit a curvilinear influence of national income based on the balance of affordability and health-cost effects. In addition, however, economic inequality, gender inequality and government policies may moderate the rise and fall in smoking prevalence with national income. This study tests these arguments using aggregate data for 145 nations and measures of smoking prevalence circa 2000. The results show nonlinear effects of national income for males that take the form of an inverted U, but show linear effects for females. They also show non-additive effects of economic inequality for males that moderate both the rise and decline of smoking with national income and non-additive effects of gender equality for females that moderate the positive effect of national income.     

Examining the use of tobacco on college campuses.

The authors used the Health Risk Behavior Survey for University Students to assess the prevalence of tobacco use among undergraduates in the Florida state university system. They examined the relationships of gender, marital situation, and minority status to 6 smoking behaviors (tried cigarettes, smoked regularly, tried to quit smoking, age when first smoked regularly, number of cigarettes smoked in the last month, and number of days smoked in the past month). Findings suggested that White students were more likely than minority students to try cigarettes and women more likely than men to smoke regularly. Married students smoked more regularly than others and were less likely than single students to have tried to quit smoking. The investigators suggested analyzing latent behaviors associated with smoking and called for a national meta-analysis of data from smoking studies to help clinicians deal with student tobacco use.     

Cohort Changes in the Socio-demographic Determinants of Gender Egalitarianism

Arguments about the spread of gender egalitarian values through the population highlight several sources of change. First, structural arguments point to increases in the proportion of women with high education, jobs with good pay, commitment to careers outside the family, and direct interests in gender equality. Second, value shift arguments contend that gender norms change with social and economic development among women and men in diverse positions - traditional and non-traditional alike. Third, diffusion arguments suggest that structural change leads to adoption of new ideas and values supportive of gender equality by non-traditional and innovative groups in society, but that the new ideas later diffuse to other groups through cultural processes. Using the General Social Survey from 1977 to 2006 and comparing the determinants of gender egalitarianism across 86 cohorts born from roughly 1900 through 1985, multilevel models support the diffusion arguments.     

Gender roles,marriage, and residential independence

This article examines the effects of gender role attitudes on leaving home for marriage and for unmarried independence among young men and women in the United States in the 1980s. The choice to leave home for unmarried independence is associated with two major changes in family relationships: the shift in parent-child interaction from a traditional emphasis on children's obedience toward a greater stress on independence, and the shift toward more egalitarian definitions of gender roles in both work and family spheres. We ask the following: What is the effect of holding more modern gender role attitudes on gender differences in leaving home for marriage? Does holding more modern gender role attitudes influence patterns of leaving home for marriage and for unmarried independence differently for men and women? We examine these questions with data from sophomores in the High School and Beyond Survey.     

Using alcohol to sell cigarettes to young adults: a content analysis of cigarette advertisements

OBJECTIVE: Advertising influences the health-related behaviors of college-aged individuals. Cigarette manufacturers aggressively market to young adults and may exploit their affinity for alcohol when creating advertisements designed to increase cigarettes' appeal. Internal tobacco industry documents reveal that cigarette manufacturers understood the popularity of alcohol among young adults and sought to produce pertinent marketing strategies. METHODS: The authors conducted a content analysis of cigarette and alcohol advertisements in young adult-oriented magazines to investigate portrayed associations between cigarettes and alcohol. RESULTS: The content analysis revealed that 32 of 114 cigarette advertisements referenced alcohol and that those advertisements were more likely than others to portray active smoking. Conversely, 0 of 317 alcohol advertisements referenced cigarettes, and alcohol advertisements were only slightly more likely than cigarette advertisements to feature alcohol-related settings. CONCLUSIONS: Such advertising may detrimentally affect smoking patterns of college students. An understanding of these strategies can benefit on-campus tobacco control efforts.     

Does Gender Equality Influence Volunteerism? A Cross-National Analysis of Women’s Volunteering Habits and Gender Equality

Research regarding the roles of women in society and in political and social organizations is large, with scholars focusing on the likelihood of political and social engagement. However, few of these studies examine the influence of gender on participation in voluntary organizations by utilizing cross-national data. This study intends to analyze the influence of gender on the type of organization that an individual volunteers and on whether these volunteering habits are influenced by the gender equality in a country. Is there segregation in the type of organizations men and women volunteer? Do women in more gender equal societies have similar volunteering patterns as men, or does the difference continue in volunteering? For this study, we use the World Values Survey from 1999 to 2002, to identify the differences in the types of organizations that men and women volunteer and discuss the impact gender equality has on these volunteering patterns.     

TO “VAPE” OR SMOKE? EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE ON ADULT SMOKERS

A growing share of the U.S. population uses e‐cigarettes but the optimal regulation of these controversial products remains an open question. We conduct a discrete choice experiment to investigate how adult tobacco cigarette smokers' demand for e‐cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes varies by four attributes: (1) whether e‐cigarettes are considered healthier than tobacco cigarettes, (2) the effectiveness of e‐cigarettes as a cessation device, (3) bans on use in public places, and (4) price. We find that adult smokers' demand for e‐cigarettes is motivated more by health concerns than by the desire to avoid smoking bans or higher prices. (JEL C35, I12, I18)     

The adoption of women’s legislative caucuses worldwide

Recent decades have witnessed the rise, across a wide range of countries, of political institutions designed to promote gender equality and women’s political representation. Existing studies have shown how international diffusion processes have contributed to the adoption of two kinds of such institutions – gender mainstreaming and gender quotas. Mounting evidence suggests that institutional reforms within legislatures constitute the latest wave of gendered institutional reform. This article identifies and explains trends in the adoption of one kind of gender-focused parliamentary institution – women’s legislative caucuses (WLCs). We use a discrete time duration model to assess the effect of several factors on WLC establishment. While there is theoretical room to expect diffusion, structural and institutional variables to affect the likelihood of caucus adoption, we find the strongest empirical support for diffusion and institutional factors. A parliament’s likelihood of adopting a WLC rises when sub-regional peers have created WLCs, when women’s international non-governmental organizations are active in the country and when the country has implemented a gender quota. Understanding the factors that affect the adoption of gender-focused parliamentary institutions is critically important, we argue, since such bodies provide space to confront masculinized institutionalized rules and norms.     

Cigarette smoking, friendship factors, and social norm perceptions among central and Eastern European high school students

Studies investigating smoking behavior among adolescents living in post-communistic Central-European countries are sparse. This study focused on the relationship between cigarette smoking, certain friendship factors, and social norm perceptions among 1,886 Central-Eastern European adolescents from high schools in Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Romania. Smoking behavior was related to having friends who smoke, ease or difficulty making new friends, time spent with friends after school and during evenings, and estimations of the prevalence of smoking by schoolmates. Because these youth appear to overestimate the prevalence of smoking by schoolmates, the use of a norms-correction strategy may have potential merit in smoking prevention efforts targeting these adolescents. Smoking prevention and reduction are critical issues for Central-Eastern European youth because they appear to smoke cigarettes at a high rate.     

Gender Equality and Restless Sleep Among Partnered Europeans

Sleep is situated in the work–family nexus and can be shaped by national norms promoting gender equality. The authors tested this proposition using individual data from the European Social Survey matched to a country‐level measure of gender equality. In individual‐level models, women's sleep was more troubled by the presence of children in the home and partners' unemployment, whereas men's restless sleep was associated with their own unemployment and worries about household finances. In country‐level models, the authors find that in nations that empower women and elevate their status, men and women alike report sounder sleep, and the gender gap in restless sleep is significantly reduced among those living in gender‐equal countries. This study adds to the understanding of gender differences in sleep quality and provides new evidence on the importance of the national context in shaping the pattern of gender inequality in the domestic sphere.     

Decomposing Gender Beliefs: Cross‐National Differences in Attitudes Toward Maternal Employment and Gender Equality at Home

Few cross‐national studies distinguish between different aspects of gender egalitarianism and compare them systematically. In this study, we examine cross‐national differences in attitudes toward mothers' participation in the labor market and toward gender equality within the household, using a multilevel analysis of individual data from 33 nations. The results indicate greater support for employed mothers, but a lower level of approval of gender equality at home, among residents of countries that offer women more educational and economic opportunities. We argue that macrolevel gender equality increases individuals', particularly women's, incentives to support female labor force participation. Because of a persistent belief in gender differentiation, however, macrolevel gender equality has the opposite relationship with attitudes toward altering gendered practices beyond enabling women's public sphere participation. The fewer explicit barriers to women's achievement in society, the more likely individuals will feel a need to defend gendered roles in the private sphere. That the potential harm of advocating gendered practices in the private sphere is smaller in societies with fewer impediments for women is also likely to account for the negative association between macrolevel gender equality and support for egalitarian gender roles at home.     

The effectiveness of corporate gender equality plans in improving leave provisions for fathers in Spain

ABSTRACT

Official Spanish policy seeks greater gender equality by, among other things, encouraging men’s use of their legal rights to parental leave and requiring employers to implement equality plans. This article contains a first-ever analysis of the extent to which company equality plans are used to improve upon the legal provisions governing parental leave and whether those improvements actually encourage greater leave use by men, help to degender leave use and promote fathers’ co-responsibility for childcare. The improvements implemented by companies are analysed against a backdrop of economic crisis (2007-2016), during which public policy underwent no substantial change. An analysis of the gender equality plans in place among 107 ‘gender equality employers’ (GEEs) revealed that most included no enhancement of the existing legislation and only a few work organizations provided incentives for men to use leaves as part of their work-life balance strategies. Substantial progress in this regard can only be expected through increasing government provision of parental leave aimed at men and/or increasing government pressure on companies to encourage leave taking by men.     

Hookah and Cigarette Smoking Among African American College Students: Implications for Campus Risk Reduction And Health Promotion Efforts

ABSTRACT

Objective: To identify individual and institutional risks and protections for hookah and cigarette smoking among African American (AA) college students. Participants: AA college students (N = 1,402; mean age = 20, range = 18–24 years; 75% female) who completed the Fall 2012 American College Health Association–National College Health Assessment II. Methods: Respondents were stratified into 4 mutually exclusive groups by last-30-day smoking status: cigarette-only use (5.1%), hookah-only use (5.9%), dual use (2.4%), and nonuse (86.6%). Multinomial logistic regression models identified the relative odds of exclusive and dual hookah and cigarette smoking. Results: Current hookah and cigarette smoking rates were comparably low. Age, gender identity, current substance use, interest in tobacco use information, and student population prevailed as risks and protections for hookah and cigarette smoking. Conclusions: Campus health promotion campaigns may need to tailor messages to AA students, particularly those who use substances, to underscore the health risks of hookah and cigarette smoking.     

Electronic cigarette and combustible cigarette use following a campus-wide ban: Prevalence of use and harm perceptions

Abstract

The current study examined changes in prevalence of e-cigarette use and perceptions of the harmfulness of e-cigarette and combustible cigarettes following a campus-wide tobacco ban. Undergraduate students completed surveys of tobacco use and perceived product harmfulness. Four samples were collected: in 2013 prior to the ban (n?=?792) and in fall 2014 (n?=?310), 2015 (n?=?208), and 2016 (n?=?417). E-cigarette use increased in the years following the ban (p?=?.01) while combustible cigarette use decreased from 2013 to 2016 (p?=?.02). Men were more likely than women to use both products (ps?<?.05). Students’ perceptions of the harmfulness of combustible and electronic cigarettes remained stable in the years following the ban (p?>?.05). This study is the first to examine the impact of including e-cigarettes in tobacco free policies. Combustible cigarette use declined, but e-cigarette use increased in the years following the e-cigarette ban. Prospective research is needed to understand the long-term impacts of e-cigarette bans.     

Modernization and the gender gap in religiosity: Evidence from cross-national European surveys

The tendency of women to be more religious than men has been widely observed. Many theories have been offered to account for this difference, with explanations ranging from the biological to the sociological; no consensus on the explanation has been reached. Using data from the European Social Survey, the European Values Study and the International Social Survey Programme, in conjunction with a new method for measuring the gender gap, we compare different countries, generations and periods in Europe to address three key questions: (1) How much do the differences between men and women depend on what indicator of religiosity (e.g. affiliation, attendance, prayer, belief) is being considered? (2) Is there an association at the national level between the size of the gender gap and the degree of secularization or gender equality? (3) Is there a convergence in the religiosity of men and women across generations or over time? There is some evidence for such a narrowing of the gap in Europe—most noticeably in southern and Eastern Europe—but substantial differences persist. Even in countries that are comparatively secular and where gender inequality has been much reduced, women are considerably more likely than men to identify with a religion, to call themselves religious, and to participate in public and private religious activities.     

Predictors of misreporting cigarette smoking initiation among adolescents

This study examines the prevalence of invalid reports of cigarette smoking initiation among adolescents (i.e., reporting cigarette smoking at one time point and denying ever trying cigarettes at a subsequent time point) and the association of misreports with scores on other problem-prone variables. Misreports did not vary as a function of item complexity and did not reflect careless responding. In the seventh grade, misreporters' scores on the problem-prone variables were higher than those of nonsmokers and lower than those of smokers. In contrast, when measured in the eighth grade, misreporters' scores did not differ from those of nonsmokers. Misreporters did show a greater decrease in intentions to smoke, alcohol use, and number of friends who smoke compared to nonsmokers and consistent smokers. Explanations for these findings are discussed.     

College students' perceptions of risk and addictiveness of e-cigarettes and cigarettes

Background: As conventional cigarette use is declining, electronic cigarette (“e-cigarette”) use is rising and is especially high among college students. Few studies examine dual use of e-cigarettes and cigarettes among this population. This study explores the relationship between dual and exclusive e-cigarette / cigarette use and perceptions of harm and addictiveness of both products. Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of data from students attending 24 colleges in Texas (n=5,482). Multinomial logistic regression was employed to test the association between current e-cigarette / cigarette use and perceived harm and addictiveness of both products. Three tobacco groups were included: cigarette only users, e-cigarette only users, and dual users. Results: Dual users reported lower perceived harm of e-cigarettes most consistently (p<0.001, all comparisons). Perceived harm of cigarettes was significantly lower among cigarette only and dual users only, compared to non-users (p<0.001, all comparisons). Compared to non-users, all three groups reported significantly lower perceived addictiveness of e-cigarettes (p<0.001, all comparisons). The same finding was observed for perceived addictiveness of cigarettes, though findings were less consistent for the e-cigarette only group (p<0.02, all comparisons except one). Conclusion: Findings demonstrate that among college students, perceptions of harm and addictiveness of e-cigarettes are lower than those for conventional cigarettes. For both products, perceptions of harm and addictiveness were lower among exclusive and dual users, compared to non-users.     

Type of tobacco product used: are there differences between university and community college students?

This article describes and compares smoking prevalence, types of tobacco products used, and motivation to quit among college students at universities and community colleges. Data were collected using the Florida Annual College Tobacco Survey (FACTS). Nine universities and eight community colleges participated in the study (n = 4973). Most students (69%) experimented with tobacco. Cigarettes were used more often (57.4%), followed by Black 'N Mild (31.8%), cigars (30.1%), kreteks/bidis (24.1%), smokeless tobacco (13.9%), and pipe (8.9%). University students were more likely than community college students to have tried kreteks/bidis and cigars (p < .05). University students experimented at a significantly earlier age with cigarettes and pipes while community college experimented at a significantly earlier age with cigars and kreteks/bidis (p < .05). The majority of cigarette smokers (62%) were not interested in quitting. The implications for college tobacco education programs are discussed.     

GENDER AND THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF EDUCATION

Does education improve health more for one sex than the other? We develop a theory of resource substitution which implies that education improves health more for women than men. Data from a 1995 survey of U.S. adults with follow‐ups in 1998 and 2001 support the hypothesis. Physical impairment decreases more for women than for men as the level of education increases. The gender gap in impairment essentially disappears among people with a college degree. Latent growth SEM vectors also show that among the college educated, men's and women's life course patterns of physical impairment do not differ significantly.