Dangers of reducing the range of food choice in developing countries

This article is based on a lecture, “Decreasing variety of plant foods used in developing countries” given at the Joint Congress of the Confoederatio Internationalis ad Qualitates Plantarum Edulium Perquirendas (CIQ) and Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Qualitatsforschung (Pflanzliche Nahrungsmittel) E. V. (DGQ) on The Role of Plant Foods in Preventive Medicine, 12–14th September, 1978 at Reading University. The lecture has been published in Qualitas Plantarum, 1979, Vol. 29, Nos. 1–2. Dr. W. Junk b.v. publishers. The Hague, Netherlands.     

Identity talk on dangerous consumptions down-under

Abstract

Aim: To explore participation with alcohol marketing (i.e. commenting on brand statuses) and user-created promotion on social media (i.e. photos of peers drinking) by young people in the United Kingdom (UK), and what association this has with higher-risk consumption and brand identification.

Method: Online cross-sectional survey with 11–19-year olds in the UK (n?=?3,399) (average age: 15?years old). Past-month participation was measured for five forms of alcohol marketing on social media and one form of user-created promotion (all Yes/No). Past-month awareness of nine wider alcohol marketing activities, social media apps used at least weekly, and ownership of branded merchandise were included as covariates. Outcomes included higher-risk consumption in current drinkers (≥5 AUDIT-C) and brand identification in all respondents (8 pictures with brand names removed).

Results: Over one-in-ten respondents (13.2%) had participated with at least one form of marketing on social media or participated with user-created promotion (12.2%). For both, participation was greater in current drinkers and those of legal purchasing age. A logistic regression found that participation with two or more forms of marketing on social media (AOR?=?1.96, p?AOR?=?3.46, p?SD?=?2.12) alcohol brands. A linear regression found participation with marketing on social media was not associated with brand identification (β?=?0.01, p?=?.42) but participation with user-created promotion was (β?=?0.05, p?Conclusion: Social media provides opportunities for adolescents to participate with commercial marketing and user-created promotion and this is associated with higher-risk consumption and brand identification.     

Police Perceptions of Supervised Consumption Sites (SCSs): A Qualitative Study

Police are key stakeholders in cities considering supervised consumption site (SCS) implementation. We examine police perceptions of SCSs using data collected between 2008 and 2010. Data from interviews and focus groups conducted with police officers of varied ranks (n = 18) in Ottawa and Toronto, Canada, were analyzed using thematic analyses. Participants opposed SCS implementation in their respective cities. The police views we heard invoke values and perspectives on evidence that differ from those used in research. Whether these divergent frameworks are reconcilable is a question for future research. Study limitations are noted. The Ontario HIV Treatment Network funded the study.     

The nutritive adequacy of some Nigerian peasant diets

The nutritive values of six traditional diets of the people of South‐Eastern Nigeria have been evaluated. A bioassay procedure was used; it involved the measurement of Biological Value, True Digestibility of the dietary nitrogen, Net Protein Utilization (operative) and Net Dietary Protein Calories Percent (NDpCals%). The procedures were applied to diets cooked as for human consumption, then dried and fed unmodified to male weaning albino rats. The results showed that in all cases the digestibility of the dietary nitrogen was high but the nutritive value was significantly low. These results are discussed and compared with the FAO recommended practical allowances for NDpCals% for various physiological ages and states.     

ATTITUDES AND VALUES OF PERUVIAN COCA GROWERS*

This study uses semi-structured interviews to examine the attitudes and values of Peruvian coca growers toward coca leaf and cocaine basic paste (CBP) consumption and its distribution. The subjects of the study were 186 coca growers from Peruvian jungle valleys who are involved in illegal commercialization of coca leaf and cocaine paste production. Data collected in 1994 reveal that growers consider coca leaf to be a most profitable product and a unique opportunity to improve their quality of life. Although growers acknowledge that a problem exists among local users, they do not assume any responsibility for CBP consumption and dissemination in rural areas. This leads to the conclusion that awareness of a CBP consumption problem is not enough for growers to stop drug production; they need consistent training in social values, as well as support in legal and economic alternatives. [Translations are provided in the International Abstracts Section of this issue.]     

Arsenic exposure and tobacco consumption: Biomarkers and risk assessment

Arsenic is measurable in tobacco and cigarette mainstream smoke (MSS). Whether arsenic has an independent role in diseases associated with tobacco consumption is not known. Epidemiology and biomonitoring data and probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) methods were used to investigate this potential association. Analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) showed that urine arsenic concentrations in tobacco consumers were not different or were lower than levels in non-consumers of tobacco. Additionally, urine arsenic levels from NHANES tobacco consumers were five-times or more lower than levels reported in epidemiology studies to be associated with adverse health effects. Results of PRA indicated that mean non-cancer hazard estimates and mean incremental lifetime cancer risk estimates were within accepted ranges. Taken together, these results suggest that arsenic may not be independently associated with tobacco consumption or diseases related to tobacco consumption.