Uncovering Philip Morris International’s Fundamental Strategies for Product Placement in Thailand: Spotlighting Industry Penetration to Advance the Endgame

Background: Tobacco companies and their associated businesses know that placement – where one can see and purchase their products – is critical to their success. Placement is one of the four fundamental Ps of marketing along with product, price and promotion. Placement includes identifying retail locations in important places such as in shopping districts, within neighborhoods, near schools, at beaches, and in parks. In Southeast Asia, counteracting tobacco company placement strategies that result in market penetration is essential to advancing the endgame, namely ending tobacco use. However, in Southeast Asia research on the placement of tobacco products has been limited. Objectives: We undertook to analyze how Philip Morris International (PMI) through its subsidiary Philip Morris Asia Inc. (PMAI), from the time the company entered Thailand’s market once it was forced open in 1990, developed its successful product placement strategies and tactics. Methods: We examined over 4,000 PMI and PMAI internal documents using an historical, iterative and thematic approach. We analyzed the most relevant and illuminating documents, particularly those in which PMAI discussed retailer supply, retailer acceptance and retailer cooperation. Results: Even before foreign tobacco brands were legally allowed to be sold in Thailand, PMAI was already doing customer research in Thailand. In 1989, PMAI conducted a study of potential Thai customers in which 24% of respondents’ lack of availability (i.e., product placement) was one of the main reasons for not smoking PMI’s products. Based on these findings, PMAI engaged in intensive internal efforts to address the placement barrier to gain share. PMAI placed considerable emphasis on “stimulating retail trade acceptance” by making payments to retailers who met agreed upon and contracted product sales targets. PMAI’s initial successes incentivizing Thai retailers by essentially buying prime retail space for placement of their brands, to crowd out local and other foreign brands, became the foundation of what evolved into a sophisticated program to make placement highly lucrative for retailers. Conclusion: PMAI viewed aggressive product placement as essential to success as a new entrant in Thailand, and their product placement strategies contributed substantially to capturing a large share of the market. Therefore, endgame strategies must focus on restricting product placement through surveillance of tobacco industry legal, investment and retailer actions and through stricter tobacco retailer licensing requirements and penalties.     

Characterization Studies on Graphene-Aluminium Nano Composites for Aerospace Launch Vehicle External Fuel Tank Structural Application

From the aspect of exploring the alternative lightweight composite material for the aerospace launch vehicle external fuel tank structural components, the current research work studies three different grades of Aluminium alloy reinforced with varying graphene weight percentages that are processed through powder metallurgy (P/M) route. The prepared green compacts composite ingots are subjected to microwave processing (Sintering), hot extruded, and solution treated (T6). The developed Nano-graphene reinforced composite is studied further for the strength–microstructural integrity. The nature of the graphene reinforcement and its chemical existence within the composite is further studied, and it is found that hot extruded solution treated (HEST) composite exhibited low levels of carbide (Al₄C₃) formations, as composites processed by microwaves. Further, the samples of different grades reinforced with varying graphene percentages are subjected to mechanical characterisation tests such as the tensile test and hardness. It is found that 2 wt% graphene reinforced composites exhibited enhanced yield strength and ultimate tensile strength. Microstructural studies and fracture morphology are studied, and it is proven that composite processed via the microwave method has exhibited good ductile behaviour and promising failure mechanisms at higher load levels.     

Synthesis and Characterization of the Mixed Metal Oxide of ZnO-TiO2 Decorated by Polyaniline as a Protective Film for Acidic Steel Corrosion: Experimental,and Computational Inspections

In this work, the preparation, characterization, and evaluation of a novel nanocomposite using polyaniline (PANi) functionalized bi-metal oxide ZnO-TiO₂ (ZnTiO@PANi) as shielding film for carbon steel (CS)-alloy in acidic chloride solution at 298 K was studied. Different spectroscopic characterization techniques, such as UV-visible spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) approaches, as well as other physicochemical methods, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), were used to describe the produced nanocomposites. The significance of these films lies in the ZnO-TiO₂ nanoparticle’s functionalization by polyaniline, a material with high conductivity and electrochemical stability in acidic solutions. The mechanistic findings of the corrosion inhibition method were obtained by the use of electrochemical methods including open-circuit potentials (OCP) vs. time, potentiodynamic polarization (PDP), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results indicate that the synthesized ZnTiO@PANi is a powerful acidic corrosion inhibitor, and its inhibition effectiveness is 98.86% in the presence of 100 ppm. Additionally, the charge transfer resistance (R_p) value augmented from 51.8 to 432.7, and 963.7 Ω cm² when the dose of PANi, and ZnTiO@PANi reached 100 ppm, respectively. The improvement in R_p and inhibition capacity values with an increase in nanocomposite dose is produced by the nanocomposite additives covering a larger portion of the surface, resulting in a decrease in alloy corrosion. By identifying the probable regions for molecule adsorption on the steel substrate, theoretical and computational studies provided significant details regarding the corrosion mitigation mechanism. The possibility of substituting old poisonous small substances with inexpensive and non-hazardous polymeric materials as shielding layers for utilization in the oilfield sectors is an important suggestion made by this research.     

Physician Payments from Pharmaceutical Companies Related to Cancer Drugs

BackgroundDrug manufacturers claim that the purpose of financial payments to physicians is to facilitate education about new drugs. This claim suggests 2 testable hypotheses: payments should not be associated with drug revenue and payments for each drug should decline over time as physicians become educated.Materials and MethodsWe used open payments data on industry payments. We included payments for cancer drugs without generic/biosimilar competitors and used federal data sources to measure Medicare spending (a proxy for overall drug revenue) and a number of prescribers. We used generalized estimating equations (GEE) to model the drug-level association between industry payments and Medicare spending. Separately, we used GEE to estimate the change in payments with respect to the duration of time since initial FDA approval.ResultsThe sample included 89 drugs and 361 drug-year observations. The total value of industry payments for oncology drugs increased, from $53 333 854 in 2014 to $90 343 731 in 2018. There was no association between log-transformed mean, per-physician industry payments, and per-physician Medicare spending (estimate −0.001, 95%CI, −0.005 to 0.004). Payments for individual drugs decreased over time; estimated payments in the subsequent year for a drug with mean, per-physician payments of $1000 in the index year was: $681* for drugs 0-4 years since approval, $825 for 5-9 years, and $679* for ≥10 years (*P < .05).ConclusionsAlthough industry-sponsored education may also serve marketing purposes, the absence of association between industry payments and Medicare spending and the decline in payments subsequent to approval are consistent with claims that industry payments function to facilitate physician education.     

当代中国民族出版业的作用与意义

民族出版业是党的宣传工作重要一环。本文深刻地探讨了中国民族出版业的作用,以及重要的现实意义和深远的历史意义。     

粤港澳大湾区中医药政策现状及完善建议

目的:研究现有粤港澳大湾区中医药产业政策的现状,为后续该产业发展规划和布局的完善提出建议。方法:采用内容分析法,从政策工具角度对截至2020年4月我国中央政府和地方政府层面颁布的涉及粤港澳大湾区中医药产业政策文本进行编码计量分析,总结中医药产业当前发展的重点和存在的问题,并提出合理建议。结果与结论:共检索到34份相关政策文件,其中中央政府层面9份、地方政府层面25份。在基本政策工具维度方面,粤港澳大湾区中医药产业供给型、需求型和环境型政策工具分别占58.10%、22.86%、19.05%。供给型政策工具中硬件建设占40.98%、内部联通占26.23%、质量建设占22.95%、国际交流占9.84%,政策工具无具体实施细则和方案影响了其可操作性;需求型政策工具中包含健康服务(75.00%)、国际贸易(16.67%)、服务外包(4.17%)和政府补贴(4.17%)四项内容,后三项内容使用较少,限制了产业市场的开放程度;环境型政策工具中包含目标规划(40.00%)、准入规则(25.00%)、知识产权(30.00%)和融资支持(5.00%)四项内容,但需完善法律法规支撑和相关措施支持。在中医药产...     

基于1998-2018年年度数据的我国对外经济贸易与医药制造业互动关系实证研究

目的:探讨我国对外经济贸易与医药制造业之间的互动关系,为我国对外经济贸易活动及医药制造业发展提供参考。方法:收集国家统计局、《中国高技术产业统计年鉴》和《中国科技统计年鉴》等公布的1998-2018年我国对外经济贸易与医药制造业的相关统计数据,参考相关文献方法,构建包含对外经济贸易系统和医药制造业系统的数据指标体系,采用准则重要性法对数据指标赋权,采用线性加权法计算综合评价指标结果,采用向量自回归模型对我国对外经济贸易与医药制造业的关系进行研究分析,并提出相应建议。结果与结论:从协整检验结果来看,我国对外经济贸易的发展对于医药制造业的发展具有一定的促进作用和带动作用(相关系数为0.432 918);从格兰杰因果检验结果来看,对外经济贸易发展是医药制造业发展的格兰杰原因(置信概率小于0.001),而医药制造业发展不是对外经济贸易的格兰杰原因(置信概率为0.358);从脉冲响应和方差分解结果来看,我国对外经济贸易与医药制造业的发展间存在相互影响的关系,但对外经济贸易对医药制造业发展影响的贡献较小。建议我国医药制造企业应及时把握市场需求和贸易机会,通过提供高质量的医药品进一步扩大经营规模;充...     

Evaluation of Sediments from the River Drava and Their Potential for Further Use in the Building Sector

Sedimentation is a naturally occurring process of allowing particles in water bodies to settle out of the suspension under a gravity effect. In this study, the sediments of the Drava River were fully investigated to determine the heavy metal concentrations along the river and their potential reuse in the construction sector. Naturally dehydrated sediments from the Drava River were tested as an additive for the production of fired bricks. The dredged sediments were used as a substitute for natural brick clay in amounts up to 50% by weight, and it was confirmed that up to 20% by weight of the added sediment could be used directly in the process without critically affecting performance. Finally, the naturally dehydrated sediments were also evaluated for their use as a filling material in the construction of levees. The natural moisture content of the dehydrated sediment was too high for it to be used without additives, so quicklime was added as an inorganic binder. The test results showed an improvement in the geotechnical properties of the material to such an extent that it is suitable as a filling material for levees.     

核医结合背景下课程思政融入核应急护理教学的思考

从后疫情时代的视角出发,结合我国地方高校核应急护理教学现状及护生认知特点,将课程思政理念中的核工业精神融入核应急护理教学的必要性以及具体课程改进策略进行综述,并对课程提出相关教学建议,旨在为高校培养一批具有大国情怀及奉献精神的核应急专业护理人才提供思路,也为进一步促进核应急护理教学改革提供参考依据。     

对接大健康产业发展的康复治疗学人才培养体系的构建

在大健康产业发展背景下,康复服务产业发展模式和服务理念逐步转变。康复人力资源是康复服务产业发展的基石,文章基于《国际功能、残疾和健康分类》(international classification of functioning,disability and health,ICF)康复科学理论体系,切合康复服务产业化和专业化需求,重构康复治疗学专业人才培养的课程体系,强化实践教学,探讨构建康复治疗学专业人才培养新模式。