Multinational companies can boost local economies but often come with higher environmental costs than domestic firms, according to new research by UBC faculty of land and food systems associate professor Dr. Frederik Noack in Nature Climate Change.

The UK could raise up to £4.9 billion over five years and significantly improve public health by capping tobacco prices and increasing taxes. 

Research published by the University of Bath Tobacco Control Research Group and the University of Sheffield’s Addictions Research Group, provides the first real-world modelling of a proposed ‘polluter pays’ tobacco levy scheme. 

The study found that the proposed policy, aimed at stopping the tobacco industry from using pricing as a marketing tool, could raise between £1 billion and £4.9 billion over five years, depending on the level of price cap and how quickly it is introduced.  It could also prevent up to 10,000 hospital admissions and save almost 44,000 years of life over a 20-year period.

About The Study: The findings from this study project that climate change may substantially increase heat-attributable cardiovascular disease burden across the U.S. by 2050, disproportionately affecting economically vulnerable populations and population aging amplifying this impact. The Pacific Northwest showed highest baseline burden, while Southern and Midwestern states demonstrated steepest projected increases. Heat mitigation must become central to cardiovascular prevention, with targeted interventions prioritizing vulnerable communities. The study analyzed 3,108 U.S. counties from 2010 through 2016 with projections in 2030 and 2050.

Graphic anti-smoking ads can lead smokers to reconsider their habit, but in the absence of similar warnings for e-cigarettes, they make some smokers more inclined to vape than quit. That’s the key finding of new research from Washington State University demonstrating unintended consequences of using vividly graphic images of health consequences from smoking as a deterrent.