The prevalence of fire and CO safety amenities in Airbnb venues that permit smoking - Findings from 17 countries.

Airbnb hosts rent their homes to guests as an alternative to traditional hospitality settings. Airbnb venues are not uniformly regulated for allowing smoking or requiring fire-safety amenities. This study quantified the reported prevalence of fire-safety amenities in 413,339 Airbnb venues that allow smoking in 43 cities in 17 countries. Proportions of host-reported smoke detectors and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms, and those that allow smoking were calculated. Across the entire sample 9.3% (n = 38,525) allowed smoking. An overall evaluation of those venues shows that 46% (n = 17,569) had smoke detectors compared to 64% of the 374,814 venues that do not allow smoking, a statistically significant difference (X2 = 5277 p < 0.01). A similar difference is found between venues that allow smoking and had CO alarms (19%, n = 7176) and the 33% of venues that prohibit smoking (X2 = 3442, p < 0.01). Among this sample, most Airbnb venues that allow smoking are less likely to have safety amenities.

Combat Readiness, Harm Aversion, and Promotion Eligibility: A Qualitative Study of U.S. Servicemembers Views on Tobacco Use and Control in the Military.

INTRODUCTION: More than half a century after the first Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Tobacco Use, tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease for the U.S. military. Military tobacco use impairs troop readiness, decreases productivity, reduces servicemember physical performance, and leads to chronic illness in veterans. The Department of Defense (DoD) spends considerable effort to maintain a combat ready force, and tobacco use is contradictory to these efforts. U.S. servicemember tobacco use is estimated to cost the federal government more than $6.5 billion annually. The uniqueness of military culture allows for innovative means of tobacco regulation and prevention. Our study examines the U.S. Navy cultural and servicemember perceptions to inform future tobacco control research and policies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We developed a behavioral model of tobacco use from existing literature. Using this model as a theoretical framework, our study qualitatively examined tobacco use in the active duty Navy population stationed in Okinawa, Japan. Thirty one-on-one interviews were conducted with active duty servicemembers. Sessions were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed in MAXQDA12. RESULTS: Multiple military-specific themes were identified. Themes: (1) tobacco use is a "right," (2) the military may limit active duty servicemembers' rights, (3) tobacco restrictions are justified if they prevent harm to others, (4) tobacco restrictions are not widely enforced, (5) smoke breaks are viewed as a legitimate reason to rest at work, and (6) the benefit of tobacco is as a stimulant. Novel tobacco cessation techniques suggested by our study include: (1) expand the buddy system to create an artificial support network for tobacco cessation and (2) tie promotion eligibility to tobacco use. CONCLUSIONS: This qualitative study identifies military-specific themes from the tobacco user perspective that help to guide research and policy in reducing tobacco use among military servicemembers. Possible interventions suggested by our findings may include replacing tobacco breaks with fitness breaks to relieve workplace stress and support the culture of fitness, expanding the use of pharmacologic stimulants to replace tobacco when used to maintain alertness, and gathering social support for tobacco cessation from non-healthcare unit members. Further study is needed to elucidate the effectiveness of proposed interventions suggested by our findings, with the ultimate aim of policy changes within the military to optimize health and military readiness, while decreasing long-term health effects and costs of tobacco use.

How the science of injury prevention contributes to advancing home fire safety in the USA: successes and opportunities.

BACKGROUND: In the decades since the landmark report-America Burning-was published in 1973, the number of home fire deaths has shrunk from >5500 per year to 2650 in 2015. This paper: (1) describes how science and practice in injury prevention and fire and life safety contributed to successful interventions, and (2) identifies emerging strategies and future opportunities to prevent home fire-related deaths. METHODS: The aims are addressed through the lens of population health research, with a focus on the work of selected Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded Injury Control Research Centers. Results are organised using the Haddon Matrix and an ecological model. RESULTS: We found evidence to support interventions that address all components of both the matrix and the model, including: reduced ignition propensity cigarettes, stop smoking campaigns, housing codes, residential sprinkler systems, smoke alarms, community risk reduction, school-based educational programmes, and fire and burn response systems. Future reductions are likely to come from enhancing residential sprinkler and smoke alarm technology, and increasing their utilisation; expanding the use of community risk reduction methods; and implementing new technological solutions. Despite the successes, substantial disparities in home fire death rates remain, reflecting underlying social determinants of health. CONCLUSION: Most of the evidence-supported interventions were focused on changing the policy and community environments to prevent home fires and reduce injury when a fire occurs. Future prevention efforts should give high priority to addressing the continued disparities in home fire deaths.

The impact of policy, environmental, and educational interventions: a synthesis of the evidence from two public health success stories.

Motor vehicle safety and tobacco control are among the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the number of miles traveled in the United States multiplied 10 times from the 1920s to the 1990s, the annual motor vehicle crash death rate per vehicle mile traveled decreased by 90%. Similarly, tobacco-related deaths from heart disease, stroke, and cancer were rapidly mounting over the first two thirds of the 20th century. Then, in the last third of the century, tobacco consumption decreased by more than 50%, and rates of heart disease and stroke deaths, and later cancer deaths, declined similarly. This analysis addresses the central question of what lessons can be learned from these success stories that will help public health professionals successfully tackle new and emerging health behavior problems of today and tomorrow? Surveillance, research, multilevel interventions, environmental modifications, and strong policies were key to reducing motor vehicle- and tobacco-related health problems. Generating public support and advocacy, and changing social norms also played critical roles in promoting the safer and smoke-free behaviors. Lessons learned include the need for evidence-based practices and interventions that are ecologically comprehensive with an emphasis on changing environmental determinants and capitalizing on the concept of reciprocal determinism. The analysis concludes with a description of how the PRECEDE-PROCEED planning framework can be used to apply the lessons from motor vehicle safety and tobacco control to other public health threats.

Neighborhood violence and its association with mothers' health: assessing the relative importance of perceived safety and exposure to violence.

This paper presents a cross-sectional study examining the influence of neighborhood violence on multiple aspects of mothers' health. While the influence of neighborhood violence on health is important to understand for all populations, mothers are especially important as they play a key role in protecting their children from the consequences of violence. Three hundred and ninety-two Baltimore City mothers of children 5 years and younger completed a self-administered survey that included questions about perceptions of their safety as well as their personal experiences with neighborhood violence. Separate models were run to compare the relationship between each measurement of neighborhood violence and five diverse health-related determinants and outcomes: self-reported health status, smoking, exercise, average hours of sleep a night, and sleep interruption. Controlling for mother's age, child's age, maternal education, and marital status, mothers with high exposure to neighborhood violence were twice as likely to report poorer health, smoking, never exercising, and poor sleep habits. Maternal perception of neighborhood safety was not related to any of the assessed health-related determinants and outcomes. This study emphasizes the importance of measuring exposure to neighborhood violence rather than solely assessing perceived safety. Neighborhood violence was a common experience for mothers in this urban sample, and should be considered by health professionals in trying to understand and intervene to improve the health of mothers and their children.