In this Perspective on the research article by Ulucanlar and colleagues, Elizabeth Smith and Patricia McDaniel discuss how industry opposition to regulation can undermine the public's overall confidence in government and science.

The successes of tobacco control in some countries and locales have led to discussions of ending the tobacco epidemic, often called the endgame. In this paper, we recommend articulating the endgame goal as phasing out sales of cigarettes, a goal once called unthinkable. We develop a logic and argumentation for ending cigarette sales intended to move the discussion beyond the shadow of prohibition, proposing an approach that appeals to consumer protection standards and suggesting that the effort be led by low-prevalence communities. While phasing out cigarettes will not happen everywhere all at once, and may unfold differently along several lines, we argue that the gradual phase-out approach we propose will reduce the likelihood of the negative consequences often predicted to come with such a policy. To continue permitting widespread sales of the single most deadly consumer product in history is a public health failure that must be addressed.

During the past 10 years, computer-using teachers have applied ingenuity and creativity in using devices and software made for nonpedagogical applications, often by nonteachers. During this compressed time period, the history of CALL pedagogy has replicated the 50-year history of development in TESOL theory and practice. Technology-using teachers today are leading the way in innovative teaching ideas, the exploration of culture and language, the inclusion of special needs learners, the promotion of student autonomy, and anywhere-anytime learning. This brief history of CALL theory also includes an indication of possible future trends and issues.

Background

Cigarette filters are made of non-biodegradable cellulose acetate. As much as 766,571 metric tons of butts wind up as litter worldwide per year. Numerous proposals have been made to prevent or mitigate cigarette butt pollution, but none has been effective; cigarette butts are consistently found to be the single most collected item in beach clean-ups and litter surveys.

Methods

We searched the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) and http://tobaccodocuments.org using a snowball strategy beginning with keywords (eg, 'filter', 'biodegradable', 'butts'). Data from approximately 680 documents, dated 1959-2006, were analysed using an interpretive approach.

Results

The tobacco industry has feared being held responsible for cigarette litter for more than 20 years. Their efforts to avoid this responsibility included developing biodegradable filters, creating anti-litter campaigns, and distributing portable and permanent ashtrays. They concluded that biodegradable filters would probably encourage littering and would not be marketable, and that smokers were defensive about discarding their tobacco butts and not amenable to anti-litter efforts.

Conclusions

Tobacco control and environmental advocates should develop partnerships to compel the industry to take financial and practical responsibility for cigarette butt waste.

In December 2020, the Vatican unveiled its annual nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square. Headlines across conservative Catholic newspapers quickly latched on to what many observers described as “shockingly unconventional”: nineteen monumental ceramic figures, including an astronaut, a cyborg, and a turkey-dinosaur chimera, surrounding a covered sculpture of the infant Christ. The sensationalized convergence of otherworldly and religious subjects was a means to reflect on the 2020 Art History Graduate Student Association’s 45th Annual Symposium Haunting the Canon: The Super-phenomena in Art, which likewise examined manifestations of the supernatural. The paranormal is important for the study of art and culture not simply because they elicit new and diverse aesthetic categories, but also because as a strategy, they offer insight into major socio-political and environmental problems shaping the present. This paper traces the development of the symposium’s theme and showcases some of the ways artists and art historians are engaging new perspectives and strategies of alternate world-making.

Smoking impairs the readiness and performance of military personnel, yet congressional opposition has thwarted military tobacco control initiatives. Involvement of civilian organizations might alter this political dynamic. We interviewed 13 leaders of national civilian public health and tobacco control organizations to explore their perspectives on military tobacco control, inductively analyzing data for themes. Leaders believed that military tobacco use was problematic but lacked specific knowledge. Most supported smoke-free policies and prohibiting smoking in uniform; however, they opposed banning tobacco use, arguing that it would violate smokers' rights. Most leaders inappropriately applied civilian models of policy development to the military context. A tobacco-free military is unlikely to be achieved without military-civilian partnerships that include educating civilian health leaders about military policy development and implementation.

Purpose

To examine perceptions of military personnel about tobacco use.

Design

Secondary analysis of (1) focus group and (2) interview data.

Setting

U.S. military.

Subjects

Total participants (n = 241): Enlisted personnel, supervisors (n = 189 individuals participating in 23 focus groups), tobacco control managers, and policy leaders (n = 52 interview participants).

Intervention

Not applicable.

Measures

Not applicable.

Analysis

Inductive, iterative coding for salient themes using an interpretive approach. Application of the concept of mediatory myths, used by institutions to cover over internal contradictions.

Results

All types of participants endorsed the idea that tobacco was needed in the military for stress relief. Types of stress identified included fitting in, (relationships with coworkers and superiors) and control of workflow (taking breaks). Participants also discussed beliefs about the impact of tobacco on the military mission, and institutional sanction of tobacco use.

Conclusion

Despite tobacco's well-documented negative effects on fitness, the myth that tobacco relieves stress serves several institutional functions in the military. It serves to minimize perceptions of stress on the fitness of personnel, suggests that stress can be managed solely by individuals, and institutionalizes tobacco use. Growing recognition among military leadership that countering stress is essential to fitness offers an opportunity to challenge this myth.