Sorbonne Paris Cité Alliance

South Africa's new vaping tax won't deter young smokers

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 3, 2023
Cigarette excise in Indonesia, Electronic cigarette, Industry, Nicotine, Prevalence, Disposable product, Vuse, Budget, Pick n Pay Stores, VAT, Public, Tax, Tobacco, R50, See, Government, Economics, Incidence, School, US, Anomaly, Industrial and Mining Water Research Unit, Ageing, National Treasury Employees Union, Smoking, Rest, Sorbonne Paris Cité Alliance, Treasury, Herbal cigarette, African, R95

The new vaping tax has enraged vaping lobby groups and vaping manufacturers.

Key Points: 
  • The new vaping tax has enraged vaping lobby groups and vaping manufacturers.
  • We conclude that the vaping tax is flawed because it is not well-targeted at reducing the consumption of vaping products among the youth.
  • As currently structured, the excise tax is not sufficiently targeted at reducing, or preventing, the use of vaping products among youth.

Youth and lifelong addiction

    • Disposable vapes, which are closed systems thrown away once the liquid is finished, have become increasingly popular among the youth.
    • These are not teenagers switching from smoking cigarettes to e-cigarettes, but rather teenagers who are initiating a potential lifelong addiction to nicotine through vapes.
    • The vaping industry claims it sells only to people aged 18 and older, but this isn’t true.
    • Among the 5,583 learners in grades 8-12 (high school learners) who completed the survey, 15% used vaping devices.
    • Read more:
      Marketers are targeting teens with cheap and addictive vapes: 9 ways to stem rising rates of youth vaping

      These high prevalence rates are not surprising given that vaping devices are marketed to the youth.

    • This is a problem, because the excise tax is not well-targeted at reducing the consumption of vaping products among the youth.

Addressing the flaws

    • Most vaping products will experience only limited price increases under the new tax.
    • The excise tax on vaping products will go some way to reduce the demand for these products.
    • Unfortunately, there are flaws in the current tax system.

Fujitsu and Ochanomizu University establish new AI ethics research lab, leveraging AI technologies to promote gender equality

Retrieved on: 
Friday, March 17, 2023
Learning, Gender equality, University, Social, United Nations, Incubator, Policy, Initiative, Lead, Woman, Research, Scientist, Gender, Sustainable Development Goals, Cabinet, Ochanomizu University, Ethics, Ben Goertzel, Risk, Information science, 116th Mechanized Infantry Division (People's Republic of China), AI, Bias, Social collaboration, Sorbonne Paris Cité Alliance, Nursing, Toy, Medical device, Pharmaceutical industry, Renewable energy, Fujitsu

TOKYO, Mar 17, 2023 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu and Ochanomizu University today announced the establishment of the "Fujitsu-Ochanomizu University Social Collaboration Program for AI Ethics", a new joint research laboratory to develop AI solutions contributing to the solution of gender equality issues.

Key Points: 
  • TOKYO, Mar 17, 2023 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu and Ochanomizu University today announced the establishment of the "Fujitsu-Ochanomizu University Social Collaboration Program for AI Ethics", a new joint research laboratory to develop AI solutions contributing to the solution of gender equality issues.
  • Ochanomizu University in April 2022 established the Institute for Gendered Innovations(3) to promote research, innovation, and social communication based on gender perspectives, strengthening its track record in research on gender equality issues.
  • To address these issues, Fujitsu and Ochanomizu University established the "Fujitsu-Ochanomizu University Social Collaboration Program for AI Ethics" to explore the possibility of utilizing AI solutions to contribute to the solution of gender inequalities.
  • To this end, Fujitsu and Ochanomizu University aim to develop practical solutions to gender issues, while addressing the risk of bias in AI by leveraging Fujitsu's strength in R&D in ethical AI technologies and Ochanomizu University's research on gendered innovations.