{"title":"Effects of COVID-19 and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines on hospitalized older COVID-19 patients in Türkiye.","authors":"Güzin Z Öztürk, İlknur Demir, Zeynep U Yılmaz","doi":"10.26719/2025.31.1.24","DOIUrl":"10.26719/2025.31.1.24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The COVID-19 vaccine, CoronaVac, and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, PCV13, are part of Türkiye's adult immunization programme to reduce COVID-19 severity and mortality among older adults.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To evaluate the effects of CoronaVac and PCV13 vaccines on hospitalized patients aged ≥ 65 years in Türkiye.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective descriptive study included 365 patients aged ≥ 65 years admitted to the COVID-19 wards and intensive care unit of Şişli Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital in Türkiye between March and June 2021. We evaluated vaccine efficacy among patients at ≥ 14 days and < 14 days after the second dose. We analysed the data using SPSS version 20.0 and compared proportions in independent groups using χ<sup>2</sup> test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Intensive care unit admission was lower (25.3%) among patients vaccinated with CoronaVac than among unvaccinated patients (38.5%), and mortality rate was significantly lower (16.9% vs 32.7%) among vaccinated patients. Mortality decreased significantly with the number of vaccine doses. No significant relationship was found between PCV13 vaccination and mortality or intensive care unit admission, but mortality was lower among vaccinated patients.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>CoronaVac significantly reduced intensive care unit admissions and mortality among older COVID-19 patients. Although PCV13 did not show a significant reduction in mortality, its observed benefit supports continued pneumococcal vaccination among older populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":93985,"journal":{"name":"Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de sante de la Mediterranee orientale = al-Majallah al-sihhiyah li-sharq al-mutawassit","volume":"31 1","pages":"24-29"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143411878","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Putting governance into practice: The engagement of private health sector for Universal Health Coverage and health security.","authors":"Hanan Balkhy, Bruce Aylward","doi":"10.26719/2024.30.12.807","DOIUrl":"10.26719/2024.30.12.807","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The 'next pandemic' has become a common terminology increasingly used in media and academic literature. Emerging pathogens pose a considerable risk to our increasingly globalised communities and there is a need for adequate preparedness for them. However, in Lebanon, like in many countries, the 'next' pathogens, such as the measles pathogen, posing a dire threat to public health are neither emerging nor re-emerging; they are common, endemic and vaccine-preventable. What then are the barriers to vaccination and other prevention interventions against these pathogens?</p>","PeriodicalId":93985,"journal":{"name":"Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de sante de la Mediterranee orientale = al-Majallah al-sihhiyah li-sharq al-mutawassit","volume":"30 12","pages":"807-809"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143384573","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nihaya A Al-Sheyab, Yousef Khader, Mohammad S Alyahya, Nadia Sweis, Maryam Mirza
{"title":"Comparative analysis of the impact of cigarette taxation on consumption, revenue and mortality in Jordan.","authors":"Nihaya A Al-Sheyab, Yousef Khader, Mohammad S Alyahya, Nadia Sweis, Maryam Mirza","doi":"10.26719/2024.30.11.788","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26719/2024.30.11.788","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Tobacco taxes are a powerful tool for reducing tobacco consumption and a reliable source of revenue for government.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To investigate the potential efficacy of tobacco taxation strategies in Jordan in relation to their fiscal and health-related outcomes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using Tobacconomics, we conducted a comparative analysis of several taxation scenarios: maintaining the status quo; increasing both specific excise and tiered taxes; increasing tiered tax rates alone; and raising specific excise taxes only.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We obtained the projected fiscal and health outcomes under the different tax policy scenarios: current scenario with no adjustments; 20% increase in specific excise taxes coupled with a 10% boost in tiered tax rates; raising tier tax by 20%; and raising specific excise by 20%. A 20% increase in excise taxes will decrease cigarette consumption, increase government revenues and reduce deaths among adults and adolescents. It can provide up to 87.5% reduction in adolescent deaths if coupled with a 10% boost in tiered tax rates.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>A consistent and aggressive approach to tobacco taxation can effectively decrease tobacco consumption and increase government revenue if Jordan's multi-tiered specific excise tax system is adjusted according to retail price.</p>","PeriodicalId":93985,"journal":{"name":"Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de sante de la Mediterranee orientale = al-Majallah al-sihhiyah li-sharq al-mutawassit","volume":"30 11","pages":"788-797"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142901313","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Global status of WHO FCTC implementation and the way forward on tobacco products taxes.","authors":"Douglas Bettcher, Juliette McHardy","doi":"10.26719/2024.30.11.714","DOIUrl":"10.26719/2024.30.11.714","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":93985,"journal":{"name":"Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de sante de la Mediterranee orientale = al-Majallah al-sihhiyah li-sharq al-mutawassit","volume":"30 11","pages":"714-717"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142901366","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"High-level meeting of ministers of health and ministers of finance from the Eastern Mediterranean Region on taxation of tobacco and nicotine products.","authors":"","doi":"10.26719/2024.30.11.803","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26719/2024.30.11.803","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":93985,"journal":{"name":"Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de sante de la Mediterranee orientale = al-Majallah al-sihhiyah li-sharq al-mutawassit","volume":"30 11","pages":"803-804"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142901370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marwa Ms Abbass, Anne-Marie Perucic, Eman T Ibrahim, Ayoub Al-Jawaldeh
{"title":"Situation analysis of sugar‑sweetened beverages taxation in Eastern Mediterranean Region.","authors":"Marwa Ms Abbass, Anne-Marie Perucic, Eman T Ibrahim, Ayoub Al-Jawaldeh","doi":"10.26719/2024.30.11.720","DOIUrl":"10.26719/2024.30.11.720","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Significant attention is being given to the role of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in the increasing rates of obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR).</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To document the different approaches being used by EMR countries in implementing the sugar-sweetened beverages taxation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study used data on indirect taxes levied on SSBs by the 22 EMR countries and territories collected by WHO between July 2022 and June 2023. For comparison between countries, all applicable taxes were converted to a percentage of the tax-inclusive retail prices and standardized.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Eleven EMR countries imposed the national excise tax on carbonated SSBs and 10 imposed excise tax on at least one type of beverage other than carbonated SSBs. Ad valorem excise taxes were the most-used type for carbonated SSBs, with 10 of the 11 countries applying them. Morocco applied volume-based specific excise taxes with different rates depending on the sugar content. Excise tax represented the highest tax proportion (31.7%) in Oman and United Arab Emirates, while total tax represented the highest proportion (42.0%) of the retail price in Saudi Arabia and 36.5% in Oman and United Arab Emirates.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Only half of the EMR countries are currently implementing SSBs taxation, and the imposed tax is less than 20% in half of these countries. All EMR countries should start implementing SSBs taxation as part of their national disease control policy frameworks to help reverse the increasing trend of obesity and other diet-related noncommunicable diseases in the region.</p>","PeriodicalId":93985,"journal":{"name":"Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de sante de la Mediterranee orientale = al-Majallah al-sihhiyah li-sharq al-mutawassit","volume":"30 11","pages":"720-729"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142901382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Taxing tobacco as a strategy to reduce consumption and increase public health benefits in Pakistan.","authors":"Namra Aziz, Aysha Almas, Tariq Mahmood, Gerald S Bloomfield, Zainab Samad","doi":"10.26719/2024.30.11.772","DOIUrl":"10.26719/2024.30.11.772","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Tobacco consumption poses a significant challenge to global health and contributes to the increase in noncommunicable diseases and premature deaths.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To investigate the potential impact of a 70% tobacco tax on consumption and government revenue in Pakistan.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analysed secondary data from 2011 to 2022 (after imposition of a 70% excise tax) from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Pakistan Social and Living Standard Survey, financial yearbooks and Federal Board of Revenue reports for tobacco consumption and government revenue. Variables included tobacco price inflation, per capita income, cigarette price, federal excise duty, and government revenue.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The higher taxes reduced tobacco production by PKR 3.72 billion (≈US$ 13.4 million). Price elasticity analysis indicated an inelastic demand for cigarettes, mostly among the rural populations. Imposition of excise duty of 70% of the retail price caused a decrease in government revenue by PKR 390 million (≈US$ 1.4 million).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Implementing 70% taxation on tobacco products is beneficial, however, to fully realize its benefit, there is a need for strict regulation on brand shifting and illegal trade.</p>","PeriodicalId":93985,"journal":{"name":"Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de sante de la Mediterranee orientale = al-Majallah al-sihhiyah li-sharq al-mutawassit","volume":"30 11","pages":"772-778"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12128199/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142901402","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impact of taxation on tobacco products prices in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.","authors":"Sophia Delipalla, Fatimah El-Awa, Asmus Hammerich, Anne-Marie Perucic, Sophia El-Gohary","doi":"10.26719/2024.30.11.738","DOIUrl":"10.26719/2024.30.11.738","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In 2016, the 6 Gulf Cooperation Council countries agreed to implement a harmonized excise tax on tobacco products, at a rate of 100% of the pre-tax price.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To assess the implementation of tobacco taxation in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates and its impact on consumer prices, affordability and substitution possibilities.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study conducted simple descriptive analysis of open-source secondary data reported to WHO by Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates on cigarette excise taxes, price levels, price dispersion, and affordability.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The 3 countries imposed more than 70% excise tax on tobacco products. Saudi Arabia, in addition, imposed the value added tax. This led to sharp price increases and less affordability in all the countries. In 2020, the affordability index in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries ranged from 1.3% in Kuwait to 3.8% in Saudi Arabia. However, affordability was still higher in these countries than in the rest of the world.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Despite the progress made on tobacco tax reform in the 3 countries, affordability was higher than in other countries, indicating the need for improvements. The tobacco tax system has some weaknesses that need to be addressed in future reforms, for example, the lack of systematic data collection and management systems and the disconnect between the health, tax economics, research, and policy experts.</p>","PeriodicalId":93985,"journal":{"name":"Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de sante de la Mediterranee orientale = al-Majallah al-sihhiyah li-sharq al-mutawassit","volume":"30 11","pages":"738-745"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142901374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The impact of health taxes on consumption of tobacco and sugar-sweetened beverages in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.","authors":"Hanan Balkhy","doi":"10.26719/2024.30.11.711","DOIUrl":"10.26719/2024.30.11.711","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Consumption of tobacco, nicotine and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) poses a significant risk to public health, contributing to increases in noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and obesity. Globally, regular consumption of SSBs increases the risk of type 2 diabetes by 26%, and deaths related to tobacco and nicotine consumption exceed 8 million annually, including 1.3 million due to exposure to second-hand smoke. This loss of lives and the negative impact on health underscore the urgent need for effective public health interventions to curb the consumption of these harmful products.</p>","PeriodicalId":93985,"journal":{"name":"Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de sante de la Mediterranee orientale = al-Majallah al-sihhiyah li-sharq al-mutawassit","volume":"30 11","pages":"711-713"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142901354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sarah S Monshi, Turky J Arbaein, Abdullah M Alanazi
{"title":"Banning tobacco products sales to adolescents in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.","authors":"Sarah S Monshi, Turky J Arbaein, Abdullah M Alanazi","doi":"10.26719/2024.30.11.730","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.26719/2024.30.11.730","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Tobacco use poses a challenge to public health in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Although restricting access to tobacco can reduce consumption among adolescents, there is limited knowledge of how to implement the tobacco sales ban policy in the sub-region.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To assess implementation of the ban on tobacco products sales to adolescents in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries as recommended in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We used the school-based, self-reported, cross-sectional survey data collected by the Global Youth Tobacco Survey 2013-2018 among 13-15-year-old students from 5 of the 6 Gulf Cooperation Council countries. We analysed the pattern of implementation of the 4 provisions of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that address the banning of tobacco products sales to adolescents.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Implementation of key provisions related to the banning of tobacco products sales to adolescents varied among the countries. Bahrain, Qatar and United Arab Emirates implemented the 4 provisions, while Kuwait and Oman implemented only one. More than 50% of the adolescents who tried to purchase cigarettes were not refused.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The GCC countries should consistently implement and enforce the policy on banning tobacco products sales to adolescents as part of their tobacco control programmes. Programmes should seek to engage and educate merchants and adolescents on the health implications of tobacco use and the need to enforce compliance.</p>","PeriodicalId":93985,"journal":{"name":"Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de sante de la Mediterranee orientale = al-Majallah al-sihhiyah li-sharq al-mutawassit","volume":"30 11","pages":"730-737"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142901311","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}