OBJECTIVES: To determine the impact of cigarette prices on the decision to initiate and quit smoking by taking into account the interdependence of smoking and other behavioral risk factors. METHODS: The study population consisted of 3,000 male Koreans aged > or =20. A survey by telephone interview was undertaken to collect information on cigarette price, smoking and other behavioral risk factors. A two-part model was used to examine separately the effect of price on the decision to be a smoker, and on the amount of cigarettes smoked. RESULTS: The overall price elasticity of cigarettes was estimated at -0.66, with a price elasticity of -0.02 for smoking participation and -0.64 for the amount of cigarettes consumed by smokers. The inclusion of other behavioral risk factors reduced the estimated price elasticity for smoking participation substantially, but had no effect on the conditional price elasticity for the quantity of cigarettes smoked. CONCLUSIONS: From the public health and financial perspectives, an increase in cigarette price would significantly reduce smoking prevalence as well as cigarette consumption by smokers in Korea.
Adult ; *Costs and Cost Analysis ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Korea/epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors ; Smoking/*economics/*prevention & control ; Social Environment ; Socioeconomic Factors ; *Tobacco

PURPOSE: The pathogensis and etiologic agents are still unknown but clinical studies suggest that Kawasaki disease (KD) is an autoimmune disease caused by infectious agents associated with the early development of acute myocarditis and coronary artery abnormalities. The study investigates serum troponin I (cTnI) and creatine kinase (CK)-MB in the acute stage of KD before diagnosis the use of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment to confirm and find early diagnosis of acute myocarditis. METHODS: The patient group consisted of 36 cases of KD in the acute stage before IVIG treatment, and the control group consisted of 10 cases who didn't suffer from KD. The obtained sera was measured by using the Chemiluminoimmunoassay method, and compared with the results of both groups. RESULTS: The sex ratio of male to female was 1.5 : 1, and the male age was 2.6 +/- 1.6 years old. The level of cTnI increased in 14 cases (31.9%), and CK-MB increased in 9 cases (25%). Five cases (13.9%) in the patient group increased in both cTnI and CK-MB levels which correlated with each other significantly (P<0.05). But the levels of cTnI and CK-MB were negative in the control group. Acute phase reactants such as CRP, C3, ESR were positive and WBC increased in the acute stage of both groups. CONCLUSION: The level of cTnI correlates accurately to myocardial cell injury, so increasing the level of cTnI in the acute stage of KD is recommended for acute myocarditis or myocardial cell injure in the early stage before onset of clinical symptoms and signs. Therefore, the measurement of cTnI can be a more useful method for early diagnosis and confirmation of acute myocarditis than a CK-MB test, and may help in the early treatment of IVIG by reducing cardiovascular abnormalities in KD.
Acute-Phase Proteins ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Cardiovascular Abnormalities ; Coronary Vessels ; Creatine Kinase ; Diagnosis ; Early Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous ; Male ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome* ; Myocarditis ; Sex Ratio ; Troponin I* ; Troponin*

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to estimate the willingness to quit cigarette price among Korean male adults, and to examine he factors affecting the willingness to quit cigarette price. METHODS: The data was collected by a random digit dial telephone survey. 702 samples were analyzed by using ttests, ANOVA and OLS regression analysis. To estimate the willingness to quit cigarette price, smokers were asked dichotomous questions with open-ended follow-up and the starting point of the price was randomized by one of 5 bid prices elicited from a pilot study. RESULTS: The mean of the willingness to quit cigarette price was 4,287 Won per package, which was about 2,000 Won higher than the mean of the actual price the smokers now paid. About 41% of respondents were willing to quit smoking if the price of cigarette would be increased by 3,000 Won, and if the price would be increased by 20,000 Won, all respondents were willing to quit smoking. The factors associated with the willingness to quit cigarette price were the place of residence, the amount of smoking and the degree of exposure to smoking through the mass media. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that to get people to quit smoking, increasing the cigarette price would obviously be effective and much higher prices have a greater effect. Furthermore, to enlarge the effect of increased cigarette prices, providing more cessation programs to small towns, reducing the amount of smoking and decreasing or prohibiting advertisements of cigarettes and smoking in the mass media will be efficient.
Adult ; *Commerce ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Motivation ; Smoking/*economics/ethnology ; Smoking Cessation/*ethnology

Glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β has been known as a pro-inflammatory molecule in neuroinflammation. The involvement of GSK-3β remains unsolved in acute monophasic rat experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). The aim of this study was to evaluate a potential role of GSK-3β in central nervous system (CNS) autoimmunity through its inhibition by lithium. Lithium treatment significantly delayed the onset of EAE paralysis and ameliorated its severity. Lithium treatment reduced the serum level of pro-inflammatory tumor necrosis factor a but not that of interleukin 10. Western blot analysis showed that the phosphorylation of GSK-3β (p-GSK-3β) and its upstream factor Akt was significantly increased in the lithium-treated group. Immunohistochemical examination revealed that lithium treatment also suppressed the activation of ionized calcium binding protein-1-positive microglial cells and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 expression in the spinal cords of lithium-treated EAE rats. These results demonstrate that lithium ameliorates clinical symptom of acute monophasic rat EAE, and GSK-3 is a target for the suppression of acute neuroinflammation as far as rat model of human CNS disease is involved.
Animals ; Autoimmunity ; Blotting, Western ; Calcium ; Central Nervous System ; Central Nervous System Diseases ; Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 ; Glycogen Synthase Kinases* ; Glycogen Synthase* ; Glycogen* ; Humans ; Interleukin-10 ; Lithium* ; Models, Animal* ; Multiple Sclerosis* ; Paralysis ; Phosphorylation ; Rats* ; Spinal Cord ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1