A case for trans fat bans and other news and views for Thursday 17 July

We find that trans fat bans reduce CVD deaths by 12 per 100,000 persons, reduce heart disease deaths by 9.5 per 100,000 persons, and reduce stroke deaths by 2.6 per 100,000 persons. (These are estimated reductions of about 4.4%, 3.9%, and 8.5% relative to our sample means.)
We find that trans fat bans reduce CVD deaths by 12 per 100,000 persons, reduce heart disease deaths by 9.5 per 100,000 persons, and reduce stroke deaths by 2.6 per 100,000 persons. (These are estimated reductions of about 4.4%, 3.9%, and 8.5% relative to our sample means.)
  • Do trans-fat bans save lives? – “Eliminating artificial trans fat – which has no known health benefits – from the global food supply has the potential to lead to substantial reductions in the loss of life and health care costs associated with CVD.”
  • What’s The Matter With Kansas And Its Tax Cuts? It Can’t Do Math – “Kansas Governor Sam Brownback and his state legislature have embarked on a wonderful natural experiment. Once again we are testing the question: Can tax cuts pay for themselves? The answer– yet again– is a resounding no. We’ve tried this experiment time and again. And tax cut proponents such as economist Art Laffer continue to insist they can turn fiscal dross to gold: Cut taxes deeply enough and the resultant boom in economic activity will boost revenues. Magic. Painless. Everything a politician would ever want. Except this is fiscal snake oil. Over the past few years, Brownback and the Kansas legislature have gone all-in on this theory. The good news: They have left little room for ambiguity.”
  • How Google’s New Font Tries to Anticipate the Future – “… the new Roboto is a workhorse, not a show horse. The face itself isn’t designed to grab attention, but rather, to perform well in many contexts. It sports a rounder, friendlier look. Dots in the i and j have changed from rectangles to circles; letters like the B, C, and D now sport softer curves; and the stark angles of some letters, like the R, have been straightened.”
17-07-2014 pewreligions
17-07-2014 depression
  • Why more psychological therapy would cost nothing by Richard Layard, David M. Clark – “Mental illness is the main sickness of the working age population with economic costs around 8% of GDP. This column, based on the authors’ recent book, discusses the effectiveness of a large programme of psychological therapy, launched in England in 2008. The savings due to welfare benefits, extra taxes, and physical healthcare outweigh the costs of the programme. In this case, psychological therapy costs nothing.”

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