EurekAlert! News by Subject: Policy & Ethics - News by Subject: Policy & Ethics

Policy & Ethics

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 4-Aug-2025 16:11 ET (4-Aug-2025 20:11 GMT/UTC)

New study fails to show that youth vaping causes future smoking

University of Massachusetts Amherst
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team of public health researchers found “very low-certainty evidence” to support a commonly held belief that nicotine vaping is a gateway to cigarette smoking for young people.

Journal: Addiction
Funder: Cancer Research UK

A wealth of evidence: PIK compiles 85,000 individual studies about climate policy

Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Research on climate policy is growing exponentially. Of the approximately 85,000 individual studies ever published on policy instruments for mitigating global heating, a good quarter are from 2020 or later. A study led by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in the journal npj Climate Action, using machine learning methods, now shows how this vast knowledge is distributed – by instrument, country, sector and policy level – and identifies research gaps. A corresponding web tool, the “living systematic map”, will help to guide science and policy. It will be continuously updated to reflect the current state of research.

Journal: npj Climate Action

NFL Alumni Association shares 8 plays needed to improve heart health

American Heart Association
Business Announcement

The American Heart Association and the NFL Alumni Association are sharing the 8 steps to boost heart health in a collaboration focused on improving men’s health

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute announces launch of Center for Sepsis Epidemiology and Prevention Studies (SEPSIS)

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute
Business Announcement

Sepsis is a major global health issue causing one in five of the total deaths worldwide each year, yet it remains difficult to diagnose and treat effectively. The Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute has launched the Center for Sepsis Epidemiology and Prevention Studies (SEPSIS) to improve understanding, prevention, and treatment of sepsis.

Led by experts Drs. Chanu Rhee and Michael Klompas, the SEPSIS Center will collaborate with researchers and health care organizations worldwide to develop better policies, surveillance systems, and treatment approaches. This initiative aligns with the Institute’s commitment to improving health care and tackling major public health challenges.

Sandra Diaz and Eduardo Brondízio, scholars of human-nature interconnection, win the 2025 Tyler Prize with call for policies, business models and individuals to recognize humanity’s 'entanglement' with nature

ReAgency
Grant and Award Announcement

Argentine ecologist Sandra Díaz and Brazilian-American anthropologist Eduardo Brondízio have been awarded the 2025 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement for their work connecting biodiversity with human well-being. They emphasize the interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and socio-economic inequality, calling for integrated solutions incorporating environmental justice into policies and business models.

Díaz focuses on embedding respect for nature in legislation and eliminating harmful financial incentives, while Brondízio advocates for addressing socio-economic struggles in the Amazon to improve environmental outcomes. Both played key roles in the 2019 IPBES Global Assessment on Biodiversity. The $250,000 prize recognizes their contributions to understanding biodiversity loss and its societal impact. They will receive the award in Los Angeles on April 10, 2025.

Calls to reform food VAT to encourage healthy and sustainable diets

University College London
Peer-Reviewed Publication

People would be encouraged to eat more healthy and sustainable diets if Value Added Tax (VAT) rates were set based on health and environmental considerations, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

Purity and environmental concern

PNAS Nexus
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Attitudes about climate change and carbon footprints show strong regional patterning. Among all predictors, a county's political leaning has the strongest influence on the prevalence of green attitudes, with fairness norms ranking as the second strongest predictor. The strongest predictor of household carbon footprint, however, was an emphasis on purity norms, which is often regarded as a conservative value.

Journal: PNAS Nexus