Individual and environmental bicycling determinants during a pandemic.

Introduction: Research has identified many factors associated with bicycling, but little is known on their relative influence for an individual's decision to bicycle or what led to the surge in bicycling during the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. Methods: Our research leverages a sample of 6735 U.S. adults to identify key predictors and their relative influence on both increased bicycling during the pandemic and on whether an individual commutes by bicycle. LASSO regression models identified a reduced set of predictors for the outcomes of interest from 55 determinants included in the modeling. Results: We find individual and environmental factors have a role in explaining the shift towards bicycling-with key differences in predictors for increased overall cycling during the pandemic compared to bicycle commuting. Conclusions: Our findings add to the evidence base that policies can impact bicycling behavior. Specifically, increasing e-bike accessibility and limiting residential streets to local traffic are two policies that show promise for encouraging bicycling.

ENDS advertising expenditures in English language media in the USA, 2015-2020.

BACKGROUND: Electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) advertising is associated with ENDS purchase and use. This study assessed trends in ENDS advertisement (ad) expenditures in the USA from 2015 to 2020 overall, by media channel and by advertiser. METHODS: Data came from Numerator, which conducts surveillance of ads and estimates expenditures. The estimates are dollars spent (adjusted to 2020) by the advertiser for each ad occurrence for print, radio, television and digital (online, mobile) media channels. ENDS ad expenditures were assessed by quarter, media channel and the top five advertisers based on ad occurrences. RESULTS: Overall ENDS ad expenditures increased from $38 million in 2015 to $217 million in 2019 before decreasing to a low of $22 million in 2020. By media channel, print expenditures led the channels with more than twice as much spent as television, four times more than radio and 10 times more than digital. By advertiser, JUUL led in ENDS ad expenditures from 2015 to 2020 with almost $189 million spent, followed by British American Tobacco (BAT, $105 million) and Imperial Tobacco ($62 million). CONCLUSIONS: Overall ad expenditures were relatively stable from 2015 to mid-2018 when large expenditures by JUUL and subsequent expenditures by BAT and Imperial Tobacco led to expenditure highs in 2019. E-cigarette and vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI), the JUUL self-imposed ad suspension and COVID-19 likely all played a role in advertising lows in 2020. The absence of popular Puff Bar brand ads from the traditional media channels studied highlights the importance of monitoring direct and indirect advertising on newer media channels like social media.

An examination of adaptations of direct marketing channels and practices by Maryland fruit and vegetable farmers during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study explores the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Maryland stay-at-home order on fruit and vegetable farmers in Maryland. Focusing on farms' direct-to-consumer marketing channels, we aim to characterize the diversity of farm responses and identify practices that facilitated adaptation. This research is grounded in the socio-ecological systems framework, which emphasizes the interconnection between social and ecological systems and characterizes the dual-driving forces that impact food producers and their livelihood. The study team conducted interviews with 20 Maryland farm owners/managers who grow and sell produce. The semistructured interviews included questions relating to production practices, sales and marketing, and resilience. The interviewer followed up with probes to understand the dimensions of response diversity and adaptive capacity. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and responses were analyzed using the framework approach. In the context of a global pandemic, community supported agriculture (CSA), farmers markets, and pick-your-own channels provided a high degree of stability and financial security. No farmer reported relying solely on intermediated markets (e.g., restaurants, grocery stores, institutions). Distribution channels that incorporated an online marketplace offering prepacked pre-orders were a notable strength of highly adaptive Maryland produce farmers. Farmers reported that expanding established CSAs was an important method for reallocating produce originally intended to be sold to reduced/terminated marketing channels. Common challenges among farmers included increased administrative workload, concerns associated with raising food prices during a crisis, and environmental concerns about the use of additional packaging. We describe a range of adaptive behaviors that aided farmers in withstanding shocks.