Minding the gap and the value of metrics: Count of working pharmacists in the United States.

BACKGROUND: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) uses a single Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code (29-1051) that reflects a traditional definition of pharmacist job functions. Pharmacists working in nontraditional roles would be categorized under other SOC codes and not included in the BLS pharmacist count. Knowing the magnitude of how many working pharmacists may not be included in the BLS pharmacist count would help determine whether the gap is a minor margin of error or a significant problem affecting pharmacist workforce projections. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this paper was to estimate the gap between the number of possibly working pharmacists and the BLS pharmacist count in 2019. A secondary objective was to examine BLS pharmacist counts in nontraditional roles and compare with published industry data. METHODS: The annual number of individuals receiving their first professional pharmacy degree from 1965 to 2019 (55 graduation cohorts) was adjusted using the expected survival rate to 2019 by age and gender and workforce participation rate in 2019 for pharmacists for each cohort and then summed across cohorts. Data sources included Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, U.S. Vital Statistics reports, and American Consumer Survey. One-way and scenario-based sensitivity analyses were conducted to vary professional occupation mortality advantage and pharmacist workforce participation rate assumptions. RESULTS: Based on the number of individuals receiving their first professional pharmacy degree between 1965 and 2019 (442,409), there were 356,998 possibly working pharmacists in 2019. This value indicates 45,798 more pharmacists (15%) may have been working in 2019 than the 311,200 employee pharmacists reported by BLS for 2019. A gap of 8000 to 46,000 more working pharmacists (3%-15%) versus BLS persisted after sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION: The magnitude of possibly working pharmacists not included in BLS counts warrants further consideration of current pharmacist job projections, methods, and metrics to improve future projections and monitoring of the pharmacist labor force.

Use of internal documents to investigate a tobacco company's strategies to market snus in the United States.

INTRODUCTION: Prior studies indicate that cigarette manufacturers have been interested for decades in developing a smokeless tobacco (SLT) product for smokers and non-users of SLT. The current study aims to assess a tobacco company's use of novel marketing strategies and intent to promote snus in the US as either a replacement or situational substitute for the cigarette. METHODS: A Boolean search string was used to search R. J. Reynolds' (RJR) Records in UCSF's Truth Tobacco Industry Documents Library. A total of 358 documents, from 2005-2009, met our initial search criteria and were selected for their relevance to the marketing of Camel Snus. A content analysis was subsequently conducted using the Framework Method to identify themes and strategies for promoting Camel Snus. RESULTS: Four major themes about Camel Snus emerged from the documents: 1) promotion by third parties including retailers, snus ambassadors and secret shoppers, 2) expansion of the target population of SLT users to include female smokers and dual users of cigarettes and SLT, 3) emphasis on the difference between Camel Snus and other SLT, and 4) a shift from promoting the practical uses of Camel Snus to using emotional messages conveying freedom. CONCLUSIONS: The findings align with other studies suggesting that RJR intended to market snus to non-users of SLT. The findings also reveal that RJR employed creative marketing strategies (e.g. snus ambassadors) and may have intended to promote snus as a situational substitute for the cigarette, as evidenced by the company's recruitment of dual tobacco users.