Reuters reports that the Turkish government has prepared a draft law that would ban advertising alcoholic drinks in what officials say is an effort to protect children but could further divide religious and secularist Turks.
New Resource for Educating about Pharma Advertising
Pharmed Out, a Georgetown University Medical Center project that advances evidence-based prescribing and educates healthcare professionals about pharmaceutical marketing practices, has created a new set of drug ad resources that can be used to teach about pharmaceutical industry drug advertising tactics.
WTO Declares Ontario’s Green Energy Act Illegal
In December 2012, the World Trade Organization ruled part of the Ontario Green Energy and Green Economy Act (GEA) illegal. According to the Council of Canadians, one of seven environmental, labor and student groups that defended the Green Energy Act, the WTO panel decided that “Buy Local” conditions on wind and solar power projects, designed to ensure local development and jobs benefits to Ontarians, violate international free-trade rules. This decision exposes the very real barrier that these rules put in front of economic and environmental policy options, and to the idea of sustainable development more generally.
Charged with Bribery, Wal-Mart Ad Touts “American Success Story”
The Wall Street Journal reports that Wal-Mart has launch a new ad campaign that depicts the world’s largest retailer as an American success story. Faced with a drop in brand perception among college-educated adults last year because of charges of bribery, contracting with Bangladeshi factories where fires killed workers, and paying US workers low wages with few benefits, the multi-million dollar campaign seeks to correct the misperceptions of people who “don’t know the whole story,” according to a Wal-Mart spokesman.
New EPA auto pollution standards save lives and money
For the past few weeks, the EPA has been holding hearings in Philadelphia, Chicago and other cities to solicit comments on new standards for cleaner burning gasoline which lowers life- threatening tailpipe pollution. A new report from The American Lung Association, “A Penny for Prevention: The Case for Cleaner Gasoline and Vehicle Standards ” estimates that by 2030, these standards would prevent more than 2500 early deaths each year, prevent more than 3.3 million missed days at school and work each year and provide up to $22 billion in health and economic benefits each year.
Community coalitions can reduce density of alcohol outlets
A new report in Preventing Chronic Disease by CHW writer David Jernigan and his colleagues examines the role of community coalitions in reducing the density of alcohol outlets. They conclude that “public health agencies have a vital and necessary role to play in efforts to reduce alcohol outlet density. They are often unaware of the potential of this strategy and have strong potential partners in the thousands of community coalitions nationwide that are focused on reducing alcohol-related problems.”
How to Disarm the NRA and Gun Industry Lobbyists
Last year, writes J. Adam Skaggs of the Brennan Center for Justice in the New York Times, the N.R.A. outspent the leading gun control lobby 73 to 1. Senators facing tough re-election campaigns ignore the wishes of 90 percent of Americans because they fear the gun lobby could mount a $9 million ad campaign against them. The solution to this political dysfunction is to empower regular voters as a counterweight to big political money. The Empowering Citizens Act, sponsored by Representatives David Price and Chris Van Hollen, would do precisely that. By matching grass-roots donations from regular voters with public funds, the system would give Congressional candidates an alternative path to victory in which they depend on constituents and voters, instead of deep-pocketed donors seeking political favors.
Review of Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us
Corporations and Health Watch contributing writer Bill Wiist reviews “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us” by Michael Moss on PLOS Medicine Community Blog. He writes that Moss shows that “the industry deliberately manipulates the level of sugar, salt and fat in their products so that consumers crave the products, or according to some scientists, become “addicted.” But, he goes on “ I was appalled by the proposed solution with which Moss concluded the book. After detailing the industry’s intentional manipulations, subterfuge, deceit, and carefully crafted products and advertising, his solution was the age-old ‘blame the victim’ platitude about raising consumer awareness to make better choices, a model that public health has been moving away from for decades.”
Automobile Pollution and Chronic Disease Progression
A recent study in the European Respiratory Journal examined the role of auto pollution on chronic disease progression. Investigators estimated the burden of childhood asthma attributable to air pollution in 10 European cities by calculating the number of cases of asthma caused by near road traffic-related pollution and of acute asthma events related to urban air pollution levels. They concluded that pollutants along busy roads are responsible for a large and preventable share of chronic disease and related acute exacerbation in European urban areas.
New Study on Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives Finds Gaps in Patient Safety
A new study published online by the Journal of Internal General Medicine compared information provided by pharmaceutical sales representatives to primary care physicians in cities in Canada, France and the United States. “Minimally adequate safety information” did not differ in the US and Canadian sites, despite regulatory differences. In France, consistent with stricter standards, more harm information was provided. However, the authors found that in all sites, physicians were rarely informed about serious adverse events, raising questions about whether current approaches to regulation of sales representatives adequately protect patient health.
Corporations and Health Watch 