House Takes Fairness in Class Act Litigation Act

Posted on by Corporations and Health Watch

US PIRG reports that the House is taking action on HR 1927, The Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2015. The bill would in effect wipe out the class action mechanism by requiring all victims to suffer the exact same injury or harm in “type and scope.” For example, if a VW “Defeat Device” reduces the value of a 2011 diesel by $2000 but a 2010 diesel by only $1000, the two owners couldn’t join the same class, even though class actions are really the only way to hold VW accountable to its customers.  As Joanne Doroshow of New York Law School’s Center for Justice and Democracy states: “Classes inherently include a range of affected individuals, and virtually never does every member of the class suffer the same scope of injury even from the same wrongdoing.  H.R. 1927 will wipe out one of the most important tools for justice in America.” Read PIRGs 70-group letter of opposition sent to the House.

 

Soda Scandal: Journalists Fail to Reveal Sources Funded by Coca-Cola

Posted on by Corporations and Health Watch

During the investigation and subsequent subsequent collapse of the Coca-Cola Global Energy Balance Network, the New York Times and Associated Press discovered that prominent university professors working on obesity issues had been funded by The Coca-Cola Company. This is not just a public health scandal.  It is a journalistic one as well, writes Gary Ruskin on Alternet.

Regulation of the pharmaceutical industry: promoting health or protecting wealth?

Posted on by Corporations and Health Watch

Government has long had conflicting aims with regard to regulating the pharmaceutical industry. An essay in the in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine asks how the National Health Service in the United Kingdom is balancing its public health and economic mandates.

How an $84,000 drug got its price

Posted on by Corporations and Health Watch

Gilead Sciences executives were acutely aware in 2013 that their plan to charge an exorbitantly high price for a powerful new hepatitis C drug would spark public outrage, reports the Washington Post, but they pursued the profit-driven strategy anyway, according to a Senate Finance Committee investigation report released Tuesday.

Time to repeal gun industry’s exceptional legal immunity

Posted on by Corporations and Health Watch

Gun violence has been a problem for a long time, writes Allen Rostron in The Conversation, but recent shootings in Paris and San Bernardino have focused attention on the issue.  A key way to ensure that gun companies operate safely and responsibly would be to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. Enacted in 2005, this federal law gave gun sellers a special immunity from legal responsibilities that is not enjoyed by any other industry.

Don’t Let Progress on Tobacco Evaporate

Posted on by Corporations and Health Watch

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this month that the adult smoking rate in the United States has fallen to a new low, a testament to the decades of education about the dangers of tobacco and measures to discourage its use. But, warns an editorial in the New York Times, now Republicans in the House are seeking to slash the very government programs that have helped to achieve such remarkable success.

Concerns Over Valeant Spread to Other Drug Makers

Posted on by Corporations and Health Watch

As questions mount about the viability of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.’s business model, writes the Wall Street Journal, concerns are spreading to other drug makers seen as following a similar playbook. Like Valeant, these firms are part of a new breed of pharmaceutical company that has limited costly investment in research and development and instead sought sales growth through debt-fueled acquisitions—often of older drugs for which they raise prices sharply.

California ballot measure will bypass NRA on gun control

Posted on by Corporations and Health Watch

An op ed in the Sacramento Bee notes that year after year, Americans are horrified by the relentless gun violence in this country – and feel despair that it can’t be stopped. Now California’s Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is taking the issue directly to the people, with his proposal of a state ballot measure to advance gun safety. The measure would make California the first in the nation to implement point-of-sale background checks for ammunition purchases.

This is how gullible General Mills thinks Americans are

Posted on by Corporations and Health Watch

The Washington Post writes that General Mills has a clever new trick, according to a lawsuit brought against the company this week by Center for Science in the Public Interest. The suit alleges that the cereal maker has been selling a new product called Cheerios Protein, which the company introduced last year, under false pretenses.

EU urged to protect citizens from air pollution and fraudulent practices of car makers

Posted on by Corporations and Health Watch

Several European health and environmental groups have written to European leaders saying that in cheating on emission control, Volkswagen has “intentionally misrepresented and manipulated data for years to undercut standards which were put in place to protect our health and the environment.” They urge the European Union to “improve its capacity to protect European citizens from air pollution and the fraudulent behaviour of companies.”