In a new brief on television advertising of food to children, the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity documents trends in food-related TV advertising viewed by children and adolescents from 2002 to 2015, specifically focusing on changes in 2015 compared to 2014. The report also examines changes in categories of foods and beverages advertised since 2007, the year the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) food industry self-regulatory program was implemented. Food, beverage, and restaurant TV advertising to children decreased by 8%, and to adolescents by 14%, from 2014 to 2015. Adults also saw 7% fewer ads in 2015 versus 2014. Compared to 2007, children saw 3% fewer ads and adolescents saw an equal number of ads.
Marketing and the Most Trusted Profession: The Invisible Interactions between Registered Nurses and Industry
A study published in Annals of Internal Medicine describes pharmaceutical industry activities targeted at registered nurses. Using qualitative, ethnographic methods to study pharmaceutical industry-nurse interactions at four acute care hospitals in one U.S. city, the authors found that nurses’ reported financial relationships with industry were similar to those reported by prescribers. However, nurses reported that their most significant interactions with industry occurred in daily practice.
Guns, trade secrets and the public’s right to know
A stark battle between corporate and public interests is taking place in a courtroom in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where the families of 10 children killed in the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School are suing Remington Arms, the company that makes and sells the semiautomatic weapon used by the killer, writes Alison Frankel for Reuters. The fight is over Remington’s marketing and sales information. Read more.
Market share for flavor capsule cigarettes is quickly growing, especially in Latin America
Flavor capsules in cigarette filters are a product design innovation that allows consumers to crush a liquid-filled capsule that flavors the cigarette smoke. Most capsules include menthol flavorings. The top five countries with the highest market share for flavor capsule cigarettes are in the Latin American region: Chile, Peru, Guatemala, Mexico and Argentina.
Citation: Thrasher JF, Islam F, Barnoya J, Mejia R, Valenzuela MT, Chaloupka FJ. Market share for flavour capsule cigarettes is quickly growing, especially in Latin America. Tob Control. 2016 Jun 21. pii: tobaccocontrol-2016-053030.
Selling Off the Farm: Corporate Meat’s Takeover Through TTIP
Citizens in both the European Union (EU) and the United States (U.S.) are demanding a healthier, more just and more sustainable food system. As parties negotiate the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), proposed trade rules threaten to undermine the good food and farm movements on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Viewing alcohol warning advertising reduces urges to drink in young adults: an online experiment
Tobacco counter-advertising is effective at promoting smoking cessation. Few studies have evaluated the impact of alcohol warning advertising on alcohol consumption and possible mechanisms of effect. This pilot study aimed to assess whether alcohol warning advertising is effective in reducing urges to drink alcohol, if emotional responses to advertising explain any such effect or perceived effectiveness, and whether effects differ among heavier drinkers.
Food and Water Watch Calls GMO Labeling “Compromise” a Cop-Out
Last week, over major public opposition, the Senate passed a bill that would nullify Vermont’s GMO labeling law—and any future attempts in other states for mandatory, on-package GMO labeling legislation. For the voters in Vermont, the activists across the country who fought for our right to know what’s in our food, and the vast majority of Americans who support GMO labeling, this news comes as a disappointment. This is a serious setback for our movement – but we’re not giving up yet. Read more
Dark Money: How You Can See More of It, Thanks to FCC
While the Federal Election Commission may be hopelessly gridlocked along partisan lines when it comes to campaign-finance regulation, another arm of the government is providing journalists and citizen watchdogs with an important new tool for understanding who is trying to influence the election and how much is being spent to do so, writes Kathy Kiely of Moyers and Company.
Pharmaceutical Industry–Sponsored Meals and Physician Prescribing Patterns for Medicare Beneficiaries
A study of the impact of free meals offered by pharmaceutical companies to physicians attending industry-sponsored continuing education found that receipt of industry-sponsored meals was associated with an increased rate of prescribing the brand-name medication that was being promoted. The findings represent an association, not a cause-and-effect relationship. The findings were published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Driverless Cars — Public Health Solution or the New Face of Automania?
By Nicholas Freudenberg
Last week, the New York Times reported that the driver of a Tesla Model S electric sedan was killed in an accident when the car was in self-driving mode. This was the first known death involving a vehicle being driven by itself by means of computer software, sensors, cameras and radar. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the crash occurred when a tractor-trailer made a left turn in front of the Tesla, and the car failed to apply the brakes. Some observers labeled the accident a setback for driverless cars.
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Corporations and Health Watch 