Thanks to tobacco industry regulations and marketing restrictions in the US, smoking rates have dropped dramatically. On HBO’s Last Week Tonight, former Daily Show comedian John Oliver explains how tobacco companies are keeping their business strong overseas.
Review: Killer Coke
Re-posted from The American Interest
Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism by Bartow J. Elmore, W.W. Norton & Co, 2014, 432 pp., $27.95
Which Coca-Cola is the real “Real Thing”? Is it Citizen Coke, the responsible corporation that promotes local economic development and brings happiness and the American way of life to millions around the world? Or is it Killer Coke, a company that exploits public water, transportation, and waste systems to profit at the public’s expense, relentlessly promotes products to children that contribute to premature death, despoils the environment with its waste, underpays and mistreats the workers who produce its ingredients, and lobbies to defeat laws that protect public health?
In Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism, Bartow J. Elmore, an environmental historian at the University of Alabama, tells us that the answer isn’t “either/or.” Citizen Coke and Killer Coke are conjoined twins, each providing the other with essential life support.
To read the whole review, visit The American Interest
UK advocates want tougher regulation of alcohol ads
A group of United Kingdom health charities surveyed more than 800 pupils at primary schools in England and Scotland, reports the BBC, and found many children recognized beer brands, particularly if they were associated with major sporting events. A survey of 800 primary school pupils showed many were more familiar with brands of beer than with leading brands of biscuits, crisps and ice-cream.
New index measures impact of global pharma corporations
The Global Health Impact Index, developed by a professor at Binghamton University, ranks the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies according to their impact on global diseases. The index assesses the companies on the need and effectiveness of their drugs, and the number of people who can access the drugs.
G.M. Victim Compensation on Track for Compensation…and Liability Reduction
Last spring, when General Motors offered to compensate victims of accidents caused by a defective ignition switch in more than two million cars, the company said it was trying to live up to its “civic duty.” But, reports the New York Times, the move was also an effort to keep victims and their families out of the courts and avoid long, expensive and image-damaging litigation. It was a gamble, but as the deadline for filing claims passed this weekend, it appears the effort is succeeding so far.
Kenya’s Ministry of Health Publishes Stringent Regulations for Tobacco Industry
Tobacco manufacturers in Kenya will soon be required to submit a detailed yearly report to Health Cabinet Secretary concerning their products and their effects on the health of users, reports The Standard. A new legal notice from the ministry states that the manufacturer shall give information on the quantity of tobacco products in the immediately preceding year.
New York Attorney General Asks Major Retailers to Halt Sales Of Certain Herbal Supplements
NEW YORK — Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced that his office sent letters to four major retailers, GNC, Target, Walmart, and Walgreens, for allegedly selling store brand herbal supplement products in New York that either could not be verified to contain the labeled substance, or which were found to contain ingredients not listed on the labels. The letters, sent Monday, call for the retailers to immediately stop the sale of certain popular products, including Echinacea, Ginseng, St. John’s Wort, and others. Schneiderman requested the companies provide detailed information relating to the production, processing and testing of herbal supplements sold at their stores, as well as set forth a thorough explanation of quality control measures in place.
- Read Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s full press release
- Read the Cease and Desist Notification from the AG
- Read about the bill Senators Richard Blumenthal and Richard Durbin introduced in 2013 that would require dietary supplement manufacturers to register their products with the FDA and disclose the known risks of any ingredients on their labels.
Behind Closed Doors in Vegas, Militarized Gun Industry Sells, Sells, Sells
Read the full story at Huffington Post
Last week, a man was arrested in Ohio for an alleged ISIS-inspired plot to attack the U.S. Capitol with gunfire and pipe bombs. According to the government’s criminal complaint, to prepare for the attack Christopher Cornell bought two AR-15 style semiautomatic assault rifles manufactured by the American gun company ArmaLite, along with approximately 600 rounds of ammunition.
ArmaLite is one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of AR-type semiautomatic assault rifles. The way the company markets and sells these weapons is as revealing as it is typical of today’s militarized firearms industry. An ArmaLite ad for the same type of firearm purchased by this prospective terrorist displays a man clad in military gear, and features the slogan: “WHATEVER YOUR MISSION ARMALITE IS READY.” Apparently even if your mission is attacking the U.S. Capitol.
Alcohol Advertising on Television and Underage Drinking Behavior
A new study posted online in JAMA Pediatrics found that adolescents’ receptivity to television alcohol advertising predicted the transition to onset of binge or hazardous drinking. The authors concluded that alcohol “marketing self-regulation has failed to keep television alcohol advertising from reaching large numbers of underage persons and affecting their drinking patterns.”
Pepsi Lobbyist Picked to Lead Senate Ag Committee As It Rewrites Nutrition Programs
Agri-Pulse reports that a top lobbyist for PepsiCo Inc. who was formerly a top aide to Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts is taking over as the Agriculture Committee’s chief of staff as it prepares to rewrite federal child nutrition policy. Joel Leftwich, a native of Wellington, Kansas, worked for Roberts, R-Kan., as deputy staff director for the committee before becoming senior director for PepsiCo’s public policy and government affairs team in March 2013.
Corporations and Health Watch 