In response to the Surgeon General’s latest report on the health consequences of smoking, thirty-three leading public health and medical organizations are urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make it a priority to regulate how cigarettes are manufactured and stop tobacco industry practices that have made cigarettes even more deadly and addictive than they were 50 years ago.
Corporate Accountability International says ‘Tell LeBron James to Just Say No’
Millions of dollars are funneled into LeBron James’s pocket each year by McDonald’s and other unhealthy brands. He accepts these sponsorships in return for hooking kids who look up to him as a role model on greasy, fatty, unhealthy foods. Year after year, McDonald’s uses LeBron to contribute to the global epidemic of food-related health problems. Tell LeBron James to #SlamJunk and drop his McDonald’s sponsorship. Read CAI’S Open Letter to LeBron.
McDonald’s New Menu Item Hints at New Strategy
USA Today reports that McDonald’s is slowly moving toward becoming a coffee shop. This might sound ludicrous to those who grew up while eating burgers and fries at McDonald’s, but any company that wants to succeed will implement initiatives that match industry trends or find itself dying a slow and painful death. This doesn’t mean McDonald’s will stop serving burgers and fries. However, one thing is certain: because of the rise of the health-conscious consumer, burgers and fries will not be the company’s growth catalyst.
Selling a Poison by the Barrel: Liquid Nicotine for E-Cigarettes
A dangerous new form of a powerful stimulant is hitting markets nationwide, for sale by the vial, the gallon and even the barrel, reports the New York Times. The drug is nicotine, in its potent, liquid form — extracted from tobacco and tinctured with a cocktail of flavorings, colorings and assorted chemicals to feed the fast-growing electronic cigarette industry.
GlaxoSmithKline to Employ Doctors to Speak About its Drugs
BMJ reports that the UK based pharmaceutical giant GSK has said that it plans to employ doctors to educate their peers, rather than pay key opinion leaders to speak about its products at medical conferences and other events.
Toyota Expected to Settle With Justice Department Investigation
The New York Times reports that Toyota is expected to pay more than $1 billion to settle a criminal investigation into disclosures around the sudden acceleration of its vehicles, a steep fine that provides a template for authorities investigating a similar case against General Motors.
European Union Adds Teeth to Its Anti-Tobacco Legislation
A new European Union anti-tobacco directive presents some victories for health advocates but industry pressure has weakened the final text, say campaigners, reports John Maurice in the Lancet. The numbers certainly make a strong case for a stronger directive. Every year, on average, 700 000 people in the EU die from tobacco-related causes. The main target of the new directive is young people. Among its provisions is a ban on flavoring of tobacco to give it the taste of, say, vanilla, chocolate, or menthol, and thereby to enhance its appeal to youngsters. Manufacturers must report in detail all additives they put into their tobacco products
Food Fight Starting Early Over School Lunch Rules
Keeping intact a 2010 rewrite of a law that dictates what kids eat in school — from the number of carrots to the amount of salt in their shepherd’s pie — could be a major challenge as some in Congress are already angling for a rollback, writes Tarini Parti and Maggie Severns in Politico. Many of the changes included in the 2010 Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act have yet to be implemented, and reauthorization of the law is more than a year away. But the food industry and school associations are already lobbying to eliminate key provisions that have been perpetually under contention, such as sodium limits and minimum fruit requirements.
In General Motors Recalls, Inaction and Trail of Fatal Crashes
Almost 50 years ago Ralph Nader published Unsafe at Any Speed, an indictment of the safety record of the automobile industry and General Motors in particular. Last week, reports the New York Times, General Motors recalled nearly 1.4 million cars in the United States, saying that the ignition switches on Cobalts and other brands can shut off a car’s engine and electrical system, and disable its air bags. At least 13 deaths have already been linked to the problem, which the Times called, “a decade-long failure by G.M. and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to address a problem that engineers and regulators had been alerted to years ago.”
Industry Voices Dominate the Trade Advisory System
The Obama administration’s corporate-heavy network of official trade advisers has emerged as a point of sharp contention in a process that has been criticized by members of Congress and others as low on public transparency. In a series of infographics, the Washington Post shows the corporate and other ties of the 566 individuals who work with the Obama administration to establish trade policy.
Corporations and Health Watch 