In recent years, many governments and food companies have introduced new codes on food advertising to children. A report in Obesity Reviews presents findings from a systematic review of evidence on levels of exposure of children to the advertising of less healthy foods since the introduction of these codes. Scientific, peer-reviewed papers show that high levels of such advertising of less healthy foods continue to be found in several different countries worldwide. In contrast, the evidence provided in industry-sponsored reports indicates a remarkably high adherence to voluntary codes. We conclude that adherence to voluntary codes may not sufficiently reduce the advertising of foods which undermine healthy diets, or reduce children’s exposure to this advertising.
Indonesia to Seek Compensation from US in Tobacco Trade Fight
Indonesia will seek compensation from the United States for pulling its clove cigarettes from shelves despite a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that deemed the ban discriminatory, reports the Jakarta Globe. Indonesia’s trade ministry said it had lost between $200 million and $300 million annually from the 2009 ban, aimed at helping prevent youths from taking up smoking. The WTO found that the US had flouted trade rules in its health act — under which cinnamon, coffee, grape and strawberry-flavored cigarettes were also banned — because it allowed menthol-laced tobacco to stay on the market.
Federal Trade Commission Plans Pay-For-Delay Crackdown in Wake of Supreme Court Ruling
Now that the Supreme Court has ruled on FTC v. Actavis, the Federal Trade Commission is ramping up scrutiny of pay-for-delay deals and will pursue antitrust charges not only for new cases, but also those that “still have delay in effect”. In a hearing at the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition and Consumer Rights, FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez called the pay-for-delay issue “one of the Commission’s top priorities” and said the Commission “remains united today in its determination to end these illegal pay-for-delay agreements.”
Car Industry Chiefs Urged to Give Latin America Safer Vehicles
The Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP) is a newly established non-profit organization which aims to encourage the worldwide availability of independent consumer information about the safety of motor vehicles. Its chairman Max Mosley has urged CEOs at Renault-Nissan, General Motors and Suzuki to apply the UN’s minimum crash safety standards to their global passenger car production. New crash test results have indicated that popular cars sold by the manufacturers in Latin America pose an unacceptably high risk of death or injury in the event of a crash.
Minimum Unit Price for Alcohol Proposal Shelved
Health groups have strongly condemned the government for last week’s decision to shelve minimum unit pricing for alcohol and substitute a series of measures to curb excessive drinking that they say will not work. They warn that more lives will now be lost, reports the Guardian. The Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA) accused the government of buckling to pressure from the drink industry, which has fiercely opposed minimum pricing – a measure which is supported by doctors, children’s charities, pub landlords and the police.
Bain Capital Buys British Blood Bank
Bain Capital, the private equity firm branded a “job destroyer” in the US presidential elections, has bought a majority stake in the state-owned blood products firm Plasma Resources UK, reports the Guardian. Lord Owen, a former Labour health minister in the 1970s, who created a service to make the UK self-sufficient in blood supplies, said it was “hard to conceive of a worse outcome” than the £200m sale of an 80% stake in the Hertfordshire-based company to private equity. The Department of Health will retain a 20% share in the business.
Cigarette Packaging in the UK: the Corporate Smokescreen
It’s a victory for the hidden persuaders, the astroturfers, sock puppets, purchased scholars and corporate moles, writes George Monbiot in the Guardian. On Friday the British government announced that it will not oblige tobacco companies to sell cigarettes in plain packaging. How did it happen? The public was overwhelmingly in favour. The evidence that plain packets will discourage young people from smoking is powerful. But it fell victim to a lobbying campaign that was anything but plainly packaged.
Firearms Industry Sues Connecticut
The Connecticut Mirror reports that the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms industry trade group, filed a federal lawsuit accusing the Connecticut General Assembly of bypassing normal legislative procedures in passing its emergency-certified gun violence reduction bill. NSSF is based in Newtown near the elementary school where 20 children and six educators were shot to death on December 14.
Painkillers, Profits and Politics
In a blog on Open Secrets, Monica Vendituoli reports that two lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health (Chairman, Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA.) and Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX), the subcommittee’s vice chairman) appear to be favorites of the companies that produce some of the most popular painkillers, drugs that are increasingly associated with overdose deaths.
Drinks Industry Resists Efforts to Phase Out Its Sponsorship of Sports Events
A renewed effort in the United Kingdom to phase out sponsorship of sports events by the alcohol industry has elicited predictable industry responses, reports the Irish Times. Senior sporting figures have been lined up to warn of the dangers of removing sponsorship by alcohol companies. As usual, alcohol companies are positioning themselves as philanthropists. Yet the reality is that sponsorship helps secure a whole new generation of drinkers. Read more.
Corporations and Health Watch 