As soda consumption declines in the United States, asks Forbes, are soda companies following the tobacco industry by promoting its products in developing nations? In these countries, consumption per capita is low, regulations are lax and there isn’t enough consumer awareness regarding health repercussions due to excessive soda consumption. So, there is plenty of scope to expand in terms of cola consumption.
Merck Settles on Vioxx in New York and Sentenced in Massachusetts
The New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced last week that he has secured a settlement with Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a unit of Merck & Co., resolving civil and criminal charged that the pharmaceutical giant marketed its drug Vioxx for uses not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, and misrepresented the cardiovascular safety of the drug. As part of the multistate and federal agreement, Merck will pay a total of $615 million in civil damages and penalties to compensate Medicaid, Medicare and other governmental healthcare programs – over $61 million of which will be paid to New York State, Schneiderman said. In addition, , the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said that Merck, Sharp & Dohme was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to pay a criminal fine in the amount of $321.64 million in connection with its guilty plea related to its promotion and marketing of the painkiller Vioxx (rofecoxib).
NRA and Gun Industry Love New York Politicians
In the last nine years, reports the New York Daily News, the National Rifle Association has sent New York politicians more campaign donations than in any other in state in the nation. Since 2003, the NRA has reported giving New York legislators and political committees $217,400 — the organization’s largest outlay over that period. In addition, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearms industry trade association, contributed another $103,500, including $80,000 to the Senate Republican Campaign Committee in 2010. In addition, the two groups have also spent a combined $159,000 in lobbying in New York since 2009. The prime target – successful so far — has been to defeat Mayor Bloomberg’s push for microstamping of bullet casings, which backers say would be an effective crime fighting tool. Ironically, Bloomberg is also a large donor to New York State Senate Republicans.
Arkansas Judge Fines Johnson & Johnson $1.1 Billion for Hiding Drug Risks
An Arkansas judge has fined Johnson & Johnson and a subsidiary more than $1.1 billion after a jury found the companies downplayed and hid risks associated with an antipsychotic drug, reports CBS News. Judge Tim Fox found nearly 240,000 violations under Arkansas’ Medicaid-fraud law over Risperdal. Each violation came with a $5,000 fine, setting the total penalty at more than $1.1 billion. Arkansas sued Johnson & Johnson and subsidiary Janssen pharmaceuticals Inc. in 2007 over the drug.
WTO Dents U.S. Ban on Clove Cigarettes
The World Trade Organization on Wednesday dealt a blow to a U.S. law barring the sale of clove-flavored cigarettes to discourage children from smoking, saying it was unfair to Indonesia because menthol cigarettes can still be sold in the United States. Reuters reported that Nkenge Harmon, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office, observed that, “The United States is very disappointed with the outcome of this dispute. The ban on cigarettes with flavors is part of landmark U.S. legislation to combat the public health crisis caused by tobacco products.” Indonesia, the world’s top producer of clove cigarettes and the source of the vast majority of those smoked in the United States, brought the World Trade Organization case in April 2010.
The Ag Gag Laws: Hiding Factory Farm Abuses from Public Scrutiny
Cody Carlson, a former investigator for the Humane Society of the United States, writes in The Atlantic that last month, politicians in Iowa bowed to corporate pressure when they passed a law designed to stifle public debate and keep consumers in the dark. Instead of confronting animal cruelty on factory farms, the top egg- and pork-producing state is now in the business of covering it up. HF 589 (PDF), better known as the “Ag Gag” law, criminalizes investigative journalists and animal protection advocates who take entry-level jobs at factory farms in order to document the rampant food safety and animal welfare abuses within. In recent years, these undercover videos have spurred changes in our food system by showing consumers the disturbing truth about where most of today’s meat, eggs, and dairy is produced.
FDA to Require Tobacco Companies to Report Chemicals in Products
The FDA has announced that it will require the tobacco industry to disclose whether any of 20 potentially harmful chemicals are found in their products, reports USA Today. This information must be available in a consumer-friendly format a year from now. Tobacco companies are also going to have to back up claims of “modified risk” products with scientific studies. Both FDA requirements are part of the Family Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, passed in 2009.
Chevron and Merck Secretly Funded Attack-Ads in 2010
Bloomberg reveals that during the 2010 midterm elections, big oil and big pharma spent millions of dollars to help elect Republicans to Congress through attack-ads. The Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizen’s United decision paved the way for virtually unrestricted corporate campaign spending, in this case to fund politically active groups like Americans for Prosperity. According to Think Progress, a blog of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, Chevron’s profits have jumped 23.3 percent since its 2010 controbutions.
FDA May Ban Antibiotics in Livestock Feed
The Jurist reports that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has issued an order to the FDA to continue proceedings, begun in 1977, that could lead to the removal of penicillin and tetracycline from agricultural livestock feed. If companies are unable to demonstrate that these antibiotics are safe, the FDA must prohibit their inclusion in feed. As Gardiner Harris writes in the New York Times, use of antibiotics in livestock feed can lead to the growth of antibiotic-resistant “superbugs,” a significant public health concern.
McDonald’s CEO to Retire – Good News for Public Health?
After 41 years with McDonald’s, Jim Skinner will be replaced as CEO by Donald Thompson, the company’s current president, reports Time. In a press release, Corporate Accountability International (CAI) reflects on Skinner’s tenure. Child obesity rates have risen in his eight years as CEO, with studies linking fast food and its marketing to the epidemic of diet-related diseases. McDonald’s has dismissed health concerns, fought menu labeling and spent millions on misleading PR. CAI hopes that Thompson will reverse these trends that have sacrificed health to boost profit.
Corporations and Health Watch 