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FDA + Tobacco
Public Health Law Center Receives New Grant
to Expand the Field of Public Health Law
The Public Health Law Center (former Tobacco Law Center) at the William Mitchell College of Law and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are working collaboratively to bolster the growing field of public health law. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded a grant to the Public Health Law Center, a leading legal resource on health improvement, to develop a network of experts and to provide legal technical assistance, analysis, coordination and training to public health professionals, lawyers and health advocacy organizations across the country.
The project will be led by Dan Stier, formerly with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Law Program, where he served as liaison to the attorneys within state health departments, and former chief legal counsel to Wisconsin's health and social services department. Also leading the project is former Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Doug Blanke, who directs the Public Health Law Center.
The success of life-saving smoke-free air laws, seat belt and helmet laws, immunization laws and other statutes, regulations and policies demonstrates that the use of law is among the most powerful health improvement strategies. It is as essential to public health as surveillance, evaluation and communications. This investment will support public health professionals, legal counsel and advocates in their use of and advocacy for public health laws that make it easier for people to make healthy choices and help all Americans live healthier lives.
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License to Kill?: Tobacco Retailer Licensing as an Effective Enforcement Tool Ian McLaughlin, Tobacco Control Legal Consortium (2010) |
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Legal Update, July 2010 |
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Secondhand Smoke Seepage into Multi-Unit Affordable Housing Susan Schoenmarklin, Tobacco Control Legal Consortium |
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Applying Tobacco Control Lessons to Obesity: Taxes and Other Pricing Strategies to Reduce Consumption Frank J. Chaloupka & Patricia A. Davidson, Tobacco Control Legal Consortium |
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News
Medicare Expands Coverage of Tobacco Cessation Counseling
The U.S. Department of Health and Human just announced it has expanded Medicare coverage of evidence-based tobacco cessation counseling, removing a barrier to treatment for all tobacco users covered by Medicare. Before this decision, Medicare had covered tobacco counseling only for individuals diagnosed with a recognized tobacco-related disease or showed signs or symptoms of such a disease.
“People should smoke and drink more,” says Russian finance minister
Russia’s Finance Minister Alexi Kudri has told people to smoke and drink more, explaining that higher consumption would help lift tax revenues for spending on social services. Speaking as the Russian government announces plans to raise the duty on alcohol and cigarettes, Alexei Kudrin said that by smoking a pack, “You are giving more to help solve social problems such as boosting demographics, developing other social services and upholding birth rates. People should understand,” he told the Interfax news agency, “Those who drink, those who smoke are doing more to help the state.”
Study: Quitting smoking decreases stress levels
Smokers often say a cigarette helps to calm them. However, findings from a recent study contradict the belief that smoking is a stress reliever. The study reports that quitting smoking actually lowers stress levels. The study, conducted by The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, looked at perceived stress levels among heart attack patients.
Health care professionals can do more to help smokers quit
A comprehensive study of health care professionals in the US – including primary care and emergency medicine physicians, nurses and dentists – found that many are not following the national guidelines for working with patients who use tobacco products.
Researchers examine tailored therapy for success in smoking cessation
There may be a new approach to smoking cessation on the horizon. A study by Duke University and the National Institute on Drug Abuse examined the effects of a tailored quit plan, based on an individual’s genetic makeup and the extent to which an individual is addicted to nicotine. Researchers found that adjusting the NRT doses to genetic characteristics can improve smokers’ success in quitting.