August 22, 2021 — Make no mistake about it, public health is a righteous cause. Overwhelmingly, people choose careers in public health because they believe in the mission and they want to make a difference in the world. But righteous causes can bring a loss of objectivity. It happens because strong, human feelings come into play. When we hear […]
May 7, 2021 — Late last week, the FDA announced that it intends to ban menthol cigarettes. This is in part because these are the cigarettes that Black smokers prefer. Smoking takes a bigger toll on Blacks than Whites, so maybe this will help reduce a source of health disparities. Indeed it sounds like a good idea. Except that […]
January 12, 2018 — The puritanism within us is alive and well, says Matthew Hutson. That much is clear from a new, white-hot debate published in the Annual Review of Public Health. That debate is all about nicotine. But our ongoing obsession with the perils of sugar echoes many of the same themes – along with some important differences. Nicotine: […]
October 31, 2015 — Nicotine and tobacco policy is often cited for similar issues confronted in nutrition and obesity. In this guest post, our good friend Joe Gitchell shares his perspective based on decades of experience in tobacco control, bumping into disconnects between science, bias, and policy. Sound familiar? Mitch Zeller, Director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, has one of […]
March 21, 2015 — Denial, doubt, and prevailing bias create a confusing stew of conflict in nutrition, obesity, tobacco, and environmental policy. The new documentary Merchants of Doubt gives that stew a good stir. The director of Food, Inc has woven together a compelling story about the business of sowing doubt in the service of corporations threatened by the intersection […]
August 15, 2014 — Who knew that more than 80,000 people would care about FDA tobacco rules? Well, it seems that they do. August 8 was the cutoff date for comments on the FDA’s proposal for regulating forms of tobacco and nicotine like cigars, pipes, and e-cigarettes. The total number of comments has already surpassed 80,000. Now it’s up to […]
April 27, 2014 — At the intersection of emotion and health policy, evidence-based decision making often gets creamed. We see it all the time in the realm of obesity and nutrition. Emotions run high when the subject is sugar, salt, and fat in the food supply, or big food, or fast food — just to name a few subjects […]
