Health

Drug Ads Make Researchers Sick

by Diane Farsetta — January 31, 2007 - 6:13pm

A new study "funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and published in the Jan. 29 Annals of Family Medicine, claims the $4.5 billion" direct-to-consumer drug ad (DTC) industry "produces ads that are more emotional than informational, and may be convincing Americans that they're sicker than they really are," reports Advertising Age.

Main Source: 
Advertising Age, January 31, 2007

Four Years Later, McDonald's Again Nixes Trans Fats

by Jonathan Rosenblum — January 30, 2007 - 3:45pm

Four years ago, McDonald's voluntarily announced that it would cut artery-clogging trans fats, the ingredient listed as "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil" that is used to cook french fries and many other products throughout the fast food industry.

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Associated Press, January 29, 2007

As Nicotine Dose Increases, So Must Awareness of the Pitfalls of FDA Regulation

by Anne Landman — January 24, 2007 - 12:12am
  • Topics: Corporate Social Responsibility, Issue Management, U.S. Congress, Health, Marketing, Public Relations, Science, Tobacco

    • The Harvard School of Public Health released a study Thursday revealing that the amount of nicotine in cigarettes has increased significantly since the major American tobacco companies signed the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) in 1998. Predictably, Philip Morris (PM), in a media release available at their web site, denies the study results. The U.S. Surgeon General in 1988 warned that nicotine is as addictive as heroin and cocaine, but these drugs don't have decades of sophisticated R&D behind them aimed at heightening their addictiveness. Cigarettes, among the most highly engineered consumer products in the world, deliver nicotine into more people's bodies more times every day than aspirin. Still, they remain unregulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

    Political Mood Swings on Drug Industry Direct-to-Consumer Ads

    by Bob Burton — January 22, 2007 - 6:33am

    The $4 billion a year spent by the drug industry on direct-to-consumer advertising promoting drugs is generating a political backlash. "There's a lot of support for a ban on direct-to-consumer advertising, and the Democrats know it," said Gary Ruskin, Commercial Alert's executive director.

    Main Source: 
    Indianapolis Star, January 21, 2007

    Leaked Documents Spur Investigation into Lilly Drug Marketing

    by Bob Burton — January 21, 2007 - 3:15am

    A U.S. federal court judge has extended an injunction banning groups in the U.S. from adding a weblink to leaked internal documents on Eli Lilly's schizophrenia and bipolar disorder drug, Zyprexa.

    Main Source: 
    New York Times, January 20, 2007

    Scientists Say UK Nuclear Waste Committee Was Rubbish

    by Diane Farsetta — January 19, 2007 - 12:19pm

    Two scientists who served on the British government's Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) but later resigned from it have gone public with harsh criticisms. Professor David Ball and Dr.

    Main Source: 
    The Independent (UK), January 19, 2007

    Gates Foundation Retreats From Responsibility

    by Bob Burton — January 17, 2007 - 12:22am

    After two articles exposing the contradiction between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funding health programs while maintaining $8.7 billion in investments in companies involved in socially damaging projects, the foundat

    Main Source: 
    Los Angeles Times, January 14, 2007

    Wal-Mart's Believe It or Not: 90 Percent of Workers Have Health Insurance

    by Jonathan Rosenblum — January 16, 2007 - 12:57pm

    Wal-Mart had already announced an attempt to rewrite its public image through the hire of ex-political operatives and creation of a social responsibility ad campaign. The company has now released an internal study claiming that the overwhelming majority (90 percent) of its workers have health coverage--just not Wal-Mart's health coverage.

    Main Source: 
    Washington Post, January 11, 2006

    Phone Connections

    by Sheldon Rampton — January 10, 2007 - 11:28pm

    A new study analyzing research on the biologic effects of cell phone use found that industry-funded studies were far less likely to identify negative consequences than studies funded by governments and non-profits. Researchers analyzed 57 studies that appeared in the academic literature between 1995 and 2005.

    Main Source: 
    Environmental Health Perspectives, January 2007
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