fbpx

Harm-Reduction

Harm reduction should drive all drug policy

Harm reduction-based policies are known to reduce the incidence of overdose, lower disease transmission rates and reduce the presence of organized crime, writes Heather Bone. When the Canadian government introduced legislation to legalize cannabis, the rationale was clear: Canada would abandon a model of prohibition in order to, in the words of Justice Minister Jody […]

UK supermarket meals could face calorie limits to combat obesity

Bill Wirtz, policy analyst for the Consumer Choice Center, said: “The intentions of PHE are understandable, but rectifying the bad nutritional habits and lack of exercise of some with outright bans for others is just blatantly unfair.” He added: “Nobody is denying that we could all lose weight by only living on water and crispbread, […]

Going for a run is better than feel-good “junk food” bans

On November 23, London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that, as of February, all advertisements for food high in fat, sugar and salt will be banned from the London tube and bus network. The measure is part of the mayor’s plan to decrease child obesity rates, but it is set to do nothing of the sort. […]

Banning junk food ads to combat childhood obesity

MEDICAL NEWSER: On the November 23rd, London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that as of February, all advertisements for food high in fat, sugar and salt will be banned from the London’s tube and bus network. The measure is part of the mayor’s plan to decrease child obesity rates. The Consumer Choice Center’s London-based Managing Director Fred […]

Eighty-Five years since prohibition, but have we learnt anything?

This Wednesday was a special day. In the Netherlands, Dutch children celebrated the coming of Sinterklaas (along with his controversial helper Zwarte Piet). Walt Disney would have celebrated his 117th birthday. It was also world soil day, apparently. But the 5th of December 2018 also marked a particularly special anniversary: the end of prohibition in the United States. Eighty-five years ago, […]

Are ‘middle men’ the culprit?

ONE NEWS NOW: “One of the real hidden costs that we’ve been seeing [in drug prices] is the role that the pharmacy benefit mangers (PBMs) play,” says Jeff Stier, senior fellow at the Consumer Choice Center. “Those are the middle men who negotiate between the drug companies – the companies that innovate, that make the drugs we […]

Life as a taxpayer: paying to be berated

The EU’s 2018 NGO Health Awards took place this week where the European Commission recognised those NGOs it deems to be the most effective in fighting the use of tobacco. Bill Wirtz watched what he describes as “an insufferable nanny state love-in”, so you don’t have to.  At the beginning of the EU Health Policy Platform annual […]

Politically charged European Court of Justice rules for continued ban on snus

The European Court of Justice on 22 November decided against overturning the European Union-wide ban on the smokeless tobacco snus. The ruling displays a political public health motivation, writes Bill Wirtz, policy analyst for the Consumer Choice Centre, for EU Reporter. In January last year, the New Nicotine Alliance (NNA) appealed against the 1992 EU-ban on the smokeless tobacco […]

#Snus – #ECJ, politically charged, opposes harm-reduction

The European Court of Justice decided against overturning the EU-wide ban on the smokeless tobacco snus. The ruling displays a political public health motivation, writes Bill Wirtz. In January last year, the New Nicotine Alliance (NNA) appealed against the 1992 EU-ban on the smokeless tobacco snus. Snus is powdered tobacco, often sold in pre-packed bags of the […]

Minority leaders in Philadelphia speak up against the soda tax

As the Consumer Choice Center has been keen to point out in several articles and campaigns, additional taxes and levies on sugary drinks end up being regressive and hurting the very people they aim to help: minorities and the poor. Now, minority leaders in Philadelphia, seeing the toll the taxes have had in their communities, […]

Scroll to top
en_USEN