Public health
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In Sweden, male cigarette smoking has declined as snus, a smokeless tobacco product which is low in carcinogenic nitrosamines, has gained popularity among male tobacco users. Epidemiological modelling based on the Swedish experience indicates that there would be major public health gains if a substantial number of current smokers in other countries could also be persuaded to switch to this product. ⋯ These include: objections in principle to the use of less harmful but still addictive nicotine products; uncertainties about the long-term effects of these products on health; doubts about the likely interest in and uptake of these products among existing smokers; concerns that increasing the availability of these products will increase the number of new tobacco users and eventually the number of smokers in the population; and anxiety about how the tobacco industry may use these products to undermine current tobacco control policies. This paper concludes with suggestions for a graduated series of policies that may allow exploration of the public health costs and benefits of encouraging smokers to switch to snus.
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Health indicators are low in most Pacific countries. Modern legal infrastructure to support a modern approach to prevention of disease and health promotion is important. ⋯ Collaboration between researchers, a regional donor, regional organizations, and the ministries and departments of health of 14 countries will create a model public health law for the Pacific, including options for a regional approach. The resource will then be made available to individual Pacific countries and to a region, which will decide individually and collectively how that resource is used.
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This paper uses examples to illustrate the challenges to health and law professionals interested in public health interventions to reduce the negative impact of companies making money by selling products that put children and young people at risk. Examples included are folate to prevent neural tube defects, with issues around the food industry attempting to block mandatory fortification of flour with folate; fetal alcohol syndrome and hazardous drinking in young people, with a focus on the actions of the alcohol industry including vendors; smoking and the ways in which the tobacco industry still target children; and childhood obesity, with problems again from the food and drink industries including vendors.