For decades, the US was a leader in global health. It played a key role in establishing the World Health Organization (WHO), steered the eradication of diseases like smallpox, and guided the development of innumerable standards that underpin modern health policy. Then came the Trump Presidency. Over the past four years, and particularly throughout the […]

It was an era in which we became accustomed to daily death tolls broadcast on TV; work, school, and play shifted to virtual space; and masks served as both a life-saving accessory and confounding controversy. On many fronts, the era was marked by despair, not only from the virus proper, but also from the isolation […]

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, critiquing the World Health Organization (WHO) has become somewhat fashionable. Perhaps spotting an appetite for this vein of commentary, António Abrunhosa recently penned an article condemning the WHO’s spending on tobacco control efforts. Through a series of  deceptive claims, Abrunhosa attempts to diminish the importance of such efforts—and, ultimately, […]

I recently addressed the 2020 GTNF conference on the topic of “who is getting tobacco regulation right?”. My answer was blunt: at present, very few! If we were, we would not have eight million deaths a year from tobacco use. Nor would we have 1.3 billion people still using tobacco products, most in a toxic […]

Many “dirty” industries are actively shifting their actions to correct negative health, environmental, and social impacts. Through research and disruptive technologies, they are ushering in many beneficial changes, such as the decline of the internal combustion engine; increased sales of foods with less salt, sugar, and saturated fats; the emergence of sustainable energy companies; and […]