AAPHP News - Volume 2 Issue 10 (8 May 2001)
News Items
1. Important Alert about the Federal Budget Process
2. Position Available - Deputy State Epidemiologist, Kansas
3. WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
AAPHP News is sent to members whenever we receive several items of potential interest. Send information for this newsletter to the editor at vmdato@pitt.edu Please forward this newsletter to physicians who may be interested in joining. A membership application form can be found on our web page http://www.aaphp.org
Item 1 - From Joel Nitzkin [NOTE from Editor, Joel was kind enough to write up this quick alert at the request of the executive committee.]
What follows is a very strong personal recommendation. The timing of proposed congressional action on the federal budget does not allow the usual committee consideration of this issue.
Please contact your congressional representatives and urge them to carefully review the impact of the proposed Bush Budget on health and human services, Preventive Medicine training programs, etc., before final action is taken on the proposed federal budget cut.
Given the current fast track for the budget process, I think it is critically important for as many public health and preventive medicine physicians to express these concerns to their congressional representatives, so that there can be some congressional discussion of the impact of proposed Bush budget cuts before the budget is finalized.
The new Bush administration is being very aggressive in using the budget process to secure major changes in federal policy that they know would never be approved by Congress or the American people if pursued through usual policy channels. This is tied with very rapid action proposed to approve the federal budget before those who might oppose such policy changes have a chance to mount opposition to these changes.
There are two issues of major current importance:
1. How do the true priorities of the Bush administration compare with their public statements - especially as they relate to the federal government's role in providing health and social services to indigent and minority persons?
2. To what degree are they acting under cover of the budget reconciliation process to hide cuts in services to disadvantaged population groups and to hide their pursuit of policies favorable to major corporate friends of the administration (tobacco, pharmaceutical, oil and other)?
The increases proposed for medical research suggest that the new administration is sensitive to the interests of well-to-do Americans (their buzz phrase is "All Americans) who will enjoy the benefits of such research.
Budget cuts proposed for the Centers for Disease Control, HRSA and other federal agencies, suggest that programming perceived as primarily benefiting economically and socially disadvantaged groups is being targeted for substantial cuts. This appears to include much public health programming and most, if not all, public health and preventive medicine training programming for physicians.
Joel L. Nitzkin, MD, MPH, DPA, FACPM
JLN, MD Associates
Past President, AAPHP
4939 Chestnut Street
New Orleans, LA 70115-2941
Phone: (504) 899 7893 or (800)598-2561
Fax:(504 ) 899 7557
E-mail: jln@jln-md.com or jln-md@mindspring.com
Web site: http://jln-md.com
Disease and Demand Management, Public Health and Preventive Services
Item 2. Deputy State Epidemiologist, Kansas.
The Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment is seeking a doctorate-level epidemiologist (Health Officer II), (Req. # 30916) to serve as Deputy State Epidemiologist in the Bureau of Epidemiology and Disease Prevention in Topeka. Serves as a representative of the State Epidemiologist in various professional settings and roles. Serves as senior member of team of professionals performing or directing epidemiologic investigations of communicable diseases and coordinating public health intervention measures and provide consultation services to local health departments and private physicians. Serves also as supervisor and investigator in bioterrorism preparedness activities. Provides epidemiologic consultation to the Bureau of Epidemiology on infectious disease issues and to the Division of Environment on issues related to environmental and occupational health epidemiology. Prefer DMD, MD, or Ph.D. in epidemiology and 3 years of experience in disease control. Experience in public health intervention and data analysis. Good interpersonal skills as well as substantial clinical/public health knowledge desired. If a physician, must be eligible for medical license in Kansas. Competitive salary commensurate with experience, plus excellent benefits. Send KS Employment Summary, Employment Registration Form and a copy of college transcripts to KDHE Human Resources Management, 400 SW 8th Avenue, Suite 206, Topeka, KS 66603,
attention Patti Woodcock. May also contact Dr. Gianfranco Pezzino (785, 296-6536; gpezzino@kdhe.state.ks.us ) for specific questions related to the position tasks. Employment Summary may be obtained from:
http://da.state.ks.us/ps/aaa/recruitment Call (785) 296-1290 for a hard copy and additional required materials. Application Deadline: Open Until Filled.
Item 3. Material on the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
Subj: [bg-announce] US sabotaging World Treaty
Date: 01-05-04 13:48:46 EDT
From: bill@smokescreen.org (Bill Godshall)
To: bg-announce@smokescreen.org (Health Advocates)
The following Action Alert from INFACT and the press releases from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, American Lung Association and INFACT describe how the US Government has been attempting to sabotage the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a proposed international treaty to reduce tobacco diseases.
Please call and/or fax the US delegation in Geneva today, preferably by 12 Noon Eastern Standard Time.
INFACT Action Alert
Thursday, 03 May 2001 18:18:49 -0400
Dear Friends,
The second round of formal negotiations (INB2*) on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)-the world's first public health treaty-is about to conclude. Below is a press release from Infact on the US position on the INB2. Unfortunately the US delegation is part of a concerted drive to weaken the treaty, playing right into the hands of Philip Morris and the rest of the tobacco industry! Much like Philip Morris, the delegation would like the treaty to take the form of general recommendations and/or weak commitments. The US public has a right to question if the Bush Administration's close ties to Philip Morris are influencing our government's participation in these talks. We need your urgent response by the end of the day Friday, May 4th, 2001! Please contact the US (or your country's) mission in Geneva and urge them to take a strong position on the treaty, including discussions on trade (public health must take priority over trade interests) and to support measures to control the undue political influence of the tobacco transnationals.
ONE FAX OR CALL can make a difference! Let's tell the US we want the protection of public health more than the protection of Big Tobacco's corporate profits.
The US Permanent Mission can be faxed or called in Geneva. To reach them during this session please contact them by 12p.m. Eastern Standard Time May 4th.
Please fax 011-41-22-748-4880, or call (and leave a voice mail if it is after hours) 011-41-22-781-4111. Ask for Thomas Novotny, head of the US delegation to the FCTC
Thank you,
Lucinda Wykle-Rosenberg
Associate Director
Infact
U.S. Proposals Would Severely Undermine Proposed Tobacco Treaty
For Immediate Release:
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and American Lung Association
May 2, 2001
Contact: Joel Spivak/Washington 202.296.5469
Vince Willmore/Geneva 011.44.7866.463.289
Geneva, Switzerland - We are outraged at the Bush Administration's apparent reversal of the United States' international tobacco policy during ongoing negotiations in Geneva on the proposed Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the world's first treaty on tobacco. The U.S. this week has repeatedly made proposals that would weaken critical provisions of the draft convention and severely undermine its potential to reduce the death and disease caused by tobacco around the world. If implemented domestically in the United States, these proposals would give the tobacco industry the weak and ineffective approach to tobacco regulation that it seeks. These proposals sound more like those of the tobacco industry than of a world leader in international health.
Specifically, the United States has sought to:
1) Eliminate a provision calling on nations to prohibit the use of dangerously deceptive terms like low tar, light and mild to market tobacco products. Tobacco companies have used such terms to
convey the impression of reduced risk from their products despite knowing that is not the case. The result has been to deter smokers from quitting. The U.S. supported prohibiting tobacco industry claims only if they are clearly false, misleading or deceptive, but not if they could otherwise harm public health.
2) Delete provisions that would prohibit tax-free and duty-free sales of cigarettes and call for "imposition of taxes on tobacco products so as to achieve a stable and continuous reduction in tobacco consumption."
3) Reconsider a provision encouraging governments to protect non- smokers by banning smoking in workplaces and public buildings.
4) Delete a provision supporting the licensing of tobacco retailers as an effective means to enforce youth access laws, which are already in place in many American states.
5) Weaken the overall obligations of nations to implement the provisions of the proposed treaty.
Along with the Bush Administration's failure to provide the necessary funding to continue the U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against the tobacco industry, these international proposals indicate that U.S. policy on tobacco has taken a disturbing turn for the worse. We urge President Bush to reconsider this course so that the United States remains a leader in protecting our kids and fighting the tobacco epidemic.
The tobacco industry invested $8.3 million in campaign contributions during the past election to buy a reversal in U.S. tobacco policy both domestically and internationally. The U.S. and the world would pay a high price if that were to happen. Tobacco is the leading preventable
cause of death in the United States, killing more than 400,000 Americans every year. Worldwide, about four million people die each year from tobacco-related disease, with this figure projected to rise to about 10 million per year by 2030. We hope these statistics speak louder than $8.3 million in influence peddling.
(The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the American Lung Association are participating as non-governmental observers in the negotiations on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.)
INFACT PRESS RELEASE:
For Immediate Release: Contacts:
2 May 2001 Lucinda Wykle-Rosenberg/Infact in Geneva
Cell Phone: 41-79-221-7818
Patti Lynn/Infact
Phone: 01-617-695-2525
David Lerner/Riptide Communications
Phone: 01-212-260-5000
NGOS ASSAIL US EFFORT TO DERAIL TOBACCO TREATY
GENEVA-The corporate accountability organization Infact joined other US-based NGOs including the American Lung Association today in condemning the US role in this week's second round of
negotiations toward a Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). This landmark treaty could set global limits on the tobacco industry's advertising and promotion, and curtail its political influence by prohibiting lobbying on public health measures.
Last week US Attorney General John Ashcroft announced he would not pursue the funding requested by Justice Department lawyers for the federal government's lawsuit against the tobacco industry. This week US negotiators have moved to weaken the FCTC-a move that could imperil the treaty, according to activists observing the talks.
"The US is arguing to water down the treaty so much that it would be meaningless, and certainly not worth the time, money, and energy of government delegations participating in the negotiations," said Infact Associate Director Lucinda Wykle-Rosenberg. Infact and other members of the Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals, which includes 65 consumer, human rights, environmental, faith-based, public health and corporate accountability NGOs from 40 countries,
are pushing for the treaty to limit the political influence of tobacco corporations, their subsidiaries and agents. "The Bush administration is playing right into the hands of Philip Morris and the other tobacco giants. The US role shows exactly why the FCTC must limit the influence of Big Tobacco over public health policy," Wykle- Rosenberg continued.
Wykle-Rosenberg also pointed out that Philip Morris was a leading contributor to the Bush campaign and two key Bush aides, Karl Rove and Kirk Blalock, previously worked for the tobacco giant. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, who oversees U.S. participation in the FCTC negotiations, has also been linked to tobacco interests. Last year, Philip Morris and its subsidiaries Kraft Foods and Miller Brewing had 138 registered lobbyists in Washington, DC, and reported spending $14.8 million on lobbying the federal government.
"The world is watching to see whether the Bush administration answers to special interests or the public interest, and the signs are not good," says Wykle-Rosenberg. "The US government's tactics
are eerily familiar. Like Philip Morris, our government is professing its support for the FCTC while advocating changes that would undermine the treaty's effectiveness," she concluded.
Since 1977, Infact has been exposing life-threatening abuses of transnational corporations and organizing successful grassroots campaigns to hold corporations accountable to consumers and
society at large. From the Nestlé Boycott of the 1970s and '80s to the GE Boycott of the 1980s and '90s to today's Boycott of Philip Morris's Kraft Foods, Infact organizes to win! For more information
visit www.infact.org.
Infact
46 Plympton Street
Boston, MA 02118
info@infact.org
800-688-8797