Preventive Healthcare: Pro-business lobbying giant US Chamber of Commerce waging global lobbying campaign against anti-smoking laws

CVS Health Corporation (CVS) made big news recently when it cancelled its membership in the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce, the pro-corporate,Washington lobbying giant that was recently revealed to have been waging a global lobbying campaign against anti-smoking laws.

Given its stated commitment to health promotion, CVS did the right thing. But six major health care companies, four of which sit on the Chamber's board – and all of which have anti-smoking programs – haven't done anything. It's time to hold them accountable.

These companies should not be allowed to profit from the US Chamber's corporate lobbying and then stick their heads in the sand when it's caught working directly against public health and safety.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren and a group of fellow Democratic senators have just sent a letter to all 108 companies on the Chamber's board, demanding that they state their positions on the Chamber's pro-smoking lobbying.

But six major health care companies who are Chamber members – Aetna, Cigna, Anthem, the Health Care Service Corporation, the Steward Health Care System of Boston, and the Indiana University Health system – also have a responsibility. All of them support anti-smoking programs, but the Chamber’s efforts undercut that mission.

Today, tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable deaths in the U.S. and around the world. Cigarette smoking accounts for almost half a million deaths a year in the U.S. alone. Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.³

Tell these health care companies: Drop your affiliation with the pro-smoking U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Click here to sign the petition.

EU-Digest

Stubbing out cigarettes in Europe

Spain on Sunday joins the list of European countries that ban smoking in cafes and restaurants.
Here is a look at smoking bans elsewhere in Europe.

- Belgium: Anti-smoking measures for hotels and restaurants are expected to be extended to cafes from 2012 to 2014.
- Britain: Smoking was banned in public places, including bars and restaurants, along with workplaces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2007, while Scotland extinguished smoking in 2006.
For more: Stubbing out cigarettes in Europe < Spanish news | Expatica Spain

UPI.com: Denmark to use gruesome pictures on cigarette packs

For the complete report from UPI.com click on this link

Denmark to use pictures on cigarette packs

The Danish Health Ministry plans to add gruesome pictures of the effects of smoking to cigarette packs, including images of smoke-blackened lungs and bodies in morgues. Health Minister Jakob Axel Neilsen told the Metro Xpress newspaper he expects the photographic warnings to be added as part of a national health plan based on prevention to be put into effect next fall.

The proposal has the backing of the government and the major opposition party, although the Health Ministry has the authority to put it into effect. The Prevention Commission recommended using pictures, based on a Canadian study that showed they are more effective than written warnings.