Public Health Law Short Report Essay Paper

Title of Midterm Project: “A Public Health Law (Short Report)”:
You will pick a US public health law – a law at the federal, state, country or city level that is designed to protect the health of the public. You will do a literature search and write a report about the law and how it has impacted the health of the public. Note that this is a “short” report – only 1,000 words.

The public health law must be from one of the following three topic areas:
1) Lead
2) Smoking
3) Immunization

Public health law short report

In 1970, the US Congress passed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act (PHCSA) after five years of discussions on who had the authority to place a ban on the advertisement of tobacco products. The bill was signed into law on 1^st April 1970 by Richard Nixon. The legislation acknowledges the adverse health effects of tobacco smoking and places a restriction on marketing activities involving tobacco products such as cigarettes. To be more precise, it banned tobacco products advertisement in public media that included radio and television. As such, PHCSA addresses the public health concerns of smoking tobacco products and restricts their public advertisement as a strategy for curbing public use (Blanke & de Costa, 2004).

The legislation’s groundwork began in 1964 when Luther Terry (the US Surgeon General at the time) presented a research report that linked smoking with adverse health outcomes, particularly in the respiratory system to include lung cancer. The bill was titled ‘Smoking and Health’. The report’s contents were publicly debated and a determination was made that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should present strategies for informing the public about the negative effects of smoking tobacco products. Within the same year that the report was released, the presented a policy directive instructing all tobacco companies to include health warnings about tobacco products on their packaging. The policy directive also included a demand that all public advertisements for tobacco products should include a health warning (Blanke & de Costa, 2004; Derthick, 2012). Public Health Law Short Report Essay Paper

It was at this point that the US Congress decided to give the FCC policy directive contents more power, claiming that it (Congress) was the federal body capable of providing such authority. This claim was met with dissatisfaction from the FCC who insisted that Congress was overstepping its authority since the issue concerned advertisement and control of the US media and airwaves. In 1965, Congress presented the Federal Cigarette Labelling and Advertisement Act (FCLAA) that was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on 27^th July. It was not as specific as FCC’s policy directive, but it presented a requirement for cigarette packaging to include a health warning. The initial drafting of the bill stripped the FCC off its regulatory control over the advertisement of tobacco products, and included amendments to relevant legislation to also restrict the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from presenting similar policy directives to restrict the advertisement of tobacco products. The bill elicited much outcry and debate with Congress eventually compromising by imposing a temporary moratorium on tobacco products advertisements pending additional comprehensive research into the health effects of smoking tobacco products. The bill was reconciled through a stakeholders’ conference thus allowing for the FCLAA to be presented (Bonnie, Stratton & Kwan, 2015).

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Towards the end of the 1960s, the FCLAA received much condemnation for its limited reach. This resulted in the Congress being pressured to reexamine the issue and present stricter legislation. In 1969, the FCC chairman (Rosel Hyde) rode this wave of condemnation and announced that he would ban the advertisement of tobacco products from radio and television broadcasts once the moratorium that was issued in 1965 expired. Congress considered this announcement a challenge to their constitutional authority and responded by presenting legislation to address the unresolved issue. The response was actualized with public hearings held by the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce to discuss the modalities of banning tobacco products advertisement from radio and television broadcasts. The public hearings collected opinions from tobacco companies, medical researchers, health organizations and other stakeholders who presented their testimonies on the proposed advertisement ban (Bonnie, Stratton & Kwan, 2015).

The contents of the hearing were condensed, presented for discussion in the Senate and House before the final version of the bill was presented in 1970. This final version was signed into law as PHCSA. It resolved that tobacco products advertisement should be banned from television and radio broadcasts. It also directed tobacco companies to include a health warning indicating that the product is harmful to the consumers’ health. In addition, the legislation prohibited local authorities and state governments from presenting new legislation to address the issue of tobacco advertisements. This provision that prohibited the state and local governments from discussing the same issue was intended to affirm the constitutional authority of congress as the supreme regulatory body charged with legislation issues affected the whole nation. The provision acknowledged that a complete ban on all future discussions was unrealistic since new issues could come up, and made a caveat that any intents by local and state governments to make legislative changes would require approval from the Congress sought at least six months before the legislative change. Since PHCSA was first presented, it has undergone amendments to include billboard and print media as advertisement platforms (Derthick, 2012).

Since its presentation, PHCSA has seen a decrease in tobacco consumption and presentation of respiratory disorders relative to the general population. This is based on the awareness that advertisement promotes initiation, continuation and reuptake of tobacco products use. To be more precise, the legislation has resulted in significant reduction in public awareness of pro-smoking cues. In addition, it has reduced exposure to tobacco products. However, it is important to that the legislation has realized limited effects owing to the effects of price promotions and in-store marketing activities that are not banned in the legislation. As such, there is a need to amend the PHCSA to address the new concerns brought on by price promotions and in-store marketing (Kasza et al., 2011).

References

Blanke, D. & de Costa, V. (ed.). (2004). Tobacco control legislation: an introductory guide (2^nd ed.). Geneva: World Health Organization.

Bonnie, R., Stratton, K. & Kwan, L. (2015). Public health implications of raising the minimum age of legal access to tobacco products. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.

Derthick, M. (2012). Up in smoke: from legislation to litigation in tobacco politics (3^rd ed). Washington, D.C.: CQ Press.

Kasza, K., Hyland, A., Brown, A., Siahpush, M., Yong, H., … & Cummings, M. (2011). The effectiveness of tobacco marketing regulations on reducing smokers’ exposure to advertising and promotion: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) four country survey. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 8(2), 321-340. doi: 10.3390/ijerph8020321

“A Public Health Law Short Report”

Title of Midterm Project: “A Public Health Law (Short Report)”:

You will pick a US public health law – a law at the federal, state, country or city level that is designed to protect the health of the public. You will do a literature search and write a report about the law and how it has impacted the health of the public.  Note that this is a “short” report – only 1,000 words.

The public health law must be from one of the following three topic areas:

1) Lead

2) Smoking

3) Immunization

Important tips on writing your midterm report:

Once you choose you main topic (lead, smoking or immunization), you should choose a law that addresses that topic that has been in effect at least for a few years. Search literature first to make sure that the law’s impact has been evaluated. For instance, “an evaluation study found that 5 years after the introduction of an anti-smoking law, smoking prevalence and incidence of asthma declined”.

Also, the law has to be very specific – for instance, “The Clean Indoor Air Act of NYS of 2003 (Public Health Law, Article 13-E)” instead of “Anti-smoking law in NYS”.

The content of your midterm report should cover the following points:

1. Background

• Why was the law enacted?  Health, social, economic, and other contextual backgrounds

2. Description of the law

• Explain the law:  What, When, Where, How and Who

3. Evidence of the law’s impact on health

• Summarize evidence gathered from scientific studies and government reports that evaluated the law’s impact.

1. Brief concluding statement

• Include your own assessments including critiques of the law (lessons learned), and any limitations to report.

Format Requirements:

• Top of the first page: Title, your name, date of submission, and word count of the text*
• Abstract: up to 200 words to summarize your report
• Text: 1 inch margins, page numbered (lower right), single spaced, 12 point font.
• Citation Style:  The JAMA style is preferred (see attached guide). Other established styles (APA, Chicago, etc.) are acceptable.
• Bibliography/Citations: A minimum of 3 peer reviewed journal articles or credible government reports. All online materials should have URLs, and the date that you accessed them.
• Appendix (optional): graphs, tables, and photos. Limit: one page total. They should supplement, but not duplicate, your writing. All materials need proper citations or disclosure of sources.

*Word count: 1,000 words maximum, excluding the title section, abstract, bibliography, and appendix.

Submission:

You will submit your midterm report in a Microsoft WORD document (uploading instructions are provided in the MIDTERM PROJECT SUBMISSION link below).

Due Date: Sunday 3/31 (11:59 PM at night)

Quality of report will be graded based on the following criteria:

• Compliance with the format requirements
• Quality of information (scientific value, accuracy)
• Organization of materials (clarity and consistency)
• Originality (of conclusion & interpretation)
• Citations (minimum of 3 citations from peer reviewed journals or credible government reports)

This assignment will be reviewed for plagiarism using SafeAssign. Review the syllabus for the full policy on Academic Dishonesty and plagiarism.

Resource:  NYS Lead Laws

https://www.health.ny.gov/regulations/public_health_law/article_13/title_10/index.htm#prevention .  Public Health Law Short Report Essay Paper