Legislating Public Health: Is This A Good Thing?
In recent years, the headlines have been filled with news of efforts to ban bad health behaviors like smoking by passing legislation or imposing regulations. A few years ago, New York City famously banned smoking from bars and restaurants leading to much hand wringing and praise. (There are signs however that smoking bans help restaurant and bar workers. A study released in this week’s JAMA, suggests that a smoking ban in Ireland improved the health of these individuals.)
A couple of weeks ago, public health officials in New York City and Chicago accelerated the trend by calling for a ban on trans fats contained in partially hydrogenated oils used for frying and baking foods. This move has attracted criticism as well, partly because the public health benefits of the ban are not well established. It is unclear how many lives will be saved if trans fats are banned.
However, the question remains, is legislating public health a good thing in the long term? How should (and do) these efforts fit in with health promotion and communications activities? Will we see the emphasis and funding for health education and promotion decrease as more bad behaviors are regulated out of existence? Will people react to legislation by engaging in more bad behaviors as a means of bucking the system?
I’m not sure. What do you think?
