Science and Public Health on Trial
by Dean Schillinger, MD
Our purpose in writing this piece was to alert the scientific, clinical, and public health communities about the outcome of the landmark decision regarding warning notices on advertisements for sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) and explain its legal underpinnings. We also wanted to show this as an exemplar of how industry-misappropriated scientific language and scientific methods to hijack science and public health and obfuscate scientific truth and introduce controversy regarding associations between their products (in this case SSBs) and health harms (in this case obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay). Finally, we wanted to highlight the importance of such policy efforts for improving the health of at-risk populations, including children, ethnic minorities, and individuals with limited health literacy.
Click below to read the full JAMA viewpoint:
