UK - Report publication - Public health: ethical issues

How and when should the government intervene in our lives to help us be healthy? Some people object to the ‘nanny state' and want to be left to make their own lifestyle choices. Others think that the government should do more to tackle problems such as childhood obesity and the binge drinking culture. And what are the responsibilities of the food and drinks industry?

A Report by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics [1] entitled “Public health: ethical issues” was launched in London on 13th November 2007.

The report considers the acceptability of different public health measures highlights the responsibilities of industries that promote products that affect our health. The report concludes that the state has a duty to help people lead a healthy life and to reduce inequalities. It proposes a ‘stewardship model', which outlines how this can be achieved.

Recommendations for policy are made in four areas:

• Infectious disease
• Obesity
• Alcohol and tobacco
• Fluoridation of water

On alcohol the report establishes that Excessive drinking is associated with major health problems and also affects third parties, for example through drink-driving and violence. The number of deaths from medical conditions caused by alcohol consumption doubled between 1991 and 2005 in the UK. The Government has calculated that the cost of alcohol-related harms in England is £20 billion per year.

On alcohol the report concludes that measures that have been found to be effective in reducing alcohol

consumption should be implemented by the Government. These include increasing taxes on alcoholic beverages and restricting hours of sale. It also establishes that policies on selling and advertising alcohol that provide the greatest protection to consumers should be adopted worldwide.

Producers, advertisers and sellers of alcohol should take more responsibility for preventing harm to health. They should not understate the risks, or exploit the desirability of drinking, especially to young people.

The full report can be downloaded from the Council's website

http://www.nuffieldbioethics.org/go/ourwork/publichealth/publication_451.html

[1] The Nuffield Council on Bioethics was established by the Trustees of the Nuffield Foundation in 1991 to identify, examine and report on the ethical questions raised by recent advances in biological and medical research. Since 1994, it has been funded jointly by The Nuffield Foundation, the Medical Research Council and The Wellcome Trust.