US Court of Appeals Affirms 2006 ruling that found Big Tobacco guilty of fraud

The verdict is in on the landmark “Racketeering” Appeals Court case- US v Philip Morris. The US Appeals Court has unanimously upheld a 2006 landmark federal court ruling that found tobacco companies  including Philip Morris USA (Altria) guilty of  fraud, deceit  and violated civil racketeering laws by falsely denying the dangers and addictiveness of cigarette smoking, falsely denying that they [...]

“Fighting the Flu with One Hand Tied” – op-ed by Prof. Gostin in the Washington Post

The excellent op-ed by Prof Lawrence Gostin*, “Fighting the Flu With One Hand Tied” in the May 1, 2009 edition of the Washington Post highlights the legal and financial limitations of two of the world’s key public health agencies- the World Health Organisation (WHO) and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In reference to [...]

International Public Health Law Consultation Urges Strengthening of National Public Health Laws

As the world continues to be threatened with headline-grabbing, cross-border public health risks of the likes of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), bird flu and the more recent swine flu outbreak, it is becoming increasingly clear that law can and should play an important role in curbing the spread of these infectious disease outbreaks both [...]

Gates Foundation Awards Grants to “Unconventional” Global Health Initiatives

On May 4, 2009, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced grants of $100,000 to 81 unconventional global health initiatives as part of the Foundation’s Grand Challenges Explorations initiative.
These “bold” and “unproven” global health research projects have the goal of improving health in developing countries. The projects focus on the prevention and treatment of infectious [...]