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Previous Volume 354:2601-2610 June 15, 2006 Number 24 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

	Full Text PDF PDA Full Text Perspective by Nestle, M. Letters Add to Personal Archive Add to Citation Manager Notify a Friend E-mail When Cited E-mail When Letters Appear PubMed Citation

The law is now firmly established as a powerful instrument of public health.¹ Some of the most important public health victories in the United States in the past century — declining lead exposure, reduced rates of smoking, improvements in workplace and motor vehicle safety, and increased vaccination rates — are the result of new legislation, heightened regulatory enforcement, litigation, or a combination of the three.^2,3,4 With each victory, confidence mounts in the capacity of legal tools to be used in combating serious health threats.

One of the newest targets of public health law is obesity.⁵ The past few years have . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Time for Legal Action?

Activity in the States

Activity at the Federal Level

The Federal Trade Commission

The Courts

The Food and Drug Administration

Defining a Workable Strategy

Source Information

From the Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston (M.M.M., D.M.S.); and Aetna, Hartford, Conn. (T.A.B.).

Related Letters:

Obesity and Public Health Law
Koga T., Kawaguchi A., Aizawa H., Wald N. J.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2006; 355:1283, Sep 21, 2006. Correspondence

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