New report on Public health: ethical issues

19 November 2007

This report considers the responsibilities of government, industry, individuals and others in promoting the health of everyone. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics concludes that the state has a particular duty to help people lead a healthy life and to reduce inequalities.

It proposes a 'stewardship model', which outlines how this can be achieved.

Public health: ethical issues report considers the acceptability of different public health measures, and highlights the responsibilities of industries that promote products that affect our health. Recommendations for policy are made in four areas namely infectious disease, obesity, alcohol and tobacco and fluoridation of water.

In the case of obesity, it outlines the role of industry in the context of corporate social responsibility and states that:

"Businesses, including the food industry, have an ethical duty to help individuals to make healthier choices. The food and drink industries should therefore review both the composition of products that they manufacture and the way they are marketed and sold. Where the market fails to uphold its responsibility, for instance in failing to provide universal, readily understandable front-of-pack nutrition labeling or in the marketing of food more generally, regulation by the government is ethically justifiable."

It also details the role of the government and public services in the perspective of the education of children, protecting children, provision of healthcare and the built environment.

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