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A growing body of evidence has linked consumption of trans fatty acids to cardiovascular disease. To promote public health, numerous state and local governments in the United States have banned the use of artificial trans fats in restaurant foods, and additional bans may follow. Although these policies may have a positive impact on human health, they open the door to excessive government control over food, which could restrict dietary choices, interfere with cultural, ethnic, and religious traditions, and exacerbate socioeconomic inequalities. These slippery slope concerns cannot be dismissed as far-fetched, because the social and political pressures are place to induce additional food regulations. To protect human freedom and other values, policies that significantly restrict food choices, such as bans on types of food, should be adopted only when they are supported by substantial scientific evidence, and when policies that impose fewer restrictions on freedom, such as educational campaigns and product labeling, are likely to be ineffective.

David B ResnikNational Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)/National Institutes of Health (NIH)Abstract: Critics of the drug safety system have discussed many different potential reforms, ranging from mandatory registration of clinical trials to increasing the power of regulatory agencies, but few have discussed one of the most important ways of enhancing safety: increasing the number of long-term studies of medications. Long-term studies of the risks and benefits of drugs can provide useful information for regulators, healthcare professionals, and patients. Government funding agencies should lead the effort to conduct long-term studies of drugs, but private companies should also be required to lend financial support. Because cost-effectiveness is likely to be an important consideration in conducting this research, funding agencies should focus, at first, on drugs that are used to treat common, chronic conditions.Keywords: drug safety, FDA, post-marketing studies, MedWatch, long-term studies

Chapter 1. Precautionary Reasoning -- Chapter 2. Decision Theory -- Chapter 3. Moral Theory -- Chapter 4. The Precautionary Principle -- Chapter 5. Precautionary Reasoning and the Precautionary Principle -- Chapter 6. Chemical Regulation -- Chapter 7. Genetic Engineering -- Chapter 8. Dual Use Research in the Biomedical Sciences -- Chapter 9. Public Health Emergencies -- Chapter 10. Conclusion.

Intro -- Dedication -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- Abbreviations -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- 1.1 Perinatal HIV Prevention Trials -- 1.2 The SUPPORT Study -- 1.3 Hospital Quality Improvement Research -- 1.4 Henrietta Lacks -- 1.5 The Facebook Study -- 1.6 Overview of This Book -- Chapter 2: Historical Background -- 2.1 Research with Human Subjects Before World War II -- 2.2 Research with Human Subjects During World War II -- 2.3 Research with Human Subjects After World War II -- 2.4 The Belmont Report -- 2.5 The U.S. Federal Regulations -- 2.6 Continuing Scandals and Controversies -- 2.7 Concerns About Integrity in Biomedical Research -- 2.8 Jesse Gelsinger's Death -- 2.9 Concerns About Research on Human Biosamples -- 2.10 Conclusion: Human Research Regulations and Guidelines in Historical Context -- Chapter 3: Moral Theory -- 3.1 What Is a Moral Theory? -- 3.2 Moral Subjectivism and Relativism -- 3.3 Classifying Moral Theories -- 3.4 Divine Command Theory -- 3.5 Virtue Ethics -- 3.6 Natural Law Theory -- 3.7 Utilitarianism -- 3.8 Kantianism -- 3.9 Natural Rights Theories -- 3.10 Pluralistic Theories -- 3.11 Conclusion: Toward a Decision-Making Framework -- Chapter 4: Trust as a Foundation for Research with Human Subjects -- 4.1 What Is Trust? -- 4.2 Trust in Research Involving Research with Human Subjects -- 4.3 Trust as a Foundation for the Ethics of Research with Human Subjects: Some Alternative Views -- 4.4 Trust as a Foundation for the Ethics of Research with Human Subjects: My View -- 4.5 Promoting Trust in Research with Human Subjects -- 4.6 The Relationship Between Moral Principles and Research Regulations and Guidelines -- 4.7 The Role of Trust in Resolving Ethical Dilemmas in Research with Human Subjects -- 4.8 Objections to My View -- 4.9 Conclusion -- Chapter 5: Informed Consent -- 5.1 Trust and Informed Consent

Introduction -- Philosophical foundations -- The autonomy of science -- Government science advice -- Government funding of science -- Science and national security -- Protecting human subjects in research -- Science education -- Conclusion

Urban sprawl is an increasingly common feature of the built environment in the United States and other industrialized nations. Although there is considerable evidence that urban sprawl has adverse affects on public health and the environment, policy frameworks designed to combat sprawl—such as smart growth—have proven to be controversial, making implementation difficult.

Health policy frameworks usually construe environmental protection and human health as harmonious values. Policies that protect the environment, such as pollution control and pesticide regulation, also benefit human health. In recent years, however, it has become apparent that promoting human health sometimes undermines environmental protection. Some actions, policies, or technologies that reduce human morbidity, mortality, and disease can have detrimental effects on the environment. Since human health and environmental protection are sometimes at odds, political leaders, citizens, and government officials need a way to mediate and resolve conflicts between these values. Unfortunately, few approaches to applied bioethics have the conceptual tools to do accomplish this task. Theories of health care ethics have little to say about the environment, and theories of environmental ethics don't say much about human health. In this essay, I defend an approach to ethical decision-making that gives policy-makers some tools for balancing promotion of human health and protection of the environment.