A Tale of Eight Pesticides: Risk Regulation and Public Health in China

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 469-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis SNYDER ◽  
Lili NI
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Risk Regulation ◽  
Principal Characteristics ◽  
Chinese Law ◽  
Specific Policy

AbstractThis article focuses on the use and regulation of eight toxic pesticides in agricultural production in China. The pesticides are bifenthrin, chlorpyrifus, diazinon, dimethoate, methidathion, omethoate, phosmet and phosphamidon. These pesticides pose widely recognised public health risks in China. So far as we know, the article is the first article in English ever to treat these pesticides systematically from the standpoint of the regulation of risks to human beings and to the environment. Adopting perspectives from public health, economic sociology and law, the article considers the principal characteristics of these pesticides, the main health risks associated with their use in agricultural production and how these pesticides in agricultural production are currently regulated in Chinese law. It identifies a series of policy implications and makes specific policy recommendations concerning risk regulation of these eight pesticides.

False Starts

2021 ◽  
pp. 19-62
Author(s):  
Joseph Heath
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Ethics ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Policy Options ◽  
Philosophical Literature ◽  
Specific Policy ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Normative Dimension ◽  
Second Wave

Despite the fact that there is an obvious normative dimension to the problem of anthropogenic climate change, environmental ethicists have so far not had much influence on policy deliberations. This is primarily because mainstream views in the philosophical literature have policy implications that are implausibly extreme. This chapter begins by considering the case of traditional environmental ethics, and the debate over anthropocentrism that has dominated this literature. Far from generating specific policy recommendations, this perspective has tended rather to generate only pluralism, if not outright skepticism about value. These difficulties led to the emergence of a second wave of environmental philosophers, who have attempted to grapple with the issues raised by climate change using the tools of normative political philosophy. Many of these frameworks have also failed to make a productive contribution because their deontological structure makes them poorly tailored to consideration of the trade-offs involved in different policy options.

Global Development, Global Public Health, and Ethics

2019 ◽  
pp. 819-829
Author(s):  
Gerald Bloom ◽  
Hayley MacGregor
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Global Development ◽  
Government Responsibility ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Present Context

Rapid development has brought significant economic and health benefits, but it has also exposed populations to new health risks. Public health as a scientific discipline and major government responsibility developed during the nineteenth century to help mitigate these risks. Public health actions need to take into account large inequalities in the benefits and harms associated with development between countries, between social groups, and between generations. This is especially important in the present context of very rapid change. It is important to acknowledge the global nature of the challenges people face and the need to involve countries with different cultures and historical legacies in arriving at consensus on an ethical basis for global cooperation in addressing these challenges. This chapter provides an analysis of these issues, using examples on the management of health risks associated with global development and rapid urbanization and on the emergence of organisms that are resistant to antibiotics.

scholarly journals Designer Benzodiazepines: A Review of Toxicology and Public Health Risks

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 560
Author(s):  
Pietro Brunetti ◽  
Raffaele Giorgetti ◽  
Adriano Tagliabracci ◽  
Marilyn A. Huestis ◽  
Francesco Paolo Busardò
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Adverse Events ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Drug Market ◽  
Driving Under The Influence ◽  
Self Administration ◽  
Public Health Risks ◽  
Drug Offense ◽  
Legal Sanctions ◽  
Designer Benzodiazepines

The rising use of designer benzodiazepines (DBZD) is a cat-and-mouse game between organized crime and law enforcement. Non-prohibited benzodiazepines are introduced onto the global drug market and scheduled as rapidly as possible by international authorities. In response, DBZD are continuously modified to avoid legal sanctions and drug seizures and generally to increase the abuse potential of the DBZD. This results in an unpredictable fluctuation between the appearance and disappearance of DBZD in the illicit market. Thirty-one DBZD were considered for review after consulting the international early warning database, but only 3-hydroxyphenazepam, adinazolam, clonazolam, etizolam, deschloroetizolam, diclazepam, flualprazolam, flubromazepam, flubromazolam, meclonazepam, phenazepam and pyrazolam had sufficient data to contribute to this scoping review. A total of 49 reports describing 1 drug offense, 2 self-administration studies, 3 outpatient department admissions, 44 emergency department (ED) admissions, 63 driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) and 141 deaths reported between 2008 and 2021 are included in this study. Etizolam, flualprazolam flubromazolam and phenazepam were implicated in the majority of adverse-events, drug offenses and deaths. However, due to a general lack of knowledge of DBZD pharmacokinetics and toxicity, and due to a lack of validated analytical methods, total cases are much likely higher. Between 2019 and April 2020, DBZD were identified in 48% and 83% of postmortem and DUID cases reported to the UNODC, respectively, with flualprazolam, flubromazolam and etizolam as the most frequently detected substances. DBZD toxicology, public health risks and adverse events are reported.

Metal Contamination of Oman Sea Seaweed and Its Associated Public Health Risks

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elham Shahri ◽  
Mohammad Hossein Sayadi ◽  
Elham Yousefi ◽  
Mozhgan Savabieasfehani
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Metal Contamination ◽  
Public Health Risks ◽  
Oman Sea

scholarly journals El Nacimiento del Pueblo Mestizo: Critical Discourse on Historical Trauma, Community Resilience and Healing

2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-275
Author(s):  
Lisa Cacari Stone ◽  
Magdalena Avila ◽  
Bonnie Duran
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Mexican Americans ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Historical Trauma ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Field Notes

Purpose. Historical trauma has been widely applied to American Indian/Alaska Native and other Indigenous populations and includes dimensions of language, sociocultural, and land losses and associated physical and mental disorders, as well as economic hardships. Insufficient evidence remains on the experiences of historical trauma due to waves of colonization for mixed-race Mexican people with indigenous ancestry (el pueblo mestizo). Research Question. Drawing from our critical lenses and epistemic advantages as indigenous feminist scholars, we ask, “How can historical trauma be understood through present-day discourse of two mestizo communities? What are public health practice and policy implications for healing historical trauma among mestizo populations?” Methodology and Approach. We analyzed the discourse from two community projects: focus groups and ethnographic field notes from a study in the U.S.–Mexico border region (2012–2014) and field notes and digital stories from a service-learning course in northern New Mexico (2016–2018). Findings. Our analysis describes the social and historical experiences of Mexicans, Mexican Americans, Chicanas/os, and Nuevo Mexicano peoples in the southwestern border region of the United States. We found four salient themes as manifestations of “soul-wound”: (1) violence/fear, (2) discrimination/shame, (3) loss, and (4) deep sorrow. Themes mitigating the trauma were community resiliency rooted in “querencia” (deep connection to land/home/people) and “conscientizacion” (critical consciousness). Conclusion. Historical trauma experienced by mestizo Latinx communities is rooted in local cultural and intergenerational narratives that link traumatic events in the historic past to contemporary local experiences. Future public health interventions should draw on culturally centered strength-based resilience approaches for healing trauma and advancing health equity.

scholarly journals Health Impacts of Urban Bicycling in Mexico

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2300
Author(s):  
David Rojas-Rueda
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Traffic Fatalities ◽  
Premature Deaths ◽  
Air Pollution Exposure ◽  
Pollution Exposure

Background: Bicycling has been associated with health benefits. Local and national authorities have been promoting bicycling as a tool to improve public health and the environment. Mexico is one of the largest Latin American countries, with high levels of sedentarism and non-communicable diseases. No previous studies have estimated the health impacts of Mexico’s national bicycling scenarios. Aim: Quantify the health impacts of Mexico urban bicycling scenarios. Methodology: Quantitative Health Impact Assessment, estimating health risks and benefits of bicycling scenarios in 51,718,756 adult urban inhabitants in Mexico (between 20 and 64 years old). Five bike scenarios were created based on current bike trends in Mexico. The number of premature deaths (increased or reduced) was estimated in relation to physical activity, road traffic fatalities, and air pollution. Input data were collected from national publicly available data sources from transport, environment, health and population reports, and surveys, in addition to scientific literature. Results: We estimated that nine premature deaths are prevented each year among urban populations in Mexico on the current car-bike substitution and trip levels (1% of bike trips), with an annual health economic benefit of US $1,897,920. If Mexico achieves similar trip levels to those reported in The Netherlands (27% of bike trips), 217 premature deaths could be saved annually, with an economic impact of US $45,760,960. In all bicycling scenarios assessed in Mexico, physical activity’s health benefits outweighed the health risks related to traffic fatalities and air pollution exposure. Conclusion: The study found that bicycling promotion in Mexico would provide important health benefits. The benefits of physical activity outweigh the risk from traffic fatalities and air pollution exposure in bicyclists. At the national level, Mexico could consider using sustainable transport policies as a tool to promote public health. Specifically, the support of active transportation through bicycling and urban design improvements could encourage physical activity and its health co-benefits.

Recent advances in transgenic arthropod technology

2004 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.G. Kramer
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Natural Population ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
Field Biology ◽  
Field Release ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
Foreign Genes ◽  
Considerable Work

AbstractThe ability to insert foreign genes into arthropod genomes has led to a diverse set of potential applications for transgenic arthropods, many of which are designed to advance public health or improve agricultural production. New techniques for expressing foreign genes in arthropods have now been successfully used in at least 18 different genera. However, advances in field biology are lagging far behind those in the laboratory, and considerable work is needed before deployment in nature can be a reality. A mechanism to drive the gene of interest though a natural population must be developed and thoroughly evaluated before any field release, but progress in this area has been limited. Likewise, serious consideration of potential risks associated with deployment in nature has been lacking. This review gives an overview of the most promising techniques for expressing foreign genes in arthropods, considers the potential risks associated with their deployment, and highlights the areas of research that are most urgently needed for the field to advance out of the laboratory and into practice.

scholarly journals The rise and fall of diseases: reflections on the history of population health in Europe since ca. 1700

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan P. Mackenbach
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
The Body ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Epidemiological Transition ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
Human Interventions ◽  
Ultimate Cause ◽  
History Of ◽  
Limited Usefulness

AbstractThis essay explores the amazing phenomenon that in Europe since ca. 1700 most diseases have shown a pattern of 'rise-and-fall'. It argues that the rise of so many diseases indicates that their ultimate cause is not to be sought within the body, but in the interaction between humans and their environment. In their tireless pursuit of a better life, Europeans have constantly engaged in new activities which exposed them to new health risks, at a pace that evolution could not keep up with. Fortunately, most diseases have also declined again, mainly as a result of human interventions, in the form of public health interventions or improvements in medical care. The virtually continuous succession of diseases starting to fall in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries suggests that the concept of an “epidemiological transition” has limited usefulness.

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