A Precautionary Tale—The Role of the Precautionary Principle in Policy-Making for Public Health

Author(s):  
Denis Fischbacher-Smith ◽  
Kenneth Calman
2021 ◽  
pp. bmjebm-2021-111773
Author(s):  
David Robert Grimes

Vaccination is a life-saving endeavour, yet risk and uncertainty are unavoidable in science and medicine. Vaccination remains contentious in the public mind, and vaccine hesitancy is a serious public health issue. This has recently been reignited in the discussion over potential side effects of COVID-19 vaccines, and the decision by several countries to suspend measures such as the AstraZeneca vaccine. In these instances, the precautionary principle has often been invoked as a rationale, yet such heuristics do not adequately weigh potential harms against real benefits. How we analyse, communicate and react to potential harms is absolutely paramount to ensure the best decisions and outcomes for societal health, and maintaining public confidence. While balancing benefits and risks is an essential undertaking, it cannot be achieved without due consideration of several other pertinent factors, especially in the context of vaccination, where misguided or exaggerated fears have in the past imperilled public health. While well meaning, over reactions to potential hazards of vaccination and other health interventions can have unintended consequences, and cause lingering damage to public trust. In this analysis, we explore the challenges of assessing risk and benefit, and the limitations of the precautionary principle in these endeavours. When risk is unclear, cautious vigilance might be a more pragmatic and useful policy than reactionary suspensions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Rezandha Hutagalung

This journal aims to find out how to apply the precautionary principle of a bank as a custodian bank in Indonesian capital market. Whereas with the enactment of Law Number 1995 concerning the Capital Market, it is deemed necessary to enact a Bapepam Decision regarding the Custodian Bank's Report. In the context of carrying out Indonesia's economic development, of course the challenges are not insignificant for financial institutions, one of which is in banking institutions. The role of banking institutions that carry out the main task as a vehicle that can collect and distribute funds effectively and efficiently, requires continuous improvement in order to be able to have a comparative advantage. This journal is how about the application of the precautionary principle in the capital market in Indonesia. Custodian Bank is a commercial bank that has obtained the approval of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) to carry out business activities as a custodian. The object of legal research is legal norms, which have the aim of examining whether or not a regulation is appropriated and applied.


Author(s):  
Joan Ballester

Nearly 8% of deaths in Europe are due to ambient temperatures, and global warming represents an additional threat for public health. Despite the fact that we expect more frequent, intense and persistent heat waves during the present century, it is actually not clear whether the number of attributable deaths will also increase. Here I discuss why the role of early adaptation to temperature rise is a major ongoing research topic in science and policy-making, and how these eventual acclimatization processes depend on a myriad of non-climate factors such as the air quality in cities, social differences within and between societies, demographic changes or the evolution of the economy.


2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 455-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elen Stokes

AbstractThis paper focuses on the meanings attached to the "precautionary principle" in judgments passed down by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the European Community (EC) courts. It speaks to claims that, in response to WTO litigation, the EC courts are beginning to construe the precautionary principle in a manner that more closely resembles obligations arising from the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the SPS Agreement). It illustrates that although disparities between interpretations in EC and WTO case law of legitimate precautionary intervention are growing to be less obvious, inconsistencies continue to exist.


Author(s):  
Augustine Nduka Eneanya

Over the past three decades, the relationship between ecology and public policy has changed because of the increasing role of scientific uncertainty in environmental policy making. While earlier policy questions might have been solved simply by looking at the scientific technicalities of the issues, the increased role of scientific uncertainty in environmental policy making requires that we re-examine the methods used in decision-making. Previously, policymakers use scientific data to support their decision-making disciplinary boundaries are less useful because uncertain environmental policy problems span the natural sciences, engineering, economics, politics, and ethics. The chapter serves as a bridge integrating environmental ecosystem, media, and justice into policy for public health and safety. The chapter attempts to demonstrate the linkage between the environmental policy from a holistic perspective with the interaction of air, water, land, and human on public health and safety.


Author(s):  
Augustine Nduka Eneanya

Over the past three decades, the relationship between ecology and public policy has changed because of the increasing role of scientific uncertainty in environmental policy making. While earlier policy questions might have been solved simply by looking at the scientific technicalities of the issues, the increased role of scientific uncertainty in environmental policy making requires that we re-examine the methods used in decision-making. Previously, policymakers use scientific data to support their decision-making disciplinary boundaries are less useful because uncertain environmental policy problems span the natural sciences, engineering, economics, politics, and ethics. The chapter serves as a bridge integrating environmental ecosystem, media, and justice into policy for public health and safety. The chapter attempts to demonstrate the linkage between the environmental policy from a holistic perspective with the interaction of air, water, land, and human on public health and safety.


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