Public Health Policies Are Meant To ‘Protect The Population’

In the PLOS “Translational Global Health” blog, Jo Jewell of the World Cancer Research Fund discusses “health policy and its role in global health,” the blog notes. He primarily addresses policy in relation to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), writing, “Through policy it will be possible to create new social norms over time, where people grow up valuing health and seek out opportunities to lead healthy lifestyles.” He says “accusations of ‘nanny state’ need to be reconsidered” when policies are implemented to improve public health, because “[i]t is the duty of the state to protect the population and we all need to do a better job at communicating this so that people are better able to judge for themselves whether the government is actually taking away freedoms or simply trying to re-empower its citizens” (11/4).

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