Jan 6, 2016 - Anew year is a time to reflect on the previous year and to think what one ... whose products have caused the premature death of millions of ...
E D I T O R I A L
Looking forward, looking backward MARTIN MCKEE, Editor in Chief
A
population whose health needs are often ignored, diose in prison. Stern shows why, aside from common humanity, it is in our interest as public health professionals to be concerned about prison reform in the former Soviet republics. The horrific conditions in prisons in those countries have created an ideal environment for the development of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis which is now spreading to society as a whole and, increasingly, to the west. Welsh looks at anodier group of prisoners, those sentenced to deadi. The concept of public healdi is based on die idea diat the state has a role in preserving life and promoting health. Sadly, as Welsh reminds us, some states, including die USA, have policies that actively end die lives of some of their citizens, in particular those who are already disadvantaged through education or race. Here, surely, is an issue about which Europe can say something to die rest of the world. The importance of interchange of ideas between Europe and the rest of the world is a diird area where change is needed. The twentiedi century has been characterised predominantly by aflowof ideas from north to south. As Wall shows, there are many benefits to be had from moving to a model of cultural dominance to one of mutual collaboration. Ehawing on long experience in promoting such collaboration, he sets out an agenda for change.
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new year is a time to reflect on the previous year and to think what one would like to do differently in the future. The same is true of a new century, but even more so. In the first issue of the twenty-first century the journal is focusing on three areas where we hope that the future will be an improvement on the past. The first is the struggle against tobacco. The closing years of the twentieth century finally saw effective challenges to the dominance of the tobacco industry, an industry whose products have caused the premature death of millions of people world-wide. Research released under court order has confirmed what many suspected. The industry's tactics in systematically manipulating evidence and opinion have been exposed (see also the letter by Hedley in this issue). A Europe wide ban on tobacco advertising is about to come into force and, as Puska and his colleagues describe in this issue, tiie pressure is increasing as die World Health Organization prepares, for die first time ever, to use its treaty making powers to develop a global Tobacco Control Convention. Odier papers in this issue emphasise die need for rapid action. Welte et al. demonstrate die burden diat high rates of smoking place on an economy and Paulus et al. remind us of die continuing challenge posed by adolescent smoking. A second is die way in which we treat die most disadvantaged groups in our societies. Here we have chosen a
