Public Health Instruments and Tools

Durante la lunga missione di ricerca scientifica sulle risultanze del sentiment reputazionale e della soddisfazione ed efficacia riscontrata, nell'uso quotidiano e a volte periodico, dei dispositivi di energia vibrazionale (capaci di avere un benefico effetto riscontrabile sul bio-campo elettromagnetico dei soggetti intervistati) ideati e Brevettati da Franco Pierottini, si sono potute verificare testimonianze, accurate e con il riscontro frequente ,di doppio controllo asincrono dei presidi medico-sanitari, sulla veridicità delle narrazioni degli individui che hanno adottato, almeno uno se non tutti, i dispositivi della piattaforma Key Balance. RISULTATI DELLE TESTIMONIANZE VERIFICATE IN TERMINI DI REPUTAZIONE E SODDISFAZIONE D'USO Le testimonianze raccolte sono tutte convergenti sul riscontro di oggettive "deviazioni dallo standard", in positivo incremento dello stato di benessere psico-fisico dei soggetti adottanti uno o più dispositivi consegnati, durante le fasi di ricerca e test di efficacia da Key Balance di Franco Pierottini. La copiosa casistica affrontata ha riguardato decine di individui di sesso maschile e femminile, di età compresa tra i 18 e i 75 anni, di differente residenza (anche se concentrati nella Regione Emilia Romagna), di differente status socio-economico, scolarizzazione e impiego/professione esercitato/a. Tra i soggetti intervistati vi sono rappresentanti della Classe Medica, paramedica, delle istituzioni locali, deI mondo giuridico, sportivo, scientifico, universitario, imprenditoriale e scolastico.

Introduction: The application of laws of Public Health in the area of health determinants related to lifestyles and behaviors, which include the fight against harmful use of alcohol and tobacco control, needs to be analyzed and discussed taking into account the very particular complexity of this reality, where it is not possible to decouple the action to be taken from the various social stakeholders involved. Indeed, in these areas, the lobbying activities of industry and distribution and sales sectors, show the existence of competing
interests with the policies of Public Health, interfering in the results of these and preventing their effectiveness.
Material and methods: Taking as a background the above mentioned assumption, this article presents a brief reflection on the strengths and weaknesses of the use of legal instruments in Public Health, taking as example the Portuguese laws on alcohol and tobacco, for which situations of ambiguity and imprecision in its enforcement and a lack of effective monitoring and sanctioning of its non-compliance have put a stop to a effectiveness of the same legislation in practice. The article also shows recent foreign examples which illustrate the pitfalls that can arise even in Public Health laws with clear objectives to reduce the
consumption of health hazardous substances and their potential harm. Such is the case with U.S. Law No. 111-31 of 22 June 2009 which gave the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) the power to control tobacco products and has been the aim of harsh criticism from Public Health authorities and academics.
In this article, although affirming the undeniable power of the legislative instrument to change attitudes and behaviors we, express, however, some concerns respecting the fact that the law is still an unexplored and poorly evaluated instrument in the Public Health domain. To identify the strengths and weaknesses in the laws concerning public health is indeed as complex as the multidisciplinary sciences and the social diversity of the actors there involved. Therefore, one of the premises of the drafting and implementation of future good public health laws is the need of a thorough understanding of the context
to which these same laws will apply, including the environment and stakeholders who are their main target. The potential effects of the law are difficult to predict or to standardize,
Rev Port Saúde Pública. 2010;28(2):205-218 207
however, in the line of some authors who have focused recently on the subject, this article
supports the use of a logical model to analyze and evaluate the legislative process in Public
Health and its obtained results.
Knowing that although alcohol consumption and the harm associated with it as well
as the dangers of tobacco use and environment tobacco smoking are fully documented
with regard to individual and collective health risks, public policies advocated are still far
from be effective to curb these life style behaviors, it appears to be essential to deepen the
discussion on the question of an ideal conception of Public Health Law in order to start to
achieve more desired results in public health and not just the possible outcomes from the
clash with the interests at stake.
Conclusion: With the reflections in this article, we wish to equip the actors and bodies acting
on behalf of Public Health in Portugal with some tools and arguments that will benefit the
discussion to promote a better action of the law in the areas mentioned above. This also
includes a more enlightened and pro-active legislation procedure, and a contribution to the
development of research in Public Health Law, plus the construction and use of effective
methods of evaluating the impact of laws and policies concerning behavioral outbreaks
related to lifestyle in order to improve their results and thereby to promote a healthier
society.
©2010 Published by Elsevier España, S. L. on behalf of Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública. All rights reserved