Maximizing Profit and Endangering Health: Corporate Strategies to Avoid Litigation and Regulation

Bohme, Susanna Rankin; Zorabedian, John; Egilman, David

doi:10.1179/oeh.2005.11.4.338

Cited by 65 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Most of the small number of studies funded by government agencies that report no significant effects of BPA used one model animal (the CD-SD rat) that after being subjected to selective breeding for over 1000 generations has become extremely insensitive to any estrogenic chemical or drug, thus revealing the importance of determining the appropriateness of the animal model being used by including a positive control, such as DES, in studies of the estrogenic effects of BPA (22,35). Endocrinologists are well aware of the issue of corporate bias in research, and this issue has recently received considerable attention in articles published in special issues of journals (45)(46)(47)(48)(49), in a letter we have published (44), as well as in a review in Scientific American (50).…”

Section: Potency Of Bpa Relative To Desmentioning

confidence: 98%

Large Effects from Small Exposures. III. Endocrine Mechanisms Mediating Effects of Bisphenol A at Levels of Human Exposure

2006

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Over 6 billion pounds per year of the estrogenic monomer bisphenol A (BPA) are used to manufacture polycarbonate plastic products, in resins lining metal cans, in dental sealants, and in blends with other types of plastic products. The ester bond linking BPA molecules in polycarbonate and resins undergoes hydrolysis, resulting in the release of free BPA into food, beverages, and the environment, and numerous monitoring studies now show almost ubiquitous human exposure to biologically active levels of this chemical. BPA exerts estrogenic effects through the classical nuclear estrogen receptors, and BPA acts as a selective estrogen receptor modulator. However, BPA also initiates rapid responses via estrogen receptors presumably associated with the plasma membrane. Similar to estradiol, BPA causes changes in some cell functions at concentrations between 1 pM and 1 nM, and the mean and median range of unconjugated BPA measured by multiple techniques in human pregnant maternal, fetal, and adult blood and other tissues exceeds these levels. In contrast to these published findings, BPA manufacturers persist in describing BPA as a weak estrogen and insist there is little concern with human exposure levels. Our concern with human exposure to BPA derives from 1) identification of molecular mechanisms mediating effects in human and animal tissues at very low doses, 2) in vivo effects in experimental animals caused by low doses within the range of human exposure, and 3) widespread human exposure to levels of BPA that cause adverse effects in animals.

show abstract

Section: Potency Of Bpa Relative To Desmentioning

confidence: 98%

Large Effects from Small Exposures. III. Endocrine Mechanisms Mediating Effects of Bisphenol A at Levels of Human Exposure

2006

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Research in this area has documented corporate practices of influence in particular industries such as tobacco [1–6], alcohol [7–12], food and drink [13–17], chemicals [18–21], automobile, weapons, extractive industries and pharmaceuticals [22–26]. Another field of inquiry has shown commonalities across corporate behaviour in different industries [27–31].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Corporate practices and health: a framework and mechanisms

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThe Global Burden of Disease estimates that approximately a third of deaths worldwide are attributable to behavioural risk factors that, at their core, have the consumption of unhealthful products and exposures produced by profit driven commercial entities. We use Steven Lukes’ three-dimensional view of power to guide the study of the practices deployed by commercial interests to foster the consumption of these commodities. Additionally, we propose a framework to systematically study corporations and other commercial interests as a distal, structural, societal factor that causes disease and injury. Our framework offers a systematic approach to mapping corporate activity, allowing us to anticipate and prevent actions that may have a deleterious effect on population health.ConclusionOur framework may be used by, and can have utility for, public health practitioners, researchers, students, activists and other members of civil society, policy makers and public servants in charge of policy implementation. It can also be useful to corporations who are interested in identifying key actions they can take towards improving population health.

show abstract

“…27,28 These strategies are not unique to a few industries but rather are shared by corporations across a wide variety of industries. [29][30][31] The growing importance of diseases related to for-profit corporations 32,33 calls for a change from a paradigm focused on the host to one focused on the corporation. The new paradigm is not based on anomalous corporate behavior but rather on the very nature of for-profit corporation as entities designed to maximize profit for the benefit of their stockholders, so that the aim of their executives and directors is to increase profit in a competitive environment and to leave social and health costs for others to address.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Corporation-induced Diseases, Upstream Epidemiologic Surveillance, and Urban Health

Jahiel

2008

J Urban Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Corporation-induced diseases are defined as diseases of consumers, workers, or community residents who have been exposed to disease agents contained in corporate products. To study the epidemiology and to guide expanded surveillance of these diseases, a new analytical framework is proposed. This framework is based on the agent-host-environment model and the upstream multilevel epidemiologic approach and posits an epidemiologic cascade starting with government-sanctioned corporate profit making and ending in a social cost, i.e., harm to population health. Each of the framework's levels addresses a specific level of analysis, including government, corporations, corporate conduits, the environment of the host, and the host. The explained variable at one level is also the explanatory variable at the next lower level. In this way, a causal chain can be followed along the epidemiologic cascade from the site of societal power down to the host. The framework thus describes the pathways by which corporate decisions filter down to disease production in the host and identifies opportunities for epidemiologic surveillance. Since the environment of city dwellers is strongly shaped by corporations that are far upstream and several levels away, the framework has relevance for the study of urban health. Corporations that influence the health of urban populations include developers and financial corporations that determine growth or decay of urban neighborhoods, as well as companies that use strategies based on neighborhood characteristics to sell products that harm consumer health. Epidemiological inquiry and surveillance are necessary at all levels to provide the knowledge needed for action to protect the health of the population. To achieve optimal inquiry and surveillance at the uppermost levels, epidemiologists will have to work with political scientists and other social scientists and to utilize novel sources of information.

show abstract

Maximizing Profit and Endangering Health: Corporate Strategies to Avoid Litigation and Regulation

Cited by 65 publications

References 8 publications

Large Effects from Small Exposures. III. Endocrine Mechanisms Mediating Effects of Bisphenol A at Levels of Human Exposure

Large Effects from Small Exposures. III. Endocrine Mechanisms Mediating Effects of Bisphenol A at Levels of Human Exposure

Corporate practices and health: a framework and mechanisms

Corporation-induced Diseases, Upstream Epidemiologic Surveillance, and Urban Health

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About