Cigarettes, the Wellness Infodemic, and a New U.S. Foreign Policy for Global Health
June 30, 2023
Editor's Note
The climate adaptation crisis is coming fast and hot. The COVID-19 pandemic was possibly the worst pandemic in a century, but the next dangerous disease threat could arise tomorrow. There will be no time for U.S. complacency, partisan politics, and geopolitical machinations, writes David P. Fidler, who proposes a new U.S. foreign policy on global health that treats pandemics and climate change as apex health threats to its national interests. The article is based on Fidler's new Council Special Report, which explores how to protect U.S. vital security interests, rebuild public and global health capabilities, and reconstruct the frayed U.S. solidarity at home and abroad against shared dangers.
Thomas E. Novotny and Chris Bostic examine the harm that cigarette filters pose, not only to humans, but also to the planet. Once considered a method to reduce the health harms of smoking, plastic cigarette filters do not in fact decrease cancer risks and have been shown to contaminate the environment with carcinogens. Cigarette filters are a single-use plastic of concern, the authors argue, and should be a priority for elimination in the international plastics treaty.
During the pandemic, many people turned to social media for advice on how to improve their health and well-being, not knowing which social media influencers were peddling false information. To wrap up this week, Shefali Malhotra sheds light on India's social media wellness infodemic and the government's decision to require influencers to disclose their qualifications when dispensing health advice.
As always, thank you for reading. —Thomas J. Bollyky, Editor
Refining petroleum to make plastics and the incineration by which they are often disposed, accounted for 4.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2015
