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Friday, August 31, 2007

More Political Interference in Government Health Studies

In July, former Surgeon General Richard Carmona reported political appointees within the Bush administration suppressed his work. Now, hard evidence of the manipulation is surfacing, as The Washington Post reports today.

Yesterday, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) released a batch of emails proving the political interference. In one email, a consultant within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) wrote to HHS's White House liason in the run-up to the '04 election: "He needs to be the SG [Surgeon General] with specific speeches, on specific topics addressing the Secretary's and the president's agenda — which will become more political as the re-elect gets underway,"

That's about as blatant as it gets.

In a related story, you've probably heard of Big Tobacco and Big Oil, but what about Big Baby Formula? (Editors note: "Big" refers to the size of the formula lobby, not the size of the baby.)

According The Washington Post, HHS bowed to lobbyists from the baby formula industry by toning down TV commercials promoting breast-feeding.

HHS also downplayed a scientific report which shows an association between breast-feeding and decreased health risks, according to the article.

A top HHS official said that at the time, Suzanne Haynes, an epidemiologist and senior science adviser for the department's Office on Women's Health, argued strongly in favor of promoting the new conclusions in the media and among medical professionals. But her office, which commissioned the report, was specifically instructed by political appointees not to disseminate a news release.