To rely on the drug companies for unbiased evaluations of their products makes about as much sense as relying on beer companies to teach us about alcoholism . . . The fact is that marketing is meant to sell drugs, and the less important the drug, the more marketing it takes to sell it.

from Marcia Angell, former editor
New England Journal of Medicine

Sharon Koshar, the MBCC Precautionary Principle Project Organizer, is working to get the precautionary principle established in the U.S. Campaign finance is the biggest obstacle preventing its implementation. The huge influence that corporations place on the government make it very difficult to get policy changes that will effectively harm these corporations.

The Precautionary Principle is based on the theory that lung cancer was linked to cigarette smoking for many years, even though a direct link was not proven until quite recently. Even without absolute proof, people were able to decide for themselves whether they were willing to risk getting lung cancer or other smoking-related diseases. They had this choice, because the information was available, though not yet conclusive that smoking increased your risk of disease.

The MBCC argues that the environmental link to cancer is not readily available or publicized and therefore people are not able to make informed decisions. The way that the system works at the moment means that products are released into production before they have been tested properly and are only removed if adverse affects are reported. People need to know that these products are being tested on us. This is unacceptable and people need to be made aware that this is the case.

With the higher rates of learning disabilities, childhood asthma, and childhood cancer, parents are beginning to realize that there must be a reason, other than a genetic one, that is causing this increase in incidence. When people are passionate about an issue, like their children's health, they are more likely to get something done.

There are now ninety-three organizations across Massachusetts who make up The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow that is working towards a healthier environment. Their aim is to put public health first and to strive for policy changes to bring this about. Because of their work, a new bill has been filed in the past few days. This is the Act for a healthy Massachusetts. It now needs more public support in order to get passed by Congress. Sharon Koshar has a plan for how to do this. She says that we should call our legislature once a month and tell them about this issue. She has been informed that after ten calls they will start to take notice and respond. Voices shift policy.

People believe that the government is protecting us, but corporations have managed to twist the laws to cover themselves. Therefore, we need to raise awareness in order to counter this misuse of government influence.