• Engaño mortal: las "nuevas" normas mundiales de la industria tabacalera para la comercialización del tabaco Temas de Actualidad

    Saloojee, Yussuf; Hammond, Ross

    Resumo em Inglês:

    Being increasingly threatened by the worldwide antismoking struggle, the major tobacco companies are eager to improve their public image. This leads the companies to adopt inconsequential "measures" such as the tobacco industry's "new" standards for tobacco marketing that were "voluntarily" issued in September 2001 by the British American Tobacco company. These measures are clearly attempts to reduce the disapproval generated by the companies' promotion and advertising campaigns, which indirectly target young people. With these standards the tobacco companies supposedly commit themselves, among other things, to not using advertising directed at youth and to not selling or distributing tobacco products in places frequented by young people. This document explains why these measures are completely ineffective, are not anything new, and are a subtle effort to feign a conscientious, responsible attitude, which is far from genuine. As long as there are marketing activities directed at adults, young people will be exposed to the influence of those activities. Many countries have completely prohibited the marketing of tobacco products, given that the "new" marketing standards do not represent progress in any way whatsoever.
  • Exposición laboral a los virus de la hepatitis B y C y al virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana Temas de Actualidad

    Resumo em Inglês:

    This document summarizes key recommendations on assisting health care personnel who have experienced occupational exposure to blood or other body fluids that might contain hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The document is based on a report prepared jointly by four agencies of the Government of the United States of America: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the National Institutes of Health. Their report updated and consolidated earlier guidelines from the Public Health Service of the United States. With respect to HBV it is recommended that postexposure management include initiation of the hepatitis B vaccine series to any susceptible, unvaccinated person. When either the source is positive for the hepatitis B surface antigen or the exposed individual has not been vaccinated or, if in spite of being vaccinated, had not developed an adequate antibody response, vaccination should be accompanied by the administration of hepatitis B immunoglobulin. With HCV exposure the administration of immunoglobulins or of antiviral agents (e.g., interferon with or without ribavirin) is not recommended. The appropriate measures consist of determining if the source and the exposed individual are infected. If the source is HCV-positive, the exposed person should undergo follow-up HCV testing in order to determine if infection develops. The recommendations for prophylaxis after exposure to HIV consist of, in the majority of cases, administering for 4 weeks a basic regimen of two drugs (zidovudine (ZDV) and lamivudine (3TC), lamivudine and stavudine (d4T), or stavudine and didanosine (ddI)). Where there is a higher risk of transmission, this basic regimen can be expanded with the addition of a third antiretroviral. The report also considers various special circumstances such as a delay in reporting the exposure, exposure to substances from an unknown individual, exposure during pregnancy, resistance of the source virus to antiretroviral agents, and toxicity of the postexposure regimen.
Organización Panamericana de la Salud Washington - Washington - United States
E-mail: contacto_rpsp@paho.org