Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Government’s Role in Adult Health

Thomas Frieden is the former Commissioner of New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), under Mayor Bloomberg, and former Director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) under President Obama. After you read his article: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1303819, what distinction he makes between government actions to:

1) promote free and open information
2) protect individuals from harm caused by others
3) take societal action to protect and promote health

What do you think of the arguments in favor and opposed to controversial government actions to regulate the behavior of adults and to pursue interventions to protect and promote health?