From the Public Health Law Program, Office of the Chief of Public Health Practice, CDC
http://www2a.cdc.gov/phlp/

Announcements

*** Public Health Emergency Legal Preparedness Webinar (10/21). The CDC Public Health Law Program will present "Building Public Health Emergency Legal Preparedness -- High-Priority Tools for Multi-Sector Professionals," on October 21, 2008 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET. The interactive conference call presentation will brief local, state, and tribal participants on 10 high-priority tools for use in assessing and strengthening legal preparedness for all-hazards public health emergencies, with special attention given to pandemic influenza. Intended participants include public health professionals; health care, emergency management, and law enforcement professionals; judges and court administrators; state and local lawmakers; and legal counsel to all these critical actors. For more information about the presentation, available continuing education credits, and call-in procedures, visit http://www.bt.cdc.gov/coca/callinfo.asp . 

*** Pan Flu Preparedness Strategies Teleconference (10/22). The American Health Lawyers Association will host "The Sneeze Heard 'Round the World: Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Strategies to Adopt Now," on October 22, from 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET. For more information, visit http://www.healthlawyers.org/Template.cfm?Section=Conversations_with_Policymakers_Teleconferences&CONTENTID=58436&TEMPLATE
=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm.

*** Pharmaceutical Response to Pan Flu Symposium (10/23-10/24). Seton Hall Law School's Center for Health and Pharmaceutical Law and the Seton Hall Law Review will be hosting "Preparing for a Pharmaceutical response to Pandemic Influenza," on October 23-24, to examine the legal, ethical, and public policy issues related to developing a pharmaceutical response to an influenza pandemic. For more information, visit http://law.shu.edu/journals/lawreview/symposium/oct08/index.htm.

*** Public Health Preparedness Summit (2/18-2/20). The 2009 Public Health Preparedness Summit will be held in San Diego, February 18-20, 2009. For more information, visit http://www.phprep.org/2009/?CFID=1518091&CFTOKEN=15027974.

*** PREP Act Q&A. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released "Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act Questions and Answers," available at http://www.hhs.gov/disasters/emergency/manmadedisasters/bioterorism/medication-vaccine-qa.html.

*** State Pandemic Preparedness Report. The National Governor's Association has released Pandemic Preparedness in the States: An Assessment of Progress and Opportunity. To access the report, visit http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/0809PANDEMICASSESSMENT.PDF.

*** Public Health Legislator Policy Briefs and Talking Points. The Council of State Governments has released a number of new publications designed for state legislators, on topics from health equity to oral health. To access the documents, visit http://www.healthystates.csg.org/Publications.

*** GAO Reports. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has released several new reports pertaining to public health. Influenza Pandemic: HHS Needs to Continue Its Actions and Finalize Guidance for Pharmaceutical Interventions is available at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08671.pdf; Health-Care-Associated Infections in Hospitals: Number Associated with Medical Devices Unknown, but Experts Report Provider Practices as a Significant Factor is available at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d081091r.pdf; Health-Care-Associated Infections in Hospitals: An Overview of State Reporting Programs and Individual Hospital Initiatives to Reduce Certain Infections is available at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08808.pdf; and Health Information Technology: HHS Has Taken Important Steps to Address Privacy Principles and Challenges, Although More Work Remains is available at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d081138.pdf.

*** New Publication on Public Health Law. Public Health Law: Power, Duty, Restraint (Berkeley and New York: University of California Press and Milbank Memorial Fund, 2nd ed. 2008) by Lawrence O. Gostin, offers a theory and definition of public health law, an examination of its core values, and an explanation of the ways in which law acts as a tool to advance the public's health. For more information, visit http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/11023.php.

Top Story

1. Suit on tobacco ads sparks feisty debate

National

2. If bioterrorists strike, letter carriers might deliver antibiotics

3. The judge says: don't get pregnant

International

4. Influenza scientists, WHO face off in virus row

5. Maritime organization seeks to cut air pollution from oceangoing ships

Briefly Noted

California HIV testing · Green chemistry initiative · CDC campus namesake · Staph laws · Louisiana hurricane lesson · Minnesota school shooting settlement · New York Amish · Tax-free cigarettes · South Carolina radioactive hospital waste · Texas pet evacuations · Washington asbestos insulation claims · Wisconsin disaster drills · Washington D.C. courthouse mental health clinic · National hospital bracelets · Mental health measure · Railroad cellphone ban · EPA ship water suit · Country of origin labeling rules · Canada Listeria policy · China melamine levels · India public health law · India smoking ban · South Africa tribal law

Journal Articles

Arkansas weight-based teasing · Alcohol, tobacco marketing · Federal air travel restrictions · HIV travel ban · Elementary school soft drinks · Canada privacy law and health research · Hong Kong school closures and influenza · Public health research outputs

Court Opinions

Georgia vaccine design defect claim · Federal air emissions · FEMA trailer lawsuits · Clean Air Act asbestos rules · Class certification for water contamination · Student detention for threatening essays · Employer health plan costs · BSE test kits · Canada silicone breast implants · Streptococcus claims

Quotation of the Month

Paco, a New York City bootleg cigarette peddler

_____________________________1_____________________________

"Suit on tobacco ads sparks feisty debate"

Washington Post     (10/07/08)     Jerry Markon

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/06/AR2008100602934.html?nav=rss_politics/administration

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case Altria Group v. Good, a "light" cigarette lawsuit originally filed in state court in Maine. The plaintiffs, three smokers, say Philip Morris USA and parent company Altria falsely marketed low-tar and low-nicotine cigarettes -- advertised as "lights" -- as less harmful than regular cigarettes. But the defendants say they should be protected from state law claims because federal rules governing warning labels preempt state consumer protection laws. Altria also argues the claim should be dismissed because the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) authorized the use of the term "light." During oral arguments, Justices Samuel Alito Jr. and Antonin Scalia appeared to side with the tobacco company. "The FTC's position seems to me incomprehensible," said Justice Alito, addressing an attorney from the U.S. Department of Justice. "You've created this whole problem by, I think, passively approving the placement of these figures...in the advertisements. And if they are misleading, then you have misled everybody who's bought those cigarettes for a long time." But Justice Stephen Breyer questioned Altria's argument, which he said would shield companies from liability for blatantly false statements. "Somebody could advertise smoking 42 cigarettes a day will grow back your hair. That's totally false, and in your view, that would be preempted," he said.

[Editor's note: The transcript from the October 6, 2008 oral arguments in Altria Group v. Good is available at http://www.supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/07-562.pdf.]

_____________________________2_____________________________

"If bioterrorists strike, letter carriers might deliver antibiotics"

Washington Post     (10/02/08)     David Brown

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/10/01/ST2008100102936.html

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt recently announced that the U.S. Postal Service may be the solution to the challenge of delivering drugs to protect against anthrax. Pilot projects in 2006 and 2007 in Boston, Philadelphia, and Seattle have demonstrated the efficiency of using mail carriers to deliver antibiotics: in Philadelphia, 50 carriers (and accompanying police officers) reached 55,000 households in less than eight hours. Another trial is set to take place in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota next year. There, about 700 letter carriers will be medically screened, fitted with face masks, and issued a supply of doxycycline for their own families. Leavitt has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the drug for this purpose. Letter carriers who volunteer to deliver anthrax drugs will not be given bonuses or other incentives. "Letter carriers are on the street six days a week. They are constantly helping out as just part of their job, and this is taking it one step further," said Drew Von Bergen of the National Association of Letter Carriers.

[Editor's note: Secretary Leavitt has also issued a declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act to provide targeted liability protections for anthrax countermeasures. To read the declaration, visit http://www.hhs.gov/disasters/emergency/manmadedisasters/bioterorism/prepact-081001.html.]

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"The judge says: don't get pregnant"

Wall Street Journal     (09/25/08)     Dan Slater

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122230566090673847.html (subscription required)

The eugenics movement in the United States caused the forced sterilization of nearly 20,000 women deemed "feeble-minded," "imbeciles," "criminals," or otherwise "unfit" for motherhood. The movement receded into the pages of history after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Oklahoma's Habitual Criminal Sterilization Act in 1942, declaring that "marriage and procreation are fundamental to the very existence and survival of the race." But cases restricting the right to procreate are not uncommon in U.S. courtrooms today: recently, a judge in Texas ordered a woman to stop having children after her daughter was badly abused; a father of nine in Wisconsin was ordered not to have any more children until he could show the court he was capable of supporting the ones he already had. The orders are often overturned on appeal, as in the case of a mentally retarded Indiana woman who was ordered not to become pregnant after the death of her infant son. There, the state appeals court struck down the order, on the grounds that it violated her "privacy right of procreation" and that the goal of preventing injury to a child could be served by less-restrictive means. According to Texas Judge Charlie Baird, who has issued such orders, "Under Texas law, judges can impose any condition on probation so long as it's reasonable." Referring to one woman whom he ordered to refrain from procreating, he explained that she "has a fundamental right to reproduce, so I couldn't order her to be sterilized. But she can be forced to forfeit certain fundamental rights. I'm not even preventing her from having intimate sexual relations. I'm only preventing her from becoming pregnant." Professor Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law School, believes the approach is "tantamount to sterilization," and questions how the order will be enforced.

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"Influenza scientists, WHO face off in virus row"

Associated Press     (10/03/08)     Robin McDowell

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/03/asia/AS-Vaccines-David---Goliath.php

In a battle that could affect the world's ability to monitor and track disease and develop vaccines, international influenza scientists are taking on the World Health Organization (WHO). At issue is the WHO policy of collecting virus samples and data from nations around the world. Governments of developing nations relinquish their intellectual property rights to those samples when they provide them to WHO, but argue that those samples are then used by private pharmaceutical companies to make vaccines sold at such high prices that many of those donor nations cannot afford them. Two years ago, WHO agreed to work with developing nations to ensure they have better access to drugs, but that process is still on-going. In the meantime, scientists and other health experts developed a publicly accessible online database which offers basic intellectual property rights to scientists who submit genetic information.

[Editor's note: To learn more about the online database, administered by the nonprofit organization GISAID, visit http://www.gisaid.org.]

_____________________________5_____________________________

"Maritime organization seeks to cut air pollution from oceangoing ships"

New York Times     (10/10/08)     Felicity Barringer

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/science/earth/10ships.html

At its meeting in London last week, the International Maritime Organization adopted new controls on airborne pollution from oceangoing ships with little discussion. Sulfur emissions from the world's 300,000 ocean vessels are blamed for about 60,000 premature deaths annually. Sulfur, a major source of fine particulates, is associated with pulmonary and cardiovascular disease. The new rules would cut the sulfur content of the bunker fuel used by ships in controlled areas along coasts by 63 percent by July 2010, and by more than 95 percent by January 2015. (Bunker fuel is one of the most cost-effective but environmentally destructive fuels in use.) Courts in Europe and the United States have ordered ships to shut their engines and use the local electrical grid while in port to curb such emissions. Under the new rules, individual nations must establish the boundaries of the coastal emission control areas. "It's really impressive when 168 nations can come together and agree on protective measures for the environment," said Janea Scott, a lawyer with the Environmental Defense Fund who attended the meeting.

[Editor's note: For information on the new rules from the International Maritime Organization, visit http://www.imo.org/.]

_____________________BRIEFLY NOTED______________________

California: New law requires private health insurers to cover cost of HIV testing

"California to cover cost of screening for H.I.V."

New York Times     (10/02/08)     Rebecca Cathcart

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/us/02hiv.html

California: "Green chemistry" initiative targets 80,000 toxics

"Chemical regulation broadens"

Los Angeles Times     (09/30/08)     Margot Roosevelt

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/sep/30/local/me-chemistry30

California: CDC campus namesake's legacy continues

"Edward Roybal is a big name around town"

Los Angeles Times     (09/21/08)     Francisco Vara-Orta

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-then21-2008sep21,0,2351094.story

California: Laws require hospitals to strengthen efforts to fight bacteria, reveal infection rates

"Schwarzenegger signs bills to combat staph outbreaks in hospitals"

Los Angeles Times     (09/26/08)     Jordan Rau

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-health26-2008sep26,0,7486150.story

Louisiana: Loss of power to hospitals, nursing homes ranked #1 problem caused by Gustav

"Hospitals learn power lesson"

Advocate     (09/28/08)     Marsha Shuler

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/29852049.html

Minnesota: Families of shooting victims, survivors settle with emergency planning company

"Settlement in Red Lake school shooting"

Associated Press     (10/07/08)     Amy Forliti

http://wcco.com/local/red.lake.school.2.834718.html

New York: Amish community at odds with Health Department over septic systems

"Amish refuse health regulations"

Buffalo News     (10/02/08)     Kathy Kellogg

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/otherwny/story/453035.html

New York: Legal authorities claim tax-free smokes on NYC streets can be traced to reservations

"Suits claim wide reach of cigarettes from tribes"

New York Times     (10/02/08)     Stephanie Saul

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/nyregion/02smoke.html

South Carolina: Law ending disposal of radioactive waste at landfill poses problem for 36 states

"Nuclear waste piles up at hospitals"

Associated Press     (09/25/08)     Seanna Adcox

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080925/ap_on_re_us/nuclear_trash

Texas: In contrast to Katrina, Ike pet evacuation goes well

"Pets included in Ike evacuation plans"

Associated Press     (09/18/08)    

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/18/ike.pets.ap/

Washington: Property owners have until Oct. 31 to file claims over asbestos-tainted insulation

"Zonolite deadline draws near"

Spokesman Review     (09/25/08)     Becky Kramer

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/idaho/story.asp?ID=262046  (subscription required)

Wisconsin: Brown Co. businesses, public safety and preparedness come together effectively

"Disaster drills enhance bond with community"

Green Bay Press-Gazette     (10/01/08)     Nathan Phelps

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081001/GPG03/810010545

Washington D.C.: Urgent care clinic installed in D.C. Superior Court

"Court building now also houses mental health clinic"

Washington Post     (10/03/08)     Hamil R. Harris

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/02/AR2008100203845.html?
hpid=sec-metro

National: New York hospitals at forefront of movement to standardize color coding wristbands

"Hospital bracelets face hurdles as they fix hazard"

New York Times     (09/25/08)     Anemona Hartocollis

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/25/nyregion/25bracelets.html?n=Top/News/Health/Diseases,%20
Conditions,%20and%20Health%20Topics/Hospitals

National: Measure could expand treatment services

"Law equalizes coverage for mental, physical care"

Washington Post     (10/10/08)     Chris L. Jenkins

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/09/AR2008100902873.html?
hpid=topnews

National: Locomotive engineers prohibited from using cellphones after CA crash

"Railroad agency bans cellphones"

New York Times     (10/03/08)     Matthew L. Wald

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/us/03brfs-RAILROADAGEN_BRF.html

National: States contend illegal loophole could hurt fisheries, contaminate drinking water

"States file lawsuit against EPA over water released from ships"

Associated Press     (10/02/08)

http://www.wsj.com/article/SB122298431621699707.html (subscription required)

National: Farm groups split on new "country of origin" food labeling regulations

"Whence the beef?"

Pioneer Press     (10/01/08)     Tom Webb

http://www.twincities.com/ci_10603087 (subscription required)

Canada: New CFIA policy removed reporting language, inspectors say

"Policy change delayed alarm signal over Listeria, inspectors say"

CBC News     (10/06/08)

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/10/05/listeria-inspections.html?ref=rss

China: First rules governing allowable levels of chemical follow deaths

"China sets melamine levels for milk products"

Associated Press     (10/08/08)     Audra Ang

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081008/ap_on_re_as/as_china_tainted_milk

India: New bill said to effectively fight epidemics, 21st century diseases, bioterrorism

"111-year-old Epidemic Act set for burial"

Indo-Asian News Service     (09/25/08)     Prashant K. Nanda

http://www.newkerala.com/topstory-fullnews-25973.html

India: Smoking ban proponents hopeful but realistic

"India treats smoking ban the same way it treated ban on public spitting"

The Times     (10/03/08)     Rhys Blakely

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4870606.ece

South Africa: Testing said to protect girls against teen pregnancy, disease

"Zulus eagerly defy ban on virginity test"

Washington Post      (09/26/08)     Karin Brulliard

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/25/AR2008092504625.html

___________________JOURNAL ARTICLES____________________

"No change in weight-based teasing when school-based obesity policies are implemented"

Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine     (10/08)     Rebecca A. Krukowski and others

http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/162/10/936 (subscription required)

"Alcohol and tobacco marketing: evaluating compliance with outdoor advertising guidelines"

American Journal of Preventive Medicine     (09/08)     Molly M. Scott and others

http://www.ajpm-online.net/article/S0749-3797(08)00505-9/fulltext (subscription required)

"Federal air travel restrictions for public health purposes -- United States, June 2007--May 2008"

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report     (09/19/08)

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5737a1.htm

"HIV travel ban lifted"

Journal of the American Medical Association     (09/17/08)     Mike Mitka

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/300/11/1290-a?rss=1

"The effect of soft drink availability in elementary schools on consumption"

Journal of the American Dietetic Association     (09/08)     Meenakshi M. Fernandes

http://www.adajournal.org/article/S0002-8223(08)01266-2/abstract (subscription required)

"Personal privacy and public health: ... impacts of privacy legislation on health research..."

Canadian Journal of Public Health     (08/08)     M. Anne Harris, A.R. Levy, and K.E. Teschke

http://journal.cpha.ca/index.php/cjph/issue/current (subscription required)

"Effects of school closures, 2008 winter influenza season, Hong Kong"

Emerging Infectious Diseases     (10/08)     Benjamin J. Cowling and others

http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/14/10/1660.htm

"We are what we do: research outputs of public health"

American Journal of Preventive Medicine     (10/08)     Rob W. Sanson-Fisher and others

http://www.ajpm-online.net/article/S0749-3797(08)00610-7/abstract (subscription required)

___________________COURT OPINIONS____________________

Georgia: Court finds federal Vaccine Act does not preempt design defect claims

American Home Products Corporation d/b/a/Wyeth v. Ferrari

Supreme Court of Georgia

No. S07G1708

Decided October 6, 2008

Opinion by Justice George H. Carley

http://www.gasupreme.us/pdf/s07g1708.pdf

Federal: Land development air emissions rule upheld

National Association of Home Builders v. San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control Dist.

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California

No. CV F 07-0820 LJO DLB

Filed September 18, 2008

Opinion by Judge Lawrence O'Neill

http://www.earthjustice.org/library/legal_docs/isr-decision.pdf

Federal: FEMA not immune from suit on formaldehyde in 'emergency housing units'

In re: FEMA Trailer Formaldehyde Products Liability Litigation

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

MDL No. 07-1873

Decided October 3, 2008

Order by Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt

http://www.laed.uscourts.gov/FEMA07md1873/Orders/order717.pdf

Federal: Defendants failed to comply with Clean Air Act asbestos rules

Families for Asbestos Compliance, Testing and Safety v. City of St. Louis, Missouri

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division

No. 4:05-CV-719 (CEJ)

Opinion by Judge Carol E. Jackson

Filed September 15, 2008

http://www.publicjustice.net/briefs/Asbestos_St.%20Louis_decision.pdf

Federal: Court denies class certification for alleged harm by drinking water contamination

Rhodes v. DuPont

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia

Civil Action No. 6:06-cv-00530

Entered September 30, 2008

Memorandum Opinion by Chief Judge Joseph R. Goodwin

http://www.wvsd.uscourts.gov/district/opinions/pdf/RhodesvDuPontMemOp.pdf

Federal: Lower court decision upheld against student detained for disturbing, threatening essays

Riehm v. Engelking

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

No. 07-1517

Filed August 15, 2008

Opinion by Judge Raymond W. Gruender

http://www.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/08/08/071517P.pdf

Federal: ERISA does not preempt employer spending requirements of city's health plan

Golden Gate Restaurant Association v. City and County of San Francisco

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

No. 07-17370 / D.C. No. CV-06-06997-JSW

Filed September 30, 2008

Opinion by Judge William A. Fletcher

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/7247887E88BB6AE7882574D3007D1157/$file
/0717370.pdf?openelement

Federal: USDA restriction on sale/use of bovine spongiform encephalopathy test kit upheld

Creekstone Farms Premium Beef v. U.S.D.A.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

No. 07-5173 with No. 07-5199

Filed August 29, 2008

Opinion by Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson

http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/docs/common/opinions/200808/07-5173-1135720.pdf

Canada: Claim that Health Canada breached duty to regulate silicone breast implants dismissed

Attis v. Canada (Health)

Court of Appeal for Ontario

Docket: C47185

Filed September 30, 2008

Opinion by Judge Susan E. Lang

http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/2008/2008onca660/2008onca660.pdf

Canada: Group A Streptococcus plaintiffs denied jury trial after no id of carrier, no breach

Parragh v. Eagle Ridge Hospital and Health Care Centre

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Docket: S064534

Filed September 26, 2008

Opinion by Judge Geoffrey Barrow

http://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2008/2008bcsc1299/2008bcsc1299.pdf

__________PHL NEWS QUOTATION OF THE WEEK___________

"Newports. Loosies. Shorts. Longs."

-- Paco, a New York City bootleg cigarette peddler, looking for customers. Known on the streets as "$5 men," after the cost of a pack, vendors like Paco can earn more than $100 a day selling illegal cigarettes. Legal authorities in New York believe the city and state are losing more than $1 billion a year in tax revenue as a result of bootleg cigarettes. [See Briefly Noted item, above.]

___________________________________________________________

The CDC Public Health Law News is published the third Wednesday of each month except holidays, plus special issues when warranted. It is distributed only in electronic form and is free of charge. News content is selected solely on the basis of newsworthiness and potential interest to readers. CDC and DHHS assume no responsibility for the factual accuracy of the items presented. The selection, omission, or content of items does not imply any endorsement or other position taken by CDC or DHHS. Opinions expressed by the original authors of items included in the News, or persons quoted therein, are strictly their own and are in no way meant to represent the opinion or views of CDC or DHHS. References to products, trade names, publications, news sources, and non-CDC Websites are provided solely for informational purposes and do not imply endorsement by CDC or DHHS. Legal cases are presented for educational purposes only, and are not meant to represent the current state of the law. The findings and conclusions reported in this document are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of CDC. The News is in the public domain and may be freely forwarded and reproduced without permission. The original news sources and the CDC Public Health Law News should be cited as sources. Readers should contact the cited news sources for the full text of the articles.

For past issues or to subscribe to the CDC Public Health Law News, visit http://www2a.cdc.gov/phlp/cphln.asp. For help with subscriptions or to make comments or suggestions, send an email to Rachel Weiss at rweiss@cdc.gov.

The News is published by the Public Health Law Program, Office of Strategy and Innovation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Rachel Weiss, J.D., Editor; Karen M. Leeb, J.D., M.L.S., Editorial Advisor.