Genetic testing and consumer rights – National Consumers League

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By John Breyault, Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud

It seems that not a day goes by without headlines announcing another scientific breakthrough related to the study of genetics. The science of genetics has undoubtedly played a key role in addressing many of the diseases that afflict millions of consumers. In addition, genetic testing may help consumers understand the diseases they may be predisposed to and take appropriate action.

A natural worry for consumers, however, is how this most personal of information could be misused, particularly by employers to deny them a job or health insurance companies to deny coverage or make coverage more expensive.

Fortunately, consumers have protections. First, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) makes it illegal for health insurance companies to exclude individuals from group coverage due to genetic predisposition to disease. The law also states that genetic predisposition to a disease does not constitute a preexisting condition without a current diagnosis.

Consumers can also rely on the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, which prohibits health insurance companies from denying coverage to individuals or raising premiums because of genetic predisposition to disease. The law also prohibits employers from basing decisions on hiring, firing, job placement, or promotions on genetic information.

The Council for Responsible Genetics, one of the leading public interest groups focused on genetics and biotechnology, has developed a very informative Consumer Genetic Privacy Manual, which gives consumers an excellent overview of the issues surrounding genetics and consumers. In particular, consumers concerned about protecting their genetic information from prying eyes should refer to the “Tips for Protecting Your Genetic Privacy” section of the Manual.

Privacy is going to be one of the big issues facing consumer and public interest advocates in the coming year. Perhaps no more personal form of information is a person’s genetic information. It is for this reason that we will be monitoring this issue closely in the months to come.

Every puff you take – National Consumers League

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Just one cigarette can be the one that causes a heart attack, warned Surgeon General Regina Benjamin today in her new report on tobacco. For someone with underlying heart disease, one cigarette can be deadly.

According to the new report, even brief exposure to tobacco smoke, from occasional smoking to second-hand smoke, causes immediate harm to the body, damaging cells and inflaming tissue in ways that can lead to serious illness and death. About 443,000 Americans die from tobacco-caused illnesses every year. While the smoking rate has dropped dramatically since 1964, when the first surgeon general’s report declared tobacco deadly, there has been less progress in the last ten years. About one in five Americans, over 40 million adults, still smoke. Additionally, tens of millions more are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke.

While this is the 30th report issued by the nation’s surgeons general to warn the public about tobacco’s risks, it is unusual because it focuses on the biology of how cigarette smoke causes disease, and includes the latest genetic findings to help explain why some people become more addicted than others.

Tobacco companies have designed cigarettes to be more addictive, said the report. Companies have deliberately designed cigarettes and other tobacco products to deliver nicotine more quickly and efficiently than they did years ago. Smoking has been made more pleasant by adding ammonia, which converts nicotine into a form that gets to the brain faster, and sugar and “moisture enhancers,” which reduce the burning sensation.

Check out the consumer version of the report – “How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease:  What It Means To You”.

Advocates on board with ‘Do Not Track’ – National Consumers League

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NCL supports the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) proposal to allow consumers to block advertisers from tracking them online. As David Vladeck, the Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection testified on December 2, industry self-regulation has to date failed to adequately protect consumers’ privacy. The FTC has proposed a “uniform and comprehensive consumer choice mechanism” for online behavioral advertising, likely as a feature of Internet browsers. Advocates at the National Consumers League support the FTC’s proposed rule for a simple reason: consumers want to control their environment easily and persistently. These days, the average consumer is barraged online with marketing offers from companies using tracking technology who think they know what their customers want — or are trying to predict it. We agree with the FTC’s position that such technology can and should be implemented in such a way that it does not undermine the advertiser-supported business model that has helped give consumers such a treasure trove of free and low-cost content on the Internet.

The beauty of this so-called “Do Not Track” technology is that doesn’t require maintenance of lists; it just lets online advertisers know not to track you. Experts say the technology for Do Not Track is easily adapted to smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. We agree with Beth Givens at the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, who said: “online tracking is inherently offensive to people. The notion that there are electronic eyeballs following you as you surf the Web frankly bothers people.”

NCL will be following closely the debate over FTC’s proposal and the Do Not Track technology in particular.

 

Meet Henry the Hand – National Consumers League

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Are you ready for this year’s National Handwashing Awareness Week? It starts today, and what better time of year than the start of cold and flu season to remind our loved ones how important good hand hygiene is.

Henry the Hand, Champion Handwasher, is the brainchild of Dr. Will Sawyer, “Dr. Will,” a physician who has committed nearly the last two decades of his career promoting the “Four Principles of Hand Awareness” as a method to protect the public from infectious disease and the potential outbreaks. Dr. Will created Henry the Hand to join him in his crusade to educate children and their families about just how much disease can be prevented with clean hands.

Dr. Will’s Four Principles:

  1. Wash your hands when they are dirty and before eating
  2. Do not cough into your hands
  3. Do not sneeze into your hands
  4. Above all, do not put your fingers in your eyes, nose, or mouth

Dr. Will is in good company. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are spreading the word about maintaining good hand hygiene as well.

With old-fashioned soap and water:

  • Wet your hands with clean running water and apply soap. Use warm water if it is available
  • Rub hands together to make a lather and scrub all surfaces
  • Continue rubbing hands for 15-20 seconds. Need a timer? Imagine singing “Happy Birthday” twice through to a friend
  • Rinse hands well under running water
  • Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer. If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet
  • Always use soap and water if your hands are visibly dirty

With an alcohol-based hand sanitizer:

  • Apply product to the palm of one hand
  • Rub hands together
  • Rub the product over all surfaces of hands and fingers until hands are dry

NCL statement on passage of Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act – National Consumers League

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December 2, 2010

Contact: (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC—In a vote of 264-157, the U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, legislation that reauthorizes the Child Nutrition Act and that will significantly improve the nutritional quality of food served in schools. The bill, which the Senate passed in August, will now be sent to President Obama to be signed into law.

This landmark legislation provides a six-cent per-meal increase for the school lunch program, the biggest funding increase the program has received in decades. Among other measures, it will make healthier choices more available – and unhealthy choices less available – throughout the school day, simplify the process for enabling low-income children to receive the free meals to which they are entitled, and provide technical assistance to school food service providers across the country.

“Ensuring that the meals and snacks our children consume during the school day are healthy ones is crucial in so many ways. For far too many children, the food served at school provides the only healthy meal or meals they eat all day. It is also important to send a consistent message to the children about why we all need to eat nutritious foods. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act will go a long way towards creating a healthy environment in all schools and will provide tools to combat the double-edged sword of hunger and obesity,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director.

The National Consumers League joined more than 1,300 other health, education, and anti-hunger groups; First Lady Michelle Obama; and a number of major food companies in supporting passage of the bill.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Child nutrition reauthorization: A victory for healthier kids – National Consumers League

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By Courtney Brein, Linda Golodner Food Safety and Nutrition Fellow

This afternoon, I attended the Enrollment Ceremony for the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.  I sat in a beautiful room in the Capitol building and listened to Speaker Nancy Pelosi applaud the efforts of her colleagues, advocates, and the First Lady in pushing for the passage of important improvements to child nutrition programs.  Surrounded by a group of Congressional child nutrition champions – including Representative George Miller (D-CA), Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA), Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AK), and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) – she signed the legislation, completing the final step necessary to send the bill to President Obama’s desk to be signed into law.

Less than 24 hours earlier, I had watched – via C-SPAN live stream – as members of the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act by a vote of 264 to 157.  With one eye fixed to the goings on in the House chamber, I’d kept the other trained on my inbox and the steady stream of optimistic, and then downright festive, emails from child nutrition and anti-hunger advocates sitting in offices throughout D.C. and around the country.  The victorious cries of an even broader array of the bill’s supporters overwhelmed my twitterfeed.

The opportunity to celebrate a landmark achievement for healthier school meals was long overdue.  I began advocating for the passage of a strong reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act when I joined the League in August 2009 – and I came late to the game.  Many of my fellow advocates in the NANA (National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity) Coalition started pushing for the improved nutritional standards and increased reimbursement rate included in this bill before the last child nutrition authorization took place (it happens every five years).  And, more recently, the 2004 authorization – which was set to expire on September 30, 2009 – was extended until September 30, 2010.  While the Senate unanimously passed the bill in August of this year, the House did not take up the issue until the lame duck session following the November election.

Why is this bill so important?  While the bill’s provisions improve the nutrition of food served in schools for all children, they will also greatly help efforts to combat hunger and obesity, which often go hand-in-hand and disproportionately impact low-income kids.  Among other measures, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act does the following:

  • Provides the biggest increase (six cents) in per-meal reimbursement that the National School Lunch Program has received since its inception
  • Simplifies the process for enabling low-income children to receive the free meals to which they are entitled and expands after-school meal access for at-risk kids
  • Makes significant strides in getting junk food out of schools
  • Strengthens school wellness policies
  • Increases funding for farm-to-school and school garden programs

If you support these improvements to child nutrition programs, please take a moment to check out this list of representatives who voted in favor of the bill and, if your rep is on it, send a quick thank-you email!  These 264 members deserve recognition for their leadership in getting this bill to the President’s desk.

Consumers to enjoy new gift card rules this holiday season – National Consumers League

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December 1, 2010

Contact: (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

WASHINGTON, DC— For the fourth year in a row, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), gift cards are America’s most requested gift this holiday season. New this year, however, are extra safeguards in place for consumers, mandated by the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 that went into effect earlier this year. Starting in August, the CARD Act has made for numerous changes in the credit card industry, and – good news for gift card givers and receivers this holiday season – it also has some implications for the gift card industry. According to the NRF, Americans will spend an average of $145.61 on gift cards, up from $139.91 last year. Total gift card spending is expected to reach $24.78 billion.

“There’s good news for consumers planning to purchase gift cards for friends and loved ones this holiday season, as well as for those of us who receive them,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director. “With sales of gift cards expected to reach nearly $25 billion this year, it’s about time consumers benefited from improvements to the industry’s practices. With better fine print, better expiration dates, and more standardized rules, consumers can buy and use gift cards with greater confidence this holiday season.”

Here are the key elements of the new Credit CARD Act that affect gift cards:

Standardized Expiration Dates. Gift cards cannot expire less than five years after purchase.

Better fine print. Gift card issuers must clearly disclose dormancy and inactivity fees.

No more unused balance fees – for the first year

Starting now, no cards purchased in the previous 12 months can carry fees for going unused. In the past, unused cards lost value more quickly due to these inactivity fees. The good news is that now, issuers must not start tacking on the fees for a full year. The bad news is that there is no limit on the amount of this fee, which can only be assessed once a month.

Fees subject to these restrictions include monthly maintenance or service fees, balance inquiry fees and transaction-based fees, such as reload fees and point-of-sale fees.

Even with better safeguards for consumers in place, NCL is still warning consumers to give and use gift cards wisely. The cards, while offering better features, still come with greater restrictions than cash.

Tips for buying and giving gift cards

  • Encourage the recipients of gift cards to use them quickly to avoid losing the value of the cards to fees.
  • Ask for a gift receipt for each card purchased and include the receipt when giving a gift card. This will allow the cardholder to replace the card if it is lost or stolen.
  • Read all terms and conditions prior to purchasing a card. If the terms are not disclosed or if they are too difficult to understand, consider purchasing a different card.
  • Be wary of gift cards sold on online auction sites. These cards are often stolen or counterfeit.
  • Keep all gift cards and receipts in a safe, easily accessible place to avoid loss and neglect of gift cards.
  • If a card requires registration prior to use, be sure to do so soon after receiving the card.
  • If a card’s value is too low to cover an entire purchase, a merchant may be able to do a “split-tender” transaction that will allow part of a purchase to be paid with the gift card and the balance to be paid by another means (cash, check, credit/debit card). If an employee seems unsure how to conduct a “split-tender” transaction, ask a manager to help.
  • Be aware of state laws pertaining to gift cards. These may affect expiration dates, fees, and card replacement.
  • Don’t throw away depleted cards. Some merchants require a card for returns.

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About the National Consumers League

Founded in 1899, the National Consumers League is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Its mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. NCL is a private, nonprofit membership organization. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org

What’s new with gift cards this season? – National Consumers League

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The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 that went into effect earlier this year mandated a lot of changes in the credit card industry. It also has some implications for the gift card industry. There’s good news for consumers planning to purchase gift cards for friends and loved ones this holiday season.

Here are the key elements of the new Credit CARD Act that affect gift cards:

Better expiration dates. Gift cards cannot expire less than five years after purchase.

Better fine print. the gift card issuers must clearly disclose dormancy and inactivity fees.

No more unused balance fees (for the first year). Starting now, no cards purchased in the previous 12 months can carry fees for going unused.  In the past, unused cards lost value more quiclkly due to these inactivity fees. The good news is that now, issuers must not start tacking on the fees for a full year. The bad news is that there is no limit on the amount of this fee, which can only be assessed once a month.

Fees subject to these restrictions include monthly maintenance or service fees, balance inquiry fees and transaction-based fees, such as reload fees and point-of-sale fees.

More you should know about gift cards

The new Credit CARD Act rules do not apply to reloadable prepaid cards that are not marketed or labeled as a gift card or gift certificate. They also don’t apply to prepaid cards received through a loyalty award or promotional program. The majority of the cards we’re used to seeing however, such as those offered by major retailers or card networks like Visa, Mastercard, or American Express, will be covered. However, consumers should be wary of reloadable cards or cards received through the loyalty and promotional programs. A card that would fall into this category is a free “loyalty card” that gives the user $10 off a $50 or more purchase from the same store.  Such cards must still clearly disclose expiration dates and associated fees. These may be hard to distinguish from cards that are covered by the rules.  Consumers should be sure to check the disclosure language on cards to ensure that they are purchasing cards that are covered.

Tips for buying and giving gift cards

  • Encourage the recipients of gift cards to use them quickly to avoid losing the value of the cards to fees.
  • Ask for a gift receipt for each card purchased and include the receipt when giving a gift card. This will allow the card holder to replace the card if it is lost or stolen.
  • Read all terms and conditions prior to purchasing a card. If the terms are not disclosed or if they are too difficult to understand, consider purchasing a different card.
  • Be wary of gift cards sold on online auction sites. These cards are often stolen or counterfeit.
  • Keep all gift cards and receipts in a safe, easily accessible place to avoid loss and neglect of gift cards.
  • If a card requires registration prior to use, be sure to do so soon after receiving the card.
  • If a card’s value is too low to cover an entire purchase, a merchant may be able to do a “split-tender” transaction that will allow part of a purchase to be paid with the gift card and the balance to be paid by another means (cash, check, credit/debit card). If an employee seems unsure how to conduct a “split-tender” transaction, ask a manager to help.
  • Be aware of state laws pertaining to gift cards. These may affect expiration dates, fees, and card replacement.
  • Don’t throw away depleted cards. Some merchants require a card for returns.

Social networking (safely) – National Consumers League

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By Jacob Markey, LifeSmarts Summer 2010 intern

When I was in high school, MySpace was the big social networking craze; then Facebook entered the scene and exploded in popularity. While many other sites are available today, Facebook is the dominant site of choice. With hundreds of millions of users, it now seems as if everyone from kids in middle school to my parents’ friends have a Facebook account! Since the December LifeSmarts topic area focuses on issues relating to Technology, a discussion about social networking and online safety tips is timely.

Many people might see little reason to fear using social networking sites. After all, they are a great way to communicate with your friends, post pictures, and play games. But there is much to be aware of when using these Web sites. Your privacy and security may be at stake if you are careless and don’t take the proper steps to ensure that people can’t obtain information that could be used to hurt you. In addition, what you post on these sites could get you into a lot of trouble with friends, family, coworkers, and others (including future potential employers).

With these concerns in mind, here are some quick, but vitally important, tips people should follow to stay safe online:

  • Do not release or post personal information like your complete birth date, address, or phone number. Some people may use your information for shady activities like identify theft.
  • Do not download something from a suspicious link. It could contain a virus, spyware, or other harmful information that could damage your computer and cost a lot of money to clean up or repair.
  • Be careful about what you post and say online. An increasing number of employers are checking what their employees post on Facebook and when researching applicants to their companies. Inappropriate content, like badmouthing an employer or posting racy photos, could cost you a job!

Teens especially should be mindful to maintain control over their online profiles. They should have their profile on high privacy settings to make sure that strangers are not able to see their personal information online. In addition, they must be extra aware of people who could take advantage of them online, and should not meet a stranger who they befriend online. People may not be who they say they are and may be looking for trouble, as in this example of an assault that happened after meeting through a social networking site.

Social networking has a number of amazing benefits, and you shouldn’t have to give them up. But be sure to be careful about the actions you take online, and follow these tips to avoid problems online.

Avoid bogus charities this holiday season – National Consumers League

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December 1, 2010

Contact: (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

WASHINGTON, DC—‘Tis the season for many consumers to open their hearts and wallets to a variety of charities. But NCL, the nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization, has issued an alert to consumers that con artists may take advantage of their generosity this time of year with bogus charities posing as legitimate ones.

“It’s that time of year again, when we begin to hear from consumers about crooks’ attempts to take advantage of the holiday giving season for their personal gain,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “If you’re thinking of giving to a charity this season, good for you! But be careful — some scammers out there may be looking to take advantage of your generosity.”

The Washington, DC-based nonprofit advocacy organization collects consumers’ complaints of telemarketing and Internet fraud through NCL’s Fraud Center (www.fraud.org), and anticipates it will soon receive reports of holiday charity scams.

Complaints to the Federal Trade Commission about charity scams have become more frequent recently. The volume of complaints to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel system increased by 8.6 percent from 1.23 million in 2008 to 1.33 million in 2009.  While the volume of complaints regarding bogus charitable solicitations remained a small fraction of overall complaints, they were reported much more frequently in 2009, increased by 82.1 percent over the same period (1,908 in 2008 versus 3,474 in 2009).

NCL warns consumers to avoid becoming a statistic this holiday season by doing their homework before giving to an unfamiliar charity. Non-profit tracking Web sites like GuideStar.org and CharityNavigator.org have a free databases with detailed information on many charities.

NCL offers the following tips for the charitable-minded:


  • Research. Local newspapers or television or radio stations often compile lists of reputable charities responding to emergencies. Consider consulting these sources for information on how to give.

  • Be in control of what you give and to whom you give it! Consider setting up a personal charity/giving budget and deciding ahead of time who you want to give to, rather that being pressured into giving on the spur of the moment by a phone or e-mail solicitation. Consider contacting a charity directly on the phone or via the Internet to ensure that your donation is going directly to the charity of your choice.

  • Pay the smartest way. Don’t pay in cash, if possible. It is safer to pay by check or credit card. Be sure to get a receipt for any donation for tax purposes.

  • If a charity contacts, you, be cautious. If you’re approached by an unfamiliar charity, check it out. Most states require charities to register with them and file annual reports showing how they use donations. Ask your state or local consumer protection agency how to get this information. The Better Business Bureau Wise (BBB) Giving Alliance also offers information about national charities. Call 703-276-0100 or go to www.give.org.

  • Get it in writing. Legitimate charities will be happy to provide details about what they do and will never insist that you act immediately.

  • Beware of sound-alikes. Some crooks try to fool people by using names that are very similar to those of legitimate, well-known charities

  • Know who you’re talking to. Ask about the caller’s relation to the charity. The caller may be a professional fundraiser, not an employee or a volunteer. Ask what percentage of donations goes to the charity and how much the fundraiser gets.

Consumers can report suspected charity scams to NCL’s Fraud Center at the online complaint form on www.fraud.org.

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About the National Consumers League

Founded in 1899, the National Consumers League is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Its mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. NCL is a private, nonprofit membership organization. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org