Surgeon General joins Baltimore launch of national Script Your Future campaign to highlight importance of taking medication as directed – National Consumers League

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November 2, 2011

Contact: Kerry O’Neill, (410) 902-5035, koneill@mghus.com

Baltimore, MD—While most Americans recognize the importance of taking prescribed medication as directed, people who skip or forget doses are less likely to understand the health consequences of medication non-adherence, according to a new survey released this morning by the National Consumers League (NCL) as part of its national Script Your Future campaign. At today’s Baltimore launch of the multi-year national Script Your Future campaign, Surgeon General Regina Benjamin encouraged patients with chronic conditions to speak with their health care professionals about their medication.

Poor medication adherence is a growing public health concern, and addressing the problem is especially critical as the number of Americans affected by at least one chronic condition requiring medication therapy is expected to grow from 133 to 157 million by 2020.  Nearly three out of four Americans report that they do not always take their medication as directed, a problem that causes more than one-third of medicine-related hospitalizations, nearly 125,000 deaths in the United States each year, and adds $290 billion in avoidable costs to the health care system annually.

“Our national challenge is to prevent poor health outcomes and to become a healthy and fit nation.  One way is for the health care community and patients to come together to address medication non-adherence, which is a major public health problem,” said Dr. Benjamin.  “Doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals can help prevent many serious health complications by initiating conversations with their patients about the importance of taking medication as directed.  This is especially important for people with chronic health conditions such as diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure, who may have a number of medicines to take each day.”

Script Your Future brings together Baltimore area stakeholders in health care, business and government to offer practical tools for patients to help them better adhere to their medication, and to help health care professionals  better communicate with patients.  Baltimore is one of six regional target markets in which the campaign will pilot interventions, outreach activities, research and advertising.  The local coalition includes more than a dozen Baltimore-based health care stakeholders including University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, the Maryland Pharmacists Association, and Pfizer.  Today’s event is also an official stop on the AARP/Walgreens Wellness Tour, which provides mobile health tests to communities across the country.

The consumer survey results released today show that nationally and in Baltimore, those patients who do not always take their medication as directed are less likely to have received a full explanation of the consequences of their condition, and are less convinced of the importance of adherence. Communication between patients and their health care professionals is one key factor. More than three quarters (79 percent) of patients in Baltimore say they are very willing to raise questions or concerns about prescribed medicines with their health care professional, but only 55 percent say their doctor routinely asks about problems taking medication.  Among less adherent patients, communication with health care professionals is even less frequent.

“There are many reasons why people don’t take their medicine as directed, from concerns about side effects to the out-of-pocket costs of prescriptions, but the more a patient understands the impact medication has on their health, the more likely they are to keep up with their medication.  Script Your Future is working in Baltimore and communities across the country to encourage more conversations about the health consequences of non-adherence and to provide patients and their health care professionals with a range of online tools and resources to help improve adherence among patients with chronic conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma,” said Rebecca Burkholder, Vice President of Health Policy for the NCL.

The survey, conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, also found that patients view automatic refills, reduced co-pays and pill boxes as useful tools for improving adherence.  In particular, three quarters of Baltimore patients find a list of questions for their healthcare professional to be a helpful tool.

“As we launch the campaign locally, the research reinforces the need to make medication adherence a priority in Baltimore, where 14 percent of residents are living with diabetes and 1 in 3 with high blood pressure,” said Cherokee Layson-Wolf, PharmD., CGP, Associate Professor, University of Maryland, School of Pharmacy. “Our local efforts are aimed at raising awareness and making tools for adherence more accessible to consumers.”

Script Your Future tools include free text message reminders, sample questions for patients to ask health care practitioners, medication lists, condition management sheets, and fact sheets on common chronic conditions.  All of these materials can be found on the campaign website, www.ScriptYourFuture.org.

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Script Your Future is a campaign of the National Consumers League (NCL), a private, non-profit membership organization founded in 1899. For more information about the Script Your Future campaign, visit www.ScriptYourFuture.org.  For more information on NCL, please visit www.nclnet.org.

Advocates mourn passing of Virginia Knauer – National Consumers League

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October 31, 2011

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

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League mourns the death this month of Virginia Knauer, who served as head of the Office of Consumer Affairs under Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, and Ronald Reagan. Knauer was a friend and colleague of the League, and she spoke out on a range of consumer issues that are as important today as they were in 1969 when she was appointed.

“Ginny Knauer was an important ally in the fight for consumer protection. She called for consumers to have the right to bring class-action suits, not just in states, but in federal courts; she argued for a comprehensive system of product safety standards and simpler language in product warranties,” said Jane King, NCL’s Board Chair. “She was ahead of her time.”

Anna Flores, who serves on NCL’s Board of Directors and worked with the staff at the U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs, said about Knauer: “She used the bully pulpit on behalf of consumers in speeches around the country—including her observation that ‘the consumer is getting fed up with shoddy material, poor quality, unsafe products, bad service, weak warranties, lack of adequate information’. Her voice on behalf of consumers was very important; indeed, this is a voice that is sorely missing in today’s political discourse.”

Knauer called herself a “pipeline to the President for consumers”  and she certainly was. She served as spokeswoman for consumer rights and protections during an important period in American history. While NCL is saddened by the passing of Virginia Knauer, the League gratefully acknowledges Knauer’s unflinching advocacy on behalf of consumers.

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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.

Stock up on worker-friendly treats this Halloween – National Consumers League

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October 28, 2011

Contact: NCL Communications, (2020 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC—The nation’s oldest consumer and worker advocacy organization is calling on parents stocking up on Halloween treats this weekend to make worker-friendly purchases. The National Consumers League, the Washington, DC-based consumer and worker’s rights organization, has announced an effort to fill trick-or-treaters’ bags with union-made candy.

“In just a few days, children across the country will cheerfully announce their presence at doorways hoping to receive sweet treats. While Halloween certainly belongs to kids, we adults, get to make some decisions too. This year, we’re calling on parents to be smart about the candy they purchase and hand out, find out if it’s made by unionized workers who are paid a fair wage,” said Michell K. McIntyre, Director of NCL’s Special Project on Wage Theft.

A few labor-friendly candy manufactures include Nestle, Ghiradelli Chocolates, Hershey, Gimbals Fine Candies, Just Born, Necco, Nabisco, and Keebler. One fly in the ointment is Hershey, which was many union workers but had more than its fair share of wage violations this year. From the exploitation of foreign J-1 visa student workers in its packing facility to the second class-action lawsuit being filed against the company for failing to pay its employees for overtime, Hershey’s domestic labor problems are not the company’s only issue.

Hershey has also been criticized by child labor advocates who have organized a “No Hershey’s Halloween,” because the company sources cocoa to make chocolate from West Africa where there are up to two million children working under conditions considered to be among the “worst forms of child labor.” While many chocolate companies have taken steps to trace their cocoa purchasing to reduce child labor from their supply chains, the Hershey Company lags behind its competitors.

At Union Plus, a Web site established by the AFL-CIO to provide consumer benefits to members and retirees of participating labor unions, consumers can view a list of approved candy choices provided by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM); snack foods by members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW); or fruit and nuts from members of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW).

“NCL is happy to join with union allies and working families to encourage consumers to vote with their pocketbooks and support worker-friendly candy manufacturers this Halloween,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director.

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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.

NCL testimony at the FDA on Prescription Drug User Fee Act – National Consumers League

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October 24, 2011

 

Docket No. FDA-2010-N-0128

Public hearing statement on re-authorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act by Sally Greenberg, Executive Director, National Consumers League before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Good morning. On behalf of the National Consumers League (NCL), I would like to thank you for the invitation to share a consumer-oriented perspective on proposed recommendations for the re-authorization of the prescription drug user fee act (PDUFA 5).

Established in 1899, NCL is the nation’s oldest nonprofit consumer education and advocacy organization. NCL provides government, businesses, and other organizations with the consumer’s perspective on numerous policy issues including child labor, privacy, food safety, and medication safety and information. From the first Pure Food and Drugs Act passed in 1906 to the more recent FDA Modernization Act, NCL has been working – often alongside the Agency – to ensure that the public is adequately represented and protected, and that our medications are safe and effective.

It is in this context that NCL expresses concern that many of the recommendations for this re-authorization of PDUFA are focused on reducing perceived barriers to new drug approvals rather than on protecting and promoting the health of patients and consumers by ensuring access to safe and effective medications. The other consumer groups represented on this panel, all members of the Patient, Consumer and Public Health Coalition, also share this overriding concern.

NCL believes that we should have a drug approval process that provides timely access to safe and effective drugs while reducing exposure to harmful drugs that pose undue risk. We recognize that PDUFA must balance the needs of consumers who are concerned about serious side effects with the concerns of patients who may be facing a life-threatening illness where time is of the essence. Thus, while it is important to have an efficient and timely approval process, there is still, in our view, too little emphasis on performance goals aimed at improving the safety and efficacy of drugs.

We continue to be concerned that the public has too little opportunity to fully engage in the PDUFA process. While we appreciate the FDA’s efforts to keep stakeholders informed about the negotiations and to solicit our input on the proposals under discussion, consumer and patient groups were not present during the negotiations, and, as a result, several patient safety and consumer protection initiatives that were put forward were never discussed in the formal dialogue with industry. We believe that the PDUFA proposal should not be move forward without these additional provisions. I will be addressing several of those issues today.

1. Direct to Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs

NCL has long been interested in ensuring that consumers receive accurate and useful information about their healthcare, including information about the safe and effective use of prescription drugs. With over four billion dollars spent a year on DTC ads [1] and over 91% of Americans reporting that they have seen or heard advertisements for prescription drugs[2], DTC ads have become an integral part of communicating information on prescription drugs. Consumers are continually exposed to these ads, and it is imperative that the FDA have the staff and resources to ensure the ads are accurate and not misleading BEFORE they reach the public.

As we have mentioned in previous testimony before the FDA, we recommend that the agency be granted the authority to require that all DTC ads undergo review before public dissemination. This would enable agency staff to work with industry to revise materials where needed so that misleading information does not reach consumers. Without the authority to make review a condition of broadcasting, product sponsors have no incentive to submit their ads for agency review. NCL urges the FDA to make the review of ads for newly approved drugs a top priority. FDA should consider placing a moratorium on all DTC advertising for new drugs, especially those deemed to have inadequate safety information. Based on available safety data, the agency could be given latitude in determining the appropriate length of the moratorium on a product-by-product basis. NCL would support adding a third “provisional” status for some new drugs, which would allow limited exposure of a product to appropriate patients. This would mitigate the likelihood of inappropriate use and over-exposure while additional post-approval safety data collection is ongoing.

In order to conduct such oversight of DTC advertising, we suggest that user fees be allocated to support hiring of additional staff to review ads and respond to industry feedback in a timely fashion. There is currently a dangerous imbalance between the volume of DTC advertising and the resources available for monitoring and reviewing the advertisements. This imbalance becomes even greater when considering the growing number of Internet and social media advertising for prescription drugs. As consumers increasingly turn to the Internet for health information, it will be more important than ever for FDA to have the resources to ensure that consumers receive balanced information about the drugs advertised to them

2. Adverse Event Reporting and Medwatch

Because reports of adverse events from consumers and healthcare professionals may be the first indication of a drug’s safety problem, it important that consumers are able to easily report any adverse events with medical products, and that FDA is able to capture and act upon that information. We are encouraged by the improvements that FDA is making to the Medwatch form for consumers. If FDA wants to encourage voluntary consumer reporting of adverse events, the Agency must ensure that reporting mechanisms are consumer-friendly. While we support FDA’s revisions of the Medwatch form, those revisions will fail to address the fact that the complaints entered into Medwatch are rarely used because of how the information is captured by the FDA. We understand that the information electronically collected on Medwatch is not able to be easily transferred to a usable electronic format so that any trends can be easily identified. The Medwatch system is not an active surveillance system; it is, in fact a passive program. We suggest that these issues be resolved so that Medwatch can effectively serve as an early warning system in a larger post-market safety surveillance system

3. Off-Label Prescribing

 

While off label use of medications can sometimes be beneficial, the majority of medications so prescribed have no valid scientific evidence in support of such prescribing.[3] A recent review by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that while antipsychotic drugs are used for many off label indications, for the majority of the medications there was little evidence of benefits, and in some cases there are serious adverse effects.[4] From a consumer perspective, many people are likely unaware they are even being prescribed off label drugs. Consumers should be informed about the following if they are prescribed drugs off label:

  • Availability of alternatives
  • Body of evidence supporting product use
  • Approval status/use in other countries
  • Implications for insurance coverage

Finally, we urge that under PDUFA V funds be directed to examining the safety of off- label prescribing, and the implications of lack of consumer awareness and understanding of the practice.

In conclusion, we believe the proposed recommendations must do more to ensure the safety of patient and consumers, and the scientific integrity of the drug review process. Thank you for giving the National Consumers League the opportunity to present our views on this important hearing related to the reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act.

 

[1] Lian, Bryan, et al, “Direct to Consumer Advertising with Interactive Internet Media”, JAMA vol. 305, no. 8, February 23, 2011.

[2] Kaiser Public Opinion Spotlight, “Public and Physician Views on Direct-to-Consumers Prescription Drug Advertising” at https://www.kff.org/spotlight/rxdrugsconsumer/upload/Rx_Drugs_DTC_Ads.pdf

[3] Radley, et al. (2006) “Off-label Prescribing Among Office-Based Physicians,” Archives of Internal Medicine, 166: 1021-1026.

[4] AHRQ Effective Health Care Program, “Off-Label Use of Atypical Antipsychotics: An Update,” Comparative Effectiveness Review Number 43 (2011).

NCL statement on IOM’s front-of-package labeling recommendations – National Consumers League

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October 20, 2011

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

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League (NCL) has released the following statement regarding the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) proposal for front-of-package labeling:

“The National Consumers League applauds a report issued today from the IOM on Front-of-Package labeling, entitled ‘Front-of-Package Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols: Promoting Healthier Choices.’ The IOM suggests implementing a simple point system for front-of-package labeling, with points given for the levels of sugar, salt, and fat in an item, with scores ranging from zero (the least healthy) to three (the most healthy).

NCL believes the report is a common-sense approach to front-of-package labeling. This system would provide consumers with clear, simple information which would allow them to compare foods at the grocery store and make healthy choices more easily. NCL urges the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to examine the IOM’s proposal and implement a consumer friendly front-of-package labeling requirement.”

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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.

FCC must hold industry accountable to ensure bill shock protections – National Consumers League

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October 19, 2011

Washington, DC– Voluntary industry guidelines designed to protect hundreds of millions of American consumers from cell phone “bill shock” will only work if the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is committed to holding the wireless industry accountable, according to the National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering consumer organization.

The voluntary guidelines announced this week by the FCC, CTIA and Consumers Union reflect the fact that tens of millions of consumers are victims of wireless “bill shock” every year.  The combination of rapidly growing wireless data usage by consumers and the embrace of data caps by many carriers underscore the urgent need for greater consumer protections in this area. The public record is replete with horror stories of consumer bills in the thousands of dollars.  Independent data from the FCC and General Accountability Office and consumer groups indicate that millions more experience smaller “bill shocks.”

“The new ’bill shock’ guidelines will only protect consumers if the FCC holds the cell phone companies’ feet to the fire,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “We are pleased that the Commission has left its ‘bill shock’ proceeding open as a stick to ensure industry compliance.”

The new guidelines reflect many of the common-sense solutions that NCL and other consumer and public interest groups called for in comments at the FCC.  In particular, we are encouraged that the new alerts will be provided free of charge and without the need for consumes to opt–in to receive the notifications.  It remains to be seen how the new guidelines will be implemented and how consumers will be able to respond to the new notifications.

NCL’s comments on “bill shock” are available here.

NCL’s reply comments on “bill shock” are available here.

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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.

NCL announces major LifeSmarts grant from Visa Inc. during personal finance month – National Consumers League

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October 18, 2011

Contact: NCL Communications, (2020 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC—With this year’s national LifeSmarts competition in full swing, the National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s oldest consumer organization and coordinator of LifeSmarts, has announced that the program will be the recipient of a unique three-year educational grant from Visa Inc., making Visa a major underwriter for the 2011-2013 LifeSmarts program years.

The 2011-2012 LifeSmarts program year kicked off last month, and high school students across the country are forming teams to compete online for a shot at their state—and ultimately the national—competitions. In thousands of classrooms, teachers use LifeSmarts learning activities to spark lessons and engage students with meaningful consumer content, awareness of resources, and the ability and confidence to participate in today’s dynamic global marketplace.

In October, the LifeSmarts curriculum spotlight is on personal finance, with online competitions and activities aimed at helping program participants learn strategies for navigating today’s increasingly complex financial landscape. The Visa grant will be used, among other things, to add new personal finance lessons to LifeSmarts U, the program’s virtual classroom, from Visa’s award-winning Practical Money Skills for Life financial education program (www.practicalmoneyskills.com). LifeSmarts U provides interactive online learning for individual students and classrooms across the United States, allowing students to go in-depth on important consumer issues. New content includes lessons on living on your own, the influence of advertising, consumer privacy, and consumer awareness.

“LifeSmarts U lessons offer students learning materials in a variety of fun formats, from articles to scavenger hunts and vocabulary building games and presentations,” said Lisa Hertzberg, LifeSmarts Program Director. “We are grateful for Visa’s generous support in making these valuable resources available to students and educators.”

In addition, LifeSmarts has partnered with Visa and the Executive Office of the Mayor of Washington, DC for a District-wide financial literacy campaign. Today, DC Mayor Vincent Gray and Washington Redskins Linebacker Brian Orakpo will lead student teams in a fast-paced game of Financial Football, a free educational video game developed by Visa. Mayor Gray will then distribute the free game and accompanying classroom curriculum to every public middle and high-school in Washington, DC. Today’s launch is part of a national educational campaign with Visa, the NFL and NFL Players, now in its seventh season. Since 2006, Visa has partnered with 30 additional states to distribute Financial Football to every high school and middle school in those states.

“Visa is a proud supporter of the National Consumers League’s LifeSmarts program and is pleased to be able to underwrite new content that will help bolster its personal finance curriculum,” said Jason Alderman, Senior Director, Global Financial Education at Visa.

LifeSmarts—the ultimate consumer challenge—complements the curriculum already in place in middle schools and high schools, and is used by adult coaches and student participants as an activity for classes, groups, clubs, and community organizations. LifeSmarts, run as a game-show style competition, is free of charge and open to all teens in the U.S. in high school and middle school.

Visa’s three-year grant to LifeSmarts will help bolster the program’s personal finance focus – one of five LifeSmarts topic areas that make up the program. Expansions to the personal finance portion of the program include new quiz questions to be used in competitions online and at the state and national level; incorporation of Visa’s Practical Money Skills for Life and Financial Football as resources and study tools for coaches and students; and implementation of Visa materials at a training for educators to be held in early 2012 in the District of Columbia.

LifeSmarts topics have been chosen to encourage knowledge in the areas that matter most to consumers and workers: personal finance; health and safety; the environment; technology; and consumer rights and responsibilities.

Financial support from contributors such as Visa makes LifeSmarts possible. Community-minded businesses, associations, labor unions, government agencies, other organizations and individuals—partner with NCL to provide the benefits of meaningful consumer education for young adults.

To learn more about NCL’s LifeSmarts program, visit www.lifesmarts.org. Or, test your LifeSmarts by taking a sample quiz at https://start.lifesmarts.org/. From there, click on “Daily Quiz” to get started.

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About the National Consumers League and LifeSmarts

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.

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: www.lifesmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org, or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at 202-835-3323.

NCL hails CA Gov. Brown for signing new law to combat employee misclassification, an illegal form of wage theft – National Consumers League

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October 12, 2011

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

Washington, DC—The nation’s oldest consumer organization, the National Consumers League (NCL), today lauded California Governor Jerry Brown for signing into law Senate Bill 459, an employment bill addressing employee misclassification. NCL has been advocating for tougher wage theft penalties and sent Governor Brown a letter urging him to sign S.B. 459 in September of this year.

The harm caused by employee misclassification—where an employer knowingly classifies an employee as an independent contractor to avoid paying taxes and employee benefits—goes beyond workers and their families to victimize everyone from honest businesses to state treasuries and the federal government. Employees who are misclassified as ‘independent contractors’ are denied key worker rights, such as minimum wage protection, overtime pay, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, and anti-discrimination protections.

Employers who illegally classify their workers as independent contractors shortchange the government by skirting payroll taxes and Social Security & Medicare, while also giving unscrupulous businesses a competitive advantage by enabling them to offer their services at a lower cost than honest employers; leaving lawful businesses paying higher rates of workers’ compensation and losing out on bids.

Between 2005 and 2007, audits conducted by the California Employment Development Department recovered a total of $111,956,556 in payroll tax assessments, $18,537,894 in labor code citations, and $40,348,667 in assessments on employment tax fraud cases.  With increases in employee misclassification, California is likely losing out on over $112 million in badly needed state revenue.

California Senate Bill 459 will establish monetary penalties for businesses that misclassify their workers. The new law imposes fines that range from $5,000 to $15,000 for each misclassification violation for first time offenders and $10,000 to $25,000 per violation for repeat offenders.

“Laws like the one recently passed in California are an important step towards ensuring that American workers receive what they are lawfully owed,” said Michell K. McIntyre, Project Director of NCL’s Special Project on Wage Theft.  “Wage theft occurs in industries across the board and the only way to fight back is to hit unlawful businesses where it hurts the most- the pocket book.”

To read NCL’s letter to Governor Brown, click here.

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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.

NCL statement on government guidelines on food marketing to children – National Consumers League

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October 12, 2011

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

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL) has issued the following statement regarding the voluntary guidelines issued by the Interagency Working Group on Food Marketing to Children:

“NCL, the nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization, commends the Interagency Working Group for its thoughtful, science based recommendations.

The Interagency Working Group, made up of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention and the Federal Trade Commission, issued voluntary guidelines earlier this year.  These recommendations to the industry are based on sound science and established certain nutrition thresholds for the marketing of food to children.  These thresholds would promote the marketing of healthy foods and discourage the marketing of foods low in nutritional content or high in fat, sugar or sodium.

The food industry has reacted negatively to these guidelines without justification.  One of the major criticisms is that these recommendations are “backdoor” regulation, despite the fact that the Interagency Working Group’s recommendations are completely voluntary.

NCL urges the Interagency Working Group to maintain strong guidelines and to continue to base their recommendations on sound science.  With nearly one-third of our children overweight or obese, concrete steps must be taken.  The Interagency Working Group’s science based recommendations are a first step and NCL strongly supports them.”

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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.

NCL hails CPSC decision to move forward with developing national table saw safety standards – National Consumers League

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October 5, 2011

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

Washington, DC—The nation’s oldest consumer organization, the National Consumers League (NCL), today lauded a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) vote on an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to move forward on achieving a national safety standard for table saws.

According to CPSC’s own data, consumers suffer 40,000 table saw injuries each year, 4,000 of which are finger amputations. That translates into 10 finger amputations every day for those using table saws.

NCL has been advocating for table saw safety standards since November of 2010, when NCL a sent a letter to the Chairman and each of the other four CPSC Commissioners, stating that: “NCL strongly urges the Commission to take action toward a performance standard for table saw safety.” In May of 2011, NCL brought table saw victims from across the country to CPSC headquarters to share their debilitating injuries with CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. The letter and victim profiles are highlighted below.

NCL Letter to CPSC

Victim Profiles

“We are greatly encouraged by the CPSC’s unanimous 5-0 vote in favor of moving forward with the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding table saw safety,” said Greenberg.

“With table saws, clearly we have a pattern of injury, we have technology to prevent the injuries, and we can do so for a reasonable cost. The CPSC is greatly advancing the cause of protecting the 40,000 consumers each year who are injured unnecessarily by table saws. We applaud the Chairman for her leadership and look forward to working with her and the Commission in the months to come,” Greenberg said.

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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.