Cholesterol control beyond the clinic: New York City's trans fat restriction.

Decades after key modifiable risk factors were identified, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of preventable death, and only one quarter of persons with high cholesterol levels have attained recommended levels of control. Cholesterol control efforts have focused on consumer education and medical treatment. A powerful, complementary approach is to change the makeup of food, a route the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene took when it restricted artificial trans fat--a contributor to coronary heart disease--in restaurants.

Retail prices of essential drugs in Brazil: an international comparison.

Objectives: Price is a key obstacle for consumer access to essential drugs, especially in developing countries. This study sought to compare the retail prices of essential drugs on the private market in Brazil with that of two international pricing standards.

Methods: The retail price of all drugs on Brazil's Essential Drugs List, July 2000 edition, were compared to the retail price of the same drugs on the Swedish market and on a referential bulk-price indicator from low-cost suppliers on the international market.

[Evaluation of pharmaceutical assistance in public primary care in Brasilia, Brazil].

Objective: Pharmaceutical assistance is essential in health care and a right of citizens according to Brazilian law and drug policies. The study purpose was to evaluate aspects of pharmaceutical assistance in public primary health care.

Methods: A cross-sectional study using WHO drug indicators was carried out in Brasilia in 2001.

Access to essential drugs in 11 Brazilian cities: a community-based evaluation and action method.

The Brazilian Institute for Defense of Consumers' (IDEC) health and legal professionals gathered with partner associations and researchers from the University of Brasilia shaped this study to develop and apply simple methods for community and consumer organizations to monitor the availability of essential drugs for primary care in their local public health services. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 11 Brazilian cities. The instrument gave priority to the feasibility of use by community organizations over statistically representative designs.