Spectrum

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In today’s post, John J. Seng, GLOBALHealthPR Chair and Spectrum Founder & CEO, discusses the recent actions of CVS, the first major US pharmacy retailer to stop selling tobacco products.

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CVS Health

I was happy to read just now that HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell saluted CVS Health today for stamping out cigarette sales as of today, one month earlier than the company pledge of October 1.

Her statement is short enough to reprint here:

We applaud CVS Health for becoming tobacco-free and ending the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products at its 7,700 CVS/pharmacy locations. CVS accomplished their goal one month ahead of their deadline of October 1.

We also commend CVS Health on the launch of their national and personalized smoking cessation program.

CVS Heath’s tobacco free policy is an unprecedented step in the retail industry, and will have an impact in bringing our country closer to achieving a tobacco-free generation, a call to action that we announced in January.

We hope others will follow CVS Health’s lead in this important new step to curtail tobacco use.

“We hope others will follow CVS Health’s lead…” Hmmm, as I read that last sentence, I thought of another major retailer, err, wholesale warehouse concern which still has the chance to follow and do the right thing when it comes to reducing heart disease and cancer in the US: Costco Wholesale. [Read more…] about The New “CVS Health” Gets It

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Today’s blog comes to us from Jonathan Wilson, President of GLOBALHealthPR US Partner and Chair, Spectrum.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is rethinking its rules on what kind of information pharma companies can share with physicians regarding off-label use of their products. That’s good news for the practice of medicine.

At the moment, pharma company employees can talk about a drug only in the context of the condition indicated in its FDA-approved label. Anything they say about another, unapproved use of the drug is considered “misbranding” according to federal law, and subjects the company to civil and criminal prosecution. [Read more…] about Scientific Exchange Calls for Some Talk of “Off-Label” Use

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At least not Down Under. Today’s post comes to us from John Seng, Founder and CEO of GLOBALHealthPR US Partner and Chair, Spectrum.

Traveling down the south coast of Australia following our GLOBALHealthPR annual meeting several weeks ago, I stopped in at a NewsPower store in Bateman’s Bay to look for a souvenir or two for family members, plus to satisfy a little curiosity about what Aussies read today.Extra-Extra-1-300x169-300x169

 

[Read more…] about EXTRA! EXTRA! Print Not Dead!

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eturnerWhile in Hamburg with our partners at fischerAppelt, I was able to catch a few sessions at Hamburg’s social media week. The most interesting session was focused on the neurobiology of social media, presented by Stefanie Kuhnhen of Grabarz & Partner and Markus von der Lühe of Adknowledge. The presenters conducted focus groups with digital natives (those 13-16 years old) and leveraged neurobiology research to explore why we engage with digital engagement the way we do. [Read more…] about The Future of Social Networking

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Greetings from Germany!

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While normally based at Spectrum in Washington, DC, I’m happy to find myself sitting in the bright, sunny offices of our GLOBALHealthPR partner fischerAppelt. Understanding and leveraging the similarities and differences between communication cultures around the world is critical to global communications success.

[Read more…] about Crossing Oceans to Build Collaboration

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world cancer day badgeIf your TV was tuned to the Super Bowl on Sunday night with the other 111 million people in the U.S., you may have noticed the Chevrolet commercial supporting the “Purple Roads” campaign for World Cancer Day. It was refreshing to see a coveted Super Bowl time slot dedicated to a global health epidemic that brings a much more powerful message than the usual clanging beer bottles, snack food promotions and over-the-top caricatures, particularly when there are so many disease awareness days that it’s difficult to keep track of them all. [Read more…] about Two Birds, One Stone: Super Bowl XLVIII + World Cancer Day