McDonald's Threatened With Law Suit For Using Toys To Promote Happy Meals, US

A US consumer group has threatened legal action against the fast food company McDonald's if it does not stop using toys to promote its "junk food" Happy Meals: the group says using unfair and deceptive marketing to "lure small children" is illegal under consumer protection laws in various states of the US.

The nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) announced on Tuesday that it had served McDonald's with a 30-day notice of its intention to sue. Giving such notice is a legal requirement under several states in which the group might bring the lawsuit, they said in a statement. The lawsuit will go ahead if the company does not agree within 30 days to stop its toy-related promotions.

Stephen Gardner, litigation director for CSPI, told the press that:
"McDonald's is the stranger in the playground handing out candy to children." He said the way the fast food company uses toys exploits the fact children are developmentally immature and undermines the authority of parents. "All this to induce children to prefer foods that may harm their health. It's a creepy and predatory practice that warrants an injunction," he added.

In CSPI's notice letter addressed to Jim Skinner, vice chairman, CEO, and president of McDonald's, and to Jan Fields, the corporation's USA president, Gardner wrote that: "McDonald's marketing has the effect of conscripting America's children into an unpaid drone army of word-of-mouth marketers, causing them to pester their parents to bring them to McDonald's."

The letter goes on to state that McDonald's use of toys to promote its food products is violating state consumer protection laws in Massachusetts, Texas, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and California, and that the company has 30 days to agree to stop the practice before a suit is filed.

White House Unveils Consumer Protections In Health Law

New health-law-prompted regulations were released Tuesday, Kaiser Health News reports. The regulations could likely affect a small fraction of the country, but address key insurance concerns:

- Insurers would no longer be able to deny coverage to kids with pre-existing conditions.
- Certain annual and all lifetime limits on benefits would be prohibited.
- Insurers would no longer be allowed to drop coverage when policy holders get sick.

Obama told a White House audience of 160 people that "Insurance companies should see this as an opportunity to improve care and increase competition," MSNBC reports. "The new regulations being implemented by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury, will put in place the strongest consumer protections in the nation's history -- giving Americans 'peace of mind,' Obama said" (Jones, 6/22).

Guidance Aims To Protect Thousands Of Unborn Babies And Small Children From Tobacco Harm

All pregnant women should be encouraged to have their carbon monoxide levels tested to determine whether they smoke, thereby ensuring that pregnant smokers receive appropriate support to quit for the good of their unborn baby. This change to current clinical practice is one of a number of recommendations in new guidance published yesterday (23 June) by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), to help women and their families give up smoking during and after pregnancy.

Smoking during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage, premature birth, still-birth and sudden unexpected death in infancy[1]. Exposure to smoke in the womb is also associated with psychological problems in childhood such as attention and hyperactivity problems[2]. Meanwhile, children of parents who smoke tend to suffer from more respiratory problems like asthma or bronchitis and have problems of the ear, nose and throat, compared to children in non-smoking households. Nearly half of all children in the UK are exposed to tobacco smoke at home[3].

It is thought to cost the NHS between £20 million and £87.5 million each year to treat mothers and small infants under 12 months old with problems caused by smoking in pregnancy[4].