Taxing junk food to prevent and fight obesity.

The promotional activities of pharmaceutical companies are regularly the target of criticism. Certain commentators imply that these businesses as a group devote too many resources to the promotion of their products, at the expense of their investments in research and development (R&D). Others maintain that these promotional activities alter the prescribing habits of doctors, which leads to a needless or even harmful rise in the consumption of drugs. Do these criticisms stand up to scrutiny?

Obesity: A new tax won't change our eating habits.

Emergency rooms overcrowding.

In many countries around the world, governments are increasingly tempted to regulate the advertising industry. Whether in the name of consumer protection or health concerns, advertising for products that are perfectly legal must conform to ever stricter rules. Think of alcohol, tobacco or fast food, for example. This worldwide trend was recently highlighted by the head of planning for a well respected ad agency in the British newsweekly The Observer.

The purpose of Quebec's Occupational Health and Safety Plan is to prevent industrial accidents and occupational diseases and to compensate the victims of such hazards. Strangely, while the number of these accidents and occupational diseases is dropping, the costs of compensation continue to rise, increasing the $2.55-billion annual bill entirely paid for by employers. This program alone represents the equivalent of 65% of corporate taxes paid in Quebec.

A new study proposes the federal imposition of “a national, universal drug plan providing first-dollar coverage.”

Publication of an Economic Note on the improvement of the efficiency of Quebec’s health care system.

The Quebec health care system has long been a target of criticism. Since the mid-1970s, newspapers have been reporting on staff shortages, emergency room overcrowding, challenges in finding family doctors, waiting lists that keep getting longer, and so on. Optimal use of resources is vital if we wish to reduce waiting times and provide better and faster service to patients. Technological innovations, including telemedicine, are a way of improving the efficiency of the health care system and increasing the choices offered to patients. Sadly, the current government monopoly in the health care sector eliminates most natural incentives to innovate and make optimal use of resources.

Publication of an Economic Note on the improvement of the efficiency of Quebec’s health care system.