To reduce urban disparities in health, strengthen and enforce equitably environmental and consumer laws

Abstract

While observers agree that reducing disparities in health is an important health priority for the USA, there is little agreement and no comprehensive plan to achieve this goal. In this commentary, we make the case for reducing the disproportionate exposure to environmental and consumer hazards as a promising strategy for reducing health disparities. Exposures to environmental risks such as air pollution, lead, and hazardous wastes and to consumer products such as tobacco, alcohol, and unhealthy food have been identified as significant threats to health and important contributors to disparities in health. Strengthening the regulations that prevent exposure to these harmful substances and enforcing these rules equitably could bring benefits to the population as a whole and especially to the disenfranchised, primarily urban, populations that are most exposed. The current policy environment may present a window of opportunity for pursuing this strategy. © 2009 The New York Academy of Medicine.