It's good to see Dennis speaking out on behalf of public health.  Keep at
it!


Dr. Mike Nelson [log in to unmask]
NHN Consulting Group, Lantzville, BC
(250) 390-1241

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> From: Dennis Raphael <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Letter to be published in the Toronto Globe and Mail
> Date: Tuesday, October 21, 1997 10:06 AM
>
> Dear Editor:
>
> The "sound principles" that the Ontario conservatives plan
> to continue (Vision first, details later in Tory game plan,
> Oct. 20) are consistent with recent developments in
> public health. That is, increasing economic inequality
> through policies that transfer resources from the less
> well-off to the wealthy is associated with decreasing social
> cohesion and increased societal malaise.  This malaise can
> take many forms including increased death and illness rates,
> violence, and as is already evident in the case of
> Metropolitan Toronto, greater use of food banks and shelters
> for the homeless. In the end, all members of a society, both
> the disadvantaged and the well-off, experience these effects
> through a process of what social epidemiologists call "the
> symptoms of disintegration." And, luckily for those opposed
> to the destruction of our society, these symptoms are so
> clear and pervasive that they can be readily attributed by
> the public to the "sound policies" of the present
> government.
>
>
> Dennis Raphael, PhD
> Associate Professor of Public Health Sciences
> University of Toronto