HPH NOW, Nov 10, 2006, Association Voted on Numerous Policies, Ranging from Pandemic Flu Preparedness to Opposing Abstinence-Only Education Programs

APHA voted during the course of the meeting to adopt a number of new policies. According to press releases from the Association, the policies are related to:

Opposing the war in Iraq: APHA called for the immediate initiation of the safe withdrawal of U.S. armed forces from Iraq accompanied by the deployment of U.N. peacekeeping troops in areas of high risk for inter-ethnic conflict or civil war.
Supporting comprehensive national planning for pandemic flu and recommending changes to the current response strategy.
Opposing abstinence-only education: APHA said that it recognizes the importance of abstinence education, but only as part of a comprehensive sexuality education program. APHA called for repealing current federal funding for abstinence-only programs and replacing it with funding for a new federal program to promote comprehensive sexuality education, combining information about abstinence with age-appropriate sexuality education.
Reversing the nation's obesity epidemic: APHA offered its support for the mobilization of governmental, public, and private agencies to coordinate actions to reverse the obesity epidemic, working toward achieving the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans as a means to begin reversing obesity rates.
Banning trans fats in restaurants: APHA urged federal, state, and local governments to ban and monitor the use of trans fat laden partially hydrogenated oils in restaurants or require restaurants to have menu labeling that would prominently disclose all amounts of trans fat greater than 0.1 gram per serving. The Association also called for other trans fat restrictions such as limiting its use in schools and revoking the "generally recognized safe" status of trans fat containing partially hydrogenated oils.
Supporting global alcohol control: APHA urged WHO to adopt and implement a binding international treaty modeled after the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a historic tobacco control treaty adopted in 2003, to help reduce the harmful consumption of alcoholic beverages.