Former surgeon general urges presidential candidates should make prevention of chronic illness a priority

Okay – he’s no longer surgeon general (2002-2006) but hooray!

Dr. Richard Carmon speaking at University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health “called on current and future policy makers to focus on chronic disease prevention.”

The article goes on to say that (and I”m quoting it all here): “nine out of 10 Americans believe it is important for 2008 Presidential candidates to have a plan to reduce chronic disease. In addition, eight out of 10 Americans believe the United States should prioritize our health care dollars to invest more in preventive measures to ensure that diseases are prevented or kept from becoming more serious.”

These are two of the key findings in a recent survey done for the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD), which recently launched nationally and in the three key primary states of South Carolina, Iowa and New Hampshire.

Read the rest of the article — and learn about the Partnership to Prevent Chronic Disease. It’s a coalition designed to put this issue on the political agenda. Hooray, I say.

What can we do to encourage this more?

Rosalind