All of us who are pursuing solutions to the obesity epidemic face clinical, ethical, and regulatory challenges. First among them is the significant role of individual lifestyle and behavior choices in causing obesity.
Lauren Sydney Flicker, JD, MBE and Rachel Zuraw, JD, MBE
Taxing cosmetic procedures does not accord with the standard taxing principles of horizontal and vertical equity. Such a tax would be difficult to enforce and could be discriminatory.
James Mills Jr., MD, a founder of emergency medicine, believed he could have greater impact on medical care for the poor in his city by giving up his practice and working in the emergency room full time.
The rationale for policy intervention to reduce obesity rates appears compelling. Justification for intervening in the case of children is particularly strong, and precedent suggests that society will more readily accept appropriate restrictions to youth behavior.