Mary Woodard Lasker Award
for Public Service

Award Description

Michael Bloomberg
For employing sound science in political decision making; setting a world standard for the public's health as an impetus for government action; leading the way to reduce the scourge of tobacco use; and advancing public health through enlightened philanthropy.

The 2009 Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service honors a government figure, thought leader, and philanthropist who has employed sound science in making political decisions and advanced public health through enlightened philanthropy. Michael R. Bloomberg has led the way in reducing the scourge of tobacco use and promoting good eating habits. He has held his course in the face of fierce opposition from powerful vested interests. By relentlessly translating knowledge about public health into bold government action, he has benefited a large urban community and set an example—and a new standard—for cities and countries across the globe. Bloomberg has fueled advances not only through his activities as an elected official, but also by backing higher education in public health with unprecedented levels of support and initiating a global program to combat tobacco use.

Bloomberg's first signature program as mayor of New York City has slashed the use of cigarettes. The cornerstone of this enterprise is a ban on smoking in restaurants and bars. This measure initially encountered hostility from smokers and owners of these establishments, but Bloomberg forged ahead, justifying it on the grounds of occupational safety for waiters, bartenders, and other workers. The restriction, in combination with high cigarette taxes, an aggressive anti-smoking advertising campaign, and free nicotine-replacement therapy has sparked the sharpest drop in smoking since record-keeping began in 1993. Three hundred thousand fewer New Yorkers are lighting up now than when Bloomberg took office in 2002, and the impact on adolescents is especially impressive. Tobacco use in teenagers has dropped more than 50 percent and is currently less than half the national average. Because most addiction takes hold in young people, this triumph will deliver lasting benefits to New York's citizens. Bloomberg has shown that the new law did not snuff out nightlife or douse tourism, as critics predicted. A great city could not only survive, but it could thrive, with such a restriction—and he thus established a model for other civic leaders worldwide. When New York City went smoke free, only one state and no countries had similar statutes. Now many states and nations have imposed such laws.

Bloomberg's many other public health initiatives in New York have delivered an impact to people far beyond his jurisdiction. He set his sights on fighting heart disease, the leading cause of death in New York City and the world. Before Bloomberg's initiative on trans fats, the substances—which are typically used to make oils more solid—laced the city's restaurants and posed an unnecessary hazard. The artery-clogging fats, popular in fried and processed foods, raise blood levels of the "bad" cholesterol and lower levels of the "good" cholesterol. Because a third of Americans' calories come from eating out, New York City residents had little control over their consumption of these unhealthy fats, which posed an entirely preventable risk. Under Bloomberg's leadership, the city banned food-service enterprises—including restaurants, street stands, caterers, school cafeterias and bakeries—from cooking with trans fats. This measure forced manufacturers to switch to healthier ingredients and pressured restaurants to devise new ways of producing menu items. According to a July 2009 research study, use of trans fats in New York City restaurants dove from 50 percent before the rules took effect to 2 percent two years later. During this same period, dozens of national chains changed their recipes for items such as french fries. In addition, 13 jurisdictions, including California, adopted laws similar to the one in New York. The measure is reverberating across the country and around the globe.

Bloomberg further strengthened his efforts toward promoting healthy eating when he forced restaurant chains to post calorie counts as prominently as they display names of menu items and prices—an ordinance that prompted legal challenges from the industry. Bloomberg prevailed, and this innovation now provides consumers with the information they need to make healthy decisions. Furthermore, it encourages commercial food establishments to offer low-calorie items. This mandate provides a potentially powerful way to attack the growing epidemics of obesity and diabetes.

Bloomberg's activities are helping to keep New Yorkers safer on the streets as well as in restaurants and taverns. He co-founded an alliance of mayors that is working to keep handguns out of the hands of criminals. The group now boasts more than 450 members from all over the country.

Bloomberg's dedication to upgrading public health has extended beyond his role as an elected official. He has made substantial philanthropic contributions to a range of activities, including education, research, and an international program to fight tobacco use.

The Johns Hopkins University recognized Bloomberg's initial gift to its School of Public Health by renaming the institution in his honor, and his generous donations have continued to flow. Bloomberg's munificence has ensured the training of public health leaders for generations to come and profoundly enhanced the endeavors of the entire Johns Hopkins research enterprise. The University's new major research initiatives include a self-standing malaria research institute and an institute of bioengineering.

In addition to his donations to The Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg has committed more than $350 million to a global tobacco control initiative that he founded in 2006. This program aims to curb tobacco use in low- and middle-income countries, where more than two-thirds of smokers live. It functions under a coalition of prominent agencies that include the World Health Organization and the World Lung Foundation. The initiative is working to raise tobacco taxes, help smokers quit, ban tobacco advertising, protect nonsmokers from second-hand smoke exposure, and improve the effectiveness of tobacco control policies.

Bloomberg's leadership has demonstrated that a city government can markedly improve the health of its residents by enacting inventive and daring policies that stem from solid scientific evidence. He has empowered people by offering information, safer environments, and better choices—and by bolstering one of the world's finest institutions of higher learning, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. As a champion of public health in his public and private lives, he has tackled multiple causes of chronic disease and premature death, achieving extraordinary success locally and across the planet.

by Evelyn Strauss, Ph.D.