There once was a time when indoor smoking was allowed in workplaces all across the United States, when trans fats were ubiquitous, and when fast food restaurants didn't have to post calorie information on their menus. That wasn't so long ago, and it's in large part thanks to the pioneering efforts of Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, Health Commissioner of New York City from 2002 to 2009, that these changes were made. Dr. Frieden’s city-wide initiatives during this time included steps to reduce tobacco use (by banning indoor smoking, increasing tobacco taxes, and aggressive anti-tobacco ads), to ban trans fats and mandate proper nutrition labeling in restaurants, and to rapidly expand screening for diabetes and HIV. All of these efforts have since been adopted nationwide and have gained practically universal acceptance by the public. 

Prior to this, Dr. Frieden spearheaded tuberculosis control measures in New York City and India, drastically slashing rates of multidrug resistant tuberculosis. He was also director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during which time he led the CDC's response against the H1N1 influenza pandemic, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and the Zika virus epidemic. Most recently, he leads Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative aiming to prevent cardiovascular disease primarily through advocacy of lifestyle interventions. 

Over the course of our conversation, Dr. Frieden shares his personal path to a career in infectious disease and public health, lessons learned from his work on tuberculosis control, striking the balance between curbing personal liberties and protecting community health, key insights into effective public health communication particularly when dealing with incomplete information or data, the evolution of the political and partisan nature of health policy, why preventing heart disease is so critical, and more.

In this episode, you’ll hear about: 

3:00 - How a conversation with his father drew Dr. Frieden to a career in public health

5:40 - Dr. Frieden’s early work tackling tuberculous as a “management problem”

9:05 - Balancing individual rights with the health of the public

17:55 - The formula Dr. Frieden has used to choose which particular public health issues to focus on 

28:08 - Strategies for effective health communication with the public

33:08 - The mission of Dr. Frieden's organization Resolve to Save Lives

39:16 - Dr. Frieden’s thoughts on how to navigate public health communications in the light of changing scientific knowledge

45:50 - The important lessons that Dr. Frieden learned from his patients about public health during his time as a clinician 

Dr. Tom Frieden is the President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives. 

Dr. Frieden can be found on Twitter/X at @DrTomFrieden. 

People and Work discussed in this episode: 

Dr. Karel Styblo 

Dr. Nancy Messenior’s February 2020 COVID address

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