The July 2008 issue opens with an editorial in which Lippman uses the case of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to reflect on the development of public policies, suggesting the need to avoid using fear tactics and allowing private interests to determine health policies, so as to ensure that public health needs are addressed equitably and with due regard for social justice. (page 570)

In Speakers’ corner Davies praises salutogenesis as the missing idea from most current health promotion and the missing component of most public health work. (page 572)

In a review on the impact of interventions aimed to promote healthy eating Oldroyd and colleagues did not find conclusive evidence, but they alert us as to the potential of such interventions to widen dietary inequalities. (page 573)

At a time when risk factors are increasingly considered to be the equivalent of “diseases” for …