"He has said that waiting until they are out of school is too late... He has not said that it has to be done in schools... He has talked about outreach programs. [Teenagers] are not going to come to health authorities to ask about how to protect themselves from AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases," Herman said.

Regarding his final point about environmental concerns, Herman said public health is beginning to focus on the quality of indoor as well as outdoor air.

"He's trying to emphasize that concern," Herman said.

The SPH's department of environmental health has been doing what Herman called "groundbreaking work" on indoor air quality and particulates--larger particles that may be the most damaging constituents of air pollution, Herman said.

SPH Professor of Health Policy Robert J. Blendon said Bloom's Public Health Bill of Rights is "an important statement."

"We've lost sight of how many lives could be saved by not looking at some of the broader health issues that face the country," Blendon said.

Blendon added that the Patients' Bill of Rights "is a very important bill to address an important but narrowly focused problem."

"It's not a bill aimed to improve the health of the nation. It's a bill to help sick people who have problems with their health insurers," he said.