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News digest
This frequently updated news digest on the subject of Public Health highlights key articles from major journals and news publications. The digest is a free service of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. All rights reserved. Sign up to receive the digest free via e-mail.
| Mar 9, 2010 |
Study May Boost Stop-Smoking Efforts Associated Press, 03/09/2010 Nicotine builds up gradually in smokers' brains rather than spiking after each puff, according to a study that might help point to new ways to help people quit smoking. Dr. Jed E. Rose of Duke University reports in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that nicotine buildup in the brain is gradual over several minutes. |
| Mar 7, 2010 |
H1N1 Virus Appears to Have Ended in Anti-Climax The Baltimore Sun, Meredith Cohn, 03/07/2010 The nearly year-old H1N1 influenza pandemic that disproportionately affected children and mobilized millions to line up for vaccination seems to have finally abated, and officials estimate that it has killed fewer people than die even in a typical flu season. |
| Mar 6, 2010 |
Expansive Food Recall Leaves Consumers Asking: What Is HVP? Chicago Tribune, Monica Eng, 03/06/2010 Before this week most Americans never gave much thought to hydrolyzed vegetable protein. But when the Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that certain lots of the common flavor enhancer were contaminated with salmonella, HVP suddenly popped on the food safety radar. |
| Mar 6, 2010 |
Healthcare Gap Persists for Minority Women Los Angeles Times, Molly Hennessy-Fiske, 03/06/2010 Minority and low-income women in Los Angeles County are more likely to have limited access to healthcare and to struggle with chronic diseases, according to a new report by the county Department of Public Health. |
| Mar 5, 2010 |
Official Blows Whistle on Food-Safety Agency The Washington Post, Ed O�Keefe, 03/05/2010 A Food Safety and Inspection Service veterinarian blew the whistle on his agency Thursday, telling lawmakers that managers repeatedly failed to heed his warnings about unsafe slaughterhouse practices, claims supported by government auditors, who said the agency had failed to consistently enforce humane slaughtering standards. |
| Mar 4, 2010 |
Flavoring Ingredient Recalled; Risk of Illness Seen as Low The New York Times, Gardiner Harris, 03/04/2010 Thousands of processed foods -- from soups to hot dogs to dips -- contain a flavoring ingredient contaminated with salmonella, but government food safety officials say most affected products are safe because cooking, either before or after sale, eliminates the risk. |
| Mar 4, 2010 |
Public Health Funding Is Patchy McClatchy Newspapers, Christine Vestal, 03/04/2010 When cases of swine flu began to show up in Maine last year, the state health department diverted three-quarters of its staff to an inoculation campaign and put other infectious disease prevention programs on a back burner. |
| Mar 3, 2010 |
Mass. to Consider a Limited BPA Ban The Boston Globe, Elizabeth Cooney, 03/03/2010 Governor Deval Patrick has asked state health officials to look into placing a limited ban on bisphenol A, a chemical found in food and drink containers that the state last summer warned parents of young children to avoid. |
| Mar 3, 2010 |
USA Pays the Price for Food-Borne Illness: $152 Billion a Year USA Today, Elizabeth Weise, 03/03/2010 Food-borne illnesses cost the United States $152 billion a year, a tab that works out to an average cost of $1,850 each time someone gets sick from food, a report by a former Food and Drug Administration economist says. |
| Mar 2, 2010 |
The Flu Season That Fizzled The Wall Street Journal, Betsy McKay, 03/02/2010 This has been a flu season like few others. Normally at this time of year, influenza is rampant in the U.S., prompting hundreds of thousands of people to stay home in the dead of winter with fever, aches and pains. |
| Mar 1, 2010 |
Obama Still Lighting Up, But Anti-Smoking Groups Laud Effort To Quit The Christian Science Monitor, Ron Scherer, 03/01/2010 Despite President Obama's pledge to his wife and children to quit smoking, he apparently has yet to kick the habit. Doctors reported that finding Sunday as part of Mr. Obama's first checkup as commander in chief. Yet anti-smoking advocates view the president's cigarette struggles not so much as a setback, but rather as an opportunity to try to get more Americans to quit. |
| Mar 1, 2010 |
Cutting Salt Could Prevent Almost 500,000 Heart Attacks HealthDay, Amanda Gardner, 03/01/2010 A combined government-industry initiative to reduce U.S. sodium consumption by as little as 10 percent would save thousands of lives and billions of dollars, according to new research. |
| Mar 1, 2010 |
Public Health Departments Shrinking, Survey Finds New York Times (Prescriptions Blog), Katharine Q. Seelye, 03/01/2010 Public health workers are another casualty of recent budget cuts in cities and counties across the country. |
| Mar 1, 2010 |
H1N1 Vaccine Was Unevenly Distributed Across L.A. County, Figures Show Los Angeles Times, Molly Hennessy-Fiske, 03/01/2010 Officials have distributed the H1N1 flu vaccine unevenly throughout Los Angeles County, with fewer doses going to medically underserved areas in the county's north and south, according to public health agency figures. |
| Feb 26, 2010 |
OPINION: What H1N1 Taught Us Los Angeles Times, Wendy Orent, 02/26/2010 We learned from the swine flu that not all pandemics are particularly lethal. But we also found out that a safe, fast-track vaccine is possible. |
| Feb 24, 2010 |
Do Toxins Cause Autism? The New York Times, Nicholas D. Kristof, 02/24/2010 Autism was first identified in 1943 in an obscure medical journal. Since then it has become a frighteningly common affliction, with the Centers for Disease Control reporting recently that autism disorders now affect almost 1 percent of children. |
| Feb 23, 2010 |
Alternatives to BPA Containers Not Easy for U.S. Foodmakers to Find The Washington Post, Lyndsey Layton, 02/23/2010 Major U.S. foodmakers are quietly investigating how to rid their containers of Bisphenol A, a chemical under scrutiny by federal regulators concerned about links to a range of health problems, including reproductive disorders and cancer. |
| Feb 23, 2010 |
Md. Among States Seeking to Limit BPA The Baltimore Sun, Meredith Cohn, 02/23/2010 As scientific evidence mounts against bisphenol-A, a chemical used in plastic baby bottles, soup cans and other containers, many states - including Maryland - are starting to take action to limit the chemical ahead of any federal regulation. |
| Feb 23, 2010 |
Swine Flu Wanes, But Experts Say Pandemic Strain Could Reemerge The Washington Post, David Brown, 02/23/2010 Even as officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are announcing that the epidemic of the H1N1 flu is no longer widespread in any state, no disease expert is willing to say there isn't a third -- or fourth -- wave of swine flu in the country's future. |
| Feb 22, 2010 |
When it Comes to Salt, No Rights or Wrongs. Yet. The New York times, John Tierney, 02/22/2010 Suppose, as some experts advise, that the new national dietary guidelines due this spring will lower the recommended level of salt. Suppose further that public health officials in New York and Washington succeed in forcing food companies to use less salt. What would be the effect? |
| Feb 21, 2010 |
Where Are Illinois' Healthiest People? Chicago Tribune, Monica Eng, 02/21/2010 It's no surprise that three affluent, suburban Chicago counties — Kendall, DuPage and McHenry — rank as some of the state's healthiest, according to a new study. |
| Feb 21, 2010 |
State Smoking Ban Has Cost $2 Million Columbus Dispatch, James Nash, 02/21/2010 Ohio taxpayers have paid more than $2 million to rid bars, restaurants and workplaces of tobacco smoke since the statewide smoking ban took effect in 2007, a sum that opponents say could be better used elsewhere. |
| Feb 21, 2010 |
Dental Coverage Cuts Leave California's Poor in Pain NPR, Sarah Varney, 02/21/2010 In California, it's been seven months since some 3 million poor and disabled adults lost their dental coverage to budget cuts. |
| Feb 20, 2010 |
EDITORIAL: If Pepper's The Culprit, Who's To Blame? The Oregonian, 02/20/2010 With the 230th illness from salmonella reported last week, nine of them in Oregon and 17 in Washington state, health investigators point to imported black pepper that found its way onto salami manufactured in Rhode Island and shipped just about everywhere. |
| Feb 19, 2010 |
Coded to Obey Law, Lights Become Marlboro Gold The New York Times, Duff Wilson, 02/19/2010 When it comes to new rules for marketing so-called light cigarettes, tobacco companies plan to honor the letter of the law -- but to shade the truth, critics say. Come June, under the new federal tobacco law, cigarette companies will no longer be allowed to use words like ''light'' or ''mild'' on packages to imply that some cigarettes are safer than others. |
| Feb 18, 2010 |
WHO: Add Swine Flu to Regular Flu Vaccine Associated Press, Maria Cheng, 02/18/2010 The World Health Organization is recommending that swine flu be added to regular flu vaccines next season. The swine flu pandemic virus, or H1N1, emerged too late last year to be added to the regular flu vaccine, and a separate vaccine was needed. |
| Feb 18, 2010 |
Fighting Swine Flu Fatigue with Clever Marketing Associated Press, Alicia Chang, 02/18/2010 Marco Torres stood on a busy road and waved an oversized yellow arrow with an unconventional message for a street marketing campaign: ''FREE TODAY: H1N1 Flu Shots for All.'' |
| Feb 18, 2010 |
Has The Swine Flu Pandemic Peaked? National Public Radio, Richard Knox and Linda Wertheimer, 02/18/2010 The World Health Organization meets next Tuesday to decide if the H1N1 flu pandemic has officially peaked. Cases of pandemic flu have been decreasing. However, a third wave of the flu had been predicted. Thursday the WHO decided to include the pandemic virus in next fall's seasonal flu vaccine. |
| Feb 18, 2010 |
H1N1 Flu Has Hit Kids With Neuromuscular Disorders Especially Hard USA Today, Steve Sternberg, 02/18/2010 Despite his cerebral palsy, Derek Collette never lagged very far behind. He rode the school bus with other special-needs children, hustled to class on crutches and got decent grades for a child with a learning disability, if not on par with those of an average 13-year-old. |
| Feb 17, 2010 |
Metro Area Counties, Cities Receive High Health Ranking Despite Poor Air Quality The Washington Post, Lena H. Sun, 02/17/2010 Fairfax, Arlington and Loudoun are the healthiest counties in Virginia, and Howard, Montgomery and Frederick top the list in Maryland, according to a set of reports to be released Wednesday. The reports rank U.S. counties and cities based on how long people live and how healthy they are. |
| Feb 17, 2010 |
L.A. County Ranks 26th of 56 in New Health Study; Orange County in Top 10 Los Angeles Times, Molly Hennessy-Fiske, 02/17/2010 New county health rankings for every state in the country were released Wednesday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute. |
| Feb 17, 2010 |
Health Rankings Rate Central Florida Counties Orlando Sentinel, Fernando Quintero, 02/17/2010 If you want to live longer, Seminole County is the place to be. If you want to avoid bad air quality and unhealthy food, stay away from Orange County. A first-of-its-kind report released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute ranks the health of Florida's 67 counties. |
| Feb 17, 2010 |
Health Report Card: How Does Your County Stack Up? Star Tribune, Josephine Marcotty, 02/17/2010 Pat Stewart was overjoyed to find out the other day that her 33 years of working for public health have finally paid off. Her neighbors in the tiny, windswept farming communities of Jackson County are the healthiest people in Minnesota, according to an exhaustive county-by-county health ranking published Wednesday by researchers at the University of Wisconsin. |
| Feb 17, 2010 |
Report Compares Health County-By-County USA Today, Mary Brophy Marcus, 02/17/2010 For the first time, a new report reveals how counties across America stack up when it comes to health. Today, whether you live in Malibu or Atlanta, you can learn if your community is holding its own in health. "County Health Rankings: Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health," a health report card for almost every one of the nation's more than 3,000 counties, is being released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin's Population Health Institute. |
| Feb 16, 2010 |
Public Health Departments to Test Accreditation Program American Medical News, Susan J. Landers, 02/16/2010 A voluntary accreditation program for public health departments across the country is being tested by 30 departments before its national launch in 2011. |
| Feb 16, 2010 |
iPhone Applications Are a Helping Hand in Fighting Pandemics Associated Press, Deborah Yao, 02/16/2010 A tap on the HealthMap iPhone application brings up a cluster of red pins on a map, representing nearby cases of swine flu. Another tap brings up a form for ordinary Americans to add to the collection by reporting bouts they have or know about. |
| Feb 15, 2010 |
More Bad News About Racial Disparities in Healthcare Los Angeles Times, Karen Kaplan, 02/15/2010 Many studies have documented the fact that patients of color are less likely to receive the same quality of medical care as whites, and that those differences often translate to worse health outcomes. The pattern holds up even after taking into account demographic factors such as income, education and health insurance status. |
| Feb 14, 2010 |
U.S. Meat Safety: How Well Done? McClatchy-Tribune News Service, Steve Mills and Monica Eng, 02/14/2010 Recent outbreaks of food-borne illnesses linked to contaminated meat -- followed by massive recalls and pledges of cleaner processing -- have proved eye-opening for many consumers. |
| Feb 13, 2010 |
Number of Swine Flu Cases in the U.S. Reaches 57 Million Los Angeles Times, Thomas H. Maugh II, 02/13/2010 An estimated 57 million Americans have contracted pandemic H1N1 influenza since the outbreak began last April, about 257,000 have been hospitalized with complications from it, and nearly 12,000 have died, according to estimates released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. |
| Feb 11, 2010 |
FDA Budget Draws Cries of 'Not Enough' Los Angeles Times, Andrew Zajac, 02/11/2010 A coalition of interests will push for more money, saying chronic underfunding has led to failures at the agency and that society, not just companies, are affected. |
| Feb 10, 2010 |
H1N1 Squelches Seasonal Flu in Minn. Star Tribune, Josephine Marcotty, 02/10/2010 In almost all ways it was a pretty typical January. There were sales, the usual thaw and the Vikings lost. But there was something missing -- the flu. On Wednesday the Minnesota Department of Health reported that for the fourth week in a row there were no deaths from H1N1, and no hospitalizations for the second straight week. |
| Feb 10, 2010 |
H1N1 Vaccination Rates Don't Show Full Picture The Columbus Dispatch, Misti Crane, 02/10/2010 Despite a requirement that vaccine providers report data within 24 hours, many are lagging significantly behind, meaning the state has an inaccurate, low count of who has been vaccinated for H1N1. |
| Feb 10, 2010 |
Residue From Cigarette Smoke May Pose Health Hazard, Study Says Sacramento Bee, Anna Tong, 02/10/2010 The scent of cigarette smoke is stubborn, clinging to clothes, walls and hair. Now scientists are beginning to explore the health threats of "third-hand smoke," or the residue left behind after the smoke clears. |
| Feb 9, 2010 |
Snuff Tax Changes Rejected The Courier-Journal, Gregory A. Hall, 02/09/2010 A bill that would have changed how tobacco companies are taxed on moist snuff died in committee Tuesday after a prolonged debate. |
| Feb 9, 2010 |
Find Source of Contaminated Meat, Safety Experts Urge Chicago Tribune, Steve Mills, 02/09/2010 Thousands of times each year, government inspectors test the meat and trimmings that become ground beef for E. coli, a potentially deadly pathogen that has led to outbreaks of food-borne illnesses and massive product recalls. |
| Feb 6, 2010 |
Swine Flu Still Spreading, Though at a Reduced Rate Los Angeles Times, Thomas H. Maugh II, 02/06/2010 The odds of a third wave of pandemic H1N1 influenza hitting this spring seem to be declining, but authorities are concerned that the virus is still spreading, though at a reduced rate from its peak, and is not disappearing as would be expected in a normal influenza outbreak, federal officials said Friday. |
| Feb 5, 2010 |
As Swine Flu Fades, Experts Ponder Next Season HealthDay, Amanda Gardner, 02/05/2010 After nearly a year of headlines, worry and confusion, the H1N1 swine flu virus is now out of the news. Is it out of circulation as well? The latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds no states reporting widespread influenza activity and only five reporting regional activity. |
| Feb 5, 2010 |
OPINION: Cigarette Tax Hike Would Help Us The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June Deen, 02/05/2010 The American Lung Association in Georgia plays an active role in working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research. As the organization's director of advocacy, I must again announce the unacceptable grades Georgia received on our national association's signature report, the State of Tobacco Control. |
| Feb 5, 2010 |
USDA Boosts School Lunch Safety; Initiatives Include Greater Testing and Communication USA Today, Blake Morrison and Peter Eisler, 02/05/2010 The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced sweeping steps Thursday to "assure the safety and quality of food" purchased for the National School Lunch Program. The measures include tightening requirements on companies that supply ground beef to schools, testing the beef more often and more thoroughly, and improving communications within the USDA to "identify potential food safety issues" before children get sick. |
| Feb 4, 2010 |
EDITORIAL: Vital Signs; FDAs Concern Over Potentially Harmful Plastic Ingredient Signals a Welcome Change Houston Chronicle, 02/04/2010 For many years, the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) has been used in the making of hard plastic food containers, such as baby bottles and cups, as well as the lining of metal food and drink cans. Research has shown that BPA leaches, even at cold temperatures, into those foods and drinks, and is so commonly used that more than 90 percent of Americans have traces of it in their urine. |
| Feb 4, 2010 |
Public Health Tab to Hit Milestone The Wall Street Journal, Peter Landers, 02/04/2010 For the first time, government programs next year will account for more than half of all U.S. health-care spending, federal actuaries predict, as the weak economy sends more people into Medicaid and slows growth of private insurance. |
| Feb 4, 2010 |
U.S. Adults Forgo Routine Immunization: Report Reuters, JoAnne Allen, 02/04/2010 Tens of thousands of American adults die each year from pneumonia, influenza and other infectious diseases that could be prevented by routine vaccinations, according to a report released Thursday. |
| Feb 4, 2010 |
EDITORIAL: Fighting the Opiate Crisis in Mass. The Boston Globe, Timothy P. Murray and John Auerbach, 02/04/2010 A crisis in opiate abuse is affecting individuals and families across Massachusetts, with death rates exceeding those from traffic accidents and even the number of Massachusetts men and women who have lost their lives in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. |
| Feb 3, 2010 |
More H1N1 Vaccines Recalled Hartford Courant, Arielle Levin Becker, 02/03/2010 More than 11,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine distributed in Connecticut have been recalled because of decreased potency, the third such recall in two months. Like the two previous recalls, the latest one is not safety related, according to the state Department of Public Health. |
| Feb 3, 2010 |
Intestinal Bacteria Sickens 500,000 Americans Yearly Chicago Sun-Times, Celeste Busk, 02/03/2010 Seniors 65 and older who have been in the hospital or are on antibiotics are at risk to contract an intestinal bacteria, reports experts from the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. |
| Feb 3, 2010 |
States Struggling With EPA Rules USA Today, Brian Winter, 02/03/2010 States are slashing funds for environmental programs, threatening their ability to meet federal standards for clean air and water. |
| Feb 2, 2010 |
Food Safety, Drug Access Top FDA Concerns Bloomberg News, Catherine Larkin and Molly Peterson, 02/02/2010 Food safety and quicker access to low-cost medicines top the priorities in U.S. President Barack Obama's proposed budget for the Food and Drug Administration. |
| Feb 2, 2010 |
As Swine Flu Recedes, Health Officials Tally the Lessons It Taught St. Petersburg Times, Letitia Stein, 02/02/2010 More than a month has passed since swine flu was considered widespread anywhere in Florida. The H1N1 vaccine is widely available, but demand has fallen off along with the threat from the virus. Although they warn that H1N1 is still circulating and flu season is far from over, officials are starting to step back and reflect on the most extensive public health campaign in years. |
| Feb 2, 2010 |
S.F. Considers Tightening Smoking Restrictions The San Francisco Chronicle, Rachel Gordon, 02/02/2010 A proposal to greatly expand San Francisco's smoking ban won high praise Monday from health professionals concerned about the dangers of secondhand smoke, but got a cool response from local bar and nightclub owners who fear the restrictions would drive away customers. |
| Feb 2, 2010 |
$101 Million More for CDC for Programs; Plan Adds Training for Public Health Workers, Grants for Wellness The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bob Keefe, 02/02/2010 President Barack Obama's proposed budget includes a $101 million boost in funding for the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that would help pay for new programs aimed at addressing obesity and diseases in big cities, a new training program for public health professionals and other agency expansions. |
| Feb 1, 2010 |
Heart Disease "Will Kill 400,000 Americans in 2010" Reuters, 02/01/2010 Decades of progress in the United States on cutting cholesterol, blood pressure and smoking are being stalled by rising obesity rates, and heart disease will kill around 400,000 Americans this year, experts said on Monday. |
| Jan 31, 2010 |
Blakely Peanut Illness: Little Has Changed Since Scare; A Year After Outbreak, Holes Still Exist in Inspection Safety Net The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Craig Schneider and Bob Keefe, 01/31/2010 A year after peanut butter crackers nearly killed him, Claude Ivester still has not fully recovered, and the food safety net remains largely unchanged. The 74-year-old feels weaker than he did before he contracted salmonella food poisoning. He forgets more. He has quit his job at a recycling plant. He can't look at a jar of peanut butter without getting angry. |
| Jan 31, 2010 |
Where There's No Smoke, Altria Hopes There's Fire The New York Times, Duff Wilson and Julie Creswell, 01/31/2010 For years, Altria, home to Philip Morris and its popular Marlboro cigarette brand, was a corporate pariah blamed for the deaths of millions of people and sued for hundreds of billions of dollars by attorneys general in every state. After eventually acknowledging, like others in its industry, that cigarette smoking was, indeed, addictive and caused disease, Altria went a step further. |
| Jan 30, 2010 |
Is Atlanta Prepared for a Disaster? The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sheila M. Poole, 01/30/2010 Bombs will go off in Atlanta next week --- on paper. But if the scenario were real, what would be the city's response? Coordinated or chaotic? About 200 leaders in government, business and the nonprofit community will gather Wednesday at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to discuss ways to strengthen Atlanta's response to a major crisis, whether it's a terrorist attack or a tornado. |
| Jan 29, 2010 |
Rise Seen in Deaths From Pneumonia and Flu The New York Times, Donald G. McNeil Jr., 01/29/2010 Deaths from pneumonia and influenza across the country rose sharply in the weekly flu report released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but a spokesman for the agency called it merely ''a blip we're checking out.'' It was premature to conclude that any third wave of swine flu was emerging, said the spokesman, Thomas Skinner. |
| Jan 29, 2010 |
State Siphons Tobacco-Settlement Funds; Shrinking Slice of Fund Goes to Prevention, Cessation Chicago Tribune, Dan Simmons, 01/29/2010 If you smoke and itch to quit, don't look to the state for help. Despite an annual infusion of about $300 million from the landmark tobacco settlement, Illinois continues to spend less than most others on programs designed to prevent people from lighting up, according to a national ranking. |
| Jan 28, 2010 |
Obama's Pick for Food Safety Chief Surprises Consumer Advocates The Washington Post, Lyndsey Layton, 01/28/2010 Soon after taking office, President Obama highlighted food safety as a domestic priority. A string of national outbreaks of food illnesses were a "troubling trend," the president said. He called the problems "critical" and said they presented a "risk to public health." |
| Jan 27, 2010 |
Boost in Md. Cigarette Taxes a Boon for Smugglers The Baltimore Sun, Jay Hancock, 01/27/2010 Gov. Martin O'Malley promotes entrepreneurship. Kyun Hong seems to have answered the call. According to comptroller's agents, he packed his Severna Park house with cigarettes and snuff bought across state lines and resold them to Baltimore retailers without paying Maryland's tobacco tax. |
| Jan 27, 2010 |
U.S. Is Unprepared for Major Bioterrorism Attack, Commission Finds The Washington Post, Joby Warrick, 01/27/2010 More than eight years after the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks, the United States is still unprepared to respond to a major biological terror attack, a congressionally appointed commission said yesterday. Overall, the panel's report gave the federal government mixed grades for protecting Americans from the threat of weapons of mass destruction. |
| Jan 26, 2010 |
Dental Foundation Takes Aim at Children's Poor Oral Health; Grant Money Will Be Used in Md.'s Lower-Income Areas The Baltimore Sun, Meredith Cohn, 01/26/2010 The DentaQuest Foundation said Monday that it will fund efforts to improve the oral health of the region's children, particularly those in lower-income areas. The foundation awarded a $331,343 grant to the University of Maryland to promote statewide oral health literacy and put up another $202,886 to support development of a Maryland Dental Action Coalition. |
| Jan 26, 2010 |
EDITORIAL: What's in a Smoke?; Finally, the FDA Goes After the Content of Cigarettes Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Susan Mannella, 01/26/2010 The more the government knows about what's in cigarettes, besides tobacco, the better it can assess their potential harm. In a progressive move to gain more information about tobacco product formulas, the Food and Drug Administration is requiring tobacco companies to tell the agency exactly what goes into their products by June. |
| Jan 26, 2010 |
EPA Boss: Rule Cuts Health Risks; One-Hour Standard Targets Air Pollutant Times-Picayune, Molly Reid, 01/26/2010 A new federal standard regulating short-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide will improve air quality, particularly in communities disproportionately impacted by environmental problems, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson said Monday at a conference on environmental justice being held in New Orleans. |
| Jan 26, 2010 |
Health Care Bills Do Promote Healthy Living San Francisco Chronicle, Lucy Johns, 01/26/2010 Everyone alienated by the compromises to extract health reform legislation out of Congress, take heart. There's a sleeper in both the House and Senate bills that could do more to promote health in the long run than any of the insurance we may - or may not - get. |
| Jan 26, 2010 |
New York City Residents Can Expect to Live Longer Newsday, Anthony M. DeStefano, 01/26/2010 The life expectancy of New York City residents has continued to increase, hitting a record average of 79.4 years for a person born in 2007, city officials said yesterday. (registration required) |
| Jan 26, 2010 |
Obama Nominates Hagen as Food Safety Undersecretary USA Today, Elizabeth Weise, 01/26/2010 The White House announced Monday a nominee for undersecretary for Food Safety at the Department of Agriculture. The position has been vacant for almost a year. |
| Jan 26, 2010 |
Pr. George's Leader Wants to Curb County's Fast-Food Eateries The Washington Post, Ovetta Wiggins, 01/26/2010 Travel along a two-block stretch of Central Avenue in Prince George's County, and you'll find a staggering 11 fast-food restaurants. For community activist Arthur Turner and state Sen. David C. Harrington (D-Prince George's), the strip is evidence of the proliferation of burger joints and Chinese takeouts in the county, especially in poorer, inner Capital Beltway communities. |
| Jan 25, 2010 |
A Mixed Report on American Health The New York Times, Nicholas Bakalar, 01/25/2010 There is some good news in the numbers released last month by the National Center for Health Statistics on the health of Americans in the first half of 2009. But there is ample bad news, too, and a third of us are not feeling very well: the percentage of people who reported having excellent or very good health declined to 66.6 percent in the 2009 period, from 69.1 percent in 1998. |
| Jan 25, 2010 |
Menthol May Be Nicotine's Partner in Addiction National Public Radio, Brenda Wilson, 01/25/2010 Nicotine is definitely addictive, but scientists have been debating for several decades the effect of menthol in hooking people on tobacco. Some researchers suspect that menthol allows smokers to take deeper drags or puffs on cigarettes, drawing in greater amounts of nicotine and its byproducts. |
| Jan 25, 2010 |
After Smoking and Fats, Focus Turns to Salt The New York Times, Jane E. Brody, 01/25/2010 In decades past, when companies wanted to test-market a product meant to enhance health and well-being, they often tried it first in California -- where people were reputed to be the most health-conscious in the country. But now companies might be wise to consider field-testing their wares in New York City. |
| Jan 25, 2010 |
With Health Reform in Limbo, Groups Issue Call to Arms The Wall Street Journal (Health Matters Blog), Kristen Gerencher, 01/25/2010 Health-care reform hangs in the balance after last week’s Massachusetts special election changed the balance of power in Washington. Now many interest groups that spent much of the last year negotiating with lawmakers are in wait-and-see mode ahead of President Obama’s State of the Union address on Wednesday. |
| Jan 25, 2010 |
Protecting Children From Harmful School Bus Diesel Emissions http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/25/AR2010012500970.html, Partnership for Public Service, 01/25/2010 Millions of school children across the nation ride on buses every day that use diesel fuel, exposing them to dangerous pollutants and serious health hazards. |
| Jan 22, 2010 |
EDITORIAL: Help in D.C.'S AIDS Crisis; With the NIH, a Promising Partnership to Combat an Epidemic The Washington Post, 01/22/2010 THE DISTRICT is getting substantial help for the first time from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in its urgent battle against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. A two-year, $26.4 million partnership aims to improve the city's ability to get people tested and into treatment. It also will give the District the data needed to track the epidemic's advance. |
| Jan 22, 2010 |
Half-Teaspoon Less Salt Daily Could Save Lives; Analysis Includes $24 Billion Saved The Boston Globe, Alexandra Thomas, 01/22/2010 Consuming just half a teaspoon less salt each day may save as many as 92,000 U.S. deaths and as much as $24 billion in medical costs a year, a study found. |
| Jan 22, 2010 |
Meat Safety: How Well Done? Chicago Tribune, Steve Mills and Monica Eng, 01/22/2010 Recent outbreaks of food-borne illnesses linked to contaminated meat -- followed by huge recalls and pledges of cleaner processing -- have proved eye-opening for many consumers. |
| Jan 21, 2010 |
EDITORIAL: Don't Kill Off Anti-Smoking Agency The Indianapolis Star, 01/21/2010 As Gov. Mitch Daniels exhorts government to do more with less, the folks at Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation can justifiably hold themselves up as a model. |
| Jan 21, 2010 |
Iowa Lawmaker Wants More Information in Epidemics Associated Press, 01/21/2010 An Iowa lawmaker wants public health officials to release more details about people who die in epidemics. |
| Jan 20, 2010 |
FDA Looks to Shift Food-Safety Focus Upstream The Oregonian, Lynne Terry, 01/20/2010 It's been a year since the country was hit with a peanut-related salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 700 in Oregon and across the country and killed nine people. |
| Jan 20, 2010 |
Experts: Sitting Too Much Could Be Deadly Associated Press, Maria Cheng, 01/20/2010 Scientists are increasingly warning that sitting for prolonged periods even if you also exercise regularly could be bad for your health. And it doesn't matter where the sitting takes place at the office, at school, in the car or before a computer or TV just the overall number of hours it occurs. |
| Jan 20, 2010 |
EDITORIAL: Heightened Concern Over BPA The New York Times, 01/20/2010 The Food and Drug Administration has raised its level of concern over the safety of bisphenol-A, or BPA, an industrial chemical found in baby bottles and the linings of canned goods and other consumer products. |
| Jan 19, 2010 |
Pressure's on for Obama to Fill 'Food Czar' Job at USDA USA Today, Elizabeth Weise, 01/19/2010 Calls from consumer advocates and politicians are growing louder for the Obama administration to name an undersecretary for food safety at the Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service, a position unfilled for more than a year. |
| Jan 18, 2010 |
Smokers Need Not Apply for a Job Chattanooga Times Free Press, Emily Bregel, 01/18/2010 As if higher tobacco taxes, steeper health insurance premiums and smoke-free workplaces weren’t enough, tobacco users have one more financial incentive to kick the habit — missed job opportunities. |
| Jan 18, 2010 |
What's in a Cigarette? FDA Will Soon Find Out Yahoo! News, Michael Felberbaum, 01/18/2010 The Food and Drug Administration is working to lift the smokescreen clouding the ingredients used in cigarettes and other tobacco products. |
| Jan 17, 2010 |
Obesity Is a Growing National, State Problem The Star Press, Kathy Kirby, 01/17/2010 As the national health care reform debate continues, the 20th anniversary edition of America's Health Rankings has reported that obesity has increased nearly 130 percent in the past 20 years. |
| Jan 17, 2010 |
Smoking, Obesity Top State Health Issues Lawrence Journal-World, Karrey Britt, 01/17/2010 Smoking and obesity are the top health challenges facing Kansans. Dr. Jason Eberhart-Phillips, director of health for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said they are costing lives and money. |
| Jan 17, 2010 |
EDITORIAL: A Ban With Health Benefits; Congress Moves to Stop Use of the Mail To Distribute Native American Cigarettes Buffalo News, 01/17/2010 Congress may soon do for New York what the state's own Legislature has been unwilling to accomplish: putting an effective end to the problem -- some say the advantage -- of tax-free cigarette sales by the Seneca Nation of Indians. |
| Jan 16, 2010 |
One in Five Americans Got Swine Flu Vaccine, CDC Reports The Washington Post, Mike Stobbe, 01/16/2010 About one in five Americans has been vaccinated against swine flu, according to the government's first detailed estimates of vaccination rates against the pandemic. |
| Jan 16, 2010 |
FDA Issues BPA Guidelines Los Angeles Times, Andrew Zajac, 01/16/2010 The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that the safety of a controversial chemical found in some baby bottles, children's drinking cups and other food containers merited further study but did not warrant immediate restrictions on its use. |
| Jan 16, 2010 |
Mass. Minorities Have Higher Rates of Swine Flu The Boston Globe, Carolyn Y. Johnson, 01/16/2010 Racial and ethnic minorities in Massachusetts have been hospitalized and died of swine flu at an elevated rate, underscoring the need for people to continue be vaccinated since there is now ample supply of vaccine, state officials said yesterday. |
| Jan 15, 2010 |
Health Care Reform: Fulfilling the Promise of Public Health New Jersey Voices Guest blog, John Beckley, 01/15/2010 Every day, the headlines confirm what many of us have known for a long time: The nation’s health care system is in desperate need of repair. |
| Jan 15, 2010 |
Numerous Kids Overdue for Second H1N1 Booster USA Today, Alison Young, 01/15/2010 Hundreds of thousands of children are overdue for a second dose of H1N1 vaccine that's needed to fully protect them from swine flu, a USA TODAY review of data from 10 states shows. |
| Jan 15, 2010 |
H1N1 Death Rates Higher for Some Ethnic and Racial Groups in California Los Angeles Times, Molly Hennessy-Fiske, 01/15/2010 California Latinos have been nearly twice as likely as whites to die of H1N1 flu since the pandemic began last spring, according to statewide figures released Thursday by the California Department of Public Health. |
| Jan 14, 2010 |
Judge Orders F.D.A. to Stop Blocking Imports of E-Cigarettes From China The New York Times, Duff Wilson, 01/14/2010 A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Food and Drug Administration to stop blocking the importation of electronic cigarettes from China and indicated that the devices should be regulated as tobacco products rather than drug or medical devices. |
| Jan 14, 2010 |
Wis. Lawmakers Reject Proposal to Use Stimulus Money to Target Candy-Flavored Tobacco Los Angeles Times, Ryan J. Foley, 01/14/2010 Wisconsin lawmakers on Thursday rejected a health department proposal to use $3 million in stimulus funding to lobby for a statewide ban on candy- and fruit-flavored tobacco products. |
| Jan 14, 2010 |
U.S. Obesity Rates Reaching a Resting Point, Studies Show Los Angeles Times, Jeannine Stein, 01/14/2010 Americans may not be collectively doomed to die in their recliners after all, one hand in the chips bag, the other stretching for the remote. Obesity levels seem to be leveling off or slowing across most of the population, according to two new comprehensive studies of the nation's heft. |
| Jan 13, 2010 |
New Official Named With Portfolio to Unite Agencies and Improve Food Safety The New York Times, Gardiner Harris, 01/13/2010 The Obama administration, moving to address the nation's fractured food safety system, on Wednesday appointed Michael R. Taylor, a veteran food expert, as deputy commissioner for foods at the Food and Drug Administration. The newly created position is the first to oversee all the agency's many food and nutrition programs. |
| Jan 13, 2010 |
Md. Advocates Back Increase in Liquor Tax The Baltimore Sun, Annie Linskey, 01/13/2010 Public health advocates are rallying behind a 10 cents-per-drink increase in Maryland's alcohol tax to protect programs that could fall victim to the next round of state cuts needed to avoid a projected $2 billion budget shortfall. |
| Jan 13, 2010 |
Richmond Gets Kudos on Anti-Smoking Effort The San Francisco Chronicle, Carolyn Jones, 01/13/2010 Richmond, not usually associated with stellar air quality, won praise Tuesday for protecting its residents' lungs by enacting some of the toughest anti-smoking laws in the country. |
| Jan 12, 2010 |
Health Reform Revisionism Newsweek, Mary Carmichael, 01/12/2010 Could the proposed health-care bill have prevented some of America's biggest public health crises? |
| Jan 12, 2010 |
Anti-Smoking Group Chastises Ohio The Columbus Dispatch, Misti Crane, 01/12/2010 Even as they applauded the federal government's effort to boost tobacco regulation, leaders of the American Lung Association condemned many states, including Ohio, for doing little to prevent smoking and to help smokers quit. |
| Jan 12, 2010 |
EDITORIAL: Tobacco Regulations -- Too Much of a Good Thing Los Angeles Times, Editorial, 01/12/2010 The federal government long maintained a love-hate relationship with tobacco, protecting the noxious weed's legal status -- and subsidizing its cultivation -- even as it required health warnings on packages. |
| Jan 11, 2010 |
American Indians Found at High Risk From Swine Flu Sacramento Bee, Anna Tong, 01/11/2010 Swine flu disproportionately hits the young and the asthmatic, the pregnant and the diabetic. A federal study says American Indians also are at high risk. |
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