More progress towards reducing tobacco use
By Gretchen Cullenberg | May 14, 2008
An article by USA today (click here for article) reported that retail chains are making progress towards reducing tobacco use in the US. More specifically, New Hampshire, Illinois, and Tennessee all have Bills pending to bar pharmacies with walk in clinics from selling tobacco products. New York has a Bill that would ban all pharmacies, including Wal-Mart from selling tobacco products. This is a large step towards eliminating many risks that are associated with the use of tobacco products. As it is right now, many grocery stores no longer carry tobacco products. They don’t want to be associated with the sale of carcinogens.
Many argue that the government should not step in and tell people what they can and cannot sell, but they have already done this fairly successfully with the sale of alcohol products. It is more than likely to be successful with the sale of tobacco products. There was an interesting quote in the article from Bill Phelps, spokesman for Philip Morris the number one cigarette maker in the world. He doesn’t think that the government should impose bans on tobacco products, ‘we think retailers should be able to decide’. I am sure the beer companies felt the same way when the drinking age was raised from 18 years to 21 years. But this policy has helped save many lives in the United States.
Since there isn’t a magic pill that is going to reverse the damage that cigarette smoking does to the body, society is going to have to change its views towards tobacco use. It is a choice and an unhealthy one at that. If people start to perceive tobacco use as being a stigma, then they will be less apt to use it. For those who have already started using tobacco, there is an option to stop. Quitting will only put wealthy companies like Philip Morris out of business and help greatly reduce your risk of preventable death.
Topics: Education, Family Issues, Lifestyle Issues, Public Policy, Substance Abuse, Well-being | No Comments »
Restaruants banning smoking helps reduce youth smoking
By Gretchen Cullenberg | May 14, 2008
The Los Angeles Times reports that restaurants that ban smoking also help reduce the number of youths who light up. (click here for article). When young adults are not given an environment where they can openly partake in an unhealthy habit, they are less likely to continue the behavior. This article is a good example of how a simple policy change can have an impact on the overall health of the people in the community. By eliminating an opportunity to light up, the risk of developing lung cancer can be reduced. More policies need to be implemented in order to cut down on the number of smokers in the United States.
Topics: Lifestyle Issues, Parenting, Public Policy, Substance Abuse, Well-being | No Comments »
Men’s Health in College
By Brandon Leonard | May 7, 2008
In conducting some related research on men’s health, I’ve recently come across a few websites for university student health centers that have pages set aside for men’s health. (Here are a few examples: UNH, UD and UGA) These sites provide a variety of information on issues specific to men while encouraging them to come to the center if they have any health concerns. Because men and women often deal with the stress that can be associated with college life in different ways, it makes sense to target services to each gender. However, I get the impression (from my own experience as well a quick look around the web) that most schools are much better at reaching out to young women than young men when it comes to their health.
Topics: Education | No Comments »
How damaging can sun exposure be to the scalp and neck?
By Gretchen Cullenberg | April 24, 2008
A recent posting on Boston.com has stated that melanoma on the scalp and neck are the most deadly types of skin cancer (click here). This is a big concern for many men who have higher rates of melanoma than women do. Men can be very reluctant to use sunscreen or wide brimmed hats when they are in the sun. Sunscreen is often an after thought and applied too late to provide proper protection. To help limit the number of people who develop skin cancer, preventative care like healthy sun exposure behaviors should be used. These behaviors should start very early in life and continue throughout adulthood. People need to take more responsibility for their own health. Knowing the A,B,C’s of skin cancer can also be beneficial to you and your healthcare provider. More often than not, even a small spot on your skin can be just as deadly as a large noticeable one. Any changes in moles should be reported to a healthcare provider or physician.
Topics: Education, Lifestyle Issues, Medical Issues, Well-being | No Comments »
Life-expectancy and chronic disease
By Gretchen Cullenberg | April 23, 2008
Life expectancy rates have been declining in many areas of the United States. A recent posting in The Wall Street Journal (click here) looked at a report stating that even if the United States provided universal health care it still would not solve the declining rates of life expectancy. The biggest problem that needs more attention is preventing chronic disease. Preventative measures such as eating healthy and exercising can reduce the risk of developing dozens of chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, anxiety, high cholesterol, metabolic disease, certain cancers, and the list could go on. Generally people understand that a healthy lifestyle is important to maintain but the maintenance part is the trick. How do you convince someone who is extremely overweight or at risk of developing diabetes that changing their comfortable lifestyle is going to help save their life in the long run? It is a struggle to get people to see that the lifestyle choices they make today may not have an effect on them for another 2 to 10 years. The reality is that long term poor lifestyle habits are causing a decline in life expectancy. More effort should be put into slowing their progression down.
Topics: Fitness, Lifestyle Issues, Well-being | No Comments »
Drinking and the elderly population
By Gretchen Cullenberg | April 22, 2008
The Chicagotribune.com posted an article regarding elderly drinkers putting their lives at risk by consuming more than the recommend amount of alcohol for their age (click here for article). The elderly group has been defined as those over the age of 65. The concern is that alcohol can cause greater problems for those suffering from dementia, depression, balance issues, and mixing it with prescription drugs.
When it comes to alcohol consumption, what is the best way to determine if an elderly person has a drinking problem? Is alcohol use harder to detect in the elderly population than the younger population? Do people understand the risks involved when they mix medications with alcohol? Are they provided with the support and resources needed to seek help if a problem is suspected? The author of the article pointed out that health-care professionals should be aware of the symptoms so that they can screen for heavy drinkers in the elderly population. Health-care providers can provide resources for those who may have a tendency to over indulge on alcohol in a manor that can be detrimental to their life.
Also, those who care for older adults need to be provided with educational resources on how they can help reduce the risk of over consumption of alcohol in older adults. It was also mentioned in the article that there are a limited number of outpatient programs that target older adults who are seeking treatment. This is an issue that is going to grow as the population ages. Preventative education now can help reduce this problem and help keep it under control.
Topics: Family Issues, Lifestyle Issues, Medical Issues, Substance Abuse, Well-being | No Comments »
Do Americans understand the health benefits of exercise?
By Gretchen Cullenberg | April 17, 2008
An article from Sci-Tech Today.com, Action is Louder than Weight, described how Americans do not really take the recommendation of exercise too seriously. This is a concern especially with the raising obesity rate in the US. The article states that most American’s know exercise is good for their health but they do not really understand the extent of how it reduces the risk of developing preventable diseases. If they know that exercise is beneficial to their health then why aren’t more of them participating? It could be that they do not understand how to fit in daily exercise?
Many people face extensive barriers to daily exercise. Family and job commitments often keep people too busy to squeeze in a run or a trip to the gym. They might also lack the ability to pull themselves away from the TV long enough to take a quick jog around the block. In some cases, there could be a lack of resources and knowledge on how benefit from proper exercise. By providing more than just a recommendation to exercise and actually demonstrating the act, more people might participate in daily physical activity. Instructions on how to create a supportive environment that is conducive to exercise is important to get people motivated to move.
Topics: Fitness, Lifestyle Issues, Well-being | No Comments »
Cancer Funding
By Raquel Gonzalez | March 7, 2008
I came across a very interesting article given to me by a co-worker which shows how cancer funding is distributed. I was very surprised with its contents. Prostate cancer, which is the most common cancer by tens of thousands of people, is given the LEAST amount of funding per every new case. I believe the National Cancer Institute needs to revaluate how it allocates its money and perhaps focus more on a cancer that affects so many men and their families and has such a high rate of curability.
Click here to read the article.
Topics: Medical Treatment, Public Policy | No Comments »
Examiner Washington D.C. on the Office of Women’s Health
By Andrew Porter | January 28, 2008
The Examiner Washington D.C. printed a story Friday (Jan 25th) about the Office on Women’s Health featuring information about men’s health. You may view the article here at the Examiner’s blog.
Women are the mothers, sisters, aunts, and spouses that influence men and their health. We as men need their expertise, their help, and encouragement if we are to live long healthy lives and fulfill our obligations to family.
We appreciate the Examiner’s efforts in bringing awareness to the lack of men’s health initiatives in the federal government. As highlighted in the article, an Office of Men’s Health will mirror the Office on Women’s Health and serve as the primary men’s health outreach and networking office for men and women around the country.
In Congress, the Office of Men’s Health will be authorized by the Men’s Health Act of 2007 introduced by Senator Crapo in the Senate and Representatives Vito Fossella and Baron Hill in the House. The House bill is co-sponsored by over 50 members hailing from both parties. To learn more about the Office of Men’s Health or to express your thoughts on the matter to your Congressmen, please visit www.menshealthoffice.com.
Topics: Public Policy | No Comments »
NYT Op-Ed on Health Care Reform
By Richard Murby | December 16, 2007
I saw this op-ed on NYT yesterday. Its a short interesting piece on the style of health care reforms proposed by some of the Democrats recently.
Coming from the UK with our National Health Service I am always very interested in how national health care programs are viewed here. My personal opinion is that there is a lot of miss-information, about both the positives and negatives of the system, in the US debate.
The article can be found here.
I would love to hear your views in the comments.
Topics: Access to Care | 1 Comment »
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