Anti-Smoking Ads Have Increased Quit Attempts: CDC

HealthDay – 4 hrs ago THURSDAY, June 21 (HealthDay News) -- National ads featuring people living with the effects of smoking-related diseases may have worked better at prompting smokers to kick the habit than expected, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The "Tips From Former Smokers" ad campaign, which ran from March 19 through June 10, doubled the volume of calls to 1-800-QUIT-NOW, a hotline that links callers to the quit line in their state.

After just 12 weeks, the ads also drove 417,000 more people to smokefree.gov, the federal website designed to help people quit smoking, the CDC reported. The agency pointed out that this was triple the normal traffic to the site.

According to the CDC, the numbers indicate the ad campaign is on track to surpass the goal of getting at least 500,000 people to try to stop smoking.

"These initial results suggest that the campaign will help even more people quit than we had hoped, exceeding our already high expectations," CDC director Dr. Thomas Frieden said in an agency news release. "More than two-thirds of all smokers want to quit. People who smoke die sooner and live sicker. This campaign is saving lives and saving money."

Although smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States, the CDC projected the ad campaign will result in about 50,000 smokers quitting successfully, leading to savings of roughly $70 million in medical and productivity costs.

Smoking-related diseases cost Americans $96 billion annually in direct health care costs, according to the news release. The CDC concluded that the $54 million ad campaign is important to counter the $10 billion the tobacco industry spends each year in marketing costs for their products.

More information

The American Cancer Society provides tips on how to quit smoking.

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Better Health Screening Urged for Female College Athletes

HealthDay – 4 hrs ago THURSDAY, June 21 (HealthDay News) -- Shortfalls in the screening of female college athletes for a trio of medical issues called the "female athlete triad" could put them at risk for lifelong health problems, according to a new study.

The triad refers to the interrelationship between energy availability, menstrual function and bone mineral density. Research has shown that many female athletes do not take in enough nutrition, which leads to the absence of menstrual periods, and loss of bone density and strength.

Medical College of Wisconsin researchers surveyed 257 NCAA Division I universities to find out when and how often athletes underwent physical examinations and had their health histories checked. The researchers also evaluated the pre-participation examination forms used to further assess athletes' health.

Sixty-three percent of the university athletic programs only completed a full medical history and examination on freshmen and transfer athletes, instead of on all athletes every year or every two years.

Only 9 percent of the universities had nine or more of the 12 Female Athlete Triad Coalition screening recommendations on their pre-participation exam forms, the investigators found.

"For an accurate picture, these forms really need to include a 72-hour food record to measure energy intake," corresponding author Dr. Anne Hoch, professor of orthopedic surgery and director of the women's sports medicine program, said in a Medical College of Wisconsin news release.

"An exercise history or an accelerometer, which is an inexpensive way to measure energy expenditure, is also helpful. These screening tools may result in early identification of athletes at risk for the triad," she added.

Further research is required to determine the most sensitive and specific items to include on a screening tool for the Female Athlete Triad, the researchers suggested.

The study was published in a recent online edition of the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine.

More information

The Nemours Foundation has more about the female athlete triad.

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Red Wine, Weather May Trigger Migraines

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Boehner to U.S. House on healthcare ruling: don't gloat

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U.S. helps doctors track patients' prescription drug use

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Blood Pressure Drug: GI Side Effects?

Heat Wave Causes Class of 2012 Grads...More Health HeadlinesEating Disorders Not Just for YoungLove or Lust: Science Can TellAmerica's Safest Hospitals: Any Near You?Ariz. Woman Delivers Own Baby in CarIn The NewsArthritisAllergiesDr. Richard BesserCold & Flu Home> HealthBlood Pressure Drug Olmesartan Linked to Celiac Disease Side Effects in a Handful of PatientsBy CARRIE GANN (

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Drunk drivers show risky lifetime drinking habits: study

Reuters – 1 hr 24 mins ago (Reuters) - Many people convicted of drunk driving appear to have a lifelong struggle with risky drinking habits, and using their conviction as a way of getting them into treatment could have long-lasting benefits, according to a U.S. study.

In interviews with 700 adults with a drunk-driving conviction, researchers found that nearly half had either been drinking heavily for the long haul, or had fallen back into heavy drinking after trying to cut down for a time, according to their report in the journal Addiction.

What's more, between one-fifth and one-third of those chronically risky drinkers met the definitions for alcohol or drug dependence, or for mental health conditions like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

"A DWI (driving while intoxicated) conviction identifies people at risk," said study leader Sandra Lapham, at the Behavioral health Research Center of the Southwest in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

"It's a red flag, and an opportunity to intervene."

Some DWI offenders with drinking problems may not believe anything is wrong. Others may want help, but can't pay for it, she added.

Lapham's team interviewed 696 New Mexico adults who'd been convicted of DWI about 15 years earlier, asking them about their lifetime drinking patterns.

Women were considered "risky" drinkers if they habitually had more than seven drinks per week or four or more on any given day. For men, the limits were more than 14 drinks per week or five or more drinks a day.

Overall, 13 percent of the participants had varying drinking patterns throughout their lives. Another 14 percent said they had managed to cut down from heavy drinking to more moderate levels and keep it that way.

And 21 percent said they'd become abstinent, after some period of risky drinking.

But nearly half the group had ongoing struggles. Nineteen percent reported a "Lifetime" of risky drinking and one-quarter said they'd gone back to risky drinking after trying to quit or cut back.

Those people, the study found, had high rates of alcohol or drug dependence as well as other mental health disorders, like depression.

These are people who need "intensive treatment," Lapham said - and getting them into treatment at the time of a DWI conviction could have the bonus of protecting other drivers and pedestrians, since DWI offenders have a high risk of repeat offenses.

"It's a difficult problem with no easy answer," Lapham added. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/KnqktC

(Reporting from New York by Amy Norton at Reuters Health; editing by Elaine Lies)

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Seattle pool allows topless breast cancer survivor

A Seattle breast cancer survivor whose breasts were surgically removed has gained the permission to swim topless at a city pool.

But Jodi Jaecks wants to make sure her privilege is also extended to other breast cancer survivors who want to swim comfortably.

"Initially when I heard about the reversal, I was elated. Then it came that it wasn't a policy change, it was just an exception for me. Then I was quite deflated. It seemed like it was a reaction that it was just meant to appease me," the 47-year-old said Thursday.

Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent Christopher Williams announced Wednesday that he was giving Jaecks an exception to the department's clothing policy.

"Our original concern stems from our responsibility to accommodate the needs of all our patrons. In this case, I see nothing that might alarm the public," Williams said in a statement. He was reacting to an article about Jaecks that was published in The Stranger weekly newspaper, which also ran a picture of her topless.

Parks spokeswoman Dewey Potter said Thursday that Williams has decided to create a committee made up of cancer survivors, parks staff, King County health representatives and others to come up with a new policy.

Until a new policy is written, Williams will review on a case-by-case basis requests from people who have had surgery and want to swim.

After enduring two surgeries, rounds of chemotherapy and the surgical removal of both her breasts in March 2011, Jaecks wanted to turn to swimming to regain her strength. But swimsuit tops proved too uncomfortable, and nerves on her chest remained tender, Jaecks said.

So she asked the manager at her city pool if she could swim topless this past March. Eventually, she heard from the head of the aquatics department, who told her she couldn't.

"And that's when they said it was a policy that they required gender-appropriate clothing ... regardless if I had nipples or whatever," Jaecks said.

Potter said pool staff was following city policy. But she said it was "unfortunate" the issue didn't get to Williams' attention until now.

Jaecks hasn't swum topless yet. She is planning a swim Monday. Her exception extends only to adult lap hours.

She plans to meet with Williams next week and ask that her exception be extended to anyone who survived breast cancer.

Jaecks said cancer patients shouldn't be made to feel self-conscious by asking for special permission.

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Experts say science lacking on 9/11 and cancer

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AMA supports requiring obesity education for kids

The American Medical Association on Wednesday put its weight behind requiring yearly instruction aimed at preventing obesity for public schoolchildren and teens.

The nation's largest physicians group agreed to support legislation that would require classes in causes, consequences and prevention of obesity for first through 12th graders. Doctors will be encouraged to volunteer their time to help with that under the new policy adopted on the final day of the AMA's annual policymaking meeting.

Another new policy adopted Wednesday says the AMA supports the idea of using revenue from taxes on sugar-sweetened sodas as one way to help pay for obesity-fighting programs. But the group stopped short of fully endorsing such taxes.

Some doctors think soda taxes would disproportionately hurt the poor and disadvantaged. Others said taxes shouldn't be used to force people to make healthful decisions they should be making on their own.

Doctors at the meeting shared sobering statistics and personal stories in urging the AMA to sharpen its focus on obesity prevention.

"I can't tell you the number of 40-pound 1-year-olds I see every day," Dr. Melissa Garretson, a Stephensville, Texas pediatrician, told the delegates before Wednesday's vote. She said requiring obesity education "is a great idea."

The measure was drafted by the AMA's Pennsylvania delegation. It cited data showing that more than 300 million people worldwide are obese and said requiring nutrition education to prevent obesity has never been proposed.

Obesity affects more than one-third of U.S. adults and almost one in five children, or more than 12 million kids. Recent evidence suggests those numbers may have stabilized, but doctors say that's small consolation when so many people are still too fat.

Excess weight is strongly linked with diabetes, heart disease and some cancers, and weight loss of just 5 percent can help improve health, the Pennsylvania doctors' measure said.

Dr. Bruce Wilder, a delegation member, said he will ask Pennsylvania legislators to introduce legislation to enact that requirement in schools.

In other action at the meeting, the AMA voted to:

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Roche probed over faulty drug-safety reporting

"Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche is under investigation over a failure to properly report adverse drug side-effects, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Thursday. (AFP Photo/Sebastien Bozon)" title

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US journal prints controversial bird flu research

"Flu tests strips can be seen in a laboratory in the central German city of Hanover in 2009. The US journal Science published research Thursday on how a mutant bird flu may spread among mammals and possibly humans, following months of controversy over the risks of bioterrorism. (AFP Photo/Nigel Treblin)" title

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