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Viewpoints: Planned Parenthood funding; Governors and Medicaid; lessons from Wisconsin

In 14 states, taxpayers pick up 100 percent of the premium tab for retirees, who often collect benefits for a decade or more before going on Medicare. This is not only unfair to taxpayers, for whom free health care is usually a remote dream. It also encourages overconsumption of medical goods and services, thus raising the cost for everyone.

23 Feb 2011

Canadian Cancer Society praises new, enhanced cigarette package warnings

Today, Health Canada released a set of new picture health warnings for cigarette and little cigar packages. The new labels include 16 warnings that will cover 75 per cent of the package front and back, eight additional messages to be printed inside the package (or on an insert), and four toxic emission messages for the side panel.

19 Feb 2011

Viewpoints: NY Times on high-risk pools; GOP on Medicaid 'flexibility;' health workers' rights

As part of the new health care reform, the federal government and 27 state governments are establishing temporary high-risk pools to offer coverage for people with pre-existing conditions until the law takes full effect in 2014.

17 Feb 2011

Ability of e-cigarettes to help smokers cut down or quit still unknown

Electronic cigarettes are drawing heavy media and marketing attention, and while a new study finds that consumer interest also runs high, a companion study underscores that e-cigarettes' ability to help smokers cut down or quit is unknown.

8 Feb 2011

Canadian Cancer Society launches sixth annual Driven to Quit Challenge

Results of an Angus Reid Public Opinion survey conducted in December show that 20 per cent of Ontario adults are current tobacco users, including cigarettes, cigars and chew tobacco, and that half of them have tried unsuccessfully to quit in the past.

5 Jan 2011

Smoking is more prevalent in French women than male counterparts

The prevalence of smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke among men in France has fallen by more than 15 per cent since the mid 1980s, but over the same 20-year period has increased among women.

8 Dec 2010

Smoking is common among young adults and children with diabetes, raises risk of heart disease

Cigarette smoking is widespread among children and young adults with diabetes yet few health care providers are counseling children and young adults with diabetes to not smoke or stop smoking, according to a new report from the SEARCH Study Group, published online in the Journal of Pediatrics.

7 Dec 2010

Ozone, nicotine reaction may become threat to asthma sufferers: Study

Another reason for including asthma on the list of potential health risks posed by secondhand tobacco smoke, especially for non-smokers, has been uncovered. Furthermore, the practice of using ozone to remove the smell of tobacco smoke from indoor environments, including hotel rooms and the interiors of vehicles, is probably a bad idea.

17 Aug 2010

New policy monograph recommends necessary actions to control tobacco use

"While tobacco use has decreased drastically over the last few decades, we still have a long way to go," American College of Physicians (ACP) President, J. Fred Ralston, Jr., MD, FACP, said as a new ACP policy monograph was released today.

30 Jun 2010

New Canadian legislation bans sale of flavoured cigarillos, cigarettes, blunt wraps

Canada's tough new anti-tobacco law, Bill C-32, comes into effect at stores near you on July 5. Retailers will no longer be allowed to sell fruit- and candy-flavoured cigarillos (little cigars), cigarettes, and blunt wraps (rolling papers made of tobacco).

29 Jun 2010

Majority of North Carolinians support increasing sales tax on cigarettes

Raising taxes typically is not a popular idea, but the option of increasing cigarette sales tax has been gaining momentum in North Carolina for the past several years. Statewide polls since 2004 have shown a majority of North Carolinians support increasing the sales tax on cigarettes as a means of generating state revenue, especially when the funds are used to support public health programs and to decrease teen smoking rates.

24 Jun 2010

Illinois' tobacco tax would bring in $297.6M in new revenue, reduce youth smoking

A new poll released today finds that 74 percent of Illinois voters support raising the tobacco tax by $1 per pack to cut the state's budget deficit and reduce youth tobacco use.

16 Apr 2010

Pro- and anti-health reform groups wage last minute attacks

Stephan Payne protested abuses by health insurance companies and pushed for health care reform during a rally Tuesday. The rally was organized by Health Care for America Now and coincided with an annual conference for health insurance executives in D.C. (Jessica Marcy/KHN)

10 Mar 2010

Harris Poll: Obesity increased, cigarette smoking decreased in every five-year period

The annual Harris Poll that has measured key health risks – smoking, seat belt use, weight and obesity – for the last 28 years, provides both good and bad news.

10 Mar 2010

Pipe and cigar smoking linked to decreased lung function

Pipe and cigar smoke may be more harmful than once thought. While some believe pipes and cigars are healthier than cigarettes, a major known cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a new study directly links pipe and cigar smoking to decreased lung function.

16 Feb 2010

ODA encourages people with bad breath to see dentist

Do you suffer from bad breath? Are you constantly refreshing your mouth with mouthwash and mints to mask an odour problem? If any of this sounds familiar, the Ontario Dental Association (ODA) encourages you to see your dentist and get to the root of the problem.

12 Feb 2010

Raising New Jersey's cigarette tax by $1 would bring in $80M in new annual revenue

Raising New Jersey's cigarette tax by $1 per pack would bring in $80 million in new annual revenue to help close the state's budget shortfall, while also reducing smoking and saving lives, according to a national report released today by a coalition of public health organizations.

11 Feb 2010

Governor Rendell proposes fiscal year 2010-11 General Fund budget

With Pennsylvania finances still suffering the effects of the most stubbornly challenging national economy since the Great Depression, Governor Edward G. Rendell today proposed a fiscal year 2010-11 General Fund budget that spends $26.3 billion in state money, augmented by more than $2.7 billion in federal stimulus funds.

10 Feb 2010

Mich., R.I. look for cuts in Medicaid costs; Mass. Governor suggests taxes, fees to cover rising costs

The Holland (Mich.) Sentinel reports on possible Medicaid cuts in Michigan: "After an 8 percent reduction in Medicaid reimbursement for 2010, state health organizations say additional cuts for 2011 could be overwhelming.

2 Feb 2010

Santa Claus: A public health pariah?

Santa should share Rudolf's snack of carrots and celery sticks rather than brandy and mince pies and swap his reindeer for a bike or walk, says a public health expert in the Christmas issue published on bmj.com today.

17 Dec 2009