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EC launches world's first in-flight smoking cessation card

The European Commission today announced a new phase in its highly successful smoking cessation campaign, "Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable" on World No Tobacco Day by launching the world's first in-flight smoking cessation card.

1 Jun 2012

End-of-life care in the US can be better

As Americans live longer, more generations are being impacted by advanced illnesses, such as Alzheimer's disease, cancer and heart disease. The nation's healthcare system, specifically Medicare, is being used like never before. Many families are enduring unbearable stress and strained relationships as they try to guess what kind of care their loved one wants. The country needs solutions.

1 Jun 2012

First Edition: June 1, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about the latest health policy developments on Capitol Hill and news on the health insurance marketplace.

1 Jun 2012

College undergraduates less upset than expected by questionnaires about sex, trauma

Research on sex and trauma faces an ethical dilemma: how can we find out more about the effects of such psychologically sensitive topics without hurting the people who participate in the study?

1 Jun 2012

CINJ wins renewal of Comprehensive Cancer Center designation from NCI

The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) has been awarded renewal of its Comprehensive Cancer Center designation from the National Cancer Institute.

1 Jun 2012

New Lupus Insight Prize to be awarded to outstanding investigator

Lupus organizations have come together to launch a first-of-a-kind initiative to encourage scientific advances in lupus research.

1 Jun 2012

Longer looks: The cost of dying; Insuring fertility

During those four days Terence had his blood drawn - eight times. Urine collected at least twice. There was a CT scan of his chest and an MRI of his brain. A physical therapist dropped by several times. A nutritionist talked about cancer fatigue, decompensation, and calorie needs. Over the stay, at least 29 professionals - nurses, physical therapists, a nutritionist, and nine M.D.s - attended to his needs.

1 Jun 2012

New 'ESASO Course Series' for ophthalmologists

In the new book series 'ESASO Course Series', the essentials of the courses of the European School for Advanced Studies in Ophthalmology (ESASO) are made available to interested ophthalmologists, optometrists, technicians and residents all over the world.

1 Jun 2012

House set to vote on bill banning sex-selection abortions

The legislation would make it a federal crime to carry out an abortion based on the gender of the fetus. Anti-abortion advocates say the bill's sponsor, Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., got the vote scheduled "as a concession" for agreeing not to try to attach it to the Violence Against Women Act.

1 Jun 2012

Poll: A third of women fear efforts to control reproductive rights

According to a poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than four in ten women have taken action in response to recent dustups on women's reproductive health issues.

1 Jun 2012

Medicare official sees Medicare Advantage enrollment continuing to grow

A top Medicare official predicted Wednesday that the private Medicare Advantage program will continue to grow at double-digit rates, although payment reductions in the program are included in the health care overhaul law.

1 Jun 2012

WHO hopes to host second meeting on issues related to 'dual-use' research

"The World Health Organization (WHO) hopes to hold a meeting late this fall to discuss 'dual-use' research issues raised in the controversy over publication of two studies involving lab-modified H5N1 viruses with increased transmissibility, a WHO official said," CIDRAP News reports.

1 Jun 2012

Health law jobs, cost controls and the mandate play in minds of state leaders

Health law issues are reverberating in states around America as leaders consider what the law means for them -- especially if it stands after a Supreme Court review.

1 Jun 2012

Heart problems in high risk people could be prevented by dark chocolate

Daily consumption of dark chocolate can reduce cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes, in people with metabolic syndrome (a cluster of factors that increases the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes), finds a study published on bmj.com today.

1 Jun 2012

Feds announce effort to slash inappropriate use of antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes

An estimated 40 percent of nursing home residents with dementia receive the drugs, which are approved to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

1 Jun 2012

Opinion pieces, editorial discuss significant decline in child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa

The following summaries of two opinion pieces and an editorial explore a recent paper published by the World Bank discussing significant declines in infant and under-five mortality in Kenya and across sub-Saharan Africa.

1 Jun 2012

Tentative deals forged in ill., Providence, R.I., to save money on retiree pensions, health care

Officials report accords with public employees restricting pension increases in order to keep the programs solvent. Both deals also involve changes to retiree health care programs..

1 Jun 2012

Innovative model of dementia is now been used to treat over 1,000 patients

An innovative model of dementia care that significantly reduces emergency department visits and hospitalizations, and encourages use of medications that are not harmful to older brains, has now been used to treat over 1,000 patients. The Aging Brain Care model was developed by researcher-clinicians from the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University School of Medicine.

1 Jun 2012

Large-scale, coordinated effort needed to stop increase in HIV transmission among MSM in China

HIV transmission in China is increasing faster among men who have sex with men (MSM) than in any other population, a trend that "cannot continue," a group of researchers working in China write in a Nature commentary, adding, "Policymakers, public health researchers, clinicians, educators, community leaders and other stakeholders in China must come together to educate everyone, and gay men in particular, about HIV prevention and treatment -- before any more people become infected as a result of ignorance and fear."

1 Jun 2012

Senate field hearing probes whether Accretive Health's bill collection practices violated patient privacy

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., who convened the hearing, questioned whether thousands of Minnesotans who trusted their health records to Minnesota's Fairview and North Memorial hospitals, suffered privacy breaches. The hearing follows an investigation by Minnesota's attorney general into the relationship between Accretive Health and Fairview.

1 Jun 2012