Category: Smoking
The goal of the study, called WebQuit, is to improve the effectiveness of online smoking-cessation programs. The study is open to adult smokers nationwide. Participation is free to eligible individuals.
Washington residents who are ready to quit smoking can now receive at least two weeks of free nicotine patches or gum if they call the state Tobacco Quitline in May or June. People without insurance can also get eight weeks of nicotine replacement therapy. Those on Medicaid are already eligible for a 12 week supply.
There has been a substantial drop in both smoking and alcohol use among Washington youth, according to a survey of more than 212,000 students in the state’s public schools.
Electronic cigarettes are drawing heavy media and marketing attention, but it’s not known whether they help smokers cut down or quit.
King County will limit the sales of electronic cigarettes to adults only, prohibit the distribution of free samples, and restrict their use in public places and placed of employment. Electronic cigarettes, or “e-cigarettes”, typically look like cigarettes but actually contain a battery-operated heating element and a replaceable cartridge containing nicotine. The element vaporizes the nicotine [...]
New Year’s resolutions—they’re easy to make but easier to break. Why is it so hard to make the healthy changes that we know can help us feel better and live longer? And why is it so hard to make them last? NIH-funded scientists are learning more about how we can make healthy changes and, even more important, how we can sustain them
While quitting smoking is tough, you have a better chance of succeeding when you have help: smokers who get counseling, combined with medication and other support, have a much better chance of quitting and staying tobacco-free.
Washington’s adult smoking rate has dropped to a new low of 14.8 percent — down from 15.3 percent the previous year.
Smoking inside Washington homes declines by more than 60% since 2000, according to a new study, but secondhand smoke exposure still higher in low-income homes.
Electronic cigarettes, or “e-cigarettes”, which are often sold as a safe alternative to regular cigarettes, give off toxic chemicals and carcinogens, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said today. The battery-operated devices are available at shopping malls and online and are marketed to young people. They contain nicotine, flavoring, and other chemicals. A laboratory analysis [...]
Hospitals lobby against proposed charity care rules The American Hospital Association has sent out a bulletin urging its members to press Congress not to pass legislation that would require hospitals to provide a minimal level of charitable care as a condition for keeping their tax-exempt status, New York Times reporter Robert Pear writes. “A formulaic, [...]
Washington state spends more than 15 percent of its budget coping with problems due to tobacco, alcohol and drug abuse, according to a new study. The study, conducted by National Center on Addiction and Drug Abuse, a private group at Columbia University in New York City, found that in 2005, the latest year for which [...]
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Lost in translation: Lack of trained interpreters can lead to medical errors
Interpreter services at hospitals and other medical settings are often inadequate, forcing family members, including children, to step in, or the task falls to medical staff members who may not speak the language well.
Some insurers deny ER coverage to people who have been drinking
Laws in more than half the states permit insurers to deny payment for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. Faced with the prospect of not getting paid for care, some ER personnel sidestep the problem by simply not testing patients’ blood or urine for alcohol.
Travel insurance can protect your wallet — and your health on vacation
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
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