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 [...]
Despite a decline over the past decade in the number of women who smoke during pregnancy, smoking is still a major cause of newborn deaths, early births and babies born with low birth weight.
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.
The U.S. must spend $500 million on prevention this year. Rather than spreading it around, writes Robert Gould, it would be best to target one thing: tobacco.
As many as 50,000 to 100,000 deaths in people under age 80 could be prevented each year if just nine simple of preventive services were implemented effectively.
A new Washington state tax will push the price of smoking to $7 a pack on average. Smokers who want to quit can get help at the state’s www.quitline.com.
Beating the addiction to smoking will bring you a multitude of benefits.
Two key priorities: keeping young from starting–and helping adults quit.
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, [...]
Donald McNeil, Jr. in the New York Times writes about new ways people are trying to predict the course outbreaks of diseases like swine flu by using computer simulations. One program tracks air and land travel information to predict the spread of disease. That program predicted correctly that New York, California and Texas would prove [...]
Smoking just got a lot more expensive in Washington state. The a new federal tax that went into affect April 1 added 62 cents to the cost of a pack making the total federal tax on a pack to $1.01. With the new federal taxes plus state taxes, the pack of brand name cigarettes at [...]
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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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