The recognition is part of Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) initiative, which seeks to join community organizations, local cities, schools districts and public health agencies in efforts to reduce the leading causes of preventable death, such as obesity and tobacco use.
The 5-year Million Hearts Campaign hopes to help millions of Americans improve their heart health by preventing and treating high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and tobacco use.
Want to lose weight? Quit smoking? Get fit? It can be done, but you’re more likely to reach your goals if you take a slow, step-by-step approach, experts say.
Some companies are also penalizing employees who don’t give up cigarettes by hitting them with higher health insurance premiums.
In the previous five years, the 7 percent of retailers were caught selling tobacco to underage teens. This year the number caught jumped to 15 percent of the time.
Hospitals are promoting the scans without warning patients of the potential downsides of the test, critics say.
Washington’s Tobacco Quit Line will no longer provide services to the general population, but King County residents and some other groups can get help other sources.
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.
Electronic cigarettes are drawing heavy media and marketing attention, but it’s not known whether they help smokers cut down or quit.
“They were pretty poor. There wasn’t one I thought I could recommend to a smoker.”
The National Cancer Institute has identified 5 essential steps that smokers can take to help them quit.
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
View Calendar
✔ Subscribe
Add to Google
Seattle Times Health News
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.
Recent Comments