By Join Together Staff | March 21, 2012 | 3 Comments | Filed in Tobacco
Fifty million people worldwide have died from tobacco-related causes over the past decade, according to a new report by the World Lung Foundation and the American Cancer Society. The groups estimate that if current trends continue, a billion people will die from tobacco use and exposure in this century.
The Tobacco Atlas notes smoking rates in the developed world are on the decline, while rates are climbing in poorer areas of the world. Last year, tobacco use resulted in the deaths of almost 6 million people worldwide, with almost 80 percent occurring in low- and middle-income countries. In China, tobacco is the number one killer, responsible for 1.2 million deaths per year, according to the atlas. That number is expected to grow to 3.5 million by 2030, Reutersreports.
The report said the tobacco industry has launched legal challenges to anti-tobacco policies such as plain cigarette packaging, laws banning smoking in public places, bans on advertising and health warnings on cigarette labels.
According to the report, the world’s six biggest tobacco firms made $35.1 billion in profits in 2010, an amount equal to the combined earnings of Coca-Cola, Microsoft and McDonald’s.
“The tobacco industry thrives on ignorance of the true harms of tobacco use and using misinformation to subvert health policies that could save millions,” Peter Baldini, Chief Executive Officer of the World Lung Foundation, said in a news release.
Mar 16, 2012 | No Comments
Written by Kate McGinty
Strapped for cash? Maybe you should start reporting drunken drivers.
State Sen. Robert Calderon, a Montebello Democrat, has proposed legislation that would give tipsters $100 if they report a drunken driver who is convicted.
And for a little poetic justice: Calderon would have the court order the drunken driver to pay the reward.
"By engaging civilians to report drunk drivers, this bill would directly and immediately lower the number of roadway deaths," Calderon said about the bill. "Killing or injuring someone as a result of drunk driving is a horrendous crime that can easily be avoided. This bill is one step closer to ensuring that our roads and highways are safe from drunk drivers."
In 2010, 791 people were killed in DUI crashes on state roadways, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety.
Less drinking, less crime
Speaking of drinking, it's decreased alcohol consumption -- and not tougher sentencing policies -- that have led to a drop in crime nationwide, a new study concluded.
In fact, the state's three-strikes law has contributed significantly to the state's financial woes because more people spend time in prison, says Robert Nash Parker, a sociologist and director of the Presley Center for Crime and Justice Studies at University of California, Riverside.
Continue Reading: desertsun.com
By Join Together Staff | March 13, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed inHealthcare, Mental Health, Prescription Drugs & Youth
A growing number of patients are receiving “off-label” prescriptions for a class of drugs called atypical antipsychotics, according to The Washington Post. These drugs are increasingly being prescribed to treat anxiety, attention deficit, sleep problems, behavior problems in toddlers, and other conditions for which they are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Atypical antipsychotics, such as Seroquel, Zyprexa and Abilify, are approved to treat mental illnesses including schizophrenia andbipolar disorder. Some also have been approved to treat severe depression, the article notes.
A recent study found prescriptions for antipsychotics for non-approved uses doubled between 1995 and 2008—from 4.4 million to 9 million.
“Antipsychotics are overused, overpriced and oversold,” Allen Frances, former Chair of Psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine, told the newspaper. He said in some cases, off-label use of these medicines may be appropriate for patients who have not responded to other treatments for certain conditions, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder. He added that they are being used “promiscuously, recklessly,” in many cases to control behavior. He points out the drugs have serious side effects, including rapid, major weight gain, diabetes, irreversible facial tics, and breast development in boys. The drugs also increase the risk of death in the elderly.
One factor driving the rise in antipsychotic prescriptions is the growing number of non-psychiatrists prescribing them, says James H. Scully Jr., Medical Director of the American Psychiatric Association. Many of these doctors do not have the experience and expertise to properly diagnose and treat mental illness, he said.
Among children, antipsychotic prescriptions are growing in large part because of the increase in bipolar disorder diagnoses, experts say.
STEP 1
I think its time to move on, we have spent the last two months going over step one and I am hoping and believing you have reached the point of, "my life is a mess".
STEP 2
Now we have come to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Most of the 12 step groups are not very specific in regards to a higher power. Some think its self, others think it is some sort of God and there are those like myself who know its God and his son JESUS CHRIST. In fact they are the only living true higher powers on the planet and beyond. Lets examine this. My favorite book (Bible) states he created the world and us in his image. You were designed for a purpose and without proper instruction from parents, you were lead away, left to fill whatever purpose you felt fit you. Lets put it this way. Did you ever put a round peg in a square hole? Won't fit will it? No matter what you do with that peg it wont fit. Well that's what happens to our lives when we are not taught about GOD and we are left to our own vices. We fumble through life with a constant emptiness. No matter what we try to satisfy that emptiness with we just cant seem to fill that void. You are missing the most important part of you, and that's being one with your creator! Its like buying the most expensive exercise bike in the store, opening the box and there are no directions on how to put it together. Your life is unmanageable because your not reading the instruction book GOD gave you(BIBLE). I dare you to read the book. My recommendation, Tyndanle life recovery bible is available at all book stores. Just think about this.... the BIBLE is still the number one selling book in the world. 3,000 years and still counting.
By Karen Kelly | January 13, 2012 | 3 Comments | Filed in Advocacy,Community Related, Government, Healthcare, Legislation & Prescription Drugs
A toddler sits silently amid the squalid interior of his modest home. Jack longs for food, but the shelves have not been stocked in days. What little money that was available has been used to feed the addiction of his caregivers.
Jack is not alone. At least 75 percent of all child abuse or neglect cases across the country involve substance abuse by parents or caregivers, according to the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare.
The teenage daughter of a prominent city official is caught shoplifting. Although she lives in a nice home, Jane says she needed the merchandise to pawn for pills purchased from an unscrupulous cash-only pain clinic.
Jane’s case isn’t unique. An estimated 12 million people in the United States used prescription drugs for non-medical purposes in 2010, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse(NIDA). Unbelievably, NIDA notes that there were enough prescription painkillers prescribed “to medicate every American adult around-the-clock for a month.”
Prescription drug abuse has no socio-economic barriers. But it does come with a huge human cost.
Each day an estimated two people die from drug overdoses and another 40 are admitted to emergency rooms with life-threatening conditions, according to the Prescription Monitoring Program of Excellence at Brandeis University.
American businesses – from industry to mom-and-pop establishments – face lost productivity and increased workplace hazards because of addicted employees. This is a threat to sustainable economic development in both urban and rural communities.
Health insurers alone lose up to $72.5 billion annually in bogus claims. These costs are, by necessity, passed along to consumers.
Trying to get a handle on the problem – which has now reached epidemic proportions – is not easy. Ten years ago, Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers (KY-5th) created a program to help states track the sale of prescription drugs. In 2010, he helped launch the bi-partisan Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse, which seeks to raise awareness of abuse, and to work toward innovative and effective policy solutions incorporating treatment, prevention, law enforcement and research.
Finding a solution goes beyond political allegiances. As Rogers notes, “The prescription drug abuse problem can’t be solved in one state, with one simple strategy.”
In an effort to bring all parties together, Operation UNITE is coordinating a National Rx Drug Abuse Summit in Florida from April 10-12, 2012. This will be the first conference focusing only on the issue of prescription drug abuse. The goal of the Summit is to foster better understanding and cooperation between state and national leaders, law enforcement officials, medical professionals, community advocates, treatment experts, educators, private industry leaders and others who are finding success in battling this nationwideepidemic.
Keynote speakers at the Summit will include R. Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy; Vice Admiral Dr. Regina M. Benjamin, the U.S. Surgeon General; Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse; and the Hon. Joseph T. Rannazzisi, deputy assistant administrator for the Office of Diversion Control with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Left unchecked, the prescription drug abuse problem will continue to grow out of control, draining limited resources and devastating families.
Join this important national conversation on April 10-12, 2012. America’s future is at stake.
Karen Kelly, President/CEO, Operation UNITE
