Gov. Pence of Indiana just decided to combat an HIV outbreak in a rural county via the harm-reduction tactic of needle exchange. We applaud him, while wondering why he gave the epidemic a 3-month head start?
harm reduction
Reports of a new survey out of the U.K. confirm other studies and surveys which show that use of e-cigarettes and related reduced-harm products among non-smokers is minuscule, and that many smokers have quit by using them.
New international review of studies of e-cigarettes confirms the obvious (to most): these devices offer much less risk to smokers trying to quit than cigarettes, and regulation should be proportionate not prohibitive.
Fifty-three elite scientists published an open letter to the WHO s Director-General, calling upon her to consider the science rather than other influences in the next revision to the global tobacco control treaty. We fear this plea will fall upon deaf ears.
Since the 1960s there has been a highly effective and safe drug to reverse the effects of narcotics (mostly heroin) overdoses. Naloxone (Narcan) is found in every emergency room and if it is administered in time it is almost miraculous. A person who has had a overdose even those who are near death (narcotics will stop you from breathing if you take too much) will wake up instantly.
NYS Senate panel to deliberate on how to reduce access to effective smoking cessation method, thanks to testimony from experts committed to keeping e-cigarettes off the market, while barring other testimony. Democracy? Not really, nor public health.
In her Personal Health column in the New York Times, Jane Brody tackles perhaps the greatest problem facing public health professionals today how to get smokers to quit, or prevent non-smokers from ever starting.
A new Perspective article in the New England Journal of Medicine almost allows for the likely benefits of electronic cigarettes as part of a harm reduction approach to reducing the deadly toll of smoking. At last some science-based progress!
The New York Times bemoans the fate of smokers in America. Reminding us that tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the first Surgeon General s report on smoking, the editors wish there were more that could be done for the 44 million smokers. They do not mention what that might be.
The effects of nicotine on human health - Consumer version
This year, how about making a truly meaningful, life-altering New Year s resolution?