Emerging Issues for College Students

It used to be that health care for college students was easy - parents' health insurance covered the big expenses and the student health center covered the more immediate needs. It wasn't until grad school that we had to choose between unaffordable premiums or going without insurance and hoping for the best. This WSJ article illustrates the rising percentage of college students who are going without health insurance due to changes in their parents' employment.

More reaction to the IOM Report on heart attacks and smoke-free laws

This release from the American Medical Association includes several reactions from public health leaders, as well as a chronology of key moments in the smoke-free movement.

Smoking policies

Restrictions on smoking and secondhand smoke have been gaining popularity in the U.S. since 1971, with federal and state governments and their agencies cracking down on lighting up. As of Jan. 4, 37 states had laws requiring 100% smoke-free workplaces, restaurants and/or bars.

1964: U.S. surgeon general issues first report on adverse health effects of smoking.

1965: Congress enacts a law requiring health warnings on cigarette package labels.

1971: Surgeon general proposes a federal smoking ban in public places.

1972: Surgeon general report identifies secondhand smoke as posing a health risk.

1973: Arizona becomes the first state to restrict smoking in several public places.

1973: Civil Aeronautics Board requires no-smoking sections on all commercial airline flights.

1974: Connecticut passes the first state law on smoking restrictions in restaurants.

1986: Surgeon general report says secondhand smoke causes lung cancer in healthy nonsmokers.

1987: Dept. of Health and Human Services establishes smoke-free environments in its buildings.

1987: Gallup Poll finds, for the first time, that most American adults favor a ban on smoking in all public places.

1988: Smoking ban takes effect on domestic airline flights of two hours or less.

1992: Joint Commission requires hospitals applying for accreditation to develop policy prohibiting smoking by patients, visitors, employees, volunteers and medical staff.

1994: Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposes a smoking ban in most workplaces.

1994: San Francisco passes a ban on smoking in restaurants and workplaces.

2000: New Jersey Supreme Court strikes down a clean-indoor-air ordinance adopted by city of Princeton on grounds that state law preempts local smoking restrictions.

2003: Dozens of airports, including airline clubs, passenger terminals and nonpublic work areas, are designated smoke-free.

2004: International Agency for Research on Cancer issues a new monograph identifying secondhand smoke as "carcinogenic to humans."

Abandon Hope?

University of Michigan study suggests closure, rather than hope, may a better coping mechanism for some people.

The WSJ reviews recent innovations in health care

Much of the debate over health care reform has focused on health insurance. One often ignored component of reform is the relatively non-partisan issue of innovations to reduce the costs of health care. This report by the Wall Street Journal reviews six innovations in cost-effective health care delivery - including remote monitoring, infection prevention, and electronic records.

Accidents Of History Created U.S. Health System

An interesting NPR piece on the convoluted and more than a little Byzantine approach to health insurance that we have in the US.

Emerging Scientific Consensus

Last month two separate meta-analyses concluded that heart attack admissions had dropped significantly following the implementation of smoke laws. Today, yet another review conducted by the Institute of Medicine reached the same conclusion.

"CONCLUSION

Data consistently demonstrates that secondhand-smoke exposure increases the risk of coronary heart disease and heart attacks and that smoking bans reduce heart attacks. Given the prevalence of heart attacks, and the resultant deaths, smoking bans save more than half a million lives each year in the U.S. alone. The savings, as mea- sured in human lives, is undeniable."