House Votes to Regulate Tobacco, Scotland Smoking Law Reduces Heart Attacks

News today on the tobacco front.  The U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation that allows the FDA to regulate the tobacco industry.  The bill would give the FDA the power to prohibit the marketing of cigarettes to children, disclose/reduce/ban tobacco ingredients, require additional health warnings, and ban flavored cigarettes (however, in a concession to the tobacco industry, the bill exempts menthol cigarettes).

The bill passed with enough votes to override a threatened veto from the president and it now goes to the Senate where its prospects for a veto-proof majority are less clear.

Articles on the passage of the House bill here, here, and here.

Also, Scotland’s ban on indoor smoking is being credited with a 17% drop in heart attacks, NEJM reports.  USA Today has an article on the study here.

Foodlink: Healthy Meals Still Available

Foodlink is attempting to raise awareness — and participation — in its summer meals program.  The program currently provides free healthy breakfasts and lunches to 8,000 local children at some 30 sites across the city, but an estimated 25,000 children are eligible for the meals, which are subsidized by the US Department of Agriculture.

You can read a D&C story about a joint new conference held by Foodlink and the Rochester Rhinos here (full text after the jump).  And you can find out more information about the program on the Foodlink website here.

Healthy Home welcomes 2000th visitor

Rochester’s Healthy Home, a hands-on museum that teaches people how to reduce environmental hazards in their homes, welcomed Vonjula Thompson as its 2000^thvisitor on July 8.  Vonjula is a Work Experience Program (WEP) intern.  She is part of the county-funded WEP program co-located at the Healthy Home that helps people transition from public assistance into the workplace.  The Healthy Home tour is part of the first day of orientation for all of the WEP interns, many of whom have small children and live in homes with high risks of home hazards.  Since it opened in June 2006, the Healthy Home has educated residents, property owners, health care providers, community groups, and many others about home-based hazards such as lead, asthma triggers, carbon monoxide, household toxins, and others.  The Healthy Home is a partnership of the SouthWest Area Neighborhood Association, the Rochester Fatherhood Resource Initiative, and the University of Rochester Environmental Health Sciences Center. 

Nora Herbert (WEP Director @ the Healthy Home), Vonjula Thompson (WEP Intern), Dot Gulardo (Healthy Home Program Manager)

In the News: Cancer Rates and Education and Obesity and Diabetes

Two new studies of interest out today.  The first links cancer rates and socioeconomic status, particularly education.  Researchers associate the drop in cancer rates among well educated (people with at least 16 years of education) to better prevention/screening and declines in smoking.  You can read a Reuters story on the study here.

The childhood obestiy epidemic could have a lasting legacy of a growing number of adults with diabetes.   You can read a HealthDay story on the Michigan study here.

Study: Diet During Pregnancy and Obesity in Children Linked

A British study in rats has revealed that eating an unhealthy diet during pregnancy raises the lifetime risk of obesity and elevated cholesterol and blood sugar levels in offspring.

URMC childhood obesity expert Stephen Cook, M.D. commented on the study, which appears in the Journal of Physiology, in a WebMD story:

“A lot of information suggests that in-utero exposures can lead to long-lasting effects in children.  Women who smoke during pregnancy have children who are heavier, so maternal patterns can affect a child’s weight. Whether the cause is altered metabolism or something else, it is a very real concern.”

You can read the entire WebMD story here.

2008 Summer in the City Series Schedule

The Summer in the City Series, a joint program of the Center for Community Health and the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, has released its schedule for 2008.  The series consists of lunch-hour discussion on a variety of public health topics.

Unless noted, the discussions are from 12:00 to 1:00 PM and are held in Room K-307 in the Medical Center and include a light lunch.  The schedule is as follows:

July 8: Health-e-Access: Using Technology to Increase Care for Children

Ken McConnochie, M.D., MPH, director, Health-e-Access Telemedicine Network and professor of Pediatrics (Please note that this session only is scheduled 12:15 to 1:15 pm)

July 15:  Nourishing our Neighborhoods

Chris Hartman, co-manager, South Wedge Farmers’ Market

Eleanor Coleman, Southwest Area Neighborhood Association

Katrina Korfmacher, Ph.D., community outreach coordinator; research assistant professor, Environmental Health Sciences Center

July 22: Creating Urban Villages in the Rochester Children’s Zone (RCZ)

Ellen Lewis, interim team leader, RCZ

Rev. Glenn Alexander, pastor, Holy City International Church of God in Christ; board member, RCZ; Sector 10 Co-Chair, North East Neighborhood Alliance

July 29: Teen Smart Driving: What Parents Should Know

Anne Brayer, M.D., associate professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics

Lynn Babcock-Cimpello, M.D., associate professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, co-directors, Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Rochester

For more information: CenterforCommunityHealth@urmc.rochester.edu or 276-3056