Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Comprehensive Study On E-Cigarettes Touts Benefits To Smokers, Warns Of Dangers To Teens
The New York Times: Vaping Can Be Addictive And May Lure Teenagers To Smoking, Science Panel Concludes
A national panel of public health experts concluded in a report released on Tuesday that vaping with e-cigarettes that contain nicotine can be addictive and that teenagers who use the devices may be at higher risk of smoking. Whether teenage use of e-cigarettes leads to conventional smoking has been intensely debated in the United States and elsewhere. While the industry argues that vaping is not a steppingstone to conventional cigarettes or addiction, some antismoking advocates contend that young people become hooked on nicotine, and are enticed to use cancer-causing tobacco-based cigarettes over time. (Kaplan, 1/23)
NPR: Public Health Review Of E-Cigarettes Is Mixed
"There is conclusive evidence that most products emit a variety of potentially toxic substances. However the number and intensity is highly variable," says David Eaton, who heads the committee that wrote the report. He is also the dean and vice provost of the graduate school of the University of Washington, Seattle. "In some circumstances, such as their use by nonsmoking adolescents and young adults, their adverse effects clearly warrant concern." (Neighmond and Fulton, 1/23)
San Antonio Press-Express: San Antonio Part Of Study Finding Speedier PTSD Therapy
Retired Army Col. Don Gagliano was finally ready to believe he had post traumatic stress syndrome after a road rage incident in California last year. By then, doctors were pushing him to join a clinical trial whose promising results were published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Christenson, 1/23)
Los Angeles Times: Military Families Bolster The Case That Obesity Is Indeed Contagious
Members of the military serve their country in myriad ways. That includes helping researchers figure out whether obesity is a contagious disease. A new study involving thousands of military families suggests that the answer is yes. The idea that fatness can spread like chicken pox or the flu may sound downright crazy. But how else do you explain the fact that families assigned to Army bases in communities with higher rates of obesity were more likely to be overweight or obese compared with families sent to bases where excess pounds were less common? (Kaplan, 1/23)
Los Angeles Times: Less Smartphone Time Equals Happier Teenager, Study Suggests
A precipitous drop in the happiness, self-esteem and life satisfaction of American teens came as their ownership of smartphones rocketed from zero to 73% and they devoted an increasing share of their time online. Coincidence? New research suggests it is not. (Healy, 1/23)
The Hill: Psychiatrist Who Briefed Lawmakers On Trump's Mental State Says She Received Death Threats
The Yale psychiatrist who last month warned lawmakers on Capitol Hill about the threat posed by President Trump said she has received thousands of death threats, most of them on Twitter. "I was concerned because I was getting a thousand threatening messages a day at one point," Dr. Bandy X. Lee told the New Haven Register on Sunday. (Conradis, 1/23)
