Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Schools Tap Students To Help Fight Vaping Epidemic So That Message Is Coming From A Friend Instead Of An Adult
CNN: To Help Fight Vaping, Schools Look To Their Own Students
Teen vaping is on the rise, and schools are searching for solutions, with some taking disciplinary action or installing vape detectors in bathrooms. Still, the problem has continued to swell. The US Food and Drug Administration announced in November that vaping had increased nearly 80% among high schoolers and 50% among middle schoolers since the year before. The resignation announcement of the agency's commissioner -- Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who vowed to crack down on what he described as an "epidemic" of teen vaping -- has only added to the uncertainty over what's to come. (Nedelman, 3/18)
The New York Times: Professional Hair Removal Catches On With The Preteen Set
At one of her 12-year-old daughter’s swim meets last year, a surgeon who lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan noticed that something was off: Her daughter wasn’t lifting her arms out of the water. “A boy on her swim team had meanly told her that she shouldn’t swim so hard and lift her arms up because everyone could see her underarm hair,” she said. “I realized then that the hair was a serious issue for her and that she should have it removed.” Her daughter became one of a rising number of preteens turning to professionals for hair removal. (Vora, 3/19) [This item was updated on Aug. 20, 2020, to reflect changes made by the New York Times.]
CNN: There's New Advice To Prevent Food Allergies In Children
Giving a baby a new food to try is fun, and it should be. The only concerns parents should have: finding their phones fast enough to document the funny faces and cleaning up the mess that might follow. Yet in recent years, scientific evidence has accumulated quickly on what foods to introduce when and how to best prevent allergies -- leaving parents to keep track of it all. On Monday, based on a detailed review of all available evidence on the topic, the American Academy of Pediatrics published updated guidance on what works and what doesn't when it comes to the prevention of food allergies and other allergic conditions. (Bracho-Sanchez, 3/18)
