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Study Finds That Tobacco Companies Changed Design Of Cigarettes Without Alerting Smokers
As President Obama prepares to sign a bill giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight of the tobacco industry, a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers shows that tobacco manufacturers have continually changed the ingredients and the design of their cigarettes over time, even if those changes have exceeded acceptable product variance guidelines. The result, say the researchers, is that consumers who buy the same brand of product are not made aware of how that product has been altered and what effect those alterations might have on their levels of addiction or harm.
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Gene Network Sciences Announces Broad Cancer Collaboration With UCSF And Initial Results
Gene Network Sciences, Inc. (GNS) announced that it has entered into a research collaboration with the University of California San Francisco Cancer Center (UCSF) aimed at accelerating cancer research and drug development across several therapeutic areas. This collaboration will combine the clinical and research oncology expertise of UCSF with the computational expertise and supercomputer-driven REFS(TM) platform of GNS. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
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Planned Parenthood Accuses Orange County, Calif., Officials Of Blocking Breast Health Program
Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties last week accused Orange County officials of having "gerrymandered" the process for distributing health grants and hindering the organization"s ability to establish a breast health program, the Los Angeles Times reports.Over the last eight years, Planned Parenthood and 17 other community clinics have received revenue from a tobacco settlement to fund health education programs. In March, the Board of Supervisors suspended Planned Parenthood"s contract after a constituent noted that taxpayer money was going to a group that performs abortions. The contract was reinstated with new guidelines that money go toward providing "direct medical" services and not toward abortion services. To meet the new guidelines, Planned Parenthood created the Breast Health Program for low-income women younger than age 40. The county rejected the program, followed by about two months of negotiations. The plan was abandoned last week after a deal was not reached within the 23-hour deadline imposed by the county Health Care Agency.In a letter sent last week to the Board of Supervisors and the Health Care Agency, PP OSBC President and CEO Jon Dunn wrote, "The county placed obstacle after obstacle in Planned Parenthood"s path, ultimately making [the breast health program] impossible to implement." He noted that the county refused to properly fund the program, held the organization to different accounting standards than other groups, and "refused to negotiate and imposed an unworkable deadline." According to Dunn, the "real reason" for the obstacles and the difficult negotiations was because the organization provides abortion services. He added, "You have eliminated critical health education programs, created barriers to critically needed care. You will be held accountable for your reckless and irresponsible actions."On Thursday, the county health agency released a statement saying that it had "worked in good faith" to reach an agreement but that funding could not be approved because "Planned Parenthood chose not to sign and return their agreement by the deadline date" (Abdollah, Los Angeles Times, 7/31).
Public Health

Advancing Health Communication Through Digital Media

Digital media are changing the environment for communicating health information. In a new book, "Health Communication and the New Media Landscape," University of Missouri journalism researchers examine how the digital media revolution is affecting health and health care in the United States. Effective health communication can significantly enhance health care and public health as well as reduce inequities in people"s access to health information and services, according to the authors. "Communication is at the heart of health care and health promotion," said Esther Thorson, associate dean for the Missouri School of Journalism. "Advances in communication technology offer new and exciting opportunities to empower individuals and groups in relation to their health." Digital media, including electronic health information, social networks and telehealth, have the potential to provide more effective health care and information to citizens throughout the world, Thorson said. The goal of the book is to help practitioners, administrators, policy makers and the public better understand the promise of these tools and services for improving health. "Health Communication in the New Media Landscape" is a collaborative effort between Thorson and Jerry C. Parker, associate dean for research and clinical professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation in the MU School of Medicine. Parker and Thorson, along with renowned authorities in health care and communication, compiled examples of how advances in technology can strengthen people"s confidence in their interactions with the health care system and enable health care professionals to better tailor their work and time for the benefit of patients and clients. The book addresses several unique topics, including: * The role technology can and will play in health communication * How new media can be used to improve health literacy * How patients can learn about health-related issues and health care * Demographic changes - growing ethnic communities and the aging U.S. population * The impact of the new media landscape on health care providers, insurance companies and health care policies "There is limited information for health care professionals who want and need new ways to communicate health information with each other, their patients and the general public," Thorson said. "The authors of the book address this need by providing examples of innovative, media-based methods of health communication." The book includes contributions by 13 authors from the University of Missouri and 17 authors from other prominent universities and health organizations, including the National Cancer Institute, the World Health Organization, Boston University, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. For more information, visit http://www.springerpub.com/prod.aspx?prod_id=01224 Emily Smith University of Missouri-Columbia


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