The practice of medicine has undergone an incredible, albeit incomplete, transformation over the past 50 years, moving steadily from a field informed primarily by expert opinion and the anecdotal experience of individual clinicians toward a formal scientific discipline. The advent of evidence-based medicine meant clinicians identified the most effective treatment options for their patients based...
Health
Wildfires Can Contaminate Drinking Water Systems with Harmful Chemicals − Here’s What Los Angeles Needs to Know
The wildfires in the Los Angeles area have destroyed thousands of structures, many of them homes, and firefighters continue to battle the infernos. Parts of Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Pasadena and other California communities are now unrecognizable. As evacuation orders are lifted, safe drinking water should be top of mind for those residents able to return...
Even 1 Drink a Day Elevates Your Cancer Risk – an Expert on How Alcohol Affects the Body Breaks Down a New Government Report
Many people use the new year to reflect on their relationship with alcohol. Just-released government guidelines are giving Americans another reason to consider a “dry January.” Over the past few decades, mounting scientific evidence has shown that as little as 1-2 alcoholic drinks per day can lead to increases in the likelihood of several cancers....
Tequila Industry Innovator Responds to U.S. Surgeon General’s New Advisory on Link Between Alcohol and Cancer Risk
Editor’s Note: On January 3rd, the U.S. Surgeon General released an advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk. The following is a commentary from Cynthia Bernal, Head of Wellness and Innovation for San Martin de Hidalgo Tequila, in response to the report. On behalf of San Martin de Hidalgo Tequila, we acknowledge the U.S. Surgeon General’s...
U.S. Surgeon General Issues New Advisory on Link Between Alcohol and Cancer Risk
Alcohol Consumption is the Third Leading Preventable Cause of Cancer in the United States Today, United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released a new Surgeon General’s Advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk, outlining the direct link between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk. Alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United...
Stimulant Users Are Caught in Fatal ‘Fourth Wave’ of Opioid Epidemic
In Pawtucket, Rhode Island, near a storefront advertising “free” cellphones, J.R. sat in an empty back stairwell and showed a reporter how he tries to avoid overdosing when he smokes crack cocaine. KFF Health News is identifying him by his initials because he fears being arrested for using illegal drugs. It had been several hours...
Preclinical Study Finds Surges in Estrogen Promote Binge Drinking in Females
The hormone estrogen regulates binge drinking in females, causing them to “pregame” – consume large quantities of alcohol in the first 30 minutes after it’s offered, according to a preclinical study led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine. The study establishes–for what is thought to be the first time–that circulating estrogen increases binge alcohol consumption...
Trash Incinerators Disproportionately Harm Black and Hispanic People
When leaders of Florida’s most populous county met in September to pick a site for what could become the nation’s largest trash incinerator, so many people went to the government center to protest that overflow seating spilled into the building’s atrium. “MIRAMAR SAYS NO TO INCINERATOR! NOT IN OUR BACKYARD,” read green T-shirts donned by...
What Are Pharmacy Benefit Managers? A Health Economist Explains How Lack of Competition Drives Up Drug Prices for Everyone
Wegovy and Ozempic are weight loss drugs that promise to transform the treatment of obesity, heart disease and other chronic conditions that afflict millions of Americans. But while everyone agrees these drugs have the potential to transform lives, no one can agree on how best to pay for them. Wegovy sells for a list price...
The Moral Dimension to America’s Flawed Health Care System
The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has set off soul-searching among many Americans. Part of that reflection is about the public reaction to Thompson’s death and the sympathy the suspect received online, with some people critical of the insurance industry celebrating the assailant as a sort of folk hero. As many observers have pointed...