Seven in 10 cigarette smokers favor raising age of sale Atlanta, GA—(ENEWSPF)—July 7, 2015. Three out of 4 American adults—including 7 in 10 cigarette smokers—favor raising the minimum age of sale for all tobacco products to 21, according to an article by CDC published in the http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749379715002524 American Journal of[Read More…]

Sacramento, CA –(ENEWSPF)–July 7, 2015.  Yesterday Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 258, the Medical Cannabis Organ Transplant Act.  AB 258 prohibits discrimination against medical cannabis patients in the organ transplant process, unless a doctor has determined that medical cannabis use is clinically significant to the transplant process. Medical cannabis patients in[Read More…]

Heroin use seen increasingly in most demographic groups Heroin Use Has Increased Among Most Demographic Groups. Entire Infographic Atlanta, GA–(ENEWSPF)–July 7, 2015.  Heroin use has increased across the United States among men and women, most age groups, and all income levels. The greatest increases have occurred in groups with historically[Read More…]

Risk of heat-related health problems increases with age Bethesda, Maryland–(ENEWSPF)–July 7, 2015. Summer weather can pose special health risks to older adults and people with chronic medical conditions. It is critically important that adults particularly susceptible to hyperthermia and other heat-related illnesses know how to safeguard against problems. The National[Read More…]

Bethesda, Maryland–(ENEWSPF)–July 7, 2015.  A clinical trial of a new investigational vaccine designed to protect against West Nile Virus infection will be sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. The experimental vaccine was discovered and developed by scientists at[Read More…]

Advocates: Not One Patient Has Yet Received Medical Marijuana; Cuomo Must Sign a Bill or Take Other Action to Provide Relief to Suffering Patients New York City –(ENEWSPF)—July 7, 2015. On the one year anniversary of the signing of New York’s medical marijuana law, patients and families gathered in front of[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–July 6, 2015.  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) Director Evelyn Kappeler announced today more than $86 million in teen pregnancy prevention grants to non-profit organizations, school districts, universities, and others. The 81 new grants are expected to serve more than 291,000 youth[Read More…]

A girl washes her hands at the Slipway primary school in central Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. March 2015 Photo: UNICEF/NYHQ2015-0557/Irwin GENEVA–(ENEWSPF)–3 July 2015 – In a speedy response to Liberia’s first confirmed cases of Ebola in more than three months, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has begun distributing[Read More…]

Silver Spring, Maryland–(ENEWSPF)–July 3, 2015.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first drug for cystic fibrosis directed at treating the cause of the disease in people who have two copies of a specific mutation. Orkambi (lumacaftor 200 mg/ivacaftor 125 mg) is now approved to treat cystic fibrosis (CF)[Read More…]

NIH research points to microglia as potential therapeutic target in retinitis pigmentosa Bethesda, Maryland–(ENEWSPF)–July 3, 2015.  Spider-like cells inside the brain, spinal cord and eye hunt for invaders, capturing and then devouring them. These cells, called microglia, often play a beneficial role by helping to clear trash and protect the[Read More…]