Police Officers Equipped With Anti-Overdose Medication As Opioid Crisis Deepens In Ventura County
The few minutes that cops are on the scene before medical crews arrive can make the difference between life and death.
Ventura County Star:
NARCAN: Opioid Crisis Rising In Ventura County, Police Carry Spray
With opioid deaths on the rise in Ventura County, patrol officers are encountering more overdose victims and risking contact with potentially deadly substances. Now, several law enforcement agencies have equipped personnel with a seemingly humble new tool that could save lives: nasal spray. Called Narcan, the spray version of the medication naloxone can reverse opioid overdoses without a syringe. The spray comes in plastic dispensers similar to over-the-counter cold remedies. Opioids include prescription painkillers and illegal drugs such as heroin. (Wenner, 7/5)
In other public health news —
The Mercury News:
Working Long Hours Raises The Risk Of Diabetes
Mahee Gilbert-Ouimet, an epidemiologist and postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Work and Health in Toronto, examined data from a database of more than 7,000 workers in Canada who were followed for more than 12 years, as Time reported, to better understand how work hours impact the risk of diabetes. In the study, published in BMJ Diabetes Research & Care, they report that women working more than 45 hours a week had a 51% higher risk of developing diabetes than women who only worked 35 to 40 hours a week. (D'Souza, 7/5)
Los Angeles Times:
To Reduce Your Risk Of Obesity, It Helps To Have A Mom Who Follows Five Healthy Habits
Mothers lead the way for their children. And new research finds that the paths that moms walk (or the couches they sit and smoke on) make a powerful difference in their children’s propensity to become obese. A study that tracked close to 17,000 female nurses and their 24,289 kids has found that women who practiced five healthy habits — maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, eating a nutritious diet, consuming no more than moderate quantities of alcohol and not smoking cigarettes — had adolescents that were 75% less likely to be very overweight than the children of moms who practiced none of those healthy habits. (Healy, 7/5)