To Help Smokers Kick The Habit, Money Outperforms E-Cigs, Nicotine Patches
But quitting rates overall were woefully low. Out of 6,006 smokers who enrolled in the trial, only 80 could provide biochemical evidence that they were smoke-free six months after their quit dates.
Los Angeles Times:
To Get Smokers To Quit, Money Works Better Than Electronic Cigarettes
When it comes to helping smokers quit, financial rewards are much more effective than electronic cigarettes. But the sad truth is that nothing works all that well, according to the results of a large clinical trial that tested five smoking-cessation strategies in real-world conditions. Out of 6,006 smokers who enrolled in the trial, only 80 could provide biochemical evidence that they were smoke-free six months after their quit dates. That's a success rate of just 1.3%. (Kaplan, 5/23)
In other public health news —
Los Angeles Times:
Can Simulating Evolution On A Computer Explain Our Enormous Brains?
Compared to the rest of the animal kingdom, the human brain is way out of whack.Our brains are roughly six times larger than what you would expect for a placental mammal of our stature, scientists say. And no other animal has a brain as large as ours relative to body size.So why did humans evolve to have such large brains when other animals did not? (Netburn, 5/23)
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
San Diego Scientists Fight Latest Ebola Outbreak
As the latest African Ebola outbreak stirs worldwide concern, San Diego scientists are stepping in to help. Mapp Biopharmaceutical, maker of the experimental antibody drug ZMapp, is readying shipments to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Meanwhile, Ebola expert Erica Ollmann Saphire of The Scripps Research Institute is organizing donations of necessary lab supplies. Ollmann Saphire studies the structure of Ebola and has helped Mapp understand the structure of Ebola antibodies. As of Friday, 46 suspected, probably and confirmed Ebola cases have been reported, with 26 deaths. (Fikes, 5/23)
The California Health Report:
CDC Data Shows Children’s Dental Health Is Improving, But Barriers To Access Persist
New data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show’s children’s oral health has improved across the nation, but race-based gaps in the prevalence of dental cavities and their treatment persist. According to the CDC data, part of its National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, exactly half of the kids in the U.S. between the ages of 2 and 19 had dental cavities during the agency’s 2011-12 survey period. That dropped to 43.1 percent by 2015-16, an overall reduction of nearly 14 percent.The prevalence of untreated dental cavities also declined during this time, from 16.1 to 13 percent. State-specific data was not included in the report. (Shinkman, 5/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Researchers Tally The Physical And Financial Costs Of Opioid Painkillers' Side Effects
The opioid crisis has shown us that prescription painkillers and their illicit counterparts can wreak havoc in American communities. Now researchers have quantified the damage they can do inside hospitals when administered to patients following surgeries and other invasive medical procedures. More than 10% of hospitalized patients who took one or more opioid painkillers experienced a side effect tied to the drug, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Surgery. Fully 93% of these patients suffered at least one episode that was deemed moderate or severe. (Kaplan, 5/23)