Prevention Matters

"Best and Worst News for Prevention” is based on a purposive sample consisting of expert staff members who each week choose to share their opinions on the best and worst news for prevention.

BEST

Doctors Urge Indoor Tanning Ban for Minors

U.S. tanning salons should close their doors to minors to protect them from skin cancer, a group of 60,000 pediatricians said Monday in a new policy statement. With the move, the American Academy of Pediatrics joins the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Academy of Dermatology and other groups that are already pushing for a ban. Since 2009, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a part of the WHO, has classified tanning beds as cancer-causing. Research shows people who start going to tanning salons before age 35 have a 75-percent increase in their chances of developing melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer.

WORST

Smoking Linked to Infant Heart Defects


A pregnant woman who smokes in her first trimester is much more likely to have an infant with a congenital heart defect, U.S. health officials say.  A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta found tobacco exposure is associated with a 20 percent to 70 percent increased risk of certain types of defects such as those that obstruct the flow of blood from the right side of the heart into the lungs and openings between the upper chambers of the heart.


The “Best and Worst” awards are announced each week in “Prevention Matters,” the blog of Partnership for Prevention. "Best and Worst News for Prevention” is based on a purposive sample of expert staff members who each week choose to share their opinions on the best and worst news for prevention. More information is available at http://www.prevent.org/.

The World Health Organization’s World No Tobacco Day 2010 will be celebrated on May 31. This year’s health theme is “Gender and Tobacco”, with an emphasis on marketing to women. Though women comprise only 20% of the world’s one billion smokers, the rise in prevalence, especially among girls, is alarming.

The new WHO report, Women and Health, cites the fact that the tobacco industry has ramped up its marketing efforts to women in countries worldwide.

Details about the event and the 2010 focus on women can be found on the WHO website.

On World No Tobacco Day 2010, and throughout the following year, WHO will encourage governments to pay particular attention to protecting women from the tobacco companies' attempts to lure them into lifetimes of nicotine dependence. By responding to WHO's call, governments can reduce the toll of fatal and crippling heart attacks, strokes, cancers and respiratory diseases that have become increasingly prevalent among women. Tobacco use could kill one billion people during this century. Recognizing the importance of reducing tobacco use among women, and acting upon that recognition, would save many lives.

David Zauche
Managing Senior Fellow & Senior Program Officer
Partnership for Prevention

Due to the improper use of antibiotics, Gonnorrhea may become untreatable in the near future. The World Health Organziation reported yesterday that there is now "widespread resistance" to first-line antibiotics, which are cheaper than other options, to fight the bacterium that causes Gonnorrhea.

Some countries, such as Australia and Japan are now also reporting treatment failures with a class of antibiotics that is the last line of defense against the disease. The WHO and CDC have developed an action plan to begin identifying other treatments.

Left untreated, gonorrhea can result in infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, and infections in newborn children. It also increases the likelihood of acquiring and transmitting HIV.

Christianne Johnson
Program Manager
Partnership for Prevention

Paul Hipp, a musician and contributor to The Huffington Post, has posted a music video to YouTube celebrating the U.S.'s status among health systems as ranked by the WHO. Today, "We're Number 37!" sits at the #10 spot among YouTube music videos (Why do I suddenly feel like Casey Kasem?).

The World Health Organization recommended on Friday that oral rotavirus vaccines be included in all national immunization programs to avert half a million diarrhoeal deaths and 2 million hospitalizations a year.

An Australian obesity expert who heads a World Health Organization center on obesity has advised his country to take up a hardline campaign against like those used against cigarettes and drink driving.

Deakin University’s Professor Boyd Swinburn says such tactics would include advertising bans, taxes on unhealthy products and junk food-free zones. Swinburn is the Director of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention.