Fifty years ago, the Surgeon General predicted cigarette smoking would not be a concern in the next decade because Americans would know it was bad for their health. Yet an estimated 22 to 25 percent still smoke today.

Among Ohio State’s faculty and staff that number is estimated to be around 15 percent, or 5,000 people, says Robert Meier, director of behaviorial health and the University Faculty and Staff Assistance Program. Your Plan for Health’s new incentive program, launched March 26, aims to help smokers overcome their addiction — a delicate and challenging task, despite the generous scope of covered services.

“Smoking cessation has been offered as a benefit through the university health plans since I came to this position in 1992,” Meier notes, “but for the last decade, fewer than 10 people per year have taken advantage of that benefit.”

The low numbers, Meier says, are no reflection on the plan’s benefits, which include free or subsidized participation in nine university-approved tobacco cessation programs, five of which are run on campus. Over-the-counter nicotine replacement supplements, such as patches, gums and lozenges, are reimbursed up to $60 per plan year.

Read the complete story

A former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claims that the person addicted to junk food is not really to be blamed for the habit.he makers of such food blend its components in such a fashion that consumers get hooked onto it and crave for more.

Professor David Kessler, in his book titled, ‘The End of Overeating’ writes, “It is time to stop blaming individuals for being overweight or obese.”

“The real problem is we have created a world where food is always available and where that food is designed to make you want to eat more of it. For millions of people, modern food is simply impossible to resist," he added.The bliss point.Prof Kessler claims that the manufacturers seek to trigger a ‘bliss point’ which makes the food ‘hyper palatable’, leaving the eaters eager to eat more.

Read the complete story

Over the past three decades research has highlighted gender differences in substance use disorders and substance abuse treatment participation. Programs devoted to addressing women's treatment needs, broadly encompassed in the term "women-focused treatment," have multiplied. This column examines the rationale for women-focused treatment and describes some of its components. The authors cite the need to evaluate women-focused treatment by developing validated measures of the processes embodied in such treatment and by conducting empirically sound research on clinical outcomes, treatment effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and the optimal means of providing services to women with substance use disorders.

Alcohol use - as a well-established part of human culture - is something that has become almost as acceptable as eating and breathing. As a social facilitator and feel good drug of choice for many, alcohol is very popular indeed, with consumption at mass levels.

However, alcohols well-documented deleterious effects - diminished performance, mental impairment, possible addiction, diabetes and liver disease to varying degrees in certain individuals - could be seen as a good reason to steer clear of it.

Read the complete story

At 75 I finally decided to stop being stubborn and follow your advice after all these years and try to lose weight by exercising more and watching my diet. Unfortunately, I think I may be sabotaging my efforts because I have a bad habit of eating too much chocolate. I just can't seem to get enough of it. I don't "pig out" and eat it all at one time, but I snack on it all day long. What can I say? It makes me feel better - until I look in the mirror and see that I haven't lost any weight yet. Any suggestions? SWEET TOOTH IN SAVANNAH
DEAR SWEET TOOTH: Don't beat yourself up over this. At least you made the decision to finally do something your weight. As for the chocolate, there may be some things that you didn't know about chocolate that will help you to lose those extra pounds even by indulging once in a while.
According to University of California researchers, there is now documented evidence that the tendency to overeat sweets such as chocolate is a natural physiological response to chronic stress. Dr. Abby Aronowitz has taken things one step further by endorsing chocolate - and other "healthy junk foods" - in her revolutionary book Your Final Diet (

Read the complete story

Alcohol consumption has previously been strongly linked with certain types of cancer, for example those of the mouth and throat, but its contribution to other types of malignancies have not been as firmly established. A large study conducted in Britain and recently published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute has found that even light to moderate alcohol drinking could raise a woman's risk of several common types of cancer.

Details and Findings of Study

The study team had examined the questionnaire data of almost 1.3 million middle-aged women who were involved in the Million Women Study. The women had gone for breast cancer screening between 1996 and 2001. The average follow-up period of the study was 7.2 years, during which over 68,000 ladies developed invasive cancers.

Read the complete story

Being overweight or obese can be influenced by how we eat as opposed to what we eat. These are the findings of recent research into eating habits.

Many of us eat with other things going on at the same time, for example, working or playing on the computer, or watching TV. This typically means we are concentrating on something else and we tend to eat fast. When we eat fast, we often don't feel satisfied and tend to eat more.

When we eat fast, we don't give our brain enough time to notify our body when we've had enough. Research in Japan (published in the British Medical Journal Online) found that fast eaters were three times more likely to be overweight especially when they ate until they were full.

Read the complete story

Smoking is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Smoking still remains one of the leading cause of preventable death. Smoking has the dubious distinction of affecting all the systems from head to foot.

A woman is suing two individuals who she says caused her depression after she was involved in a multi-car collision.

Denise Macon filed a lawsuit June 12 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Aslie E. Tew and Jason T. DeLong.

Macon says she was stopped at a red light, facing east on Frank Scott Parkway at its intersection with DePaul, when the incident occurred on June 19, 2007, at about 3:30 p.m.

Read the complete story

I watched a CNN special hosted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta.  It was extremely telling.  I was interested in this special because I have always been curious about the fact that as a country we are getting fatter and unhealthier.  Despite the fact that there is a plethora of information about diet and nutrition in this country.   As I suspected, it has as much to do with our environment, our culture and myriad of other influences, such as inherited eating habits from our family.

Read the complete story