4 Bad Habits to Avoid For Healthy Teeth

If you brush twice a day and have hardly ever experienced any kind of major problems involving oral health, you can easily believe that your teeth will invariably remain in good shape. Still there are numerous daily activities that may be gradually yet steadily harming your teeth. Consider the following frequent habits that may trigger serious, extensive issues, and try to overcome any which seem familiar.

1. Brushing Teeth to Vigorously

It might seem you are being conscientious, however brushing your teeth way too vigorously can in fact trigger more harm than good because it weakens the teeth enamel considerably. You can try to thoroughly brush your teeth with a softer brush, and remember to brush them in delicate, even circles.

2. Drinking Diet Soda or Fruit Juice

Even though drinking diet soft drinks may help your waist, it destroys your teeth because of the acidic properties connected with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame. At the same time, regular soda contains a good amount of sugar and promotes cavities because of that. It is advisable to quench your thirst by drinking water. Another one of the reasons that it is better to sip drinking water to keep hydrated is that even drinking beverages like fruit juices actually is harmful to teeth. Despite having vitamin C in it and many other health advantages, the majority of fruit juice is full of added sugars (once again placing you susceptible to cavities). Still some fruit juice is actively noted as having no added sugar that can lower your likelihood of developing these juice-related cavities.

3. Crunching on Ice Cubes

Crunching the large ice cubes while drinking juice, soda and/or any cold beverages can be another significant poor dental habit. It may cause cracks in your enameled surface of the teeth and even break in teeth. Colored refreshments additionally spoil the all-natural color of your teeth not to mention stain them irreparably.

4. Smoking

Smoking is completely horrible for your smile. Many people know it stains them yellow-colored and brown; however it is fairly less recognized that smoking cigarettes also results in gingivitis (which may even result in some of your teeth falling out). Cigarette smoking is really risky for your oral health that it is additionally connected with different mouth cancers.

Now that you are familiar with a number of bad dental practices, stay away from them whenever possible. A stunning face is not whole without gorgeous and healthy teeth. Along with staying away from bad habits, you should also try to thoroughly brush your teeth consistently. Oral plaque buildup is often a primary reason why we are afflicted by tooth decay. This is a sticky material which contains bacteria that generates acids and causes destruction on your teeth enamel. It leads to gum diseases such as gingivitis and mouth cancers. When we omit the significance of day-to-day brushing with toothpaste, food pieces will remain in between your teeth. This can lead to more germs in the mouth that destroys the teeth.

John is a professional blogger writes interesting articles about Health and this article was researched and written with the help of Seattle Pediatric Dentist

Drive? Is Low Libido Really The Problem?

By John Smith

I've been coming across a lot of articles lately that all talk about the huge need of Viagra for men. You see, the world and even the internet is stocked full with what is mostly just really good ad campaigns. Don't get me wrong. As a guy, I think the idea of Viagra 500mg pills is great, but is it really necessary? Advertising isn't just on the TV any more. It's all over the place, in your morning coffee, in your breakfast cereal, in your house cleaning items, on your facebook, on your phone calls-basically it's everywhere. When you are making a decision on what is good for your body and what is not, don't always go by what you read. Make a careful decision and council with the right people. I have the hardest time researching health issues on the internet because I know that most the time what folks have to say is basically just promoting a product and a lot of fluff to go with it.

Take the subject of Viagra for men, for example. Yes, there are times and situations when it's required, and under these circumstances it is no joke, but most the time you will hear people talking about viagra so casually, that I think we miss the purpose behind it all together. What started out as a pill to help those with ED, has now become crass joke or a quick-pop-solution for a date gone bad. You just can't expect to base your entire life on what you read because most of the information that we have has been pumped up to not only make you want to buy the product but to make a lifestyle out of it.

After some of the stuff that I read about Viagra 500mg pills, I decided to research the matter a bit. Some articles say that the pill should be used for men who have a low libido, and others say that it is only for ED. On the subject of low libido, some health experts write that 1 out of 4 men have it, other say that 1 out of 5 have it, and yet others say that 1 out of 7 have it. Who is right? We really can't say. What I would say, however, is be careful before you buy. Viagra should not be used as the pass time pill for a quick recreation that most people and internet articles put it out to be.

This is a pill popping world and we have a prescribed pill for just about every problem. Whether it's a common cold, a mild headache, and slight or severe depression everything comes with a prescription and is followed by a pill-sex is now in the same boat. There's a large number of young men who use Viagra more times than those over 40, just because they've heard it's a great rush. But they don't realise that there are adverse repercussions to such self-medication. What happened to the days of us working through our problems instead of looking for pills to do the work for us? A momentary infilling of Viagra might boost sexual performance for a hour or so, but is it really benefiting the body in the long run?

The use of Viagra for young men is not advised, because, let's face it-it's just not made for that. It's rare that young men have problems with genuine ED at all. If you have been examined by a doctor and have ED, then by all means, I give you the green on the blue pill. But if you're just experiencing a low in your sex life and the doc has said that it really has nothing to do with ED, then don't go rushing for the blue pill. There are other reasons for a lack of sexual drive, and the best part about these other reasons is that you can do something about it. You can feel strong enough to change your life with your own hands instead of relying a pill. Some of these other reasons are:

• Alcohol, smoking, or drug abuse
• Guilt of an extramarital relationship or pressure to perform with an extramarital partner
• Overwork
• Anxiety and tension
• Lack of exercise

Problems in your sex life could also be related to the side-effects of an illness or disorder. In these cases, it would definitely be best to not go the way of the crowd and depend on ED drugs, because doing so could make things worse. It's very common that people who complain of having problems with sex actually have underlying cardiac problems or diabetes. So while I'm not saying to throw Viagra and it's kin out the door all together, I will say this-don't go by everything you read. Play it safe and keep in control of your own life without having to rely on doctors and medications to do it for you.

U of L dean says $50 billion in annual health costs could be saved if Americans just walked more

Small changes in health behavior can have a huge impact on the public's overall health and well-being, and during National Public Health Week discussions last week, Dr. Craig Blakely, the new dean of the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences, talked about the important role played by public health in promoting healthy behavior, preventing disease and saving both lives and money.

Blakely pointed to obesity as an example of an emerging health-related crisis, which can be addressed with behavioral changes that make a significant difference like adding more physical activity to your day, according to a U of L release.

“If we all took exercise seriously by just walking, we could save $50 billion in cardiovascular disease-related costs,” Blakely said. “A 10 percent weight loss equals a $5,000 savings in health-related complications. A typical desk worker could lose a pound a month by standing two hours a day.”

Blakely also addressed smoking bans, which are becoming popular in Kentucky, even though the state has the highest share of smokers (29 percent) of any state, leads the nation in high-school smokers (24 percent) and spends only a minuscule portion of its tobacco revenues to fight tobacco use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If every state adopted comprehensive smoke-free policies, said Blakely, $2 billion would be saved in smoking-related deaths, lung cancer treatments and care for related health complications over the course of several years, says the release.

Blakely highlighted several other examples of public health’s potential return on investment. For example, says the release, every dollar spent on childhood immunizations saves $18 on vaccine-preventable disease-related costs, every dollar spent in prenatal care translates to $6 in health care cost savings and for every dollar spent on fluoridated water saves $20 in dental care.

Public health research will continue to find effective ways to generate these cost savings, such as finding researching how to modify environments to encourage exercise or how to send strong messages that promote regular physical activity (Read more)

Survey finds employees pay greater share of health costs, and most large employers penalize them for using tobacco

As large employers respond to changes influenced by health care reform and rising costs of care, employees are paying a greater portion of their health-care costs. That trend that is likely to continue over the next few years, says a new report on employer-based health plans.

Although employers cover most costs of work-based plans, employees contribute 42 percent more for health coverage than they did five years ago, while employers paid 32 percent more, according to the study from the benefits consultant Towers Watson and the National Business Group on Health. Overall, costs went up 34.4 percent.

When employers were asked if they thought health plans would change by 2018, which is the year the excise tax on high-cost plans takes effect, 92 percent said plans would be different, and nearly half said they expect a significant or transformative change. Such change will increase both accountability and engagement for employees.

% of large employers saying they were "very confident" they would offer health benefits in 2022

Nearly two-thirds of employers surveyed offer employees financial rewards to encourage participation in health programs, according to the report, which said tying employee contributions to successful completion of specific tasks, such as health assessments and screenings, remains the most popular contribution strategy. Growth in the use of penalties to engage employees in health-program participation has slowed over the last two years, but the use of surcharges for tobacco use continues to grow. By 2014, 62 percent of surveyed companies are expected to apply tobacco-use surcharges.

"While U.S. employers remain committed to health care benefits for active employees over the next five years," the report says, "they are redifining their financial commitment in the short run and are more reluctant to commit to coverage for employees over a longer period."

The 18th annual Towers Watson/National Business Group on Health Employer Survey on Purchasing Value in Health Care tracks employers' strategies and practices. It was completed by 583 employers,between November 2012 and January 2013. The report says it identifies the actions of the best performing companies as well as current trends in health-care benefit programs of U.S. employers with at least 1,000 employees. Survey respondents collectively employ 11.3 million full-time employees and have 8.5 million employees enrolled in their health care programs. Download a report PDF by clicking here.

Change Your Lifestyle and Banish Your Vices

Do you have any vices? Most people have at least one habit that they would like to kick, and for many that habit is smoking. If you are a smoker, it might seem almost impossible to quit, and even the thought of it could send you into a cold sweat. However, if you are truly ready to stop smoking and to become healthier, and you are willing to put in the work, you can do it. Here are some of the things that you need to do in your life to help make quitting and becoming healthier overall easier for you.

Understand the Habit and Make Changes

First, you want to understand what it is that makes the bad habit enjoyable in the first place, and find something that you can do to replace that feeling. In addition, you want to make sure that you are able to stay out of situations that could make you want to smoke. If your friends all step outside after dinner to smoke, then you are going to need to avoid that until you kick the habit entirely. Otherwise, the temptation can be too great.

If you smoke in your vehicle, then you will want to make sure that you take it to a professional detailer who is going to be able to get the smell out of the vehicle. If you do not, the temptation to smoke is going to hit you every time that you sit in the vehicle. Your clothes are going to carry the stench of the smoke as well. It can take several washes to remove the smell. For some items, dry cleaning might be necessary. Others might even need replacing.

Find Other Outlets

Something else that you should consider doing is coming up with some hobbies and activities that you truly enjoy and that can engage your mind as well as your hands. People who stop smoking often do not know what to do with their hands because they have become so accustomed to smoking. Putting together models, playing videogames, reading a book, and more can help to engage the mind and the body. Exercise is also a good option for those who are seeking a good outlet.

Quitting is never easy, but it is possible to do. With a great attitude and the desire to change your lifestyle, you can banish one of the world's deadliest vices.

Victory Lean is a writer at Dicigs.com - an Electronic Cigarette showcase. She likes to share lifestyle tips and advices for healthy living.

Smoking ban gets 'a good scrubbing' before Judiciary Committee

By Al Cross
Kentucky Health News

The bill for a statewide smoking ban is favored by three-fifths of Kentucky adults, but is dead for this session of the General Assembly. However, its supporters think they made some headway Monday as they laid groundwork for getting it through the state House a year from now.

The House Judiciary Committee held an informational hearing on House Bill 190 to "give it a good scrubbing" before a committee that is more skeptical of it than the Health and Welfare Committee, which approved it early in the session, the bill's sponsor, Rep, Susan Westrom, D-Lexington, said afterward.

Westrom said she was encouraged by the hearing because it exposed weaknesses in the bill that she will correct for the next regular session, beginning in January 2014. For example, she said, Rep. Steven Rudy, R-Paducah, argued that the bill's language would make it illegal to use smoke in barns to cure the dark tobacco grown in Western Kentucky, largely for smokeless consumption.

"This is about vetting," Westrom told Rudy. "You have a different mindset that I do sitting on the Health and Welfare Committee."

Rudy acknowledged that secondhand smoke is not beneficial, but asked, "Has there ever been a death certificate that secondhand smoke killed this person?"

Dr. Sylvia Cerel-Suhl, Central Kentucky president of the American Heart Association, replied that Lexington recorded a significant drop in acute heart attacks after enacting a smoking ban, and said "thousands of studies" of secondhand smoke have shown exposure to it can cause premature death.

"The evidence is absolutely overwhelming," she said, and asked if anyone else had any questions. No one did, but the committee was one member short of a quorum.

Advocates told the legislators that 37 jurisdictions, covering 34 percent of the state's population, limit smoking in some way. Mark Hayden, a trial lawyer and former Campbell County commissioner, said a statewide ban is needed because enacting ordinances, writing regulations and enforcing them is a burden for local officials.

The bill would give local health departments power to enforce the ban. Scott Lockard, president of the Kentucky Health Departments Association and the health director in Clark County, said his agency has issued no court charges, only warning citations, since its board passed a ban, and Woodford County has issued only three citations.

Others appearing at the hearing included Dr. Stephanie Mayfield, commissioner of the state Department of Public Health, and Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson, who was invited by the Kentucky Smoke-Free Kentucky Coalition. He discussed enforcement of of the ban in Louisville, where he was mayor.

Rep. Tom Riner, D-Louisville, said the ban is "one of the most important pieces of legislation that has been brought before this body, because it literally affects every Kentuckian. . . perhaps the most important piece."

Kentucky Health News is an independent news service of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.

Lack of statewide smoking ban represents one part of Kentucky's struggle to deal with tobacco use and the health issues it creates

By Molly Burchett

Kentucky Health News

As the bill for a statewide smoking ban lies on its deathbed in the General Assembly, new federal data show Kentucky still has the highest percentage of smokers (29 percent) of any state, leads the nation in the share of smoking high school students (24 percent) and spends only a minuscule portion of their tobacco revenues to fight tobacco use. Those figures come from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Tobacco Control State Highlights 2012 report. (For county-by-county figures, click here.)

The lack of a statewide smoking ban, which nevertheless has become popular among Kentuckians, represents only a small part of the struggle to address Kentuckians' tobacco use and resulting health problems. Kentucky's program to discourage tobacco use has been severely underfunded for years, contributing to the state's lack of or slow progress in reducing its smoking and tobacco use rates and subsequent health problems, said Dr. Ellen Hahn, director of the Kentucky Center for Smoke-Free Policy at the University of Kentucky.

State tobacco revenue (left bar) and spending (right bar)

The CDC says Kentucky should spend $57.2 million a year to have an effective, comprehensive tobacco-prevention program, but the state allocates only $2.1 million a year to such programs -- 3.7 percent of the recommended amount.

By another measure, the amount is only 0.6 percent of the estimated $381 million the state gets from tobacco taxes and the 1998 national settlement with cigarette manufacturers, according to a tobacco settlement report.



Meanwhile, Kentucky's health-care costs attributable to smoking add up to about $1.5 billion a year, and smoking-caused productivity losses total $2.3 billion a year. These amounts do not include health costs caused by exposure to secondhand smoke, smoking-caused fires, smokeless tobacco use or cigar and pipe smoking.

Despite the known health risks that tobacco use poses, smoking in Kentucky remains a part of everyday life in most places. But that is increasingly less so around the country, so there is an increasing gap between heavy-smoking and low-smoking states; smoking in Kentucky is about twice as prevalent as in Utah and California, reports Steven Reinberg of HealthDay. Click here for an interactive map of states' tobacco prevention efforts.

There are proven, multi-pronged strategies to curb smoking. They include combinations of higher tobacco taxes, smoke-free laws, media campaigns, and restricted access to tobacco products. However, Kentucky continues to lag behind other states due to "stagnant policies" and a lack of funding, said Hahn.

Many other factors contribute to Kentucky's lack of tobacco-prevention progress. By failing to substantially reduce adult smoking, the state misses opportunities to encourage younger adults and children not to smoke, Hahn said. Kentucky needs to employ strategies that communicate the success and affordability of tobacco cessation programs, she said; people often lack the encouragement to quit smoking because they don't know how or they don't believe it is possible.

The latest tobacco report is a timely reminder that tobacco use remains a huge public health problem for Kentucky and there are proven strategies that, if implemented, could help Kentuckians live a healthier, tobacco-free life.

Kentucky Health News is an independent news service of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.

The Simple How Tos of Vaping

It really is simple. The act of vaping is designed to pretty much mimic the act of smoking a regular tobacco cigarette. You draw on the end of the electronic cigarette, the vapor enters your mouth and lungs, the nicotine is delivered, and then you blow out the excess vapor. One of the biggest differences is that an electronic cigarette will not light up brighter, nor produce more vapor, from being drawn on harder.

Slow and long pulls are the best way to create the most amount of vapor with an e-cig. If your electronic cigarette begins to produce less vapor there are two most likely causes: either your battery is low, or you are low on e-liquid, or both. As you become familiar with your electronic cigarette, preferred e-liquid and battery performance, you will learn how to stay a step ahead of your electronic cigarette, and rarely experience you e-cig running low on vapor. Many users say that both the e-liquid and the battery run low around the same time, so you can keep things flowing smoothly by taking care of both when your vaping gets low.

Most kits for BLU electronic cigarettes include a portable carry case that allows extra e-liquid and batteries to be taken with you. This insures that you always have a "vape" at your fingertips. Always be sure to charge your batteries in a charger designed for that brand of battery. A proper set up will ensure your safety, as well as the most user friendly, practical experience. Even if to spend a little money trying various brands and components to find which ones work best for you, it will be worth it in creating the best "vaping" experiences for you.

At first your electronic cigarette might take a bit of getting used to. The components will need to be assembled by you, and getting the pieces all screwed in properly. Just give yourself a little time to practice, and, before you know it, you will be a pro. One of the things new "vapers" are most pleasantly surprised with is how economical electronic cigarettes are when compared to a tobacco cigarette habit. A smoker who smokes a high end brand of cigarettes at the rate of a pack-a-day can expect to spend about %75 less a year if they switch to electronic cigarettes. That makes it worth checking out.

Spotlight on Men's Health

Erica Moss is the community manager for Georgetown University's online MSN degree program. She also enjoys blogging, TV and pop culture.

Maintaining a sound mind and sound body is an ever-present challenge for both men and women, but the lack of awareness around the topic of men's health is a disturbing reality. Maintaining a proper diet and exercise is not an easy task, but a surprising number of men don't have the basic facts about the most common risks to their health, and to change that, we need more education around this important issue.

The Problem

More than half of all premature deaths among men are preventable, according to the infographic below. Causes of preventable death include smoking, obesity, alcohol and drug use, and some types of cancer (such as testicular cancer, which can be treated effectively if detected early). Men are also less likely than women to take advantage of the health care resources that they have access.

Via Nurse Practitioner Programs and Nursing License Map

This potentially fatal tendency not to address health problems when the opportunity presents itself might be rooted in ignorance or in the cultural belief that it is unmanly to admit weakness or seek help from others. Either way, it leads to needless complications and, unfortunately, deaths.

Education

The fact that so many men's deaths are preventable can be seen as an enormous opportunity as well as an enormous tragedy. By educating the public about the most common risks to men's health and making health care resources available to everyone, it would be possible to extend the lives of an enormous number of people. Such initiatives could cover things that men can easily do themselves, such as regular testicular self-exams.

They could also make clear the necessity of seeing a doctor regularly and recognizing the early warning signs of heart attacks, which two-thirds of men do not respond to by seeking professional help.

Additional aspects of men's health education could focus on making informed decisions about everyday risk factors, like eating healthy and exercising regularly. It is common sense that men who are aware of the nutritional content of their food are more likely to choose foods that will not put them at risk of diabetes or obesity later in life, but, unfortunately, some men also choose to take risks. Such dangerous and rigid ideas about gender also need to be a part of our national conversation about men's health.

The importance of education on this issue is clear: It saves lives.

Beshear endorses statewide smoking ban as bill moves to the House floor; Williamsburg adopts its own ban

Gov. Steve Beshear endorsed a statewide smoking ban yesterday at a Frankfort rally to push the bill that would enact the ban.

"Beshear, who later acknowledged that he smoked in college but quit soon afterwards, said Kentucky ranks No. 1 in the nation in smoking and lung cancer," reports Jack Brammer of the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Noting that Kentucky leads the nation in smoking, Beshear said, "Our addiction hurts productivity, jacks up health care costs and literally kills our people. Yet we've never instituted a statewide law to protect Kentuckians from secondhand smoke." Noting that over one-third of Kentuckians live in jurisdictions with smoking bans, he said, "It's time that we extend that protection to all Kentuckians. . . . Years from now, people will wonder why we waited so long."

Republican Rep. Julie Raque Adams  of Louisville, a co-sponsor of the bill, noted at the rally that Williamsburg this week became the 23rd Kentucky locality to adopt a smoking ban.

The statewide measure, House Bill 190, was posted for passage in the House today but is not expected to be called for a vote unless supporters show Speaker Greg Stumbo that they have the votes to pass it.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/02/14/2517025/former-kentucky-basketball-star.html#storylink=cpy

Statewide smoking ban close to House vote, Stumbo says

For the second straight year, the state House Health and Welfare Committee has approved a bill that would ban smoking in enclosed public places or workplaces. It is still unlikely to become law, but might get farther in the legislative process.

"The proposal has never been voted on by the full House, and it would probably have a rough road in the Republican-controlled Senate," Beth Musgrave reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. "Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said that the government shouldn't tell businesses they cannot regulate smoking on their own property." (Stivers' hometown does just that; it is one of 22 Kentucky jurisdictions with smoking bans.)

House Speaker Greg Stumbo told Musgrave that he supports the measure, House Bill 190, and that sponsors are close to getting the votes it needs to pass the full House. The House has 100 members, but a bill can pass with as few as 40 votes as long as enough members abstain and it has a plurality.

The bill passed the committee Wednesday by a vote of 11-0, with four Republicans abstaining: Reps. Tim Moore of Elizabethtown, Robert Benvenuti of Lexington, Ben Waide of Madisonville and Addia Wuchner of Burlington.

Rep. Julie Adams of Louisville, the bill's Republican sponsor, told Musgrave that 29 states have statewide smoking bans, 24 with bans like the bill would impose. "This is a mainstream issue," she said. "The Kentucky General Assembly is way behind the general public." (Read more)

Basketball star Derek Anderson will join Smoke-Free Kentucky for its annual lobbying day in Frankfort Thursday, Feb. 14. He said in a press release, “Kentucky has so much to be proud of.   We are known for our hoops and horses.  Unfortunately, we are also number 1 in the number of deaths from lung cancer.  This is unacceptable to me. I want to be a part of the movement to change that.”  He added, “I am a businessman.  Smoke-free workplaces make good economic sense.” (Read more)

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/02/07/2507141/statewide-smoking-ban-clears-kentucky.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/02/07/2507141/statewide-smoking-ban-clears-kentucky.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/02/07/2507141/statewide-smoking-ban-clears-kentucky.html#storylink=cpy

Beshear calls for action to improve state's health, but says only that 'It's time for us to begin looking seriously' at a smoking ban

By Al Cross
Kentucky Health News

His priorities were education and tax reform, but Gov. Steve Beshear mentioned several health issues in his State of the Commonwealth speech tonight to a joint session of the General Assembly.

Beshear called for action to correct the state's "fundamental weaknesses," including "a population whose health ranks among the worst in the nation." Near the end of his speech, he said, "We need to continue improving the health of our people," but after about a minute of discussing tobacco and smoking he stopped short of endorsing a statewide ban on smoking in the workplace. (KET photo)

"It's time for us to begin looking seriously at doing this on a statewide level," he said to some applause, after noting that nearly half of Kentuckians live in jurisdictions where smoking is legally restricted, that the state has the highest or next-to-highest smoking rate overall and among teens and pregnant women, and that "Our smoking-related mortality rate is the worst in the nation. . . . Our addiction hurts productivity, jacks up health care costs and kills our people."

Beshear called for improving prenatal care and newborn screening, and for minor improvements in last year's bill to fight prescription drug abuse. He said the bill has caused a precipitous drop in abuse of prescription painkillers. "Kentucky at one time had the sixth highest rate in the nation, but . . . we improved 24 spots," he said. "Nearly half of the state's known pain management clinics have closed rather than submit to new rules that protect patients." He said use of the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting system "has increased nearly seven-fold . . . and prescriptions for some of the most abused drugs have dropped up to 14 percent from a year ago."

However, the problem of babies becoming addicted to drugs in their addicted mothers' wombs has skyrocketed in the last decade or so, Beshear said: "In 2000, reports showed 29 babies in Kentucky born addicted to drugs. But in 2011, there were 730 babies – more than 25 times as many. And that figure is thought to be under-reported." He did not say how he wants to improve screening.

Beshear did not mention perhaps the biggest health policy question facing the commonwealth, whether to use federal subsidies to expand the Medicaid program to people in households earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty threshold. Now the program covers people in households earning up to 70 percent of the poverty line. The federal government would pay all the cost of the additional enrollees through 2016, when the state would start picking up part of the tab, up to 20 percent in 2020.

Some Republicans say the state can't afford the expansion, while some Democrats say it would be a good long-term investment in the state's health and economy. Beshear has said he wants to do it if the commonwealth can afford it, and expects to get cost estimates around the end of March -- about the time the legislature must adjourn.

For a PDF of the speech text, click here. For an audio recording, go here. For video from KET, here.

Small steps can prevent Kentucky's No. 1 killer, heart disease

It is now February, which is American Heart Month and a perfect time to remind people that small steps can reduce their risk of heart disease, Kentucky's No. 1 killer.

You may be surprised to hear that almost 80 percent of heart disease is preventable and there are daily things that can be done to keep hearts healthy, according Dr. Martha Grogan, medical editor-in-chief of Mayo Clinic Healthy Heart for Life.

For example, try to move 10 extra minutes each day, Recent research shows a sedentary lifestyle may increase your risk of heart attack almost as much as smoking, said Grogan.

Each day, make an effort to get up from your desk to go talk to a colleague instead of sending an email, or walk around the house as you are talking on the phone, she recommends: “Moving even 10 minutes a day for someone who’s been sedentary may reduce the risk for heart disease by 50 percent.”

Hearts are also hurt when you deprive yourself of sleep, which is a necessity like food and water, said Virend Somers, a Mayo cardiologist and sleep expert. Chronic sleep deprivation can increase the risk of obesity, high blood pressure, heart attack, diabetes and depression.

Healthy habits can reduce a majority of risks for heart attack. "A 53-year-old male smoker with high blood pressure has a 20 percent chance of having a heart attack over the next 10 years. If he stops smoking, his risk drops to 10 percent; if he takes high blood pressure medicine, it falls to 5 percent," says preventive cardiologist Randal Thomas, M.D.

These healthy habits and changes like quitting smoking and taking blood pressure medicine can make a difference in life and death. For more from the Mayo Clinic, click here; for a American Heart Month information from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, go here.

Health reform will let insurers charge smokers up to 50 percent higher premiums, which is likely to have a big impact in Kentucky

"Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance" because the health-care reform law will let health-insurance companies charge smokers as much as 50 percent more starting next year on individual policies, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation," The Associated Press reports.

The provision is likely to have a major impact in Kentucky, where 29 percent of adults are smokers, a figure exceeded by no other state, and where 25 to 30 percent of people under 65 are estimated to have no health insurance.

"For a 55-year-old smoker, the penalty could reach nearly $4,250 a year" AP reports. "A 60-year-old could wind up paying nearly $5,100 on top of premiums. Younger smokers could be charged lower penalties under rules proposed last fall by the Obama administration."

A state health insurance exchange, now being created under the law, will be a place to buy insurance with tax credits depending on income. Gov. Steve Beshear has said he wants to expand the state Medicaid program to cover people in households with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, but many Republicans in the legislature are opposed to that because the state would ultimately have to pay 10 percent of the expansion's cost.

The provisions to discourage smoking would allow employees covered by employer plans to avoid penalties by joining smoking-cessation programs,"but experts say that option is not guaranteed to smokers trying to purchase coverage individually," AP reports.

There is concern about the provision's effect on older smokers who "could face a heavy hit on their household budgets at a time in life when smoking-related illnesses tend to emerge. . . . Several provisions in the federal health care law work together to leave older smokers with a bleak set of financial options," AP reports, citing Karen Pollitz, a health-insurance expert with the Kaiser Family Foundation and former deputy director of the Office of Consumer Support in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Pollitz notes that the reform law lets insurers charge older customers up to three times as much as their youngest customers; charge the full 50 percent penalty on older smokers while charging less to younger ones; and does not allow smokers to use tax credits to offset the cost of the penalty.

And there's a good argument to charge the full penalty, insurance consultant Robert Laszewski told AP: "If you don’t charge the 50 percent, your competitor is going to do it, and you are going to get a disproportionate share of the less-healthy older smokers,” said Laszewski. “They are going to have to play defense." (Read more)

The Diet for your Blood Pressure Issues

If you have been diagnosed with having high blood pressure (which basically means the top number being 140 or more and the bottom number - 90 or above) that means living a life with one top priority in mind - to keep these numbers in their normal states. However, a lot of people are reluctant to doing this with the help of certain medications. A smart, safe, efficient and above all - relatively simple way of fighting high blood pressure is to change your lifestyle. And most importantly - your diet. If you keep your diet as healthy and free of bad substances as possible, you are most likely to delay, reduce or even avoid the need for using medications. Here are some practical tips on how you can do so.

1.Lose those annoying extra pounds and keep a strict eye on your waistline
As weight increases, blood pressure increases as well. However, if you lose as much as five kilos, you will help your body reduce blood pressure. On the other hand, the medications you take will be far more effective if your weight is lowered. Keep an eye on your waist line as the more weight you carry, the worse for your blood pressure levels. In general terms, men are risk, provided that their waistline is more than 100cm. As for women, that number is 90cm.

2.Eat healthy
Plan your diet in such a way, that it consists of a good amount of vegetables, low-fat dairy products, fruits, whole grains, etc. That is sure to change your life for good. And if you stick to your diet plan, your blood pressure will be lowered by up to 14mm Hg. Eating habits are built throughout the years and are usually difficult to change. However, once you realize that changing your diet is of crucial importance, making that change will seem less difficult to you.
-Keep a food diary - Monitoring what you eat is the best way to actually see what you have to get rid of from your daily menu.
-Boost potassium - It will lessen the sodium effect on your blood pressure. The best sources of potassium are fruits and vegetables rather than supplements. Consult your doctor about what potassium levels are best for you.
-Be smart when shopping - Before you head for the store, make yourself a list, and make it one that is free of any junk foods.

3.Reduce the level of sodium in your diet
Even a slight reduction of the sodium in your meals can lead to positive results - reducing your blood pressure from 3 to 7 mm Hg. Here are the recommendations:
-Limit sodium up to 2,000 milligrams, or less, a day.
-For people, aged 51 or more, the appropriate sodium level is not more than1,500 miligrams a day.
In order to reduce the level of sodium in your diet, consdier doing the following:
Read the food labels - buy low-sodium alternatives alternatives to the foods you usually buy
Eat as little processed foods as possible - all those bagged, so called 'junk foods' are bad for you, if you don't already know it.
Restrain from using salt - if you feel your food is rather tasteless, add different sorts of herbs instead of salt.

4.Limit alcohol
As a matter of fact, alcohol in small quantities is good for your health. However, just like with many other things, it is supposed to be taken with moderation. Especially for men and women over the age of 65, alcohol should be limited to a bare minimum. Suggested daily alcohol levels, described as 'one drink a day', are something in the lines of : 360mililitres of beer or 150 milliliters of wine or 50 milliliters of hard liquor.

5.Say no to tobacco
Nicotine is dangerous for pretty much everything you can imagine, including your blood pressure level. Smoking can actually raise the blood pressure with 10 mm Hg. Smoking throughout all the day will mean to constantly maintain high blood pressure. Do your best to cut back on this nasty habit.

The article has been submitted by: Handyremovals

Williamsburg in line to pass smoking ban next month

An ordinance imposing a smoking ban in Williamsburg is ready for a City Council vote. The council listened Monday to the first reading of the ordinance, required before a vote, which could follow the second reading, planned for Feb. 11. If approved, the ban would take effect immediately, reports Mark White of the Corbin-Whitley News Journal.

The new ordinance says “Smoking shall be prohibited in all enclosed areas within all enclosed buildings open to the public and within places of employment,” reports John Ross of The Times-Tribune of Corbin. “Enclosed buildings” includes libraries, bars, bingo houses, child- and adult-care facilities, public and private educational facilities, gaming facilities, restaurants, pool halls, lobby areas and hallways in all multi-residential buildings, such as apartments and condominiums, and hotels and motels, Ross reports. In December 2011, the Corbin City Commission implemented a ban that prohibits smoking in similar locations and within 25 feet of main entrances and exits.

Ross's account of the meeting included no negative comments. Mayor Roddy Harrison said, “I know both sides of the issue — but our job is to protect everybody.” Harrison said he found extensive research to back up the negative effects of secondhand cigarette smoke while researching the ordinance.

Passive smoking causes dementia

While scientists from Moscow State University named after Lomonosov studied the presence of nanotechnology in everyday life, researchers from the University of Melbourne in the state, investigated the effects of passive smoking on people. Despite the fact that the matter was in principle long understood, they were able to make the discovery.

It turns out that passive smoking can cause the development of severe dementia. This study was the first that was able to point out the relationship between passive smoking and neurological diseases.

Previously, passive smoking could cause the development of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, which include lung cancer and coronary heart disease. But until now, no one knew that passive smoking can cause dementia.

Consider the matter lasted more than 11 years. during the survey polled more than 7,000 respondents, who were more than 60 years. teaching a group of volunteers involved in the survey on the subject of dementia in three time periods: 2001-2003, the 2007-2008, and 2011-2012. They also conducted a survey, which was such a sense of "you are subjected to tobacco smoke?". As it turned out, 10% of respondents had symptoms of severe dementia. It is worth noting that most of the people who had seen the signs of the disease, smoking or quit smoking. Therefore, smokers should think, and come to grips with their health.

Rep. Westrom, bolstered by increasing public support, thinks third time may be the charm to pass a statewide smoking ban law

A coalition of health groups say they will give state Rep. Susan Westrom, D-Lexington, the most public support ever for a bill to ban smoking in Kentucky restaurants and workplaces, a bill she's tried to get passed twice, Jacqueline Pitts of CN2 reports. The coalition, which includes Smoke-Free Kentucky and the American Lung Association, revealed plans yesterday for a two-week ad campaign about the benefits of a statewide smoking ban law.

So far, 24 states have approved smoking bans, and more than 30 Kentucky cities and counties have passed similar local bans. Westrom said that Gov. Steve Beshear, who once said bans should be left to localities to decide, is more supportive of a statewide ban now. A 2012 Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky poll shows that 59 percent of Kentucky adults are in favor of a statewide ban. Westrom said she wants to work with new legislators to get their support for the bill. (Read more)

Coalition of health groups launches two-week ad campaign to drum up support for a statewide smoking ban

A geographically targeted newspaper and online advertising campaign calling for "a comprehensive, statewide smoke-free law" is hitting Kentucky media outlets this week, as the legislature convenes, and next week. The campaign was launched by Smoke-Free Kentucky Coalition, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The newspaper ad can viewed here.

Twenty-nine percent of Kentucky adults are smokers, giving the state the highest smoking rate in the U.S., and ranks very high in youth smoking, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Kentucky also has the nation's highest lung cancer death rates, 87 percent of which are caused by smoking, according to the National Cancer Institute. The state also "lags behind other states in enacting a comprehensive, statewide smoke-free law that covers all indoor workplaces, including bars and restaurants," a press release about the ad campaign says. Twenty-four states have smoking bans. A fall poll for the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky showed that 59 percent of Kentucky adults support a smoking ban in workplaces, restaurants and bars. For a story on the poll, click here.

Tobacco-Free Kids communications manager Catherine Butsch said the ad is running in the Lexington Herald-Leader, the Messenger-Inquirer of Owensboro, the Daily Independent of Ashland, the Commonwealth Journal of Somerset, the Kentucky New Era of Hopkinsville, the Glasgow Daily Times, the Paducah Sun, the Paducah-based West Kentucky News, the Sentinel-Echo of London, the Lebanon Enterprise, the Jessamine Journal, the Tompkinsville News, the Carlisle Weekly of Bardwell, the Fulton Leader, the Marshall County Tribune Courier, and the Kentucky Gazette, a government-oriented twice-monthly in Frankfort. The online ad will run on websites of the Herald-Leader, Business Lexington, The Lane Report and CN2, a cable news service. The campaign will cost $93,000, Butsch said.

3 in 5 Kentucky adults favor a statewide smoking ban, according to an independent poll that may have oversampled smokers

By Al Cross
Kentucky Health News

Kentuckians now favor a statewide smoking ban by a margin of 3 to 2, according to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll conducted last fall for the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. Interestingly, 38 percent of the Kentucky adults polled said they were smokers, much more than the 29 percent found by a year-long federal survey. Among those identified as smokers, 37 percent favored such a law, while it was favored by 68 percent of former smokers and 75 percent of those who said they had never smoked.

Overall, 59 percent of those polled said they supported a state law that would prohibit smoking in most public places, including workplaces, public buildings, offices, restaurants and bars, while 38 percent said they opposed it and 4 percent said they had no opinion. The figures showed a 5-point shift toward support since the last poll, in 2011. The gain was among smokers and former smokers.

Support for the law was higher among registered voters than non-voters, perhaps a consideration for legislators considering the proposal. Among voters, 62 percent favored it while 36 percent opposed it. Only 50 percent of nonvoters supported it. Support was slightly higher among Republicans (64 percent) than among Democrats (59 percent; only 44 percent of independents, who comprise about 7 percent of Kentucky voters, said they supported it. The poll also found that support for the law increases as age and income increase.

As for the apparent oversampling of smokers, pollster Eric Rademacher said self-reporting of such habits is known to vary according to time, and the differences in his poll and the federal survey "are likely due to the different time frames in which they were conducted and the different methodology employed by each study." He added, "For example, a person who regularly smokes might openly disclose that information at one point in the year. However, at another point in the year, that same person might be directly exposed to news or advertising that paints smoking in a negative light from a societal perspective. Hearing that information could make the person more reluctant to discuss their smoking behavior with researchers soon after they have seen or heard it.”

Rademacher is co-director of the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati, which did the poll for the foundation and the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati. A random sample of 1,680 adults from throughout Kentucky was interviewed by telephone from Sept. 20 to Oct. 14. This included 1,360 landline interviews and 320 interviews with cell phone users. In 19 of 20 cases, each statewide figure will be accurate to plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. Smaller samples, such as those of smokers and non-smokers, have larger margins of error. There are other sources of variation inherent in public opinion studies, such as non-response, question wording, or context effects that can introduce error or bias. For a copy of the poll's full questionnaire and guidance to interviewers, click here. For more information, go to www.healthy-ky.org
or www.healthfoundation.org/kentucky-health-issues-poll.

The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky noted the health implications that a smoke-free law would address: "Secondhand smoke poses serious health risks. Smoke-free environments are the only way to fully protect nonsmokers from these hazards. To reduce these risks, many Kentucky communities have adopted smoke-free policies. On Jan. 1, 2013, Hopkinsville became the 22nd municipality in Kentucky to implement a comprehensive smoke-free ordinance or regulation," bringing to 34 percent the share of Kentuckians who live in jurisdictions covered by comprehensive smoke-free ordinances or health-department regulations. For a list of the communities and percentages, and those with bans that are less than comprehensive, from the Kentucky Center for Smoke-Free Policy, click here.

Kentucky Health News is a service of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.