Public Health Science | The Pump Handle

Drug Safety Medical marijuana progress under Obama not what advocates had hoped; recent crackdown puts patients in the middle

August 17, 2012 The Pump Handle 2Comment

For years, Peter Rosenfeld was looking for an effective way to treat what doctors had diagnosed as severe and intractable migraines. He’d heard of medical marijuana, but thought it was a joke — that it was just a way for people to justify their marijuana use. Today, he’s a passionate advocate for medicinal marijuana and one of many advocates disappointed at recent federal actions.

Cancer Dense breasts are not just an interesting attribute, wish I’d known the cancer risk

August 7, 2012 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 19Comment

Here’s an important public health fact: women with dense breast tissue are at least four times more likely to develop breast cancer. I wish I’d known about that risk factor before learning last month that I have Stage IIIB breast cancer.

APHA Annual Meeting Chinese factory-fire victim turned activist to be honored by world’s largest public health group

July 26, 2012 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 3Comment

Yuying Chen transformed from a 15 year old girl who worked in a factory making toys for export, to a woman empowered by a workplace disaster, to an internationally recognized human rights leader. She will receive the American Public Health Association’s International Health & Safety Activist’s award at the group’s annual meeting to be held October 27-31, 2012 in San Francisco.

Environmental Health Investigative reporters team up to expose national disgrace: US coal miners still get black lung

July 9, 2012 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 2Comment

Three of my favorite investigative journalists have worked together to expose a national disgrace: coal miners in the U.S. still develop black lung disease.

Mining New study shows black lung and silicosis among U.S. surface coal miners, not just a problem for underground miners

June 19, 2012 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 1Comment

A x-ray surveillance program finds nearly four dozen cases of coal workers pneumoconiosis among surface coal miners in the U.S., while coal operators including Alpha Natural Resources and CONSOL Energy insist that workers on strip mining jobs aren’t exposed to enough dust to cause disease.

Public Health Practice National Academies Press celebrates first year of free PDFs

June 15, 2012 Liz Borkowski, MPH 1Comment

The National Academies Press celebrates its first year of offering free PDF books for downloading. Several important public health publications are among the free offerings.

Cancer Diesel exhaust a human carcinogen concludes WHO’s cancer panel

June 12, 2012 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 3Comment

A panel of scientific experts convened by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded today that diesel engine exhaust is carcinogenic to humans. Previously, the classification for diesel exhaust had been “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

Cancer Trying to avoid the “cancer-causing” label, diesel manufacturers join the club

June 11, 2012 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 4Comment

An expert panel convened by the WHO’s Int’l Agency for Research on Cancer is evaluating the scientific evidence on the carcinogenicity of diesel exhaust. In preparation for the meeting, diesel engine manufacturers, oil companies and mining firms hired consultants to re-analyze and critique the epidemiological studies conducted by others to manufacturer doubt about

Environmental Health Healthy behaviors and where the money goes

June 7, 2012 Liz Borkowski, MPH

Behaviors are major contributors to our health status, but a tiny fraction of US health spending goes to encouraging healthy behaviors like physical activity. The Bipartisan Policy Center has some recommendations for increasing physical activity, including policy changes that make it easier for people to play and get around actively.

Cancer Tony Mazzocchi: a man who hated work and loved labor

June 6, 2012 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH

Tony Mazzocchi was a visionary who was in the forefront of the labor movement’s efforts to secure protections for working people, including strong workplace health and safety laws. He was inducted this week in the Labor Department’s Hall of Fame.