Health Archives - Page 7 of 8

Pollution skewing birth numbers for Aamjiwnaang First Nation mothers

More than 50 industrial facilities are located near the homes of 850 people of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation close to the U.S.-Canadian border near Lake Huron. A study conducted between 1999 and 2003 showed an unusually low birth rate for baby boys among the tribe’s women.Jonathan Lin/Flickr — More than 50 industrial facilities are located near the homes of 850 people of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation close to the U.S.-Canadian border near Lake Huron. A study conducted between 1999 and 2003 showed an unusually low birth rate for baby boys among the tribe’s women.
Jonathan Lin/Flickr

Is exposure to estrogen-blocking chemicals in one of Canada’s most industrialized regions the reason so few baby boys are born to the Aamjiwnaang First Nation mothers who live near there?

An article by Brian Bienkowski that originally appeared in Environmental Health News and was picked up by Scientific American says a new study is the first to confirm the community’s concerns over elevated exposure to pollutants.

The findings do not prove that chemicals are causing fewer baby boys in the community, but they provide some limited evidence suggesting a possible link.
“While we’re far from a conclusive statement, the kinds of health problems they experience – neurodevelopment, skewed sex ratios – are the health effects we would expect from such chemicals and metals,” said Niladri Basu, lead author of the study and associate professor at McGill University in Montreal.

A 2005 report said baby boys account for only 35 percent of births in the tribe, compared with 51.2 percent nationwide. The reservation sits within 15 miles of a region known as “Chemical Valley,” which is home to more than 50 industrial facilities, including oil refineries and chemical manufacturers.

Forty-two pairs of Aamjiwnaang mothers and children were tested for the study. For four types of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the average levels found in the children ranged from 2 to 7 times higher than the average Canadian child. The mothers’ average levels were about double the Canadian average for three of the compounds.
PCBs were widely used industrial compounds until they were banned in the 1970s in the United States and Canada because they were building up in the environment.
Eating fish is the most common exposure route for PCBs. But a survey revealed the community eats very little fish, so the high levels of PCBs remain “a puzzle,” Basu said. He suspects the chemicals are still in the soil and air from decades ago.

Shanna Swan, professor and vice-chair for research and mentoring at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, noted that the study was small and it is important not to jump to conclusions. Swan surveyed the community to see if there was interest in following up on the original research, based on births between 1999 and 2003, and was told no.
“There’s no question there’s exposure, it’s clearly a polluted place,” Swan told Bienkowski. “But this is their ancestral home … what to they get out of you telling them how badly off they are?”

‘Inside Out’ shows how various substances affect human organs

Jessica Talevich inspects a healthy brain with organ lady, Shawneri Guzman.Photo: Andrew Gobin, Tulaip News — Jessica Talevich inspects a healthy brain with organ lady, Shawneri Guzman.
Photo: Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News

By Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News Reporter

Tulalip − The unsettling foreign smell of formaldehyde and isopropyl alcohol wafted from a table at the front of the room, lined with bottles, cans, jars of waste and toxins, and trays of human organs. Those who attended the CEDAR group meeting November 7^th were disgustingly captivated by the uncanny presentation. Inside Out tells the gruesome truths of substance abuse, dispelling the misconceptions and myths society has about substances. Thursday’s show was unique, highlighting the effects of specific drugs.

Commonly referred to as the Organ Lady show, Inside Out begins with a glass of vodka and a raw egg. Shawneri Guzman, one of five Organ Ladies, cracks the egg into the glass for all to see, then sets it aside. From behind jars of tar and phlegm, Guzman picks up a set of human lungs, kicking the show into high gear as the audience leans in for a better look. She describes the different parts and facts about these lungs, which are grey and small, but they are healthy. Next she shows the lungs of a tobacco smoker, a marijuana smoker, and a heroin smoker, each looking progressively larger, shredded, and more black.

Bonnie and Bryce Juneau looking at a heart with a Gortex valve. Valve damage was due to heroin use.Photo: Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News — Bonnie and Bryce Juneau looking at a heart with a Gortex valve. Valve damage was due to heroin use.
Photo: Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News

“The goal is to show healthy organs in comparison to damaged organs in order to help people understand what their choices are leading to, and hopefully help them make a change in their life,” said Guzman, an ER nurse at Providence Medical Center who sees people with these conditions on a daily basis.

The show continues with the heart, kidneys, liver, a tongue, and brains. Each specimen comes with a story, which Guzman tells while weaving in facts about drugs and how they are different and more dangerous today than they were ten, twenty, thirty years ago.

“The heroin on the street today is 60% to 70% pure, thirty years ago it was more like 20%. This means you can become addicted the first time, you can overdose the first time, you can die the first time. Today, heroin is commonly cut with horse tranquilizers, which is why so many people that use heroin look like zombies, they are essentially numbing their brain,” Guzman explained.

She continued to unveil brains, picking up slices that resembled Swiss cheese. Brains riddled with holes from heroin, meth, and marijuana, coupled with neural scans showing severe cognitive impairment illustrate a sobering reality. The damage shown in these brains is irreversible.

Guzman pointed out the misconceptions of drug use, such as smoking heroin is less addictive and less harmful than injection. If anything, smoking heroin is more harmful because of the drastic effect on the lungs.

It is important to know that second and third-hand marijuana exposure can cause you to test positive for THC, the chemical that comes from marijuana. Guzman referred to her experience in the ER, how many people come in after having tested positive for THC, and not knowing why it happened.

Bonnie Juneau hold up a pair of lungs ravaged by marijuana smoke. This 19 year old boy and had smoked everyday for five years.Photo: Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News — Bonnie Juneau hold up a pair of lungs ravaged by marijuana smoke. This 19 year old boy and had smoked everyday for five years.
Photo: Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News

She explained, “We don’t realize how much our immediate environment affects us on a daily basis. Exposure to smoke is one example of how your surroundings affect your life. Even though you aren’t smoking, your body still feels the effects and it will show up on a test.” She noted that, “due to fertilizer and pesticides, marijuana today has more THC than what our parents would have smoked, meaning the effects and damage are both more drastic, and we are seeing more people test positive having only been exposed to third-hand smoke, which is the residue left on clothes, hair, furniture, and inside the car.”

As the show came to an end, Guzman picked up the egg floating in a glass of vodka. The vodka cooked the egg white in less than 90 minutes.

“Our brains do not stop maturing until we are about 25,” explained Guzman. “The egg white is immature protein, similar to a teen’s brain and other organs.”

She pointed out a liver from a 17 year-old girl that had drank since she was 13. It was hard and looked like a sponge in the middle.

Afterwards, people could put on gloves and examine the organs themselves, making the effects of substance abuse a tangible experience. Guzman continued to explain how these symptoms of organ damage manifest in living people, describing the signs to look for if you suspect someone is abusing substances. Awareness and understanding are crucial aspects in preventing addiction.

Kathleen Sebelius Talks Native Destiny: Leading the Way to Healthier Nations

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

In an effort to promote healthy living across Indian country, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released the following statement in honor of National Native American Heritage Month this November.

Each November, we recognize National Native American Heritage Month—celebrating the diverse histories and cultures of American Indian and Alaska Native people. This year’s theme, “Guiding Our Destiny with Heritage and Traditions: Leading the Way to Healthier Nations,” speaks to the vital role that cultural heritage plays in strengthening families and communities.

In July, I had the opportunity to visit the Navajo Nation in Arizona and meet with key leaders to discuss the health concerns of the Navajo. I attended a Special Session of the Navajo Nation Council and heard from the delegates about health issues such as diabetes, cancer, and HIV/AIDS. I also visited the Indian Health Service (IHS) Gallup Indian Medical Center, which was recently designated as a Level III Trauma Center, the first in the Indian health system. IHS work at this center, and throughout Indian Country, saves countless lives every year.

Our Administration is committed to ensuring the health and well-being of all Americans, which is why we are working with our tribal partners to reduce the health disparities that have historically burdened American Indians and Alaska Natives.

In order to address these issues, we need to make sure that American Indians and Alaska Natives have access to affordable coverage so they can get the care they need.

The Affordable Care Act is critical to that effort, partly by permanently reauthorizing the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, ensuring that IHS is here to stay.

Additionally, the new Health Insurance Marketplace made possible by the Affordable Care Act will make more affordable, quality options for health coverage available to uninsured Americans, including First Americans. IHS has trained staff to help its American Indian and Alaska Native patients enroll in Medicaid or purchase affordable insurance that they can use to continue to receive care at IHS facilities. If more IHS patients have health coverage, additional resources from reimbursements at the local facilities will help expand services for all patients served by IHS.

Health care is just one area in which we are working to increase support for Indian Country.

The Administration for Native Americans recently invested in new and continuing tribal programs to preserve Native American languages. We believe that language revitalization and continuation are important steps in preserving and strengthening a community’s culture.

We are also investing in Head Start and child care programs, innovative substance abuse and mental health initiatives, suicide prevention efforts, job training, economic development campaigns, and programs for seniors.

Please join me in celebrating National Native American Heritage Month and bolstering our commitment to ensuring that all American Indian and Alaska Native people have the opportunity for a stronger and healthier future through improved health care opportunities and partnerships that respect their culture and traditions.

Making Strides returns to Everett to raise funds, awareness for cancer

Walkers turned out in force for last year’s ‘Making Strides Against Cancer’ in Everett, to raise funds for programs and services to detect, treat, research and hopefully ultimately cure cancer.— image credit: Courtesy Photo — Walkers turned out in force for last year’s ‘Making Strides Against Cancer’ in Everett, to raise funds for programs and services to detect, treat, research and hopefully ultimately cure cancer.
— image credit: Courtesy Photo

Source: The Marysville Globe

EVERETT — The American Cancer Society will be “Making Strides Against Cancer” again this year, from 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday, Oct. 20, in Everett, and event organizers and participants alike hope to recruit as many fellow members of the community as they can, to help continue the ACS’s progress in dealing with this disease.

Jerri Wood, a specialist with mission delivery for the Great West Division of ACS in Everett, explained that Making Strides aims to enlist 200 teams in meeting an income goal of $165,000 this year, and as of the last week in September, they were just shy of 90 teams who’d raised slightly more than $40,000. She elaborated that Making Strides helps fund a variety of services for breast cancer patients, including Citrine Health of Everett, which has made a mission out of providing not only free bras and breast prostheses for post-mastectomy patients, but also fittings for both.

“I met one woman who’d been using an old washrag in her bra, and she said, ‘You mean I could have had a real boob?’” Wood said. “It’s important for your spine and neck to try and maintain the weight balance that you had, and Citrine Health helps people with the paperwork, and to see if they qualify for Medicaid or Medicare.”

Another service which Making Strides helps to support is the American Cancer Society’s own “Reach to Recovery,” which utilizes cancer survivors as a resource to guide those who have just been diagnosed with cancer through the journey of dealing with the disease.

“If you’ve been a cancer survivor for one year, we can train you to be a coach to newly diagnosed cancer patients, so that they can look at you and see that you’ve made it through what they’re about to go through,” said Wood, who added that the ACS works to match survivors and newly diagnosed patients based on criteria such as their ages and types of cancer. “Being diagnosed with cancer doesn’t have to feel like a death sentence.”

Wood also touted the American Cancer Society’s “Road to Recovery,” which eases the burden on cancer patients’ families by providing patients with free transportation to treatment, as well as the ACS hotline at 800-227-2345, which is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week to answer questions about treatment options and locating resources, as well as simply providing some small measure of comfort.

“We have people call at 2 a.m. who are coming up on their yearly mammograms and are worried that they’ll find something,” Wood said. “We also have a number of survivors who finish their treatments and find themselves wondering what their purpose in life is. By volunteering to give rides to other folks who are fighting cancer, they can give something back.”

In the meantime, Making Strides offers walkers throughout the region an opportunity to raise funds for all these programs, while also learning about other services, such as the Providence Regional Cancer Partnership’s Survivorship Series and the YMCA’s exercise classes tailored toward those coping with cancer.

“Besides the on-site educators, we’ll even have the American College of Cosmetology offering a two-hour class on cosmetics for cancer patients, including how to draw in your own eyebrows after your hair has fallen out,” Wood said.

Making Strides drew an estimated 1,000 attendees last year, and this year’s kickoff at the Snohomish County Courthouse Plaza, located at 3000 Rockefeller Ave. in Everett, is drawing walkers from as for north as Arlington, including Kerry Munnich, who’s chaired that city’s Relay For Life for the American Cancer Society for multiple years.

“This is our fourth year of coming to Making Strides,” said Munnich, captain of “Friends for a Cure,” an eight-member team made up of women from Arlington and Marysville. “We’re here for our friend Bobbi McFarland, a breast cancer survivor. Most of us have known each other since elementary school. The rest of us met up in middle school and high school. Point being, we’ve all known each other for a really long time.”

Munnich explained that she and her friends walk in Making Strides and Relay For Life not only to raise funds for programs and services to detect, treat, research and hopefully ultimately cure cancer, but also to raise awareness about cancer-related issues.

“We want to get people thinking about early detection, to nip it in the bud in time,” Munnich said. “Each year’s walks are powerfully emotional celebrations, and it’s one of the easiest things that you can do to make a difference, so why wouldn’t you do it?”

For more information on this year’s Making Strides, log onto its website at

www.northsoundstrides.org.

If You Love Your Prostate Then Take This Test

Source: Native News Network

WASHINGTON – When dealing with health problems it’s important to know how severe the disease is. Knowing this drives a series of treatment decisions, which may improve the symptoms, and in many cases even cure the disease. When the condition’s level of aggressiveness is unknown, a traditionally beneficial treatment may instead cause harm.

Learn more about prostate cancer to gain accurate information.

The aggressiveness of prostate cancer is hard to determine. Traditionally, physicians have used the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, a physical exam, and other methods to estimate the level of prostate cancer to help guide treatment decisions. These are helpful, but they cannot fully determine whether a man has low-risk prostate cancer, which can be managed with active surveillance, or whether he has aggressive prostate cancer, that should be treated immediately.

Active surveillance is a plan that employs careful and consistent monitoring of the cancer in a man’s prostate without removing it. Under active surveillance, patients have regular check-ups and periodic PSA blood tests, clinical exams and potential biopsies to closely monitor for signs of prostate cancer progression. If the cancer starts getting worse, then an appropriate treatment can be decided on.

New diagnostic tests have been emerging, such as the Oncotype DX prostate cancer test, that can help the patient and his physician make a better decision about how to treat the cancer based on its aggressiveness.

More than 240,000 US men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year. About half of newly-diagnosed patients will be classified as low risk and may not require immediate or aggressive treatment. Yet many of these men will receive immediate aggressive treatment despite the small chance of their cancer becoming deadly.

A new website was launched in September (Prostate Cancer Awareness Month) that helps patients and their families navigate the decision making process, My Prostate Cancer Coach, found at www.MyProstateCancerCoach.org

The site allows anyone interested in learning more about prostate cancer to gain accurate information on the disease and how it can affect men and those in their lives. Tools from the site include Prostate Cancer 101, providing information about treatment options, side effects, understanding the diagnosis and PSA testing, as well as a glossary of terms that can help patients better understand the disease. By answering a few simple questions about your diagnosis, a man receives a personalized guide outlining how aggressive his disease is likely to be and highlighting key questions to help you have a more productive discussion with the healthcare team.

The My Prostate Cancer Coach web site also provides visitors with resources to better understand their risk for getting prostate cancer, questions to ask their doctor, and other resources relating to prostate cancer.

To learn more about other prostate conditions, visit the Prostate Health Guide at www.prostatehealthguide.com

One in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. The chances of surviving prostate cancer increase if you detect the cancer early and make an informed decision about treatment. Don’t be another statistic – be proactive – remember prostate cancer is almost 100 percent treatable if detected early and treated right.

Men’s Health Network is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to reach men, boys, and their families where they live, work, play, and pray with health prevention messages and tools, screening programs, educational materials, advocacy opportunities, and patient navigation. Learn more about Men’s Health Network at www.menshealthnetwork.org

Cancer’s Link to the Unhealthy Mouth

Jessica Rickert DDS,, Native News Network

WASHINGTON – The human mouth is home to millions of micro-organisms. These are not a problem in a healthy mouth, but where there is dental disease, these oral pathogens are extremely harmful.

Jessica Rickert DDS, health editor — Jessica Rickert DDS, Health Editor – Praire Band Potawatomi

A common malady is periodontal disease, where the gums deteriorate. The bad bacteria present in active gum disease can include FUSOBACTERIUM NUCEATUM (Fn). There may be millions of these harmful germs. As they are swallowed, they can settle in the digestive tract. Yiping Han PhD, at Case Western Reserve University, discovered recently that Fn can attach and invade human colorectal cells. The molecules then turn on cancer growth genes and stimulate inflammatory responses in these cells and promote tumor growth. But, whether this FadA adhesion is an indirect or causal link remains unclear.

The Human papillomavirus is present in many patients’ mouths. When the HPV is present, it can cause an increase in oropharyngeal cancers.

Both cancers, and all cancers, are increased when the patients smokes tobacco and/or uses alcohol. Both cancers’ incidence and aggressiveness will be worsened by tobacco and alcohol usage.

A dentist is trained to look for oropharyngeal cancers at every dental checkup. But, if a sore which will not heal in 10 – 14 days is noticed, immediately see your dentist. Often, these cancers of the mouth are completely without symptoms.

Sound advice is to keep your mouth as healthy as possible by:

excellent oral hygiene;
a diet without white sugar and low in carbohydrates;
dental cleanings and checkups every 6 months.
It is time to quit using these poisons: tobacco and alcohol.

Fresh From the Farm to School Lunches: Navajo Pilot Program Proves Successful

Vincent Schilling, Indian Country Today Media Network

Native schools on reservations with limited budgets often struggle to provide healthy, unprocessed and culturally relevant foods for their students. One possible and viable solution to address the severe conditions of poverty, social stress and health and nutrition problems in Native communities and schools is a Farm-to-School program in which local farmers supply produce to the schools directly within in their communities.

Though it may seem like a simple remedy, government regulations stand in the way of small farmers supplying such schools, because before a farmer can sell their wares, they must first gain certification by the United States Department of Agriculture.

The good news is that such an achievement is possible. Thanks to the efforts of the First Nations Development Institute (FNDI), a Navajo community-based charter elementary STAR School and a Navajo Farmer, a successful Farm-to-School program is more than just a theory.

In an effort to create similar Farm-to-School programs in Indian country, the FNDI has released a report that offers guidelines for other schools and farms to achieve success.

The report, entitled “Healthy Foods for Navajo Schools: Discoveries from the First Year of a Navajo Farm-to-School Program,” authored by Shawn Newell of Native American Development Associates, details how such a program, if implemented correctly, would be not only be a successful demonstration for any school wishing to undertake a similar project—but it would also be addressing how such issues as obesity and diabetes could be alleviated.

Dr. Mark Sorensen is the co-founder and Director of the STAR (Service To All Relations) School, an elementary charter school located near the southwestern edge of the Navajo Nation. The school is based on four values: respect, relationship, responsibility and reasoning that are rooted in Navajo Peacemaking, a traditional form of conflict resolution.

Students look how to cook in the Navajo Farm-to-School Program (Courtesy Louva Montour)

According to Sorensen, “The Farm-to-School program was initiated with the help of a grant from the FNDI and was supported from the idea that plants have sustained our families for generations. Our communities are really suffering from not having nutritious food grown locally—our area of the Navajo Nation is considered a ‘food desert’—and kids are not likely to start eating more vegetables unless they are personally involved in growing, harvesting, and tasting the food.”

“Our program involves interaction of students and local farmers as well as developing greenhouses on the school campus, all for the purpose of providing students with healthy, fresh, locally grown vegetables,” Sorensen said.

One of the main challenges, explained Sorensen, is that farmers need to meet the qualifications necessary to supply these foods to schools.

In the report, the author Newell states that creating a successful Farm-to-School program involves traversing a complex and evolving jurisdictional landscape because Federal, State and county regulations define school cafeterias and kitchens as food establishments and are subject to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food code.

This code mandates that such food establishments buy only from an approved source. In order to be an approved source, a farm needs to obtain certification. Unfortunately for small farmers, such certifications are not easy to obtain, the most common is the USDA Good Handling Practices/Good Agricultural Practices Certification or GHP/GAP.

Sorensen says this is the main reason for their efforts. “One of our purposes in this program is to help local farmers develop their food safety practices to the point of being able to regularly supply the school with food. It is to fulfill this purpose that we wrote the Navajo Food for Schools Manual.”

In the meantime, Stacey Jensen (Navajo) the Farm Manager of The North Leupp Family Farms (NLFF) a community-based, non-profit, volunteer- driven farm supporting sustainable agricultural for more than 20 years – says they are working on such certification. In the interim they can’t supply food to the schools.

“We cannot sell our produce to STAR Schools without a certification. We are working and should have it in the next six months. This time next year we should have our 501(c) (3) so we will be able to go after the big grants. The farm is also working to get off our diesel generators this year and become completely solar,” says Jensen.

“This could be the best thing ever, I envision it to be that way but there are regulations and certifications and standards and so forth – which sort of negates our efforts to have this wonderful community come together as farmers and schools and students,” he says. ”It definitely is frustrating at times.”

Though he is frustrated with policy, he loves working with the STAR students and sharing his culture.

“The children are wonderful; I love children especially the STAR School students. I call them STAR kids because they have the philosophy where everything has a relationship to everything else and everything is in a cycle. The kids definitely enjoy it. One child came out that didn’t know where carrots came from until I pulled it out of the vegetable bed for him. You should have seen the expression on his face,” said Jensen.

Louva Montour (Navajo) is the Foodservice Manager/Home Economics Teacher and the Wellness Program coordinator at the STAR School. Montour speaks well of the Farm-to-School program but voices concern as to how government policy keeps locally available, healthy and culturally relevant foods from their school.

“The rules and regulations keep us from doing this program to the extent we want to do this,” said Montour. “We want to work with our own native farmers. That is the whole idea is that we would like our young kids to learn about and appreciate our cultural and traditional foods.”

“Last spring, there was a group of fifth and sixth grade students who went out and planted corn. They also helped with harvest, they brought it back and husked the corn. We made kneeling down bread, which is a Navajo recipe. Another class dried blue corn and later ground the corn. We also save the kernels for stew and we used it for winter food.”

The Navajo Farm-to-School Program emphasizes culturally relevant foods and cooking techniques. (Courtesy Louva Montour)

“We teach a lot of cultural awareness, says Montour. “A lot of students are living in urban areas. They are not living in a ranch or farm setting. This (program) takes them away from their electronic games.”

Montour says that the program also teaches values that the students take away to share with their families. “The kids tell me that because of this, they help out more at home. They help their mother more with cooking. They helped their mom make bread. They use these foods in traditional ceremony and they will tell me they helped out.

Ultimately says Montour, “This is all hands on learning. We have a lot of fun.”

Raymond Foxworth, (Navajo) the FNDI’s senior program officer, told ICTMN how the success of the STAR School and the corresponding manual will serve to guide others in Indian Country.

“Farm-to-school has become an important model in urban areas as one mechanism to increase access to healthy and fresh food for kids. But in Indian country we only have a handful of successful programs and there are a variety of reasons for this. At the STAR School they are overcoming these challenges.”

“Food is an important part of Native identities and is always a part of social gatherings and celebrations,” says Foxworth. “This program really takes steps so that we can begin to ask questions about what we are eating, how the food we eat is prepared and where does our food come from,” he said.

“Moreover, this program starts with our kids so that we can grow future generations of healthy, strong, educated and health conscious Native children.”

E-cigarettes: New ‘smoke,’ same concerns

Sharon Salyer, The Herald

EVERETT — Laura Montejano is convinced that electronic cigarettes helped wean her off her long-standing pack-and-a-half-a-day smoking habit.

Even while standing in the middle of Tobacco Joe’s, an Everett Mall Way smoke shop, Montejano proudly proclaimed that it had been 104 days since her last cigarette.

Montejano, 37, from Woodinville, pointed to her phone ap that calculates exactly what cessation of $7-a-pack cigarettes has meant in her life — a savings of at least $728.

And with each cigarette typically taking about seven minutes to smoke, she’s freed up the equivalent of more than eight days of time.

“My kids are thrilled; I’m thrilled,” she said.

She credited her personal vaporizer, also known as an e-cigarette, with allowing her to quit. “Having this was such a huge thing,” she said.

The tubular, battery-driven machine has a small tank of nicotine-laced liquid. When someone takes a draw, it creates a puffy white cloud.

It looks similar enough to smoking that questions are being raised both locally and in other parts of Washington: Is this non-tobacco activity banned under the state’s tough indoor smoking ban?

Both Pierce and King counties treat e-cigarettes like regular cigarettes, passing ordinances specifically banning their use indoors in public places.

“Prior to this, we were getting complaints from bars and restaurants having clients using these products in their business,” said Scott Neal, a tobacco prevention manager for Public Health — Seattle and King County.

If a customer saw someone across the room exhaling a plume from their e-cigarette, they might mistakenly believe that regular smoking was allowed, he said. “It became a problem for bar owners,” Neal said.

Dr. Gary Goldbaum, health officer for the Snohomish Health District, said the agency interprets current bans on smoking in public places to include e-cigarettes.

“We’re advising restaurant and bar owners that they should not be permitting use of these devises in their premises,” he said.

Goldbaum said he will likely recommend that the health district’s board consider taking action specifically banning indoor e-cigarette use in public places.

“We believe it would be helpful to have a local ordinance that clearly defines that so there’s no question,” he said.

To date, the state hasn’t taken any action to regulate e-cigarettes except to prevent their sale to anyone under the age of 18, said Tim Church, a state Department of Health spokesman.

“Right now, local jurisdictions seem to be taking this on and coming up with regulations and ordinance that work for their communities,” Church said.

Questions have been raised over whether e-cigarettes are perceived as a safe alternative to smoking.

“There’s a lot of unknowns about these electronic cigarettes,” Goldbaum said. “We honestly don’t know if they’re harmful and if so, how harmful they may be.”

The few studies that have been done on the products show that some carcinogens or toxins can be detected at very low levels in the vapors, he said.

That raises questions about long-term health effects for the user, or vapor, and second-hand exposure, Goldbaum said.

Yet even Goldbaum acknowledges that e-cigarettes almost certainly pose less health risk than tobacco-filled cigarettes

Annie Peterson, who works as a healthy communities specialist for the Snohomish Health District, said she has concerns that if e-cigarettes are promoted as harmless, “that’s a big draw for youth.”

Peterson said she’s also questions whether some of the candy-like flavoring and labeling of the nicotine liquids used in e-cigarettes, with names such as bubblegum, could also be subtle attempts at marketing to teens.

Kids may not realize that nicotine addiction can occur with e-cigarettes, too, she said.

Nevertheless, sales of e-cigarettes is growing rapidly, with the products available online and at area retailers.

Jeremy Wilson, 33, a Naval officer stationed in Hawaii, and his wife, Elizabeth Wilson, 32, who served in the naval reserves, have announced plans to open an e-cigarette business in the Everett Mall next month.

Joe Baba, owner of Tobacco Joe’s, said the store first began offering e-cigarettes in January, initially just with disposable e-cigarettes and later expanding to reusable vapors.

“I found myself in the middle of a landslide of demand, being one of the only retailers in the Everett area,” he said.

The store has a “vapor bar,” where customers can have free samples of more than 20 flavors of “juice” as nicotine containers are known.

Starter kits can be purchased for $34.99. The most expensive vapors, with longer battery life, sell for $150. The vapors can be adjusted so that consumers “can choose their level of nicotine down to zero,” Baba said.

Baba said a number of customers have said they’ve been able to convert from cigarette smoking to vaping. “It’s a real joy to see,” he said.

Baba said the switch from traditional to e-cigarettes reminds him or the evolution of technology, “like cell phones versus land lines.

“For the first time in 200 to 300 years,” he said, “cigarettes finally have some real competition.”

Worried Parents Weigh Their Children’s Health Against Medical Marijuana Law

Many parents who once viewed marijuana as a hard-core drug now see it as a natural, healing plant.

By Katie Rucke, Mint Press

For two months straight — 24 hours a day, seven days a week — Jason David’s 5-year-old son Jayden screamed in agony. Unable to sleep, defecate or eat, Jayden was taking 22 anti-seizure pills a day, some of which had withdrawal syndromes that are reportedly worse than heroin. David was concerned the pills were literally killing his son.

At his wits’ end and unconvinced doctors were doing everything they could, David says he contemplated suicide because he couldn’t watch his son live in pain any longer. But the devout Christian says God intervened and suggested he try giving his son marijuana.

Jayden David. (Photo/Jason David/Facebook page: “Jason and Jayden’s Journey”)

Jayden is one of an estimated 334,000 people around the world who have Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy that begins in infancy and left him unable to communicate with his father or his doctors.

Living about an hour from Oakland, Calif., David says Jayden’s doctor agreed they had nothing to lose and gave him a prescription for medical marijuana. David worked with a local medical marijuana dispensary to obtain an oil known as cannabidiol that his son would be able to swallow, not smoke.

Jayden’s medication contains such a low amount of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana, that it’s nearly impossible for him to get high.

The first day Jayden tried cannabidiol was the first day he went seizure-free in 4 1/2 years. Since then, David has continued to give Jayden the medication daily. Though Jayden is not completely seizure-free, David says his son has dramatically fewer seizures and his life is “100 times better.”

David says his son finally has a chance to just be a kid.

“Before, Jayden couldn’t go into a swimming pool,” he said, explaining that his seizures were triggered by excitement, reflective objects, hot and cold temperatures. But not only can Jayden go swimming now, he can get in the car by himself, climb on the playground, go up on the slide, and chew his food.

“Up until he was 5 years old everything had to be pureed,” David said. Jayden is also able to walk “a hundred times better,” he said.

‘Miraculous marijuana’

Jayden was 4 months old when he had his first seizure and was rushed by ambulance to a nearby hospital. The seizures continued for the next six months, and David grew suspicious they were somehow connected to the shots Jayden had recently received.

Jayden shown taking CBD meds, a derivative of marijuana. (Photo /Jason David/Facebook page: “Jason and Jayden’s Journey”)

David says he told his pediatrician he didn’t want Jayden to be given any more shots, but his ex-wife gave the doctor permission. The couple is now divorced.

“She turned me into the bad guy,” he said. But as soon as the needle penetrated Jayden’s skin, he began having a seizure that lasted for 90 minutes and resulted in another ambulance ride.

Before taking cannabidiol, Jayden was taking 22 different anti-seizure medications. Even so, he had at least one seizure per day in addition to about 500 daily twitching seizures.

Jayden now has to take only two other medications. He takes far fewer ambulance rides, and the last one was taken because his body went into withdrawal shock after doctors weaned him off a drug too quickly.

David says many people have changed their opinion regarding marijuana since he shared his son’s story. He says those who once viewed marijuana as a hard-core drug now see it as a natural, healing plant.

Success with marijuana

Though pediatric medical marijuana patients are not as common as adult patients, marijuana appears to have significant healing benefits for kids, too. The drug’s healing properties are not just for kids with Dravet syndrome, either — marijuana is being used to treat all sorts of medical conditions from cancer to autism to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Even though marijuana is banned under federal law, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws says a majority of scientific studies on the plant back up the miraculous claims made by the parents of pediatric medical marijuana patients.

It’s not just the U.S. that has found a medicinal value for marijuana. Although pot is banned in the Czech Republic — a nation with one of the highest usage rates of the drug — researchers in the European nation have examined the drug’s therapeutic uses since 1954. In fact, it was a Czech citizen, professor Jan Kabelik, who created the world’s first cannabis laboratory, and two other Czech researchers were the first to isolate cannabinoids in the plant.

But these doctors’ findings have not been enough to convince many American physicians to research the drug themselves or prescribe marijuana to their patients.

While the American Academy of Pediatrics does not endorse the use of medical marijuana, the organization’s stance on the drug is reportedly the way it is because some doctors are concerned the use of marijuana may have “devastating consequences” later in life.

“We have doctors contacting parents from different universities doing studies about how the kids are doing,” David said, adding it doesn’t make sense that the U.S. is able to create bombs that kill a million people at once, but doctors can’t figure out a plant.

Legalization advocacy groups often point out that unlike many pharmaceuticals, marijuana is not toxic and has never been reported as the cause of a lethal overdose.

Dr. Stuart Gitlow, the president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and a member of the American Medical Association Council on Science and Public Health, says doctors are reluctant to recommend medical marijuana to a child because it may come back to haunt them. If the child later develops a mental health condition or gets in a car crash, the doctors will be blamed and won’t have any way to defend themselves, he said.

But several pediatricians in the United States believe the drug has a healing power that is worth investigating.

Because the medical community remains relatively mum on marijuana’s healing properties, it’s parents like David who, by sharing their success stories, have convinced other parents like Rebecca Brown to try it. Brown is investigating whether medical marijuana could help her son, Cooper.

“As soon as I found out about [medical marijuana for Dravet syndrome] I called Jason David that day,” she said, adding that she cried while watching David share his story on the Discovery Channel program “Weed Wars.”

“I was really curious about it,” she said.

Cooper Brown with his dog Lou, July 2013. (Photo /Rebecca Brown)

Officially diagnosed with Dravet syndrome about a year ago, 15-year-old Cooper had his first seizure when he was 5 months old. Brown says over the years Cooper has tried “just about every epilepsy drug at least once,” and at one point was on 27 different medications.

But as Cooper began going through puberty and dealing with fluctuating hormones, Brown says his medicines weren’t working and Cooper went from being “very controlled to out of control.”

Once Cooper’s doctors agreed to prescribe him marijuana, Brown was able to connect with a grower in Michigan who would be able to provide cannabidiol. Brown says Cooper has become his “happy old self” again since he began using medical marijuana about a year ago.

“Before this all started we were basically prisoners in our home,” she said, explaining that their home was generally free from triggers that would result in Cooper having a seizure. Brown says Cooper now not only has fewer seizures, but he is happier, sleeps better, and using cannabidiol “has given him opportunities that had been taken away.”

Pediatric medical marijuana laws

Though Jayden and Cooper qualify for the use of medical marijuana since they live in states that have legalized the substance, children in other states are unable to try the therapeutic drug even though they have the same medical condition.

Luella Johnson is one of those children. The 3 1/2-year-old began having seizures when she was 9 1/2 months old. After months of seizures, Luella was eventually diagnosed with Dravet syndrome.

Though Luella’s father, Jim Johnson, says she has a mild case of Dravet syndrome and does better than 90 to 95 percent of other children with the medical condition, he says her case is still pretty severe. Johnson says that on average, Luella has a seizure every five days.

“Luella has tried and failed several epilepsy medications and even changed her diet,” Johnson says, but nothing seems to work for kids with Dravet syndrome as well as marijuana.

“When it comes to my daughter, I’m pro-anything to help her,” he said.

“If you’ve seen my little princess go through one seizure,” you would support allowing her to try using marijuana for treatment, Johnson says.

Marijuana has been legalized for medicinal purposes in 19 states, with legislation pending in at least five other states. David says medical marijuana needs to be legal in all 50 states so other children can benefit from its use.

Luella Johnson. (Photo/Jim Johnson)

Minnesota, where Luella lives, is one state where medical marijuana legislation is still under debate. Unlike New Jersey, which made it difficult for children to obtain medical marijuana, the proposal circulating in Minnesota intentionally allows children to qualify for the program, said Heather Azzi, political director for Minnesotans for Compassionate Care, a medical marijuana advocacy group.

“Children suffer from the same illnesses as adults,” she said, adding that they need to be protected, too.

David shared the tragic story of 2-year-old Nolan, a child with Dravet syndrome, whose mother was trying to uproot her family in North Carolina and move to California, where medical marijuana is legal. Sadly, “she never made it,” David said.

Brown agreed that more states need to legalize medical marijuana and added that as more and more states legalize the drug, the federal government will have to listen to the patients.

“Pretty soon we’re going to be a majority,” Brown said, adding that many families are moving “in droves” to states such as Colorado so they can apply for pediatric medical marijuana use.

She said she didn’t understand why marijuana was classified by federal officials as a Schedule I drug — meaning it’s thought to be highly addictive and lead users to try other drugs — or why the federal government wastes resources arresting people in states that have legalized marijuana.

“Heroin and Vicodin are much more dangerous,” she said, adding that marijuana “is such a great plant that can help so many people… Case after case after case it helps people.”

Child endangerment

After CNN shared Jayden’s story, David says a local reporter approached him about doing a story, as well. David agreed, hoping that sharing his story with more people would result in the education of the American public that marijuana is not the dangerous drug it is often made out to be. But instead of sharing Jayden’s story, the journalist reported David to Child Protective Services.

Jayden was never taken away from his father, since David was able to prove he had all of the necessary documentation for Jayden’s controversial medicine, but he says he wondered why Child Protective Services never made a visit to his home when his son had been taken by ambulance 45 times and was taking more than 20 different pharmaceutical drugs.

Documentation or not, the fear of having one’s child taken away causes some parents to question whether the drug is worth it. The Browns, for example, feared they would be charged under federal law for providing medical marijuana to their son. Despite all of the risks, Brown says she and her husband opted to go ahead and give their son cannabidiol with the hope it would work for Cooper.

Brown said she sometimes wonders what her son’s life would be like if he hadn’t been able to take cannabidiol, and what his life would be like if she had given it to him sooner.

“What would his life had been like if this was our first option instead of our last resort,” she said.

Another concern lawmakers, doctors and law enforcement have is the possibility that other young children could get into the medical marijuana supply. Brown has another son and says she has never been concerned about someone other than Cooper getting into the medical marijuana supply.

“In our family, we look at this as medicine,” she said. “We have lots of medicines around that are more addictive and more dangerous.”

Johnson agrees. With three other young children at home, he says cannabidiol would be one of the safer medications his children could possibly get into.

Death Tax For Twinkies! Navajo Health Activists Push for Junk Food Tax

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

A group of Navajo activists advocating for healthy living is not deterred by the tribal council’s decision to reject their proposed Junk Food Tax Act of 2013.

The Diné Community Advocacy Alliance instead plans to partner with private businesses and introduce their bill as a referendum next election, reported the Navajo Times.

The bill aims to increase the tax on “junk food” by 2 percent and eliminate the 5 percent sales tax on fresh fruits and vegetables. The Alliance also wants to ban sales tax on water. Money reaped from the junk food tax would be distributed to chapters with the intent of funding wellness programs.

While delegates largely supported the tax elimination on fresh fruits and vegetables, many criticized the tax on “junk food,” saying it might incite Navajos to purchase groceries in reservation border towns with tax-free food, such as Gallup or Farmington, New Mexico.

Among other concerns, delegates expressed worries the tax may place more stress on disadvantaged families. But those who use Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards or food stamps will not be affected, because sales tax is excluded from eligible items. The Alliance plans to address the federal issue with EBT cards in the future; the cards promote sales of processed foods like chips and soda by reducing their cost.

Last week’s deliberation over the bill left the council divided over the tax increase on junk food but has opened conversation lines about the potential benefits of making purchases of fresh produce more affordable, and taxing and labeling unhealthy foods as “junk,” thus making it less appealing to consumers for monetary and psychological reasons.