Smoking Rates Drop
The number of cigarettes sold in the U.S. in 2005 dropped 4.2% from 2004, the largest 1-year percentage decrease in sales since 1999, figures compiled by the Treasury Department show. “We are pleased to see that the long decline of cigarette consumption is continuing,” Cheryl Healton, Dr.P.H., president of the American Legacy Foundation, said in a statement. “We also know that for the first time in the United States, there are more former smokers than current smokers.” The National Association of Attorneys General also applauded the numbers, noting that the drop continues “the unprecedented long-term decline in cigarette smoking that began with the settlement of lawsuits” brought by state attorneys general against the major tobacco companies.
Veterans' PTSD Treatment Urged
Treatment of Iraq War veterans for posttraumatic stress disorder should be a high priority for the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to a bipartisan group of senators. The group wrote a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson, calling on the department to report on its ability to handle an increasing number of returning veterans suffering from PTSD. The senators referred to 24 recommendations that the VA's own Special Committee on PTSD developed to improve services and treatment for veterans suffering from the illness. The senators want a report no later than May 3 detailing the agency's progress in implementing the recommendations. “It must be a priority to diagnose and treat veterans who suffer from the psychological traumas of war and help them lead healthy, productive lives,” Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), one of the signers, said in a statement. Other signers included Illinois Democratic senators Barack Obama and Dick Durbin, Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), and Maine Republican senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.
Depression Stats Exaggerated?
Reports suggesting that almost half the U.S. population suffers from depression are “greatly exaggerated,” according to a study appearing in the winter 2006 issue of Contexts magazine, published by the American Sociological Association. Authors Allan V. Horwitz, Ph.D., of Rutgers University and Jerome Wakefield, Ph.D., of New York University argue that community studies reporting high rates of mental illness rely on standard, closed-format questions about symptoms with no context provided to differentiate between reactions to normal life stressors such as a death or a romantic breakup, and pathological conditions that indicate clinical mental illness. “These numbers are largely a product of survey methodologies that, by nature, overstate the number of people with mental illness,” the authors wrote. “Moreover, because people experiencing normal reactions to stressful events are less likely than the truly disordered to seek medical attention, such questions are bound to inflate estimates of the rate of untreated disorder.” The authors say these high numbers continue to be perpetuated for several reasons, including attempts to garner political support for the National Institute of Mental Health and other agencies devoted to preventing and treating these conditions, efforts by pharmaceutical companies to broaden their markets, and work by advocacy groups to use the numbers to lower the social distance between those with mental illness and those without.
Bill Seeks Consent for Off-Label Rx
A bill in the California assembly would require physicians and surgeons to get informed consent from their patients before “prescribing, administering, or furnishing” a prescription for off-label use. A failure to adhere to the requirement would be considered a violation of the Medical Practice Act, which means physicians could be charged with a crime. For dermatologists, the requirements “would bring many a practice to a snail's pace,” said John R. Valencia, a lobbyist for the California Society of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery. Karmi A. Ferguson, executive director of the organization, said the legislation “is on our hot list.” If passed, the bill would not reach the governor's desk until September, but “we're hoping to kill it in committee,” Ms. Ferguson said. AB 2856 was introduced by Assemblywoman Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley). It would require physicians to specify that the medication is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the use that the doctor is recommending, that the risks are unknown, and that there is not a consensus on the efficacy. A patient could withdraw consent at any time.
Patient/Doctor Decision Making
Decisions about medical treatment should be made by physicians and patients, according to a survey of 1,029 adults for the National Consumers League. More than 90% of respondents agreed that, “All medications, both over-the-counter and prescription, offer benefits but also carry some risk of side effects. It should be up to physicians and patients to weigh benefits against the risks and to make decisions that are right for them,” the survey said. The poll also found that the public strongly supports broader access to treatments for chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. “Everything in life carries risks, but in the case of chronic, debilitating conditions, the greatest risk is a lack of new and improved treatment options,” said Linda Golodner, the league's president. “It obviously makes sense for these patients to have access to as many treatment options as possible and make decisions that are right for them, even if there are additional risks.”