Dec. 10, 2024 – Smartphone addiction has quietly become one of the most pervasive challenges of modern life, reshaping how we connect, work, and unwind. Yet, this constant connection comes at a cost — affecting sleep, mental health, and even personal relationships, especially among teenagers and young adults. Calling smartphone addiction a “public health epidemic.” Continue reading
As per the report, the panel advocates for mandatory health warnings on digital services, alerting users to risks such as overuse and exposure to harmful context. According to the proposal, these warnings would function similarly to those on cigarette packs, less extreme albeit. The warnings will provide a clear reminder of the potential dangers of smartphone addiction. The report also recommends displaying cautionary messages on screens when accessing certain apps or platforms, aiming to encourage more mindful usage.
Dec. 11, 2024 – As the beverage alcohol industry evolves, non-alcoholic beverages have emerged as its fastest-growing category, alongside increased consumer interest in sake, the third fastest-growing category. ZERO is uniquely positioned to bridge these two trends, meeting the demand for alcohol-free options while introducing new consumers to the refined taste of sake.
ZERO is crafted without alcohol-producing yeast, delivering all the complexity and smoothness of traditional sake while catering to today’s evolving consumer preferences. With notes of ripe apple and savory chestnuts balanced with refreshing acidity, it’s perfect for those seeking an elevated non-alcoholic beverage for celebrations, pairings, or everyday enjoyment.
Dec. 14, 2024 – For Andy, kratom produces a similar effect to the opioids he was once addicted to, giving him enough energy to get through the day. Kratom, a plant from Southeast Asia with stimulant and opioid-like effects that is commercially available across most of the U.S., also helped him stop drinking and quit opioids. “It’s been kind of a blessing and a curse for me,” Andy, who requested using only his first name for privacy, told Salon in a phone interview. “I was able to quit alcohol and I don’t do opiates anymore, but I do take quite a bit of kratom now and I am addicted to kratom.”
The kratom tree (Mitragyna speciosa) is a member of the coffee family, but the similarities end there. Its leaves are dried up and ground to be sold in smoke shops, online or sometimes even cafes. Chemical compounds within the plant, especially mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, bind to the opioid receptors in the body, acting as a stimulant in lower doses and behaving more closely to an opioid at higher doses. Importantly, the alkaloids in kratom are considered “atypical opioids” so a one-to-one comparison to something like morphine isn’t entirely accurate.
Dec. 17, 2024 – In relationships, creativity is often overlooked as a vital skill in building and maintaining healthy partnering. Creativity is not just an artistic endeavor; it is much more than that. Creativity involves questioning our beliefs and opening up to alternate perspectives, essential for resolving issues. As Albert Einstein famously said, “You can’t solve problems with the same mindset that created them.”
Dec. 9, 2024 – Faith Freeman has lost two daughters to drug overdoses.
30-year-old Lacey Menard passed away in June 2024, and 24-year-old Lannie Soileau died in November 2023. “They loved to laugh, they loved the holidays, they loved to eat at big family gatherings.” “I deal with very bad anxiety,” she said. “I can’t go shopping in stores, I gotta order everything online.”
As she heads into the holidays, Freeman says she will always remember Lannie for being the life of the party and Lacey for having a smile that would brighten the whole room. Freeman sends a message to viewers to be aware of the dangers of drugs and how it can affect not only the addict, but also the family of the addict.
“I think you know, it can happen to anybody, because I never thought it would happen to us,”…
Dec. 12, 2024 – There is a mystery here. This is such a huge decline. It’s unprecedented in the history of drug addiction in America to see a drop this fast. Front-line public health workers I talked to do think naloxone is reversing a lot of overdoses that would otherwise be fatal. Also … That’s playing a role. There has been an immense effort to target the cartels. And there’s some sign that the fentanyl reaching American streets may be weaker and may be a little bit less available.
So these are just some of the responses that the people I’m talking to say are really working, saving at this point tens of thousands of lives.
Dec. 11, 2024 – John Driscoll, president and CEO of Caron Treatment Centers “In 2024, we’ve seen payers evolve reimbursement models away from fee-for-service and towards value-based structures (like monthly bundles), while ceasing payments for unnecessary services like drug tests…As SUD providers compete for these contracts on quality and cost, tech-enabled models are winning, and this will continue in 2025 and beyond.” “The biggest challenge remains the workforce, workforce, workforce. Not enough people are coming into the industry. The degrees needed, such as a Master of Social Work or Psychology are expensive, and we have an aging workforce. This is a second career for many professionals who work in the field, which means we are aging faster than other industries. Stigma also continues to be a hurdle. The legalization of cannabis and the normalization of microdosing creates challenges moving forward as we’re seeing misuse and addiction increase.”
– John Driscoll, president and CEO of Caron Treatment Centers
Many of President-elect Donald Trump’s candidates for federal health agencies have promoted policies and goals that put them at odds with one another or with Trump’s choice to run the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., setting the stage for internal friction over public health initiatives.
The picks hold different views on matters such as limits on abortion, the safety of childhood vaccines, the covid-19 response, and the use of weight-loss medications. The divide pits Trump picks who adhere to more traditional and orthodox science, such as the long-held, scientifically supported findings that vaccines are safe, against often unsubstantiated views advanced by Kennedy and other selections who have claimed vaccines are linked with autism.
The Trump transition team and the designated nominees mentioned in this article did not respond to requests for comment.
It’s a potential “team of opponents” at the government’s health agencies, said Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian policy organization.
Kennedy, he said, is known for rejecting opposing views when confronted with science.
“The heads of the FDA and NIH will be spending all their time explaining to their boss what a confidence interval is,” Cannon said, referring to a statistical term used in medical studies.
Those whose views prevail will have significant power in shaping policy, from who is appointed to sit on federal vaccine advisory committees to federal authorization for covid vaccines to restrictions on abortion medications. If confirmed as HHS secretary, Kennedy is expected to set much of the agenda.
“If President Trump’s nomination of RFK Jr. to be secretary is confirmed, if you don’t subscribe to his views, it will be very hard to rise in that department,” said Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “They will need to suppress their views to fit with RFK Jr’s. In this administration, and any administration, independent public disagreement isn’t welcome.”
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Kennedy is chair of Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine nonprofit. He has vowed to curb the country’s appetite for ultra-processed food and its incidence of chronic disease. He helped select Trump’s choices to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health. If confirmed, he would lead them from the helm of HHS, with its more than $1.7 trillion budget.
Clashes are likely. Kennedy has supported access to abortion until a fetus is viable. That puts him at odds with Dave Weldon, the former Florida congressman whom Trump has chosen to run the CDC. Weldon, a physician, is an abortion opponent who wrote one of the major laws allowing health professionals to opt out of participating in the procedure.
Weldon would head an agency that’s been in the crosshairs of conservatives since the covid pandemic began. He has touted his “100% pro-life voting record” on his campaign website. (He unsuccessfully ran earlier this year for a seat in Florida’s House of Representatives.)
Trump has said he would leave decisions about abortion to the states, but the CDC under Weldon could, for example, fund studies on abortion risks. The agency could require states to provide information about abortions performed within their borders to the federal government or risk the loss of federal funds.
Weldon, like Kennedy, has questioned the safety of vaccines and has said he believes they can cause autism. That’s at odds with the views of Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins surgeon whom Trump plans to nominate for FDA commissioner. The British American said on the “Brian Kilmeade Show” on Fox News Radio that vaccines “save lives,” although he added that it’s good to question the U.S. vaccine schedule for children.
The American Academy of Pediatricians encourages parents and their children’s doctors to stick to the recommended schedule of childhood vaccines. “Nonstandard schedules that spread out vaccines or start when a child is older put entire communities at risk of serious illnesses, including infants and young children,” the group says in guidance for its members.
Jay Bhattacharya, a doctor and economist who is Trump’s selection to lead NIH, has also supported vaccines.
Kennedy has said on NPR that federal authorities under his leadership wouldn’t “take vaccines away from anybody.” But the FDA oversees approval of vaccines, and, under his leadership, the agency could put vaccine skeptics on advisory panels or could make changes to a program that largely protects vaccine makers from consumer injury lawsuits.
“I do believe that autism does come from vaccines,” Kennedy said in 2023 on Fox News. Many scientific studies have discredited the claim that vaccines cause autism.
Ashish Jha, a doctor who served as the White House covid response coordinator from 2022 to 2023, noted that Bhattacharya and Makary have had long and distinguished careers in medicine and research and would bring decades of experience to these top jobs. But, he said, it “is going to be a lot more difficult than they think” to stand up for their views in the new administration.
It’s hard “to do things that displease your boss, and if [Kennedy] gets confirmed, he will be their boss,” Jha said. “They have their work cut out for them if they’re going to stand up for their opinions on science. If they don’t, it will just demoralize the staff.”
Most of Trump’s picks share the view that federal health agencies bungled the pandemic response, a stance that resonated with many of the president-elect’s voters and supporters — even though Trump led that response until Joe Biden took office in 2021.
Kennedy said in a 2021 Louisiana House oversight meeting that the covid vaccine was the “deadliest” ever made. He has cited no evidence to back the claim.
Federal health officials say the vaccines have saved millions of lives around the globe and offer important protection against covid. Protection lasts even though their effectiveness wanes over time.
The vaccines’ effectiveness against infection stood at 52% after four weeks, according to a May study in The New England Journal of Medicine, and their effectiveness against hospitalization was about 67% after four weeks. The vaccines were produced through Operation Warp Speed, a public-private partnership Trump launched in his first term to fast-track the shots as well as other treatments.
Makary criticized covid vaccine guidance that called for giving young children the shots. He argued that, for many people, natural immunity from infections could substitute for the vaccine. Bhattacharya opposed measures used to curb the spread of covid in 2020 and advised that everyone except the most vulnerable go about their lives as usual. The World Health Organization warned that such an approach would overwhelm hospitals.
Mehmet Oz, Trump’s choice to head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, an agency within HHS, has said the vaccines were oversold. He promoted the use of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment. The FDA in 2020 revoked emergency authorization of hydroxychloroquine for covid, saying that it was unlikely to be effective against the virus and that the risk of dangerous side effects was too high.
Janette Nesheiwat, meanwhile, a former Fox News contributor and Trump’s pick for surgeon general, has taken a different stance. The doctor described covid vaccines as a gift from God in a Fox News opinion piece.
Kennedy’s qualms about vaccines are likely to be a central issue early in the administration. He has said he wants federal health agencies to shift their focus from preparing for and combating infectious disease to addressing chronic disease.
The shifting focus and questioning of vaccines concern some public health leaders amid the spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus among dairy cattle. There have been 60 human infections reported in the U.S. this year, all but two of them linked to exposure to cattle or poultry.
“Early on, they’re going to have to have a discussion about vaccinating people and animals” against bird flu, said Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. “We all bring opinions to the table. A department’s cohesive policy is driven by the secretary.”
This article was produced by KFF Health News, a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.
LOS ÁNGELES, California.— La promesa del presidente electo Donald Trump de deportaciones masivas y restricciones migratorias más severas está aumentando la desconfianza en el sistema de salud entre los inmigrantes en California, y nublando el futuro de los proveedores que atienden a los residentes más empobrecidos del estado.
Al mismo tiempo, inmigrantes que viven en el sur de California sin papeles dijeron a KFF Health News que pensaban que la economía mejoraría y que sus ingresos podrían aumentar bajo Trump. Para algunos, esa esperanza supera a sus preocupaciones sobre la atención de salud.
Trabajadores comunitarios de salud dicen que el miedo a la deportación ya está afectando la participación en Medi-Cal, el programa de Medicaid del estado para residentes de bajos ingresos, que en los últimos años se ha estado expandiendo gradualmente a todos los inmigrantes, independientemente de su estatus migratorio. Esto podría socavar el progreso del estado en la reducción de la tasa de personas sin seguro, que alcanzó un mínimo histórico del 6.4% en 2023.
Los inmigrantes sin papeles han temido durante mucho tiempo que participar en programas gubernamentales los convierta en blanco fácil de las autoridades migratorias, y la elección de Trump ha exacerbado estas preocupaciones, según defensores comunitarios.
Se espera que Medicaid esté en la mira de la nueva administración Trump, con recortes de fondos y restricciones de inscripción, lo que preocupa a activistas, ya que podría amenazar la expansión de Medi-Cal y obstaculizar los esfuerzos para extender los subsidios que ayudan a pagar por los seguros de salud bajo Covered California a todos los inmigrantes.
“El miedo por sí solo tiene tantas consecuencias para la salud de nuestras comunidades”, dijo Mar Vélez, directora de políticas de la Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. “Como ellos dicen, esta no es su primera batalla. Entienden cómo funciona el sistema. Creo que esta maquinaria será, desafortunadamente, mucho más dañina para nuestras comunidades”.
A pesar de estas preocupaciones, también hay una corriente de optimismo de que Trump podría beneficiar a la economía, según entrevistas con inmigrantes en Los Ángeles mientras trabajadores de salud estaban invitándolos a inscribirse en Medi-Cal.
Selvin, de 39 años, quien, como otros entrevistados para este artículo, pidió ser identificado solo por su primer nombre porque no tiene papeles, dijo que aunque cree que a Trump no le gustan las personas como él, piensa que la nueva administración podría ayudar a aumentar sus horas en la planta procesadora de alimentos donde trabaja empacando fideos. “Sí veo cómo podría mejorar la economía. Desde esa perspectiva, creo que es bueno que haya ganado”.
Este año, Selvin se convirtió en elegible para Medi-Cal, pero decidió no inscribirse, preocupado de que pudiera poner en peligro sus posibilidades de cambiar su estatus migratorio.
“Lo he pensado”, dijo Selvin, pero “siento que podría terminar perjudicándome. No negaré que, obviamente, me gustaría beneficiarme: arreglarme los dientes, un chequeo físico”. Pero dijo que el miedo lo frena, y no ha visto a un médico en nueve años.
No es el plan de deportación masiva de Trump en particular lo que lo asusta, sin embargo. “Si no estoy cometiendo ningún crimen o manejando ebrio, creo que no me deportarán”, dijo Selvin.
Las clínicas y los trabajadores de salud comunitarios alientan a los inmigrantes a inscribirse para obtener cobertura médica a través de Medi-Cal y Covered California. Pero los trabajadores han notado que el miedo a la deportación ha “enfriado” la participación.(Vanessa G. Sánchez/KFF Health News)
Petrona, de 55 años, vino de El Salvador buscando asilo y se inscribió en Medi-Cal el año pasado.
Dijo que si se recortan sus beneficios de salud, no podría costear sus visitas al dentista.
Vendedora ambulante de comida, escucha a menudo sobre el plan de deportación de Trump, pero dijo que el nuevo presidente expulsará a los criminales. “He oído decir que va a deshacerse de todos los que están robando”.
Aunque teme que pudiera ser deportada, también tiene esperanza en Trump. “Dice que va a dar mucho trabajo a los hispanos porque los latinos son los que trabajan más duro”, dijo. “Eso es bueno, más trabajo para nosotros, los que vinimos aquí a trabajar”.
El recién electo asambleísta republicano Jeff Gonzalez, quien ganó un escaño históricamente demócrata en la región desértica del sureste del estado, con una gran población latina, dijo que sus electores estaban ansiosos por ver un nuevo rumbo económico.
“Están realmente cansados del statu quo en California”, dijo Gonzalez. “La gente en las calles está diciendo: ‘Tengo esperanza’, porque ahora tenemos una perspectiva diferente. Tenemos a un empresario que está viendo las mismas cosas que nosotros estamos viendo, como el precio de los huevos, el precio de la gasolina, la seguridad”.
Gonzalez dijo que no comentará sobre posibles recortes a Medicaid porque Trump no ha hecho ningún anuncio oficial. A diferencia de la mayoría en su partido, Gonzalez aseguró que apoya la extensión de servicios de salud a todos los residentes, independientemente de su estatus migratorio.
Los proveedores de salud dijeron que enfrentan un doble desafío: la reticencia de las personas a las que deben atender y la amenaza de recortes importantes a Medicaid, el programa federal que proporciona más del 60% del financiamiento para Medi-Cal.
Proveedores de salud e investigadores de políticas dicen que una pérdida en las contribuciones federales podría llevar al estado a reducir o eliminar algunos programas, incluida la expansión para cubrir a quienes no tienen documentos.
California y Oregon son los únicos estados que ofrecen un seguro de salud integral a todos los inmigrantes elegibles, independientemente de su estatus. En California, se han inscrito cerca de 1.5 millones de personas sin papeles, a un costo de más de $6.000 millones al año para los contribuyentes del estado.
“Todo el mundo quiere poner este tipo de servicios en la lista de recortes, lo cual es realmente injusto”, dijo la senadora estatal Lena Gonzalez, demócrata y presidenta del Caucus Legislativo Latino de California. “Haremos todo lo posible para asegurarnos de que esto se priorice”.
La senadora Gonzalez dijo que será un desafío expandir programas como Covered California, el mercado de seguros de salud del estado, para el cual los inmigrantes sin estatus legal no son elegibles. Una gran preocupación para los inmigrantes y sus defensores es que Trump podría restablecer los cambios a la política de carga pública, que habilita para negar tarjetas de residencia o visas basándose en el uso de ciertos beneficios gubernamentales.
Los trabajadores de salud comunitarios como Yanet Martínez alientan a las personas a inscribirse para tener beneficios de salud. Pero muchos inmigrantes de California temen que el uso de servicios subsidiados pueda perjudicar sus posibilidades de obtener la residencia legal.(Vanessa G. Sánchez/KFF Health News)
“El plan de deportación masiva del presidente Trump pondrá fin al drenaje financiero que representan los inmigrantes ilegales para nuestro sistema de salud y garantizará que nuestro país pueda cuidar a los ciudadanos estadounidenses que dependen de Medicaid, Medicare y el Seguro Social”, dijo Karoline Leavitt, vocera de Trump, en un comunicado para KFF Health News.
Durante su primer mandato, en 2019, Trump amplió la política de carga pública para incluir el uso de Medicaid, así como subsidios de vivienda y para comprar alimentos. La administración Biden rescindió el cambio en 2021.
KFF, una organización sin fines de lucro de información sobre salud que incluye a KFF Health News, encontró que los inmigrantes usan menos servicios de salud que las personas nacidas en los Estados Unidos. Y aproximadamente 1 de cada 4 inmigrantes adultos probablemente indocumentados dijo que ha evitado solicitar asistencia para la atención de salud, alimentos y vivienda debido a temores relacionados con la inmigración, según una encuesta de 2023.
Otra incertidumbre es el destino de la Ley de Cuidado de Salud a Bajo Precio (ACA), que se expandió en noviembre a los inmigrantes traídos al país de niños y que están protegidos bajo el programa de Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia (DACA). Si la elegibilidad de DACA, y la misma ley, fuera revertida bajo Trump, eso dejaría a aproximadamente 40.000 beneficiarios de DACA en California, y alrededor de 100.000 en todo el país, sin acceso a seguros de salud subsidiados.
El 9 de diciembre, un tribunal federal en Dakota del Norte emitió una orden bloqueando el acceso de los beneficiarios de DACA a estos planes de salud en 19 estados que habían impugnado la regla de la administración Biden.
Clínicas y trabajadores comunitarios de salud están alentando a las personas a seguir inscribiéndose para obtener beneficios de salud. Pero en medio del esfuerzo por difundir el mensaje, los efectos disuasorios ya son evidentes a lo largo y ancho del estado.
“¿Ya tiene Medi-Cal?”, preguntaba la trabajadora comunitaria Yanet Martínez a los residentes mientras caminaba por Pico Boulevard recientemente, en un vecindario de Los Ángeles con muchos salvadoreños.
“¡Nosotros podemos ayudarle a solicitar Medi-Cal! ¡Todo gratuito!”, gritaba, ofreciendo ayuda para inscribirse sin costo.
“Gracias, pero no”, respondió una joven, encogiéndose de hombros y evitando el contacto visual bajo una gorra que la cubría del sol dela media mañana.
Martínez dijo que desde el día de las elecciones, la gente ha estado más reacia a escuchar lo que dice sobre seguros de salud subsidiados o exámenes preventivos de cáncer.
“Creen que voy a compartir su información para deportarlos”, dijo. “No quieren tener nada que ver con esto”.
Esta historia fue producida por KFF Health News, conocido antes como Kaiser Health News (KHN), una redacción nacional que produce periodismo en profundidad sobre temas de salud y es uno de los principales programas operativos de KFF, la fuente independiente de investigación de políticas de salud, encuestas y periodismo.
Dec. 15, 2024 – Hussain died at 3:42 p.m. at UCSF surrounded by family and loved ones, family spokesperson Jon Bleicher told the Chronicle. The cause of death was idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease. “He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy cherished by countless music lovers around the globe, with an influence that will resonate for generations to come.” With a storied career spanning more than five decades, Hussain is widely regarded as one of the greatest tabla players of all time and for bringing classical Indian music to a Western audience. He’s also considered a pioneer in the contemporary world music movement.
Hussain was taught tabla, or Indian hand drumming, from the age of 7 by his father, Alla Rakha, also a tabla virtuoso and accompanist of Ravi Shankar. Hussain collaborated with an impressive array of musicians, including Ali Akbar Khan, Shivkumar Sharma, Yo-Yo Ma, Charles Lloyd, Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer and George Harrison.
He moved from Mumbai to Marin County in the 1970s and worked with the region’s musicians, frequently playing shows at SFJazz. He was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the institution in 2017.
