Clinical Effort Against Secondhand Smoke Exposure

I take my daughter to a Bruster’s ice cream shop close to a local high school, and we are always amazed at the number of students who walk around after school with a cigarette in their hand. The AAP published a press release early this week that indicates CEASE (Clinical Effort Against Secondhand Smoke Exposure) is gaining traction. I wasn’t originally convinced that the pediatrician’s office would be particularly fertile ground for another “stop smoking” campaign, but I’ve reconsidered. If you won’t stop smoking for the health of your children, who would you stop for?

A large European study in the effects of smoking compared to obesity in adolescents is also making the news. Researchers followed 45,920 Swedish men in the army over a period of 38 years, and found that youths who were obese when they enlisted had the same death rate as those who were heavy smokers. Is there the equivalent to CEASE on the horizon for nutrition and lifestyle?

Now that Kathleen Sebelius has been nominated as HHS Secretary, healthcare IT chatter turns toward the National Coordinator appointment. Like Kibbe and Klepper, I hope that it’s someone who will push for more cost-effective solutions than what is presently available. Front end planning is essential, and I worry that the economic downturn will result in people rushing to currently existing solutions that will ultimately have a negative effect on healthcare costs.