7 Million Deaths Linked To Air Pollution In 2012 Says New Report By World Health Organization

The United Nations’ World Health Organization (WHO) just released a shocking report linking severe air pollution – both indoor and outdoor combined – to about seven million deaths across the globe in 2012.

“This finding more than doubles previous estimates and confirms that air pollution is now the world’s largest single environmental health risk,” said WHO.

In the case of outdoor air pollution, a report by the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that “there were 3.7 million deaths in 2012 from urban and rural sources worldwide.” Photo courtesy of Clear The Air New Blog.

The health organization said that the new data shows “a strong link between both indoor and outdoor air pollution exposure and cardiovascular diseases, such as strokes and ischaemic (coronary) heart disease, as well as between air pollution and cancer.

“This is in addition to air pollution’s role in the development of respiratory diseases, including acute respiratory infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD).” The estimates were based on WHO mortality data from 2012 associated with conditions related to exposure to air pollution.

Looking at indoor air pollution worldwide, the health organization estimated that indoor air pollution was linked to about 4.3 million deaths in 2012, which was related to “households cooking over coal, wood, and biomass stoves.”

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New Smoking Industry Bans and Restrictions Are Now in Effect on the United States Federal Level

Cartoon courtesy of quit guide.com.

As we’ve just hit the one year anniversary of the U.S. Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, several new bans and limits against the industry are now in effect as of that date.

Among the newly effective provisions, the U.S. Federal Food and Drug Administration - which regulates tobacco products - has prohibited the advertising or labeling of tobacco products with the descriptions ‘light, mild, or low,’ without agency approval.

In a speech last month to an audience from the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Lawrence Deyton, the director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, explained that the “FDA has the authority to enforce truth in advertising.

“For example, we know the harm done by the use of the terms ‘light, low, and mild.’ I’ve really got to hand it to the industry, this was a hugely effective marketing strategy. So effective, millions of smokers came to believe that switching to a brand labeled as ‘light, low, or mild’ is the next best thing to quitting.

“Of course, we know that was just a gimmick. There is no demonstrable difference to the public health and population health by the use of those products. That’s why, effective June 22, (2010) we will ban the manufacture of cigarettes labeled as ‘light, low, and mild,’ without FDA approval.”

Philip Morris USA - one of the first to announce compliance with the new regulations - agrees with the FDA, saying that, “No aspect of any of our cigarettes should be interpreted as suggesting that any cigarette is less risky or results in less exposure to harmful compounds than any other cigarette.

Graphic courtesy of Edinboro University.

“The amount of tar, nicotine, or other constituents in (the) smoke a smoker inhales from a cigarette can vary based upon how a smoker smokes. The amount a smoker inhales will be higher, for example, if a smoker blocks ventilations holes, inhales more deeply, takes more puffs, or smokes more cigarettes. There is no safe cigarette. If smokers are concerned about the risks of cigarette smoking, the best thing is to quit.”

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Health Risks Rising as Obesity Rates Triple Among Young Americans

Condiments containing lipids - fats and cholesterols. Stock photo.

It’s easy to look around and see that obesity rates are on the rise. The shocker is by how much and how fast.

In the past three decades, obesity among young American has increased from five percent to more than 17 percent, according to Ashleigh May, an epidemic intelligence officer in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s division for heart disease and stroke prevention.

“Overweight and obese young people are at far greater risk of having abnormal lipid levels than young people with normal weights,” said Ms. May, commenting the agency’s latest report - Recommended Community Strategies and Measurements to Prevent Obesity in the United States.

Lipids are basically fats, such as triglyceride and steroids, like cholesterol. “Abnormal lipid levels are major risk factors for heart disease,” said Ms. May, adding that, “typically heart disease develops in adulthood, but its risk factors - such as abnormal lipid levels, and being overweight or obese - often emerge during childhood or adolescence.”

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FDA Seeks the Nationwide Recall of 69 Tainted Diet Pill Brands

Photo courtesy of Wineinyourdiet.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting consumers not to purchase 69 diet pill brands because they contain undeclared active pharmaceutical ingredients that could pose health risks to consumers.

The FDA has inspected a number of unspecified companies associated with the sale of these illegal products, and is currently seeking recalls. The agency advises consumers who have used these products to stop taking them and consult their doctors immediately.

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