Former Smoker-in-Chief? Reports say President Obama hasn’t smoked for nearly a year U.S. President Barack Obama has not lit a cigarette for almost one year, according to First Lady Michelle Obama. The first lady’s statement in February confirmed what White House then-spokesman Robert Gibbs said in December that he had not seen the president smoke in nine months. Obama started smoking in his teens, but vowed to Michelle that he would stop if she permitted him to run for the presidency. However, even after he won, he admitted lighting up occasionally but never smoked in front of daughters Malia and Sasha. Despite Obama failing to keep his promise to kick the habit, the president’s physician, Jeffrey Kuhlman, encouraged him to continue attempting to quit smoking during the president’s 2010 medical exam. Mrs. Obama said the president wants to go on battling the habit in order to be truthful in his
answer to his daughters if they ask if he smokes. To help Obama quit smoking, the president’s golfing companion and trip director Marvin Nicholson also kicked the habit, according to Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. The president also uses nicotine gums.
More Americans turn to complementary medicine
T
he use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies experienced a significant growth in the United States in the last decade, and a new analysis finds that CAM use becomes more likely when access to conventional care has been restricted. “In both 2002 and 2007, having unmet needs in medical care, or delayed care due to cost, was associated with a higher chance of CAM use,” said lead author Dejun Su. “Importantly, for Americans without health insurance, who cannot afford medical care, CAM might be their last and only resort.” Su is director of the South Texas Border Health Disparities Center at the University of Texas-Pan American. He and his colleagues analyzed data from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey. Based on interviews with more than 23,000 adults, the NHIS showed more pronounced growth in CAM use among whites than among racial and ethnic minorities. This increased an
already existing white-minority gap in CAM use, Su said. Without counting prayer for health purposes, 33 percent of whites report using at least one CAM therapy, while 31.8 percent of Asian Americans, 20.1 percent of African-Americans and 16.9 percent of Hispanics report using these therapies. The use of CAM rose across all these populations between 2002 and 2007, but at different rates. The increase was highest among whites and Asian Americans, at 18.1 percent and 17.2 percent, respectively. Use among African-Americans increased only 6.6 percent. Use among Hispanics increased only 1.01 percent. “So far, we know little about how the difference in CAM use has influenced racial and ethnic disparities in health and mortality,” Su said. “Research is urgently needed to understand the effectiveness, side effects and interactions of CAM therapies with conventional medicine.”
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In Good Health is published 12 times a year by Local News, Inc. © 2011 by Local News, Inc. All rights reserved. Mailing Address: P.O. Box 276, Oswego, NY 13126. • Phone: (315) 342-1182 • Fax: (315) 342-7776. Editor & Publisher: Wagner Dotto • Associate Editor: Lou Sorendo Writers and Contributing Writers: Suzanne M. Ellis, Jim Miller, Eva Briggs, M.D., Gwenn Voelckers, Deborah Banikowski, Deborah Jeanne Sergeant, Anne Palumbo, Aaron Gifford, Melissa Stefanec • Advertising: Donna J. Kimbrell, Tracy DeCann • Layout & Design: Chris Crocker • Proofreading: Shelley Manley • Office Manager: Laura J. Beckwith No material may be reproduced in whole or in part from this publication without the express written permission of the publisher. The information in this publication is intended to complement—not to take the place of—the recommendations of your health provider. Consult your physician before making major changes in your lifestyle or health care regimen.
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