You don’t have to stop smoking in one day. Start with Day 1. On Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, you can join thousands of people who will begin their smoke-free journey with the Great American Smokeout. This annual event from the American Cancer Society encourages smokers to make a plan to stop smoking. Need help? Enroll in Quitxt, a free English or Spanish text-message service that turns your phone into a personal “quit smoking” coach from UT Health San Antonio. To join Quitxt, text “iquit” (for English) or “lodejo” (for Spanish) to 844-332-2058. “For the Great American Smokeout, we’re excited to share Quitxt to provide real-time help with motivation to quit, setting a quit date, handling stress, and much more, all on your phone,” said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, ...
Wonder how much the environment is impacting health in your city? Use the CDC’s newest tool – the Environmental Justice Index (EJI) – to get a single environmental justice score for your community. The EJI measures the cumulative impacts of environmental burden through the lens of human health and health equity. It uses data from the CDC, U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration. CDC officials hope public health officials use the EJI score to identify and map areas most at risk for the health impacts of environmental burden. “Social factors such as poverty, race, and ethnicity, along with pre-existing health conditions may increase these [environmental] impacts,” according to the CDC. “This ...
More than 50 million people in the US are under excessive heat warnings, and more than 25 major cities have tied or broken record-high temperatures this year, according to NPR. Heat waves are nothing new, but they are becoming increasingly more common and more severe because of climate change, which is a threat to public health, especially for Latinos. In fact, about 702 heat-related deaths occur each year due to heat stroke and related diseases. “Hot weather is associated with an increase in heat-related illnesses, including cardiovascular and respiratory complications, renal failure, electrolyte imbalance, kidney stones, negative impacts on fetal health, and preterm birth,” the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) stated. “Specifically, death rates are noted ...
As the average American takes a shower, cooks, or enjoys a drink from the tap, chances are they simply turn on a faucet to access clean, drinkable water. People who live in colonias have a much harsher experience. While the average American uses 88 gallons of water per day, Cochran colonia residents in El Paso County, Texas, use a mere 50 to 100 gallons per month, facing daily struggles for safe water. Join us as Salud America! explores this rising health disparity through a three-part series on Latino drinking water contamination. Part 1 focused on nitrates, how prevalent they are in Latino drinking water, and emerging efforts to promote safer water for Latinos and all people. Part 2 addressed drinking water contamination at Superfund sites, its impact on Latinos, and ...
Research suggests that Latinos are more likely to live near Superfund sites with contaminated drinking water, increasing risks for adverse health effects. This health inequity contributes to a larger issue of Latinos generally having less access to clean, safe drinking water in the US. Join us as Salud America! explores this health disparity through a three-part series on Latino drinking water contamination. Part 1 focused on nitrates in drinking water, how prevalent nitrate-contaminated drinking water is in Latino communities, and how the nation is promoting safer water for Latinos and all people. Today, in Part 2, we will address contaminated drinking water at Superfund sites, its impact on Latinos, and current efforts to promote safer drinking water in these ...
Rural Latinos and farmworkers in the US are disproportionately exposed to nitrate-contaminated drinking water. This health disparity stems from a larger issue of Latinos generally having less access to clean, safe drinking water in the US. Join us as Salud America! explores this rising health disparity through a three-part series on Latino drinking water contamination. Today we will tackle what nitrates are, how prevalent they are in Latino drinking water, and emerging efforts to promote safer water for Latinos and all people. Part 2 will address drinking water contamination at Superfund sites, its impact on Latinos, and current efforts to promote safer drinking water in these areas. Part 3 will focus on water insecurity in colonias and the US/Mexico border, and how we ...
How can you stand up to the tobacco industry? On April 1, you can participate in Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action! Take Down Tobacco, a fresh take on Kick Butts Day, is the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ signature platform for empowering people to speak out against the tobacco industry. You can: Raise awareness of the problem of tobacco use
Encourage youth to pledge reject the tobacco industry’s deceptive marketing and stay tobacco-free
Urge leaders to take action to protect kids from tobacco
Watch a "roast" of Big Tobacco
Plan events or social media with #TakeDownTobacco The team behind Salud America! is working to help young adults quit smoking with Quitxt, our free English or Spanish text-message service that turns your phone into a personal ...
Some chemicals cause serious harm and just don’t quit. These substances, known as perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), can be found in water, cosmetics, food packaging, fire-fighting foam, furniture, and other things that many come into contact with on a regular basis. For years, researchers classified PFAS as permanent, undestroyable. Recent research shows, however, that might not be the case. A study, published in the Journal of Environmental Engineering shows that a technique using water heat and pressure can annihilate 99% of PFAS in water. How does this impact Latinos? Well, one recent National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences study showed that PFAS exposure can increase risk of type 2 diabetes in Latina girls. Therefore, this ...
Race/ethnicity plays a significant role in determining home energy use, emissions, and cost burden, according to a study by the University of Michigan and McGill University. Majority-White neighborhoods had the highest per-capita emissions, researchers found. In African-American neighborhoods, emissions were 90% of those in White neighborhoods. Latino neighborhoods had the lowest per capita emissions, at only 60% of White neighborhoods. Yet communities of color pay higher energy rates than what they produce, adding yet another inequity that harms health outcomes among this population and other people of color, according to study co-author Tony Reames of the University of Michigan. “People that are struggling financially and then have high energy burdens are ...
