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Study Examines Association Of Movie Smoking Exposure And Team Sport Participation With Youths Becoming Established Smokers
Participating in team sports is associated with a reduced likelihood of youths becoming established smokers, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, exposure to movie smoking appears to be associated with an increased risk of established smoking in both team sport participants and nonparticipants.
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Reps. Ryan, DeLauro To Introduce Bill To Reduce Need For Abortion
Reps. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) on Thursday will be joined by leaders of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and NARAL Pro-Choice America in announcing the latest version of a bill that aims to reduce the need for abortion by preventing unintended pregnancies, among other measures, Time reports (Sullivan, Time, 7/23). Ryan and DeLauro first introduced a version of the bill in 2006 (Crary, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 7/22). However, this version "represents a dramatic break from nearly four decades" of political debate since Roe v. Wade, as both conservative antiabortion-rights groups and abortion-rights advocates have expressed support, according to Time (Time, 7/23).The bill would increase support for comprehensive sex education programs, improve access to contraception, expand Medicaid family planning coverage, increase programs for pregnant or parenting college students, and expand adoption assistance. The Congressional Budget Office has not yet conducted a cost-analysis of the bill, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports (AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 7/22). In developing the bill, Ryan sought the help of Rachel Laser, director of culture programs at the policy and strategy think-tank Third Way. According to Time, Laser worked with advocates on both sides and modified the bill to help gather their support, while preventing the measure from becoming "uselessly watered down or split into two."DeLauro noted, "We had to reach a level of trust" with people on both sides and allow them time to become more receptive to the bill"s goals, adding, "Because so often this issue has been one about which there was nothing other than trying to score political points." DeLauro said she hopes the Obama administration will look to the bill for guidance as it crafts its strategy for reducing the need for abortion and preventing unintended pregnancies. President Obama is expected to make an announcement about the plan next month, according to Time (Time, 7/23).DeLauro and Ryan also noted that Rahm Emanuel, Obama"s chief of staff, endorsed an earlier version of the bill when he served in the House, which they hope could mean that Obama would support their measure. DeLauro said, "This is a bill that seems to mesh with the president"s interests," adding, "I see no reason why the White House could not endorse it."Joshua DuBois, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, said the administration is still reviewing the information it has gathered in recent meetings with representatives on both sides of the abortion debate.Laurie Rubiner, director of Planned Parenthood"s Washington, D.C., office, said "This isn"t a radical bill," adding, "It only seems radical because it"s been so long that we could have a constructive conversation ... with both pro-choice and anti-choice groups around the table."The Rev. Joel Hunter -- an antiabortion-rights evangelical pastor in Orlando, Fla., who serves on the White House Faith-Based Advisory Council -- called the bill "a landmark bill for the culture wars -- a prototype for how we can approach things in the future." He said the bill"s strengths were in its appeals to both liberal and conservative beliefs, adding, "When you realize you need someone who"s been an adversary to help you advance your own projects, that"s a big deal" (AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 7/22).
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Genetically-Engineered MSCs Kill Metastatic Lung Cancer Cells In Mice
Researchers in London have demonstrated the ability of adult stem cells from bone marrow (mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs) to deliver a cancer-killing protein to tumors.
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CBO Director May Help Determine Fate Of Health Care

Several newspapers had articles on major players in health care reform. Douglas W. Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, has "toiled for much of his career in the anonymous bowels of the nation"s economic superstructure," the Washington Post reports. But now, some lawmakers "think he holds the fate of public policy in his hands." After delivering a "skeptical analysis of a stimulus package intended to rescue the U.S. economy" and forecasting "bigger-than-expected losses from a $700 billion bailout of the U.S. financial system, Elmendorf now "faces the toughest task of his brief tenure: attaching a price to a monumental overhaul of the nation"s health-care system." Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., has "publicly lectured Elmendorf, saying he has a moral duty to be "creative" and deliver the favorable budget estimates "we have to have" to win broad support." But Elmendorf says "his office will offer an objective analysis, "without regard to the political consequences."" Elmendorf told the Post that his office would provide the information, but the decision is in the hands of Congress. "CBO is not going to make or break health-care reform," he says. A graduate of Princeton and Harvard, Elmendorf was also "part of a team of CBO analysts who in 1994 concluded that President Bill Clinton"s plan to overhaul the health system would cost far more than advertised and vastly expand the federal government," helping to kill the legislation. Elmendorf"s opinion is "most eagerly waited" on the question of "whether changes in the delivery of health care -- more prevention, better information, closer coordination among doctors -- can wring some of the waste out of a system expected to consume nearly $2.3 trillion this year." So far, "the CBO has proven unwilling to assume big savings from popular reforms, such as computerizing medical records and studying the comparative effectiveness of various treatments." Elmendorf "acknowledged that health reform is especially challenging." It requires the CBO to "make decisions based on scant or preliminary evidence" without caving to partisan pressure. It is no coincidence that "the agency"s unofficial mascot is a skunk, a furry toy passed from director to director as a reminder to deliver the truth, even when it is as welcome as a skunk at a picnic" (Montgomery, 6/11). Meanwhile, other major players are also emerging in the health care debates. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., met with President Barack Obama yesterday to talk about health care, Roll Call reports. "The discussion with Wyden, whose health plan has the support of some Republicans, came on a day when Obama sought to emphasize his commitment to trying to get a bipartisan bill." The White House has not provided details of the conversation (Koffler, 6/10). The ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, met with President Obama "on ways to resolve "sticking points"" in a health care overhaul, the Des Moines Register reports. "There"s a heck of a lot of agreement but the agreements are on some noncontroversial things," Grassley said. "But there"s three or four things out there that are very controversial," he continued. Grassley also "said there is still no consensus on major issues, such as how to pay for it when the expense could top $1.5 trillion over the next decade; whether private companies should be required to kick in money to the federal Treasury if they choose to drop health plans for their own workers, and whether a board of health should make health care decisions rather than Congress (Jacobs, 6/11). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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