January 05, 2010

Following is a statement of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Cancer Society, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and American Legacy Foundation: In a significant victory for public health, a federal judge in Kentucky today upheld most key provisions of the new law giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to regulate tobacco products. The judge upheld critical provisions of the law that: * Require large, graphic health warnings on cigarette packs; * Prohibit tobacco companies from making health claims about tobacco products without FDA review; and * Ban several forms of tobacco marketing that appeal to children, including brand name sponsorships, tobacco-branded merchandise such as caps and t-shirts, free samples of tobacco products and free gifts with purchase. Importantly, the court also upheld the authority of federal, state and local governments to impose additional regulations on tobacco products and marketing beyond those specified in the law, and nothing in the decision impacts the authority of FDA to enact further restrictions on tobacco marketing to protect the public health. It is disappointing, however, that the judge struck down two provisions of the law: one that bans the use of color and imagery in tobacco advertising in locations viewed by large numbers of youth and the second that prohibits claims implying that a tobacco product is safer because of FDA approval. Full release.

In a recent letter to California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown, the California Police Chiefs Association (CPCA) expressed concern over the "hasty implementation" of firearms microstamping in California and called for further in-depth study of the technology before it is implemented by law in California. In the letter, CPCA Acting President Susan E. Manheimer wrote, "There are too many unanswered questions with microstamping in its current iteration" and raised concerns that "statements about the capabilities of microstamping may have been technologically premature." In 2007, CPCA supported legislation (AB 1471) to require firearms microstamping in California. "We appreciate the California Police Chiefs Association call for further study of the technology," said NSSF President Steve Sanetti. "Clearly, concerns over the reliability of firearms microstamping are continuing to grow, especially within the law enforcement community." Full release.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a brief press availability with His Excellency Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani of the State of Qatar prior to their meeting this morning in the Capitol. Below are their remarks: Speaker Pelosi. Good morning. It is a great honor for me to welcome the Prime Minister of Qatar, His Excellency Sheikh Hamad to the Capitol to visit with him once again. I had the privilege of meeting with him in Qatar on one of my visits there. The United States and Qatar have an important relationship. When it comes to our most important issue -- the security of our people -- working together to fight terrorism and to make the globe a safer place is a common agenda that we have, and I look forward to our discussion today in furtherance of that security, especially in light of the Christmas Day incident. Our relationship goes beyond that; while continuing on that, I am grateful to the government of Qatar for the hospitality it extends to our troops there. I had the occasion to visit our troops, to see the hospitality extended, and again to express the appreciation of the American people for that hospitality. And then there is the question of climate change, in which the government of Qatar is in the lead on climate change, and I look forward to hearing from the Prime Minister on further issues relating to this important challenge that we all have in light of what happened in Copenhagen. Full release.

New National Health Expenditure Accounts data released by CMS show that health spending in the United States grew at 4.4 percent in 2008. Although the recession has brought a reduction in the rate of increase in health care costs, the data show costs continue to grow faster than the overall economy and the portion of GDP devoted to health care continues to increase. "The latest national health expenditure data demonstrate why health care reform needs to include a long-term strategy to reduce the growth of health care costs. Health care spending continues to rise faster than the economy as a whole, further straining family budgets and crowding out other urgent domestic priorities, such as education, energy, and the environment," said Karen Ignagni, President and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). According to CMS, "Despite the slowdown, national health spending reached $2.3 trillion, or $7,681 per person, and the health care portion of gross domestic product (GDP) grew from 15.9 percent in 2007 to 16.2 percent in 2008. These developments reflect the general pattern that larger increases in the health spending share of GDP generally occur during or just after periods of economic recession." Full release.

The Obama Administration and Democrats in Congress have announced they will try to pass an amnesty for illegal aliens this year. Only the House version of their bill has so far been introduced: H.R. 4321. The Senate companion bill will be sponsored by Sen. Charles Schumer, who, while in the House, was a key player in passing the last big amnesty, the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). Lawmakers would be remiss if they did not examine the implementation of the IRCA amnesty, and consider its cautionary lessons. To assist that process, the Center for Immigration Studies has published a report that details the dysfunctional inner workings of the legalization program. "A Bailout for Illegal Immigrants? Lessons from the Implementation of the 1986 IRCA Amnesty" was prepared by Center Fellow and longtime immigration researcher David North, who spent nearly two years (funded by the Ford Foundation and a federal agency) examining the IRCA amnesty as it was being implemented. Full release.

The gun lobby's radical and extremist agenda to force hidden and loaded handguns on college campuses hit a stiff wall of opposition in 2009. Gun violence prevention advocates, campus security officials, administrators, professors and especially students repeatedly defeated the gun lobby's irresponsible legislation that would have stripped universities from being able to determine their own safety policies with respect to firearms on campus. The gun lobby has tried in vain to capitalize on the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting tragedy that killed 32 students and professors to advance its extremist ideology to arm students and teachers. In the 12 states it attempted to ram through its dangerous legislation, the gun lobby ended 2009 without a single "guns on campus" bill being enacted into law, most recently losing bills in both the state Senate and House in Michigan. Conservative states such as Texas, Alabama, Missouri and Louisiana, among others, where the gun lobby claims its power is unmatched also firmly rejected the gun lobby's agenda. And in December, Colorado State University's Board of Governors voted unanimously to ban all firearms - concealed or not - on its campuses at Ft Collins and Pueblo. The gun lobby's losses are unparalleled. The Wall Street Journal reported in July 2009 that the gun lobby suffered 34 consecutive defeats over the last two years in trying to permit students to carry loaded and deadly handguns into dorms, classrooms and sporting events. Full release.

Robert Johnson, President of Consumers for Competitive Choice (C4CC), issued the following statement in response to Andrew Martin's front page story in today's New York Times titled, "The Card Game: How Visa, Using Card Fees, Dominates a Market:" "I am pleased that the New York Times is drawing attention to the issues of debit card steering and interchange fees, or swipe fees -- two of the many methods that Visa has been using to line their pockets on the backs of small businesses and consumers for far too long. What this article makes abundantly clear is that the most important thing to card companies like Visa is their bottom line -- at any cost! Is there any other industry where we put up with practices like this? "As the article points out, not only do signature debit purchases cost twice as much as PIN debit purchases for retailers, but PIN debit cards are less vulnerable to fraud making them a safer choice for card carrying customers. Yet Visa, MasterCard and others continue to steer customers toward signature debit purchases, even going so far as offering glittering prizes that customers only qualify for by making signature debit purchases. Why? I think that answer is clear ... because at the end of the day it means higher profits for big banks and Visa and MasterCard. It is truly disgusting. Full release.

As Congress readies to merge the Senate and House health care reform bills, some states, including Idaho, are stepping up to serve as the latest roadblock. Before even seeing the details of the final legislation, Idaho's Governor "Butch" Otter recently announced he would fight reform efforts and possibly sue the United States over the constitutionality of the issue. AARP is calling that a move in the wrong direction for tackling the state's growing health care crisis, and says the constitutional challenge is a scare tactic and unfounded. "Governor Otter's announcement to rail against health care reform is premature, unnecessary and, if successful, would do much more harm than good for hundreds of thousands of Idahoans struggling with high health care costs," said Jim Wordelman, State Director for AARP in Idaho. "This move puts the interests and profits of insurance and drug companies before the needs of Idaho families, businesses and retirees buckling under insurance premiums and rising prescription drug prices." Full release.

Montefiore Medical Center recently became the only hospital on the East Coast to conduct the Radio Frequency Ablation procedure to shrink uterine fibroids in women 30 years and older. This minimally invasive procedure, initially used to treat liver cancer, uses a tiny needle that is inserted into the fibroid, applying low energy radio frequency electrical current, which creates localized tumor destruction by heat. "More than 30% of all women suffer from fibroids, which can cause excessive menstrual bleeding and pain," said Erika Banks, MD, Director of the Fibroid Center at Montefiore and lead investigator of the study. "This procedure is another option for these women who wish to preserve their uterus -- an important advantage of this minimally invasive procedure." Fibroids are benign tumors, which grow in the uterus. Fibroids are the most common tumor in the reproductive years, and are 2-3 times more common among African American women. Symptoms include heavy and or painful menstrual bleeding, a feeling of pressure in the pelvis, frequent urination, pain during intercourse, abdominal bloating and abdominal pain and/or back ache. Full release.

Scientists at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have uncovered an important link between inflammation and breast cancer stem cells that suggests a new way to target cells that are resistant to current treatments. The researchers identified a receptor, CXCR1, on the cancer stem cells which triggers growth of stem cells in response to inflammation and tissue damage. A drug originally developed to prevent organ transplant rejection blocks this receptor, killing breast cancer stem cells and preventing their metastasis in mice, according to the study. Cancer stem cells, the small number of cells that fuel a tumor's growth, are believed to be resistant to current chemotherapies and radiation treatment, which researchers say may be the reason cancer so often returns after treatment. "Developing treatments to effectively target the cancer stem cell population is essential for improving outcomes. This work suggests a new strategy to target cancer stem cells that can be readily translated into the clinic," says senior study author Max S. Wicha, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Oncology and director of the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. Wicha was part of the team that first identified stem cells in breast cancer. Full release.

Only about half of Americans diagnosed with major depression in a given year receive treatment for it and even fewer - about one-fifth - receive treatment consistent with current practice guidelines, according to data from national surveys supported by the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health. Among the groups surveyed, African- Americans and Mexican-Americans had the lowest rates of depression care, and all groups reported higher use of psychotherapy versus medication treatment. Major depressive disorders (MDD) is the main cause of disability in the United States, and it is projected that over the next 20 years MDD will be the second leading cause of disability around the globe. A team of researchers from Wayne State University, the University of Michigan, the University of California, Los Angeles and Harvard University, have published a paper in the January 2010 edition of the Archives of General Psychiatry that gives a detailed picture of the care received for major depression among different ethnic/racial groups and factors that contribute to disparities. The paper reports that too few Americans with recent major depressive disorders receive adequate depression care, and most receive no care at all. Full release.

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