Health

Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) John P. Walters, Seventeen magazine, and teen medical experts today released a new analysis of recent findings on drug and alcohol use trends among girls. Despite commonly held beliefs that boys are at higher risk for using illegal substances, data indicate that girls have caught up with boys in illicit drug and alcohol use and have actually surpassed boys in cigarette and prescription drug use. There are also more girls who are new users of substances than boys.

Most programs intended to prevent or reduce HIV/AIDS have focused on “safe sex” and the use of condoms, both in this country and abroad. The use of condoms and other contraceptives have also been central to many campaigns to reduce unwanted pregnancies, particularly among teenage girls. However, some conservatives and religious critics of these programs are concerned that promoting condom use encourages promiscuity. This has apparently led to an increase in programs designed to promote abstinence from sex before marriage as a safer and more moral way to prevent HIV/AIDS and unwanted pregnancies. The question is, do these programs work?

A new Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI) study sheds light on the childhood obesity crisis among girls, which affects one in five Latina girls in the United States today, by directly asking girls how they define health and what motivates them to lead a healthier lifestyle.

Bumpercar, Inc., a Hispanic advertising agency located in Santa Ana, California together with ONAC Productions from San Diego have developed a Hispanic market anti-violence advertising effort.

YouthAIDS announced Colombian singer, songwriter and guitarist Juanes has accepted the role of YouthAIDS Ambassador. As a YouthAIDS Ambassador, Juanes will work to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among the world’s youth.

The National Minority Health Month Foundation (NMHMF) announces a broad-based national campaign aimed at encouraging the U.S. Congress to support the reauthorization and modernization of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act in 2006.

Hispanic smokers are nearly half as likely as white smokers to have ever used nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) when trying to quit smoking, according to a recent study published by the American Journal of Health Promotion.

The National Council on Folic Acid (NCFA) will observe National Folic Acid Awareness Week, January 9-15, 2006, by helping Hispanic women understand the benefits of increasing folic acid consumption as a part of their regular diet.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation, (AHF) the nation’s largest AIDS group and a direct provider of HIV/AIDS medical care to thousands of AIDS patients in the US, Africa, Central America and Asia, criticized Pfizer, Inc., the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, for contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases, by promoting unsafe sex in recent print advertisements for their erectile dysfunction drug, Viagra.

To raise awareness of the importance of youth smoking prevention and to encourage parents to talk to their kids about not smoking, Philip Morris USA is airing national television advertising in Spanish.

Each day, more than 9,000 new driver’s licenses are issued to 16- and 17-year-olds nationwide, the very same age group that is at greatest risk for marijuana use, and a 2005 survey reveals that these teens say that cars are the second most popular place for smoking marijuana.

Leaders in the public health community are denouncing new advertising and marketing tactics by the tobacco industry that are aimed at the Latino community, especially Latino youth. Public health groups, including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the National Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco Prevention, are demanding that the tobacco companies stop targeting the Latino community.