Tobacco Reduction of Amador County is offering a chance to help smokers fulfill a New Years Resolution. Tobacco Reduction and the American Lung Association are giving an 8-session “Freedom from Smoking” course beginning January 29th. This free program is one of many steps the organization is taking to reduce tobacco use in AmadorCounty. Other objectives include reducing access to tobacco products for minors, countering pro-tobacco influences and reducing exposure to second-hand smoke. In order to achieve these goals, the organization will be educating tobacco retailers and collaborating with Amador County schools, among other activities. One of the programs notable accomplishments is the adoption of an ordinance prohibiting smoking near the doors and ventilation systems of county buildings.

According to a study specific to Amador County, there were 68 smoking-related deaths and 74 potential years of life lost in 1999 alone. The County’s direct smoking costs that year was over 13 million, and the resulting loss of productivity cost the county an additional 8 million plus. Since this study, the local population has grown rapidly and there are still a significant number of smokers. For more information on the stop-smoking program, call 223-6638, or visit Tobacco Reduction of Amador County’s webpage at www.co.amador.ca.us.

 

According to the Associated Press a common chemical found in plastic ducks, teething rings and other soft, chewable baby toys would be banned in California under a bill before an Assembly committee this week. The piece of Legislation to be heard by Committee Tuesday written by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, would require that all toys or child care products sold for children under 3 be free of six types of phthalates, a chemical used to soften and smooth plastics

Many states are making more children eligible for government-funded health insurance even as President Bush's health chief says families are relying too much on public money for the coverage. The goal of the states is to allow more middle-class families to participate in the State Children's Health Insurance Program. The states are raising income limits so families once shut out because of their earnings now can qualify.

The Amador County Health Department is now warning about Lyme disease, a syndrome caused by a tick-borne bacteria called borrelia burgdorferi, which can progress from an initial skin infection, to a disseminated infection, to a disabling multi-systemic illness which can include dermatologic, arthritic, ophthalmologic, cardiac, psychiatric and neurological manifestations.  Lyme’s disease is most often spread by a Tick Bite.

Sutter Amador Hospital’s new state of the art Out Patient Services Center was celebrated Saturday when the hospital held the grand Opening of the new building. The state of the art center has been open to the public for over a month serving patients form Amador and Calaveras Counties.

If you’re a Kaiser Permanente member and over the age of 18 you can expect a survey in the mail, a survey asking for personal information including lifestyle, diet, exposure to smoking, physical activities, and medical history. Kaiser has announced that it is starting a large-scale effort to study how genetic and environmental factors put people at risk for disease and disorders such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and Alzheimer's. Kaiser officials hope to involve about 500,000 of its 2 million, or so, adult members in research that it says could lead to treatments and drug therapies tailored to individual patients. "Our research could help us identify not only what diseases a person may be at risk for, but also identify how to reduce that risk, or how best to treat the disease," said Cathy Schaefer, director of Kaiser's Research Program on Genes, Environment and Health, who spoke at a news conference yesterday in Oakland.

In observance of National Child Passenger Safety Week, SAFE KIDS Amador/Calaveras will partner with Kennedy Meadow Apartments to offer a car seat check and bicycle safety event on Thursday, February 15th  from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm. The Amador unit of the California Highway Patrol will also be giving away free Children’s ID Kits. The public is welcome to attend this community event held at the Ione Community Methodist Church located at 150 West Marlette in Ione. The event offers the community free car seat checks performed by certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians who will determine if the car seats you are using have been recalled, are the wrong size for your child or improperly installed.

As freezing temperatures hit Northern California, emergency responders are putting out a warning: beware of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Blood donations from Amador County donors are estimated to have saved 300 lives over the past year, according to Veterans Blood Drive Chair Robert Saracino. Six Veterans Blood Drives in 2007 collected 396 units of blood. Stephanie Kresse of Blood Source, the firm that performs the blood collection, says the Amador County Veteran’s blood drive is “phenomenal” in the way it has grown. Blood collected by Blood Source is used at Sutter Amador Hospital, Mark TwainHospital and other hospitals in the region. Blood collected at the Veterans Blood Drives also benefits veterans who need blood and don’t have insurance coverage.

The next Veteran’s Blood Drive will be held Feb.4 at the American Legion Hall in Sutter Hill. Along with the usual whole blood collection process, Blood Source will also collect “Double Red Blood Cells.” According to Kresse, Double Red Blood Cell Collection collects 2 units of red blood cells from one donor I one sitting. At this time, only men are being asked to donate with the new process and it takes a little longer.  According to the American Red Cross, only a fraction of those who can give blood do. Yet sooner or later, virtually all of us will face a time in which we will need blood. For more information about the Amador County Veterans Blood Drive, call Robert Saracino, 223-4389.

 

 

 

Could there be a link between the increasing numbers of children diagnosed with autism and some pesticides used to control insects? According to The California Department of Public Health a new study suggests there is a possible link between some pesticide exposures and autism.