After six months of maternity leave I\u2019m back<\/p>\n
and ready to blog. Please hold the applause…<\/p>\n
Like everyone says, having a kid changes your perspective. One thing that happens is that everything to do with babies\u2014all that stuff that once bored you to tears \u2014is now fascinating.<\/p>\n
So I provide fair warning: you can expect future blog material on issues such as finding bisphenol A-free baby products (laborious), the medical structure set up around childbirth (peculiar), and parental leave policies for scientists (abysmal).<\/p>\n
But I\u2019d like to start off by proving that I\u2019m not going to inflict you only with baby-centric jabber. I’m back on my soapbox about tobacco.<\/p>\n
People here at the journal think I\u2019m pretty shrill when it comes to<\/p>\n
cigarettes. But the events of the last month or so should make anyone<\/p>\n
concerned about public health emit at least a groan.<\/p>\n
President Bush, in one of the first vetoes of his presidency, nixed a bill <\/a>this fall to expand healthcare to low-income children by increasing the cigarette tax. The veto came on the heels of a CDC<\/span> report <\/a>that smoking rates have stopped leveling off in the US and are rising again among teenagers.<\/p>\n One reason for the veto, said Bush, is that the bill would increase taxes on \u201cworking people<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n And that is exactly why the bill should be passed: A report<\/a> from the Institute of Medicine this year concluded that one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking\u2014especially among the poor and teenagers\u2014is to increase taxes on cigarettes. Raising tobacco taxes to fund children\u2019s health seems like a win-win situation: a way to both reduce smoking and to promote public health.<\/p>\n Apparently, the bill is being renegotiated now <\/a>and may be resurrected again closer to election season. Let\u2019s hope some politicians put the tobacco issue at the center of the debate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After six months of maternity leave I\u2019m back … Read more<\/a> Continue reading