Dr. Alan Blum, director of The University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society, which is housed within CCHS, was a guest on a WBUR Boston “On Point” radio program about whether the United States should ban menthol cigarettes. Menthol enhances the effects of nicotine on the brain and can make tobacco products even more addictive, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Blum, the Gerald Leon Wallace, MD, Endowed Chair in Family Medicine with CCHS, released two new online exhibitions that can be found on the UA Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society website. The exhibit “Health Care Hypocrites: Sick Bedfellows of the Tobacco Industry” focuses on SIEMENS, a global engineering company that creates advanced health care equipment, but is also a leading manufacturer of machines that makes cigarettes. The exhibit “Health Care Hypocrites: Other Sick Bedfellows of the Tobacco Industry, Past and Present” highlights health-care companies that are connected to the tobacco industry.
Dr. John Higginbotham, director of the Institute for Rural Health Research, which is part of CCHS, was selected to serve as editor for a special journal issue of in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The special issue will focus on rural health. Rural communities face many health care challenges because of a lack of resources, transportation, and health education. Higginbotham said his goal for the special issue is to “strive to pave the way for healthier, more resilient populations across rural landscapes.”
Dr. Jane Weida, professor of family, internal, and rural medicine with CCHS, was elected vice-chair of the Board of Censors of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama. The Board of Censors is comprised of 12 members and manages the property and financial affairs of the association.
Weida and other association members participated in a video about the importance of a trusting relationship between patient and physician.