China enforced sweeping new rules on Tuesday to restrict tobacco advertisements, in its latest step to rein in a widespread habit that has caused a massive health crisis. More than 300 million people have made cigarettes part of the social fabric in the world’s biggest producer and consumer of tobacco, and another 740 million are exposed to second-hand smoke, state media have reported. Revisions to the national advertisement law, passed in April, ban tobacco advertisements in mass media, public places,…

Six inmates at the San Quentin State Prison in California tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease on Sunday morning. Five of them have been sent to outside hospitals for treatment. Fifty-one others are under observation for symptoms of respiratory illness, Reuters reports. The Legionnaires’ disease scare hit San Quentin State Prison after an inmate tested positive for the disease on Thursday, prompting prison officials to carry out measures to prevent the spread of the disease. Water was shut off, including showers…

Nearly 1 in 5 adults over 65 in California — more than three-quarters of a million people — live in an economic no-man’s land, unable to afford basic needs but often ineligible for government assistance, according to a new study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. The study, funded by the California Wellness Foundation, highlights the plight of the “hidden poor” — those who live in the gap between the federal poverty level and the Elder Index’s poverty…

Shortly before 1 a.m. on July 15, Gov. Greg Abbott sent an email from his personal account to his top advisers about an editorial published by the Houston Chronicle. Its author, Ken Janda, had written that Texas’ health care safety net system for the poor and uninsured was “in serious danger of meltdown” because state leaders were refusing to expand health coverage to a million uninsured Texans living in poverty. The governor told aides he wanted to “see the financials”…

Dean Meza doesn’t know it yet but his mother is providing him with the opportunity to grow up healthy. Miriam Meza-Jimenez is breast-feeding. “I know how important it is for me to breast-feed him,” said Meza-Jimenez, who gave birth to Dean on Aug. 24 at Las Palmas Medical Center. “I want him to be as healthy as he can be and this is the first step.” Meza-Jimenez is ahead of the game when it comes to the education she is…

The New Mexico Department of Health will begin to certify the first community health workers (CHWs) in the state. The Department is focusing certification efforts on experienced CHWs and will be utilizing the grandfathering process. It is estimated that there are between 800 and 900 CHWs in New Mexico. As part of Governor Susana Martinez’s Healthcare Workforce Initiative in 2014, legislation was passed and signed creating the Community Health Workers Act. It established a voluntary certification process for CHWs. “For…

El Paso Inc. staff The Robert J. Kleberg Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation has awarded a $375,000 grant to Subramanian Dhandayuthapani, Ph.D., to develop genetically altered vaccines against tuberculosis. He is an associate professor in the Center of Emphasis in Infectious Diseases at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. Dhandayuthapani said transmission of infectious diseases is a significant health concern in the border region, where residents are medically underserved, economically…

Did you know breastfeeding for A year can reduce obesity by 47% in Latino kids? However, Latina moms are more likely to stop breastfeeding after one month and supplement with formula, thus benefits of exclusive breastfeeding, which can also help intestinal immune-system development, studies show. That’s why, for Breastfeeding Awareness Month (August), the “Making Awesome Changes” TV series, which partners KSAT-TV and Salud America! to feature people and groups who are pushing for healthy changes, talked with health advocates like…

The reach of Arizona’s Empower Program is expanding to home visiting. The voluntary program was created in 2010 to support licensed Early Care and Education providers. The goal: to empower young children to live a healthy lifestyle. Some of our empowering tips include less screen time for kids, increased physical activity and healthier mealtime foods. Today, home visiting programs that work with families with young children will be trained to use this exciting program. Our Bureaus of Nutrition and Physical…

That’s the longest consecutive reprieve Alicia Memrie Michelle Jacquez, 13, has gotten from the consuming grand mal seizures she’s had since she was just shy of one year old. Jacquez’s last of three consecutive brain surgeries to remedy the painful seizures was Oct. 15 and her mother, Marisella, said the teen is improving every day. “She’s doing great; she has a lot more energy than before and can stay awake all day,” Marisella Jacquez said. “She’s still on medication because…