New Research on Newports

Anyone who has spent considerable amounts of time in urban areas with a high density of low-income African-Americans should not be surprised by a recent Johns Hopkins study that found extremely high rates of smoking amoung young, poor African-American adults.

The NYTimes article finds many researchers to be shocked by the findings, despite previously existing knowledge of high rates of smoking in low-income, minority and young adult communities.
The high prevalence of Newports and other menthol cigarrettes is also noted in the article, which is something I experienced every day while walking to and from work in Harlem two years ago, where there were always many people selling Newports in full packages and individually on the area's cultural and commercial hub of 125th st.

What was of greater interest to me was the information about the potential targeting of menthols, which may be easier to start and harder to quit smoking, to already vulnerable populations. This was denied by Lorillard Tobacco Company, the maker of Newports, but there may be reason to believe otherwise.

In recent years, the promotion budgets of major cigarette companies have been disproportionately devoted to menthols, said Gregory N. Connolly, director of tobacco control research at the Harvard School of Public Health. “It appears the industry is targeting the most vulnerable groups through advertising and manipulation of menthol levels,” Mr. Connolly said.

A professor of mine recently recounted her growing frustrating with the continuous research on "health disparities," when it is fairly common knowledge that being poor is connected to being unhealthy or sick, and has been for centuries. While I am interested in health disparities as an outcome to use as a goalpost for change, I agree that continued research into some of these phenomenon seems an almost unethical use of research dollars, when so much is already known about these disparities, but the real change is changing both the environmental and behavioral factors which contribute to them.

Revolution Against Whole Foods?

Although there are only 3 Whole Foods stores in Washington, DC, they've been the target of a lot of rage lately, both consumer rage and environmental rage.

The Slow Cook reports on its scuffle with Whole Foods over the store's continued practicing of sidewalk-washing even during the city's recent drought.

Then, what had to be an organized group of almost 2 dozen, tried to steal food from Whole Foods and get into cabs...and only two were arrested. It looks like it's the Whole Foods in between Shaw and Dupont, on M st is it?