Health Rewind: Scary Smoking Ads Influence Folks to Quit

Plus, does social media influence risky behavior?

CDC Unveils New Anti-Smoking Ads - As a means to dissuade people from lighting up, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unveiled new graphic ads, reported USA Today. Using real people, their anti-smoking ads speak to the complications of smoking: amputations, a range of cancers, blindness, heart disease and kidney failure. Smoking kills 440,000 Americans a year.  (Photo: Courtesy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

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Scary Smoking Ads Influence Folks to Quit  - Can ads deter people from smoking? Researchers from CDC say yes. Those scary ads of people smoking out of a hole in their throats or losing limbs got 200,000 smokers to kick their habit, says a recent study. These particular ads encouraged a 132 percent increase in calls to an anti-smoking hotline, reported Discovery.com.(Photo: Courtesy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

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Do Social Media Pics Influence Certain Risk Behaviors? - The type of photos you post online on Facebook and MySpace can influence your friends' behaviors, says a new study. Researchers from the University of Southern California found that teens with close friends who uploaded pictures of themselves partying, drinking and smoking were more likely to partake in the same behaviors compared to those who did not have friends who posted these types of images, writes Science Daily.       (Photo: RODRIGO BUENDIA/AFP/GettyImages)

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There Are Few Options for Obese Teens - For kids who are severely obese, there are few options to help them lose weight, USA Today reported. A recent report from American Heart Association suggests that the standard approach we have for obesity doesn’t work for kids, especially when it comes to weight-loss surgery. There is a lack of studies that show long-term effects that this surgery on has kids. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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Black Professionals More Likely to Suffer From Sleep Problems - A new study found that Black professionals are the most sleep deprived in the U.S. Researchers found that 37 percent of short sleepers (less than 7 hours a night) overall were Black and that 42 percent of Black professionals experience short sleep as compared to 26 percent of white professionals, Ibtimes.com reported. It’s believed this disparity exists because of added stress, workplace discrimination and pressure to perform. (Photo: Stockbyte)

Documentary Addresses ER Care and African-Americans - In October, PBS will feature The Waiting Room, a new documentary that explores what happens when you depend on the emergency room for your primary health care. This touching and eye-opening film highlights an on-going issue that disproportionately impacts African-Americans, given our reliance on trauma centers for care and lack of health insurance, writes film blog Shadow and Act.(Photo: Courtesy PBS)

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Documentary Addresses ER Care and African-Americans - In October, PBS will feature The Waiting Room, a new documentary that explores what happens when you depend on the emergency room for your primary health care. This touching and eye-opening film highlights an on-going issue that disproportionately impacts African-Americans, given our reliance on trauma centers for care and lack of health insurance, writes film blog Shadow and Act.(Photo: Courtesy PBS)

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Celebs Back FLOTUS at Obesity Event - Last week, sport greats Shaquille O'Neal and Dominique Dawes joined First Lady Michelle Obama in Washington, D.C., to help promote the Let’s Move! Campaign at a local public school. The students were led into numerous exercise drills throughout the school led by FLOTUS herself, says the Associated Press. (Photo: Leigh Vogel/WireImage)

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Celebs Back FLOTUS at Obesity Event - Last week, sport greats Shaquille O'Neal and Dominique Dawes joined First Lady Michelle Obama in Washington, D.C., to help promote the Let’s Move! Campaign at a local public school. The students were led into numerous exercise drills throughout the school led by FLOTUS herself, says the Associated Press. (Photo: Leigh Vogel/WireImage)

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Half of U.S. Births Are to Moms on Medicaid  - Around 50 percent of all births in the U.S. are paid for by Medicaid, a government-issued health insurance for low-income Americans. This number is higher than expected, up from 40 percent a few years ago, says a recent Kaiser study. The state with the highest Medicaid rate is Louisiana, with 70 percent, and the lowest are New Hampshire and Massachusetts, with less than 30 percent. (Photo: Getty Images)

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Elderly Blacks Receive Worst Nursing Home Care - African-American seniors that live in predominately Black nursing homes are more likely to receive worse care than their white counterparts, says a new study. The report, conducted by the University of Central Florida, states that this racial disparity may exist because nursing homes of color tend to have less money and resources, impacting patients' care, writes Think Progress.(Photo: Getty Images/Blend Images)

Slow Your Roll - Americans, for and against the legalization of marijuana, for the large part agree on one thing: The federal government should not enforce anti-marijuana laws in states that have legalized weed. In a new Gallup poll published Dec. 10, 64 percent of Americans who support legalization and 40 percent who don't oppose federal intervention at the state level. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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Latino Teens More Likely to Use Drugs, Blacks Rank Second - When it comes to teen drug abuse, a new report suggests that Latinos have the highest rates in the U.S. Researchers from the Partnership at Drugfree.Org found that 54 percent of Hispanic teens have taken a range of drugs, including marijuana, Ecstasy, crack/cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, compared to 45 percent of African-American teens and 43 percent of whites. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Menthol Smoking Up Among Young People - Researchers from the University at Buffalo in New York found that puffing on menthols is a habit increasing among young smokers, says HealthDay News. Their new study states that 57 percent of menthol smokers were between the ages 12-17 and smoking this type of cigarettes were most common among people of color and women. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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Menthol Smoking Up Among Young People - Researchers from the University at Buffalo in New York found that puffing on menthols is a habit increasing among young smokers, says HealthDay News. Their new study states that 57 percent of menthol smokers were between the ages 12-17 and smoking this type of cigarettes were most common among people of color and women. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)