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Earlier this week, anti-tobacco activists celebrated a major victory as the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) officially acknowledged that comprehensive tobacco cessation programs (three different forms of counseling and, if needed, pharmaceutical aids) an “A” for efficacy as a preventative health measure. Under federal law, preventative services must be given an “A” in order to be covered by the majority of health insurance plans, at no cost to the patient. It has long been

If you or someone you love is an asthma sufferer, you may have had a run in with the annual September Asthma Spike – the regular increase in the number of children admitted to the hospital as a result of their asthma typically occurring right around now. (The average has been listed as seventeen days after Labor Day.) There are a number of factors which contribute to this jump but if you’re prepared for it,

Last week Wednesday I landed at Sacramento airport in California for a long visit with a friend in Mokelumne Hill, about ninety minutes south of the state capital. On our way to Calaveras County (famous for its jumping frogs), my friend received a message from a neighbor to let her know that a wildfire had broken out nearby and the electricity had gone out. We turned the radio to the local AM station to get

We talked last month about the threat of forest fires during the summer months. Even now that threat is still very real for many people living in western Canada and the west coast of the USA. Many fires have been contained but there are still a significant number causing havoc. Large numbers of people have been evacuated from their homes and the damage to buildings and property is phenomenal. Many homes have been completely destroyed,

In Buffalo, the weather is still hot and humid but summer is coming to an end. All of the telltale signs are here. Some leaves have started to change color and school has started in most districts. If the big yellow busses weren’t enough of a sign – the big finale of the season, Labor Day, has arrived. Like most people, we here at Austin Air will happily be observing it with a day of

It could be the meds. It is no surprise that poor air quality has an adverse effect on our children’s asthma symptoms. Ozone in the environment together with carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide all reduce lung function and airway responsiveness in children with asthma. So it’s more important than ever we keep on track with our children’s medication right? Not necessarily, according to scientists from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. They believe