Tagged: health

A recent study from the Centers For Disease Control has found that nearly one-third of mentally ill adults are smokers. In fact, they’re 70 percent more likely to smoke than adults without mental illness. The relationship between cigarettes and mental hospitals is a complicated one. Historically, smoking was common in mental hospitals. It was even used as an incentive for patients at times. Now, more and more treatment facilities are becoming smoke-free. What does this mean for patients who rely on the habit for comfort? Pam Belluck has been writing about these issues. She covers health and science for The New York Times.

President Obama has nominated REI executive Sally Jewell for Secretary of the Interior.  What should she focus on if she is confirmed?  How should she manage the vast public lands that would be in her portfolio? We talk with local experts and conservationists. Join the discussion by emailing weekday@kuow.org.

A long-standing state law in Washington gives working mothers up to 24 weeks off when they have babies. If you didn’t know, you must not have read the poster in your break room at work. You know, the one everyone is always leaning over and squinting at to find out what their rights are.

Organic and “all natural” products are on the rise.  Grocery stores have expanded their free-range, non-toxic options. We’re paying more trying to make healthier choices for our bodies and our world. More women are choosing “natural childbirth” and tossing old plastic Tupperware to avoid toxic leaching.  Are all these efforts really working?  Is there a right way and a wrong way to live “naturally?” Journalist Nathanael Johnson has answers.

According to the National Institute of Health, approximately 40 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders including sleep apnea, insomnia, narcolepsy and restless legs syndrome. Ross Reynolds interviewed Dr. Sarah Stolz, the medical director of the Sleep Medicine Program at Swedish Medical Center.