Traveling this Winter? Make Sure to Fight the Bite!
With the holiday season upon us, you may be planning to travel to visit family and friends or to see different climates. Whatever the reason, it is important to take steps to stay safe while traveling. Visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website to view any travel notices and to check areas of active Zika transmission. If you [...]
Help Protect Our Communities by Never Drinking and Driving
Every year in Arizona, almost 300 people are killed in alcohol-related crashes. Many deaths occur around the holidays when people are more likely to be celebrating with friends and family. What make these deaths so heartbreaking is that they are preventable. The first and foremost step is never get behind the wheel if you have been drinking alcohol. Always choose [...]
Program Successfully Reduces Unhealthy Lead Levels in Children
Every year our Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program receives more than 65,000 blood lead test results from laboratories and providers for children across the state. Our epidemiologist reviews these results every day to make sure children with elevated blood lead levels will receive proper care. When a child is identified with elevated blood lead levels, the program will coordinate with [...]
ADHS and Our Partners Continued Zika Planning Efforts
Last week we hosted a Zika Capability Assessment Workshop that was attended by more than 100 tribal, county, state, and federal partners as part of the Arizona Zika-preparedness collaborative. Attendees worked together to identify current response activities, document plans for future efforts, and identify areas for improvement. The workshop included presentations on the history of Zika virus, current Zika response activities in [...]
New Surgeon General’s Report Highlights Need to Protects Youth from E-Cigarettes
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy published a report last week on the emerging public health threat related to the e-cigarette/vape use among youth. While this report is the 33rd Surgeon General's report in 53 years to address the impact of tobacco on health, it's important to note that it is the first to focus on e-cigarettes. This report confirms that there [...]
Arizona Success in Protecting People from Secondhand Smoke is a Model for the Nation
The successful smoke-free programs we have been working on in Arizona for people living in multi-unit housing have been expanded nationwide. Over the last several years, three Arizona organizations, the Arizona Smoke-Free Living Coalition, American Lung Association in Arizona, and the Arizona Multihousing Association, under the leadership of our Bureau of Tobacco and Chronic Disease, have converted 147 multi-family properties [...]