Child Nutrition Act of 2010
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 became law this month. This reauthorization of the federal school nutrition program includes a number of elements that will help move the needle on childhood obesity. The Act recognizes the importance of school meals to the health and academic success of kids and gives school nutrition programs new responsibilities and resources to bring [...]
Flag Drops on First Medical Marijuana Comment Period
One of our top priorities as we implement the AZ Medical Marijuana Act over the coming months is to ensure that we develop good Rules (called Administrative Code) so we can regulate medical marijuana effectively. Rules that are clear, objective, well-researched, and that balance competing interests are absolutely critical in order to effectively implement a responsible medical marijuana program. Our goal [...]
Physical Activity Improves Academic Performance
Everyone knows that physical activity is good for kids, actually its good for everyone. However, partly because of the increasing pressure to include more academic work in the classroom, most kids aren’t getting the recommended levels of physical activity at school. Now, there’s growing evidence that physical activity and academic achievement go hand in hand. A growing body of research is [...]
New Tobacco Warning Labels on the Way
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (also known as H.R. 1256) went into effect last summer. The law basically gives the FDA the power to regulate some aspects of the tobacco industry. A signature element of the law imposes new warnings and labels on tobacco packaging and their advertisements, with the goal of discouraging kids from smoking. A few [...]
Public Health Preparedness – an AZ Strength
Public health threats are always present. They include natural disasters; biological, chemical, and radiological incidents; and explosions. The impact of these threats can range from local outbreaks to incidents with national or global ramifications. Last year’s influenza pandemic underscored the importance of communities being prepared for potential threats. Being prepared to prevent, respond to, and rapidly recover from public health [...]
2011 Department Priorities Spotlight- Behavioral Health
Last week, I outlined goals and priorities for the Licensing Division in the coming year. This week I’ll hit on the Division of Behavioral Health… One of our primary objectives will be to better integrate behavioral health, physical health, and wellness at the "retail" level (i.e. at the point of care). By strengthening integration and collaboration with community health centers [...]