Methadone is a highly effective treatment for substance use disorder but strict regulations like daily clinic visits have led to its nickname, “liquid handcuffs.” Dr. Yngvild Olsen, director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services administration, talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about new federal regulations that expand access to this life saving medication.  They talk about how the COVID era showed that changes can make methadone much easier to prescribe and access, and how these updates are part of a critical cultural shift towards making substance use treatment more reasonable, equitable, and compassionate. Resources for this episode:  https://www.samhsa.gov/medications-substance-use-disorders/statutes-regulations-guidelines/methadone-guidance  https://findtreatment.gov/

751 - The New Federal Regulations Aimed Making Methadone More Accessible—And Less Stigmatizing

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Dengue, or “break-bone fever”—a disease transmitted by mosquitoes that can cause serious fever, rash, muscle and joint pain and even problems with bleeding and shock—is surging around the world and popping up in new places like the U.S. Vaccine expert Anna Durbin returns to the podcast to talk with Stephanie Desmon about these trends and the general status of vaccines, treatments, and prevention. Learn more: https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2024/what-is-dengue-fever

757 - How to Prevent Dengue or “Break-Bone Fever”

More than a decade after electronic cigarettes became broadly available in the United States, their merits are still being debated. Do these products help people quit smoking? How serious are the health risks associated with these products? In a two-part series, we hear from two researchers in tobacco control about their views. In part two, Stan Glantz, the Truth Initiative Distinguished Professor of Tobacco Control at the University of California San Francisco talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about his research into the harms of electronic cigarettes and the dangers of "dual use" of electronic cigarettes and traditional cigarettes. In an epilogue, Public Health On Call audio producer Matt Martin talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about his personal history of tobacco use – including his efforts to quit with electronic cigarettes. Read Glantz’s paper in New England Journal of Medicine Evidence: https://evidence.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/EVIDoa2300229 Listen to part one of the series here:  https://johnshopkinssph.libsyn.com/755-electronic-cigarettes-part-1-do-e-cigs-help-people-quit-smoking 

756 - Electronic Cigarettes Part 2: How Serious are the Health Risks Associated with E-cigs?

More than a decade after electronic cigarettes became broadly available in the United States, their merits are still being debated. Do these products help people quit smoking? How serious are the health risks associated with these products? In a two-part series, we hear from two researchers in tobacco control about their views. In part one, Dr. Nancy Rigotti, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the use of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation. Read her editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2314977

755 - Electronic Cigarettes Part 1: Do E-cigs Help People Quit Smoking?

Virologist Dr. Andy Pekosz and public health veterinary expert Dr. Meghan Davis return to the podcast to talk with Stephanie Desmon about what we’ve learned so far from viral sequencing of H5N1, its presence in milk, what we know about infections in humans, the status of the overall response to a major pathogen of concern on the heels of COVID-19, and more. Read Dr. Davis’s recent New York Times essay on protecting the dairy workforce here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/01/opinion/bird-flu-dairy-workers.html

BONUS - An Update on Bird Flu in the U.S.

An alarming and dangerous syphilis surge across the Great Plains Region, an area spanning North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa, has prompted tribal officials to urge HHS Secretary to declare a public health emergency. Dr. Meghan Curry O’Connell, chief public health officer at the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board and a member of the Cherokee Nation, talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about the outbreak and why public health officials are struggling to respond. Learn more: https://www.greatplainstribalhealth.org/news/tribal-leaders-urge-hhs-secretary-to-declare-syphilis-emergency-189.html https://www.vox.com/24006120/south-dakota-syphilis-congenital-indigenous-tribal-native-american-meghan-oconnell-health-board

751 - The New Federal Regulations Aimed Making Methadone More Accessible—And Less Stigmatizing

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