Some companies are starting to penalize employees who smoke or are obese by raising their health insurance costs.
More and more employers are demanding that workers who smoke, are overweight or have high cholesterol shoulder a greater share of their health care costs…
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Obama signs bill putting tobacco products under FDA oversight
President Obama signed landmark legislation Monday giving the Food and Drug Administration new power to regulate the manufacturing, marketing and sale of tobacco.
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Gerontologist finds Elder Care/Child Care Sandwich Can Make You Sick
Employed caregivers who have dependent children at home are significantly more likely to become ill since becoming a caregiver.
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Poll shows benefits trump cash
There's no disputing that cash is king, especially in these turbulent times, but a new national online survey of 3,000 working Americans suggests that they value their employee benefits even more than greenbacks.
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Consumer Driven Health Care research highlights misconceptions, incorporates lessons into plan offering
With open enrollment season around the corner, there's no better time for brokers and advisers to promote consumer-driven health care plans…
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Aetna encourages health through online gaming
Aetna has announced a collaboration with Mindbloom, a Seattle-based social media company, that will offer plan members an enhanced version of Life Game, Mindbloom's online social game for personal wellness.
Starting this fall, Aetna members will have access to a new engagement model that uses the science behind social gaming - a blend of technology, art and behavioral psychology - to engage people in achieving personal health and wellness goals.
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Smoking Increases Risk of Suicide: Study
A new Canadian study of almost 35,000 adults found nicotine dependence is associated with suicide attempts regardless of the mental disorders and physical disease that often accompany suicidal behavior. Suicidal tendencies diminished significantly among people who had quit smoking for at least a year.
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Nicotine Raises Blood Sugar Levels in Lab
Researchers have discovered that nicotine raised blood sugar levels, and the more nicotine that was present, the higher the blood sugar levels were. Higher blood sugar levels are linked to an increased risk of complications from diabetes, such as eye and kidney disease.
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Evidence Ties Smoking to Throat, Stomach Cancer
A new study finds that smokers face an increased risk of certain types of throat and stomach cancers, even years after they quit. Current smokers were more than twice as likely as nonsmokers to develop cancer, either in their esophagus or in a part of the stomach called the gastric cardia. In some of the studies, the risk of cancer of the esophagus remained high even when people had quit smoking three decades earlier.
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Study Links Smoking, Breast Cancer in Older Women
Researchers have found a significant connection between smoking and breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women, but it depends on their body weight. Breast cancer risk was higher than normal among female smokers who were not obese, but this strong association was not evident in obese female smokers.
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