Sex-Ed Clinic Headed To Hopkins High School

As the parameters of sex education in schools are debated statewide, one suburban high school is making plans to begin an on-campus teen clinic that will offer pregnancy and STD screening and other services this fall.

Hopkins School District staff presented plans for a satellite office of the West Suburban Teen Clinic at Hopkins High to school board members during a recent meeting.

The Minneapolis and St. Paul school districts operate health clinics at several of their high schools, but experts say few suburban districts offer on-site reproductive health care.

"West Suburban [Teen Clinic] has been around a long time, and they're a good organization," said Brigid Riley, executive director of the Minnesota Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Prevention and Planning. Riley said Minnesota was one of the first places in the country to have school-based clinics.

In Minnesota, minors have access to reproductive health care such as birth control or testing for sexually transmitted disease without parental consent. Even so, staff members assured Hopkins school board members that parents would be allowed to withhold consent for students to be seen at the clinic.

"We don't want to do anything that will harm the relationship between parents and schools or schools and students," said Terry Bosacker, executive director of the West Suburban Teen Clinic, which has an office in Excelsior.

Health Insurance Falling Short For More People

People without health insurance risk potential financial disaster if they should need expensive medical care, but a growing number of underinsured Americans also find themselves on shaky financial ground.

Despite the U.S. economy's growth in the last five years, the number of people with health insurance who face high out-of-pocket medical expenses relative to their incomes has risen sharply since 2003, according to a new study.

More than 25 million working-age Americans were underinsured last year, up 60% from the 16 million who had inadequate coverage in 2003, according to a report from the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation in New York. The rate of underinsurance nearly tripled among middle- and higher-income families, those with at least $40,000 in family income.

"Lack of insurance is only one part of the problem, as even the insured have serious gaps in coverage," said Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund. "Insurance coverage is the ticket into the health-care system, but for too many, that ticket doesn't buy financial security or genuine access to care."

The upward trend in the underinsured rate reflects how much rising health-care costs have outpaced wage gains. Premiums for family coverage have jumped 78% since 2001, while wages have risen 19% and general inflation has gone up 17% in that time, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Researchers considered people who had coverage all year long underinsured if they had out-of-pocket medical, prescription, dental and vision expenses that amounted to 10% or more of their total household income, or 5% if they were low income. People who had deductibles equal to or greater than 5% of their income also qualified as underinsured because of their potential financial exposure.

During 2007, 42% of adults, or 75 million people, were either uninsured or underinsured, up from one-third in 2003, according to the study of 2,616 people ages 19 to 64. It was published online Tuesday in the journal Health Affairs.

Employers burdened by rapidly rising health-care costs have been shifting more of those costs to workers or limiting benefits, the study found. The underinsured were more likely to have individual or small-group coverage, and those with employer-based health insurance were more likely to work in low-wage jobs or at small firms than their adequately insured counterparts. What's more, the underinsured were more likely to report paying high deductibles and many paid high annual premiums.

The underinsured often resembled the uninsured more so than the insured in their health-care choices and experiences. More than half of the underinsured -- 53% -- and 68% of the uninsured avoided needed care because of cost, compared with 31% of the adequately insured who went without, the study found. That includes not seeing a doctor when sick, not filling prescriptions and not getting recommended diagnostic tests or treatments.

About 45% of the underinsured reported difficulty paying medical bills, being contacted by collection agencies or changing their way of life to keep up on health-care payments, just shy of the 51% of uninsured who said the same.

In the U.S., even people with health insurance can rack up medical debt or face bankruptcy, said Cathy Schoen, senior vice president of the Commonwealth Fund. "As a nation we are losing ground. We need to move in new directions."

Leon Rousso, a certified financial planner in Ventura, Calif., who sells health insurance as part of his business, said he tries to place moderate-income people in health plans that have a sensible annual out-of-pocket maximum and reasonable coverage for their biggest potential out-of-pocket costs. Sometimes that means moving them to a higher deductible plan in exchange for lower premiums.

Health Insurance Is Only For Healthy

You state, "Ostensibly, rescission is intended to protect insurers from people who lie about their health to get coverage. By guarding against fraud, the logic goes, insurance companies can keep costs down for people who don't cheat. That's fair enough."

Not really.

Pre-existing conditions preclude most insurance coverage. Insurance companies are dropping coverage when they learn someone is sick and they will not offer coverage if they know someone is sick. Insurance companies are in the premium-collection business, not the claims-payment business, and certainly not in the business of health care for sick people - it's bad for the bottom line.

The best way to keep health-care costs down is to eliminate the middleman, i.e., the insurance companies that pay bonuses to cancel policies.

At some point we must realize that compassion and common decency compels us to provide care to anyone who is suffering sickness or injury. Health insurance is only for the healthy.

Join Nurses In Protest Against Profit-Hungry Insurance Industry

Members of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) are fighting back against insurance companies that care more about profits than people.

CNA/NNOC members, nurses, doctors, patients and Americans of every stripe will join in a national day of protest against insurance companies June 19. In more than 15 cities from Baltimore to Pittsburgh to San Antonio, workers will call for a quality, affordable health care system for all.

The largest protest is expected in San Francisco, where thousands will rally outside the annual convention of America’s Health Insurance Plans—the insurance industry lobbyists. To find out more or to join a protest in your area, click here.

We have noted many times that the nation’s health care system is in crisis. Not only are nearly 50 million people without health insurance, but a recent study shows some 25 million people who have insurance are finding it harder and harder to pay for it or are going without needed medical treatment because of the costs.

Saving Money On Organic Food

As food prices continue to soar, consumers might find it tough to swallow premium prices for organic products. But you can save money if you're smart about buying organics.

Organic means the food is produced without pesticides, chemical fertilizers or antibiotics and generally emphasizes using renewable resources and conserving soil and water. Consumers frequently buy organic food for environmental reasons and because they consider it to be more healthful.

Organic produce typically costs 25 percent to 100 percent more than nonorganic. That premium price becomes more difficult to manage when all food prices are rising so fast. Prices for organic food have been increasing along with those of conventional foods. Here are do's and don'ts when trying to save.

hat term on packaging has a lot less meaning than "organic," a term highly regulated by the Department of Agriculture. When price is an issue, don't pay extra for something called "natural" or "all natural."

Do pay for some fruits and vegetables. It's worth paying more for organic versions of some fruits and vegetables that retain pesticide residue even after you wash them. Pay for organic versions of peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, grapes, spinach, lettuce and potatoes, according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organic research group.

Don't pay more for fruits and vegetables with thicker skins that have far less pesticide residue. The group said you can skip the organic onions, avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, mango, asparagus, sweet peas, kiwi, bananas, cabbage, broccoli and papaya.

Do buy organic protein-rich foods. Meats, poultry, eggs and dairy products are worth buying as organics because they are free of pesticides, synthetic growth hormones and antibiotics.

Don't buy highly processed organics. Breads, oils, potato chips, pasta, cereals and other packaged foods, such as canned or dried fruit and vegetables, are probably not worth buying as organics unless price is no object, Consumer Reports said. Much of the health benefit of being organically produced has been processed out.

Do buy organic baby food. Baby food tends to be made from condensed fruits and vegetables, some of which might contain pesticides. Or make your own baby food from organic whole fruits and vegetables.

Do buy local. You can find organic food from local farmers markets and local producers. "The nice thing about it is it's not only fresher, but it's cheaper," said Ronnie Cummins, national director of the Organic Consumers Association.

Do try store brands. More supermarkets and large discounters such as Wal-Mart, are offering private-label organics, which are cheaper than name brands.

Do use coupons. Look for coupons for organic products in the Sunday newspaper or go online to the free coupon database at CouponMom.com and enter the search term "organic." Get coupons directly from organic producers' Web sites and sign up for their e-mail newsletters, which contain coupons, suggests Stephanie Nelson, who operates the CouponMom Web site. Examples are Organic Valley.com, SCOjuice.com, ColemanNatural.com, and Stonyfield.com. The site Healthesavers.com has printable coupons for some organic products.

Do cook at home with whole foods. Dining out less could easily make up the price difference between buying organics and nonorganics. And cooking with bulk, whole organic ingredients is cheaper than buying prepared organics.

"Cooking with whole-food ingredients is quite a bit cheaper than processed foods," Cummins said. "It takes more time, but it tastes better."

Nelson compared prices for organic bay leaves as a spice, which cost $3.49 at the supermarket but just 14 cents for the same amount from a local natural market Health Food.

Do grow your own. If you are the gardening type and have a backyard, grow your own vegetables to save some money and receive the side benefits of exercise and a regular hobby.

Webeat Shines Amid The Showers

seems that the rainy season and WeBeat 2008 came at the same time, as opening night of the festival of arts and culture at the St James Amphitheatre was interrupted by rain more than once. Guests and patrons, however, held their ground, as did the artistes who still managed to deliver top-notch performances. Even the sound system, which was affected by the downpour, held out, allowing the show to move along in spite of the wet conditions.

WeBeat is produced by the Community Improvement Committee of St James and features a week-long series of activities, most of them at the amphitheatre.

Friday featured an evening of activities for children, including a puppet show, clowns, face painting and performances. This was followed by the preliminary round of the 5 Ah Side Steelpan competition. There was a cultural show at Harvard Sports Club on Saturday.

Friday's opening featured performances by calypsonians, Ninja, Luta and Trinidad Rio. Also performing were Soca Elvis, the Nirvana Dance Group and Chutney Band Karma among others.

The focus will be on health today when the WeBeat Health Day gets going from 10 a.m. at the St James Service Centre, where there will be free medical tests as well as demonstrations and performances.

Wal Mart Doing Well By Doing Good

Wal-Mart used the occasion of its annual shareholder meeting Friday to crow about the achievements of the past year, which are considerable: sales, earnings and free cash flow have all been on the rise - at a time when most retailers are struggling.

The mood of the upbeat gathering at the University of Arkansas' Bud Walton Arena - part rock concert (Joss Stone and Tim McGraw were among the performers), part pep rally - contrasted with the darker days of H. Lee Scott's early years as chief executive, when Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) was battered by critics who accused the giant retailer of everything from gender discrimination to providing sub-par health care for its employees.

Over the past three years, Wal-Mart has set out to repair its image. It has improved employee benefits and used its great might to shrink prices even further - a strategy that is winning over cash-strapped customers.

A recent study by Goldman Sachs showed Wal-Mart to be the clear price leader on a variety of products, from health and beauty aids to food and household cleaners.

In the past year, the $374.5 billion in sales retailer has gone well beyond those parameters to address concerns of society as a whole, including environmentalism, where it is on a mission to reduce the carbon footprint of its stores, and the rising cost of health care with its $4 prescription drug plan.

"They want to know about our leadership on sustainability and health care," he said. "Leaders who want to get things done will see Wal-Mart as a partner."

Tech Helps Soldiers Cope With Invisible Wounds of War

But finally, even the military is beginning to acknowledge the importance of sexuality as a crucial component of overall health. And as mental health professionals and policymakers gathered in Washington, D.C., last month for the Wounded Troops and Partners: Supporting Intimate Relationships conference, it became clear that technology is the key.

"Technology is allowing us to provide more services and to make services available to more people," says psychologist Barbara V. Romberg, Ph.D., founder of Give an Hour, which matches soldiers and their partners with volunteer mental health professionals. "We can do so many wonderful things we couldn't have done a decade ago. Think of the veterans who came back from Vietnam; they were isolated and alone. Maybe they were lucky to find someone who could help them, but it was so much harder."

One application in the works is eHART, an extensive online assessment tool developed by Sexual Health Network founder Dr. Mitchell Tepper and Chief Operations Officer Kelly J. Ace, Ph.D., J.D. The tool asks extensive and detailed questions about sexual functions, romantic relationships and general health history, then returns information tailored to you and a summary you can take to a health care provider -- if you want. None of the information is shared with anyone else unless you want to share it.

"People are more comfortable revealing sensitive information about sexuality to a computer than to a person," Tepper says. Especially when military approaches to sexual health are often delivered by people without any training in addressing sexual issues.

Many service members worry that admitting to mental or sexual health issues will negatively affect their military careers. It's especially difficult for young people to publicly address sex, as you don't have a lot of practice in your early 20s talking about relationship and sexual issues with partners, much less with doctors.

Domestic Abuse On The Rise In Massachusetts

Continuing an administration-wide commitment to combating domestic violence, Governor Deval Patrick today directed the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) to issue a Public Health Advisory on domestic violence.Health Sexual In addition, he highlighted two public safety initiatives underway to help address domestic violence: strengthening training around domestic violence and sex crime for police officers at all levels and reviewing data from domestic violence homicides in the last three years to assemble a trend analysis.

Public health advisories are tools reserved for communicating urgent information to the public on critical health issues facing the community. Such advisories define the scope of the problem and provide important information on prevention and treatment. (See attached advisory). DPH will expand its effort to work with community-based domestic violence agencies to train every health care provider across Massachusetts to incorporate domestic violence screenings into their current practices.

"Today's announcements reflect the Patrick Administration's commitment to addressing the epidemic of domestic violence," said Health and Human Services Secretary, Dr. JudyAnn Bigby. "No single state agency can meet the needs of all victims and children. We need community engagement to prevent and address domestic and sexual violence. Coordination is crucial to assuring that our policies and resources are most effective in preventing harm to individuals, families, and communities."

Statewide Plan To Prevent Sexual Violence To Be Launched Friday

More than 100 representatives from public and private organizations will gather on Friday, June 6, to celebrate completion of The Promise of Primary Prevention: A Five-Year Plan to Prevent Sexual Violence and Exploitation in Minnesota. The event also launches three action teams to address specific areas of the plan: 1) framing and messaging, 2) policy and legislation, and 3) data and research.

Strengthening social norms that encourage healthy and respectful relationships.

Identifying and training leaders across the state to educate people about prevention.

Ensuring that all voices are heard in order to prevent sexual violence

Implement and evaluate data and best practices for preventing sexual violence Health Sexual.

Officials from the Minnesota Department of Health announced last July that the costs of sexual assault in Minnesota were approximately $8 billion in 2005. Costs included medical and mental health care for victims, lost work and other quality-of-life issues, victim services, and criminal justice costs

Health And Wellness News

A health insurance advocate group, Florida Health Insurance Web, reports more bad news for Florida residents. Florida has hit a new low, ranked close to the bottom of a new national survey on healthcare; just a spot above Oklahoma. The first-ever state-by-state health system report focused on children's health care and finds Florida's kids have limited access to health services, and higher than normal health insurance costs, those two facts, together with several others, now create the most depressing statistic of all, which said our children have little chance of 'Living a long healthy life.'

The state of Florida can't promote healthcare as being on the forefront of their minds: "Florida has one of the worst health care systems in the nation." And, chances are they won't run the ads that say: "Florida's kids visit the dentist less often than Alabamas kids." Nor will they run pictures of kids, and sailboats, and sunsets, with the slogan: "nearly 20 percent of our Florida's children have no insurance" They may try to forget all about those facts, but they are true. Florida health care system is in deep trouble according to the independent study group. The Florida Group Health Insurance market is has dwindled in the recent years. What are we going to do with all of these uninsureds? It is a tough report, said Kirsten Portrie (a health insurance consultant), but "if we do not address the reality of Florida's health care problem, we will never be able to fix it."

Florida can say 'it has better health care than Oklahoma' which ranked at the bottom of the Commonwealth Fund Report, according to Portrie, "Florida ranks #50 for health access, as well as last in the quality of health care category, last for highest medical costs -- and worst of the report, 'our children have the worst chance in America' to lead happy healthy lives."

The health care consultant said, "We have to look at which states are at the top of the list, to see what they are doing, and then implement that in Florida as soon as possible." The Commonwealth Fund Report reveals several states with above average health care; they are Iowa, Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

According to Portrie, "millions of children across the country could have health insurance, and adequate health care; and could avoid treatment delays, if all states performed as well as Iowa, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire." What is going on with the Florida Health Insurance Crisis?

Portrie said, "Iowa and Vermont have created children's health care systems that are accessible, equitable, and deliver high-quality care, all while controlling levels of spending and family health insurance premiums." It is a strange day when Floridians consider relocating to Iowa to get better healthcare and live a happier healthier life, but that day may be here."

One common thread emerging from the healthcare report was "61% of children in New Hampshire, and 52% of all children in all the New England states, have a 'medical home', compared with only 20% in Florida. "a medical home is defined as, 'having at least one preventive medical care visit in the past year'"; being able to access needed specialist care and services; and having a personal doctor, or nurse who spends enough time and communicates clearly, provides telephone advice and urgent care when needed, and follows up after specialist care.

Fire Commentary: Fallout of Rising Health Insurance Premiums

Like many others in law enforcement, I just want the facts when trying to understand the effect of health insurance premium increases. So do those in other safety occupations such as the fire service and corrections. Not only must you get the facts, but you must also to learn options available to counter health insurance premium increases. Premium increases are a fact of life, but if you do nothing, you will pay them. Unfortunately, premium increases are just the beginning.

If public employees are not proactive, they are at the mercy of those who formulate the local budget to address these increases. In some municipalities, retirees' fixed retirement pension may be even more severely affected. These former employees are often most vulnerable if they are separated from the governmental bargaining unit and left to face health insurance premium increases alone, and may have little or no alternative for health care.

Health insurance premium increases affect the municipal budget, and employees will be the first asked to make up the difference. If we are not prepared, we can blame only ourselves and will pay in more ways than just with our pocketbook.

Unless employee collective bargaining units and municipal negotiation teams come to terms during tough negotiation times, there can be a number of other potential consequences, whether a budget deficit is real or imagined. Budget shortfalls can result in fewer employees, reduced temporary help, cuts in overtime, reduced training, longer response times, and limited new capital improvements.

Global AIDS policy and women's health

IN SPITE OF scientific and medical advances in recent years, the AIDS pandemic remains the greatest public health crisis of our time. Each day 6,000 people die of AIDS and there are 7,000 new infections. These statistics are difficult to comprehend until you see the faces of those most often affected - young women, between the ages of 15 and 24, living in sub-Saharan Africa.
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The United States could do a better job saving their lives if our leaders would place the best public health practices over political compromise. Congress should stipulate in its funding of overseas AIDS assistance that prevention, testing, and treatment of this disease should be linked with family-planning services in Africa. In many cases, US AIDS assistance is not provided at clinics with family-planning services because of conservatives' concern that such services might provide or advise on abortions.

Research has repeatedly shown that integration of HIV services within the context of women's health could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of women and, if pregnant, their newborns. The entry point to the healthcare system for many African women is the family-planning clinic. Timely access to messages on HIV prevention and life-saving treatments can slow the AIDS pandemic.

Three weeks ago I walked through a women's ward in the national referral hospital in Uganda with a local physician. I held the hand of a beautiful 18-year-old woman diagnosed with end-stage AIDS. Through the look of hope in her eyes, she begged not to be yet another statistic lost to a preventable and treatable disease. The majority of the women we assessed were dying of AIDS. Seventy percent of those admitted to the hospital share this fate.

"If only we could identify these women earlier we could reverse this outcome. Anti-retroviral drugs are available but most are too far advanced in the progression of their disease to benefit," the physician stated. "When they first come seeking ante-natal care or family planning we could educate, treat, and prevent such dire results. Most of these young women fall through the cracks due to fragmented healthcare."

Translating these eyewitness accounts and the evidence-based research into life-saving policy has proven difficult for congressional leaders. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is currently being reauthorized. This vital program, which has saved millions of lives over the last five years, has been heralded by many on both sides of the aisle as the most significant legislative achievement of this administration. The proposed new budget is $50 billion for the next five years, a significant increase over the original program. As welcome as the new funding is, Congress should take this opportunity to apply lessons learned.

The bill coming before the Senate makes no mention of linking HIV and family-planning services. To avoid controversy with conservative policy makers, the bill's Democratic drafters left linkages out completely.

Those of us who have worked in Africa know that family planning and reproductive health services are in fact not code words for abortion, as some suggest. Women's healthcare means access to contraception, prenatal care, safe labor and delivery, postpartum and newborn care, as well as treatment for sexually transmitted illnesses. Linking women's healthcare with HIV services should be obvious. Any restriction in moving integration of care forward is a big step backward in the US program's prevention and treatment efforts.

There is still time to address this critical component of our global AIDS policy when the bill is debated in the Senate. Bold leadership calling for effective, evidence-based interventions and not ideology is necessary. Senators can help women a world away by pushing for inclusion of strong language in the final Senate bill to support the integration of HIV services and family-planning programs.

Health And Beauty Set To Be Uk Fastest Growing Retail Sector In 2008

Current pressures on consumer spending will not prevent the health and beauty sector from reaching its highest growth rate for a decade in 2008. The increasing interest in such products shown by male consumers represents a widening of the market, and although large supermarket chains still dominate in terms of market share, specialty retailers with niche focus are growing in stature.

Despite pressures on consumer spending in 2008, the health and beauty sector will see its highest growth rate in a decade, fuelled by a greater number of male shoppers, price inflation, and female consumers' desire for innovative and effective products. In 2007, consumer expenditure on health and beauty products rose by 4.7% to GBP15.6 billion. Such strong performance continues a trend whereby the sector has outperformed total UK retail in every year since 2003. 2008 looks set to be even stronger, with health and beauty becoming the UK's fastest growing retail sector.

In 2008 retail growth will slow as consumers' disposable income is squeezed by higher mortgage costs, utility bills and transport prices. Combined with a slowdown in the housing market and lower consumer confidence, the current economic climate is causing consumers to defer expenditure on big ticket items and home improvement projects. All of these factors are forecast to leave total retail growth at just 2.8% for the year.

Nevertheless, Verdict Research forecasts that the health and beauty market's growth will increase, aided by people trading up to more expensive products in categories such as skincare. Indeed, with many consumers holding back from big ticket expenditures, there is room in the consumer purse for a greater proportion of smaller luxury purchases. As many premium beauty products claim improved benefits, yet are still relatively low cost, they are easier purchases for consumers to justify, and are well placed to grow in 2008 and beyond.

In uncertain times people are still willing to spend money on making themselves look good and feel good. Furthermore, when customers hold back from buying expensive items, there is more scope for spending on smaller indulgences. Health and beauty products are ideal small-scale purchases, with even premium brands relatively accessible.

Men are also investing more in their appearance, creating another driver of market growth. Total sales of men's toiletries are forecast to grow by 7.7% in 2008 as wider availability and a better selection of brands and products encourage more men to try out new products.

Price inflation is another important factor following a year of rising raw material, manufacturing and transportation costs. Verdict Research expects these higher costs to be partly passed on to consumers in the majority of beauty categories, with inflation peaking in 2008 across the market as a whole. However, higher prices will not prevent people from buying health and beauty items. Many of these products are seen as essential so the majority of consumers will be spending more this year on health and beauty, even if they are not interested in more advanced products.

Product innovation and consumers' willingness to trade up to more expensive products with more advanced benefits have fuelled the boom in premium-focused niche operators. It is true that grocers and larger specialists have increased their exposure to the market, but in most cases they lack the store environments, branding and service to offer true authority, and to build loyalty. This has left a gap in the market for smaller players.

Having successfully built a clear proposition, exploiting opportunities through product innovation and premium positioning, specialty shops such as Space NK and Molton Brown have been expanding their presence, and have now built sizeable operations. Others, such as Lush and Neal's Yard, have been enjoying the sharp increase in demand for natural and organic products, and have raised consumer awareness of their ethical stance. Meanwhile, Passion for Perfume and The Fragrance Shop are exploiting growth in the branded fragrance market, attracting customers through a price-focused proposition.

The big four supermarket chains, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and Morrison, have continued to make gains, particularly Tesco. In fact, of all the major health and beauty retailers, Tesco saw the biggest market share gain in 2007, increasing its share by 0.3 percentage points to 18.3%. Between them, the big four alone had health and beauty sales of GBP6.3 billion in 2007, accounting for 40.6% of the market.

In 2008, Verdict Research expects the big four to have a combined share of 40.8% of the market, up from just 31.7% in 2003. Sales should be buoyed by space expansion and growing authority in health-related products and services. Although these figures exclude NHS receipts from the health and beauty market, the growing number of in-store pharmacies will provide a boost to over-the-counter medicine sales and attract footfall.

Let Moderation Be Your Guide

Living in the Algarve, it’s sometimes hard to avoid having the odd drink or two, but, according to a recent survey by the British Department of Health, most of us don’t realise just how much alcohol we are actually consuming.

The survey of 1,429 drinkers in England found that more than a third of people do not know their recommended daily limit, which is, in fact, 2-3 units for women and 3-4 units for men. The survey coincided with a campaign by the government to increase alcohol awareness and to promote careful drinking.

Health Ministers are becoming increasingly concerned that people are unaware that increased glass sizes means that they are drinking a lot more than is recommended, and that also drinks are becoming stronger.

Over half of the people questioned -via the internet - believed that a large glass of wine equals two units of alcohol, when it actually equals three. The survey also discovered that those questioned were drinking at least two to three times a week.

In the Algarve, with such good wines available at such reasonable prices, most drinkers are probably consuming much more than that.

It can become increasingly confusing to know how much alcohol it is safe to consume. It seems that daily we are bombarded with information on how dangerous alcohol can be, yet the next day we are being told that one or two glasses a day is good for the heart or the blood. Well… is it good for us or not.

My Mother Was Right About Health Care

Throughout this presidential campaign, I have paid careful attention to each of the Democratic candidates' proposed health-care plans. In previous presidential elections in which I had been eligible to vote, any mention of health care usually faded into the monotone of campaign talking points. "This doesn't affect me, at all," I thought. But this time around, it's different.

Now, as a twentysomething no longer dependent on my parents, yet not yet settled into my career, I admit that I have gone without health insurance for brief periods of time, and I know I am only one of many in my generation who do so.

So my ears perked up when I heard Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton explain that if she became president, health insurance would become mandatory. You mean, I would have to get health insurance? I don't have a choice? This mandate sounded strangely familiar ... and then I remembered a conversation with my mother.

"If you got into a serious accident that landed you in the hospital today, it would bankrupt us," she said. "Not buying health insurance is the most selfish thing you could possibly do."

My mother, of course, was right. I may be an adult and responsible for my own health, but if I were ever in dire need of care that I couldn't afford, the people in my life who would always feel responsible for me - my parents - would step in and foot the bill, no matter the cost.

Unfortunately, the same reasoning applies to all Americans who for one reason or another do not purchase health insurance. Some may not feel the necessity, but if they were to land in an emergency room after a serious accident, they would not be turned away. Maybe they would be fortunate enough to have parents who could - and would - pay their bills, but more than likely they would not. Instead, the cost of their medical bills would be transferred to those who do have insurance, in the form of higher health insurance premiums and co-pays, and to everyone in the form of higher taxes.

Sen. Barack Obama has refrained from calling for such a mandate. On his Web site, he declares, "My plan begins by covering every American." Yet clearly it does not. And even he has conceded this point. Under his plan, health insurance coverage remains voluntary.

In debates, he has countered Clinton's argument for a mandate with the claim that the only reason all Americans do not have health insurance is because they cannot afford it. Make it affordable, and every American will choose to purchase it, he argues.

Yet in a CBS/New York Times poll in March 2007 on presidential issues, only 52 percent of respondents who did not have health care listed the inability to afford it as the reason they were uninsured. Others listed reasons such as unemployment, part-time employment, or even that they lacked a need for health insurance.

But many of us don't need a poll to know that Obama's reasoning is wrong.

As a young person who had so far enjoyed a life of almost perfect health, my own failure to purchase health insurance was not a result of my inability to do so, but rather my unwillingness to spend my limited money on health insurance.

Further underscoring the need for Clinton's health insurance mandate were the results of a recent study by the American Cancer Society that translated into hard statistics a truth that many Americans have been aware of for years, yet have done nothing to change: Uninsured Americans, and those covered through Medicaid, are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer in its latest stages, and are more likely to die from cancer, than are patients with private insurance.

On Clinton's campaign Web site, among many pages dedicated to explaining her health care plan, there is one that specifically addresses cancer and acknowledges this very problem:

"Studies consistently show that those who lack insurance or who are underinsured have higher cancer mortality rates than those with high quality coverage," it reads.

The page explains in great detail how she will combat the scourge of cancer in the United States, including increased funding for research, prevention and screening, and treatment. But the most important and powerful method she offers for solving this problem is mandatory health insurance for all Americans.

Obama argues that Clinton's mandate is not a mandate at all if Americans are unable to afford health coverage, yet will be punished if they don't buy it. But I am confident Clinton will be able to address this dilemma, given that she demonstrates a much keener understanding of the need for universal health coverage than Obama.

But maybe it is not his fault. Maybe it just takes a mother's unique insight to recognize the benefits of mandating insurance coverage, and her slightly threatening and persuasive tone to get us to actually comply. But because my mom's not running for president this time around, I feel compelled to endorse the one who is.