closer look
Substance use remained high in 2023 — and addiction groups have notes for Biden admin
KEVIN D. LILES/AP
Smoking rates fell slightly in 2023 while vaping went up, according to new survey from SAMHSA detailing substance use trends. But the use of alcohol, opioids, and stimulants was largely steady in 2023, with 17% of Americans meeting criteria for a substance use disorder in the past year.
"This data tells us that we have much work to do across the spectrum of behavioral health," said Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, the SAMHSA director.
A coalition of health care and addiction groups have a suggestion for how SAMHSA and the Biden administration could do some of that work. The federal agency isn't doing enough to ensure that people living in recovery housing have access to medications like methadone and buprenorphine, the groups wrote in a letter to Delphin-Rittmon. The medications are highly effective but often restricted due to stigma, since they're technically opioids themselves.
Read more about the 2023 substance use data and about how the agency could use its power better in two great stories from STAT's Lev Facher.
health
Who gets to walk for fun, and who has to walk to work?
No matter why you're doing it, walking is good for you. But new data from the CDC's 2022 National Health Interview Survey, released today, identifies some interesting trends.
More than half of all adults walked for leisure in the past week, but doing so was more common among those with higher income levels and more education. Conversely, just 16% of adults walked for transportation, a practice that was highest among people with family incomes below the federal poverty level. Those with family incomes 200-400% of the poverty level were least likely to walk as a form of transportation.
infectious diseases
CDC will offer farmworkers seasonal flu shot
On Monday, STAT's Helen Branswell wrote that experts are divided on the potential benefit of developing a bird flu vaccine for cows. But it seems like a seasonal flu shot for humans is an easier sell. Yesterday, the CDC announced it is funding a $5 million program to make seasonal flu shots available for livestock industry workers to reduce the risk of a pandemic.
The program will be voluntary and administered by state and local public health workers to as many people as possible who work in proximity to animals like poultry, cows, or other livestock that could be infected with the virus. Read more from Helen about the plan.
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