MMWR – Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

1. Antismoking Messages and Intention to Quit — 17 Countries, 2008–2011

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Antismoking mass media campaigns can help reduce the prevalence of smoking by encouraging current smokers to quit and discouraging young persons from starting. To assess whether awareness of anti-smoking information was significantly associated with a current cigarette smoker’s intention to quit, CDC analyzed data from 17 countries that participated in the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), nationally representative household survey of adults aged 15 years and older. Awareness of anti-smoking messages in one or more of four media channels (television, radio, billboards, and newspapers/magazines) significantly increased the odds that current smokers intend to quit in 14 of 17 countries surveyed. Awareness of antismoking messages in only one of these media channels significantly increased the odds that current smokers intend to quit in nine of the 17 countries. In the study, current smokers intending to quit include 1) persons who are planning to quit in the next month, and 2) persons who are thinking about quitting in the next 12 months.

2. CDC Grand Rounds: Preventing Unsafe Injection Practices in the U.S. Health-Care System

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Since 2001, at least 49 outbreaks have occurred due to unsafe injection practices.  Hundreds of patients became infected during these outbreaks, and more than 150,000 patients had to be notified and advised to undergo bloodborne pathogen testing following potential exposure to unsafe injections. Safe administration of injectable medicines depends on adherence to practices outlined in CDC’s evidence-based Standard Precautions guideline. Providers should never 1) administer medications from the same syringe to more than one patient, 2) enter a vial with a used syringe or needle, or 3) administer medications from single-dose vials to multiple patients. Providers also should maintain aseptic technique at all times and properly dispose of used injection equipment. Unsafe injection practices put patients at risk of infection and increases the risk of financial and emotional burden. It also can cause an economic burden for healthcare providers, and on our public health and medical care systems. This harm is entirely preventable. To eliminate the problem of unsafe injections, injection safety interventions need to be implemented in all settings where injections are delivered.

3. Obesity in K–7 Students — Anchorage, Alaska, 2003–04 to 2010–11 School Years

Laura Carpenter
Public Information Officer II
Alaska Department of Health and Social Services
(907) 269-4541 office

Childhood obesity prevalence among public school children in grades K, 1, 3, 5, and 7 in two school districts in the metropolitan area of Anchorage, Alaska, decreased by 3.0 percent, from 16.8 percent in 2003–04 to 16.3 percent in 2010–11. Although obesity decreased significantly overall, the decline in obesity prevalence was not observed among children in all racial/ethnic groups, nor among children in schools serving children with lower socioeconomic status. Despite the encouraging overall trend, this report underscores the persistent racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities that exist in the prevalence of childhood obesity. After many decades of increases in the prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States, recent reports indicate a stabilization of obesity prevalence in some population subgroups and a decline in obesity in selected areas of the country, including the metropolitan area of Anchorage, Alaska.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES