Why is alcohol no longer taxed?

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Why is alcohol no longer taxed?

Overwhelming evidence shows that raising the price of alcohol – which contributes to a significant number of injuries, illnesses and deaths every year – can reduce all types of disasters, from car accidents to violence and sexually transmitted infections. But every time a state tries to raise taxes on these products, the attempt is thwarted.

The alcohol industry is a vast and powerful coalition of corporate conglomerates, mom-and-pop manufacturers, retail stores, hospitality workers, trade associations and their lobbyists who wield influence in statehouses and political campaigns. The proof? One glass of the cheapest spirits cost the average worker less in 2011 than sixty years earlier.

“The result is a population with increasing alcohol-related misery and an increasingly cheaper, more accessible drink offering,” writes my STAT colleague Isa Cueto in her latest story. Read more in her deep dive on drinking, taxes and loopholes. Isa has done a lot of excellent reporting on alcohol this year. Check out her previous stories examining the numbers on how much Americans drink, dietary guidelines, and alcohol warning labels.

From an experienced counselor at a historically black school

“Come to our school. We want black people.” …But you [primarily white institutions] wants the one everyone wants. The one with that MCAT that’s way up there, 90th percentile, you want that person. Everyone is competing for that one person. No, we need to think about this differently if we are truly committed to increasing the number of underrepresented minorities, especially Black students.”

This is evident from a study published yesterday in JAMA network opened it involved interviews with more than twenty pre-medical student advisors at historically black colleges and universities. Read more from STAT about why there are historically so few black medical schools and what the end of affirmative action meant for one black student.

New data on a retinal implant to restore vision

Twenty million people in the US suffer from age-related macular degeneration: a blurring of vision when looking or reading straight ahead. Yesterday, Science Corporation published preliminary data from a clinical trial that aims to tackle this common condition. In a study of more than thirty participants, scientists were able to help people read an average of almost five more lines in the classic eye chart (you know the one).

Here’s how it worked: A camera on a pair of glasses collects infrared light from the person’s environment and then beams it to an implant in the retina. The prosthesis then stimulates the retina with electrical impulses that are sent directly to the brain.

Cool, right? Read more from STAT’s Timmy Broderick.

Everything you need to know about health policy ahead of the elections

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: no one does it better than the DC team at STAT. Sign up for their DC Diagnosis newsletter to stay up to date on all the health politics and policy news leading up to – and in the aftermath of – the election. It appears on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but there will be an extra election edition next week. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek at some of the great stories the team published today:

• What would a Kamala Harris presidency change for health care? STAT’s Rachel Cohrs Zhang summarized Harris’ top health policy priorities during her campaign and how a win could impact Americans. Learn about her stance on drug prices, Medicare, the ACA, medical debt, surprise billing and more.
• Key state election measures to watch: The race for president currently dominates the headlines, but there is a long list of state health care proposals that could shape health policy. STAT’s Sarah Owermohle discusses what’s at stake in abortion initiatives, pot, psychedelics, Medicaid, medically assisted suicide and more.
• How Trump and Harris are weaponizing mental health: As a doctor and news reporter, Lawrence Altman spent decades talking to presidential candidates about their health. Earlier this year he wrote about the mystery of age in presidential elections. Today, he argues in a First Opinion essay that when each candidate uses vitriolic rhetoric about mental health when talking about the other, it trivializes a much larger problem. Read more.

Some people should get two Covid shots a year, CDC committee says

Older adults and moderately or severely immunocompromised people trying to figure out how to time their Covid shots have new information to add to their analysis. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the CDC on vaccination policies, now says people in both groups should get two vaccinations this year, ideally with an interval of six months — but no less than two months — between shots. In addition, people in the second category can receive additional injections if recommended by their doctor. The recommendations for people with a weakened immune system apply to anyone 6 months or older.

In recent years, the ACIP has voted to allow people in these groups to get additional shots, if they wanted. But both the public and health care providers found the wording of those previous recommendations — which stated that people “may” get an extra chance — confusing. At a meeting Wednesday, the ACIP voted unanimously that people in these two groups should get two shots this year.

— Helen Branswell, senior infectious disease writer

What we read

• American research into puberty blockers is not published because of politics, doctor says: New York Times

• McDonald’s tries to reassure customers after deadly E.coli outbreak AP

• Novo asks FDA to ban compounding companies from making Ozempic copies, STAT
• It’s not just the bombs that can kill us in Gaza, Slate
• ‘Do no harm’ harms 400 million long Covid patients worldwide, STAT