This week's highlights in public health journalism from around the globe http://www.worldhealthnews.harvard.edu/18november2009 Alice Park delves into the controversy surrounding a new recommendation in breast cancer screening and prevention. "A U.S. government group recommends that women delay getting regular mammograms until age 50, instead of 40, the age at which the American Cancer Society (ACS) has long advised women to begin screening for breast cancer. The government group issued its new guidelines Monday, citing evidence that the benefits of regular screening do not justify the potential harms in younger women. The U.S. Preventive Services Task force (USPSTF), funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, published its recommendations in Annals of Internal Medicine; its decision was based on an analysis of existing trials that looked at the impact of mammography on breast-cancer deaths. The task force further recommended that women between ages 50 and 74 get screened every two years instead of annually, and that doctors no longer urge women to conduct monthly breast self-exams, since the practice does not appear to significantly reduce the risk of death from breast cancer. Although the relative benefits of routine breast-cancer screening have been increasingly questioned by many within the cancer community, not everyone agrees that reducing mammography is the answer…So where does this division leave American women, who have been instructed for nearly two decades to get yearly mammograms starting at age 40? That depends on whether patients and their doctors prefer their screening guidelines to be conservative or not…It should be noted that the new guidelines apply to women who are at average risk of breast cancer, not to women who are considered high risk, such as those with a genetic or familial history of the disease." http://www.worldhealthnews.harvard.edu/#sotw The Economist takes a snapshot of the current drug policies and enforcement practices around the globe and finds that "Although most countries remain bound by a trio of United Nations conventions that prohibit the sale and possession of narcotics, laws are increasingly being bent or ignored. That is true even in the United States...From heroin 'shooting galleries' in Vancouver to Mexico's decriminalisation of personal possession of drugs, the Americas are suddenly looking more permissive. Meanwhile in Europe, where drugs policy is generally less stringent, seven countries have decriminalised drug possession, and the rest are increasingly ignoring their supposedly harsh regimes." http://www.worldhealthnews.harvard.edu/#substances Duff Wilson explores the recent price-hikes for prescription drugs and reports that "In the last year, the industry has raised the wholesale prices of brand-name prescription drugs by about 9 percent, according to industry analysts...The drug trend is distinctly at odds with the direction of the Consumer Price Index, which has fallen by 1.3 percent in the last year. Drug makers say they have valid business reasons for the price increases. Critics say the industry is trying to establish a higher price base before Congress passes legislation that tries to curb drug spending in coming years." http://www.worldhealthnews.harvard.edu/#reform Helena Merriman reports from Africa that "Tobacco-related cancer was one of the key topics discussed at a recent international cancer conference in Tanzania. One of the reports presented there warns that African nations are set to undergo the highest increase in the rate of tobacco use among developing countries. The report, released jointly by the American Cancer Society and the Global Smokefree Partnership, says that more than half of African countries will double tobacco use within 12 years if current trends continue. But the authors say that there is still time to do something about it." http://www.worldhealthnews.harvard.edu/#smoking Steve Mills reports that "Even as tainted food causes thousands each year to endure long-lasting illnesses, health agencies are having a difficult time finding the cause of the problem, and a push is on at the federal level to better trace suspected pathogens...Of an estimated 76 million food-borne illness victims each year, some 300,000 are hospitalized and close to 5,000 die...It also is often assumed that the cause of these illnesses is eventually tracked down...In fact, in nearly 60 percent of outbreaks, a source of the pathogen is never found., the illness remains a public health mystery, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." http://www.worldhealthnews.harvard.edu/#safety Subscribe to the World Health News and receive weekly e-mails highlighting the week's best in public health journalism from around the globe http://www.worldhealthnews.harvard.edu/#subscribe