A Wake-Up Call: Bed Bugs Migrate into the Workplace

/PRNewswire/ -- Atlanta-based pest control leader Orkin identified that bed bugs are making the move among commercial properties. New analysis of its commercial bed bug treatments over the past 10 years reveals that bed bugs, initially confined to the hospitality industry, have steadily increased their presence in multifamily and, more recently, commercial real estate properties.

With the hospitality and multifamily industries on the front lines of the bed bug resurgence, the potential for business travelers and apartment-dwelling employees to pick up bed bugs and bring them into the office has greatly increased. This exposure created a perfect storm for commercial real estate. Orkin conducted a survey with the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International in early 2010 and found that one in 10 respondents reported bed bug incidents in a commercial property.

"Ten percent may not sound significant at first," noted Ron Harrison, Ph.D., Orkin's director of technical services. "But it is a concerning statistic when you consider that these properties don't represent the typical bed bug habitat - a place where people sleep."

Harrison spoke at the BOMA International annual conference in June to address the impending threat to commercial property managers and building owners, noting that Orkin's bed bug treatments in commercial properties more than tripled from 2008 to 2009.

"At BOMA International, we felt it was important to be proactive in presenting this information to our members," said BOMA Senior Vice President Patricia M. Areno, CAE. "Commercial real estate leaders have the opportunity to educate themselves and their tenants to prepare for a possible bed bug epidemic."

Bed bugs are reddish-brown blood-feeders roughly the size and shape of apple seeds. The nocturnal pests surfaced from nearly a half-century of inactivity in the early part of this decade, predominantly in hotels. Increased international travel and a more targeted approach to pest control contributed to bed bugs reestablishing a presence in the U.S. Nationally, Orkin saw bed bug treatments double from 2008 to 2009, a trend it expects will continue this year. While New York City has been in the news recently for its efforts to curb bed bugs, the top five hot spots for bed bug activity, according to Orkin treatment data, are Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, followed by Chicago, Denver and Detroit.

Orkin's treatments in commercial real estate are still limited when compared with the hospitality and multifamily industries. In Orkin's Midwest Commercial Region, which services four of the company's top five bed bug cities, office building treatments range from 10-15 per month. Harrison hopes that the educational measures Orkin has initiated will keep it that way, even as high-profile incidents like retail store infestations in the Northeast garner nationwide media exposure.

"Commercial real estate is facing what multifamily dwellings faced a few years ago," said Harrison, who remembers the number of bed bug incidents in multifamily housing significantly increasing in 2008.

Unlike sparsely furnished hotel rooms, apartments and condos contain personal belongings and more furniture, providing ample shelter for bed bugs. Orkin experts also observe that apartment dwellers often recycle furniture from prior residents, which can perpetuate an existing infestation. By the close of the decade and for the first time since bed bugs resurfaced, Orkin treatments in multifamily properties exceeded those in hospitality, in some regions by three or four times the volume.

Harrison collaborated with the National Apartment Association Education Institute (NAAEI) earlier this year on a bed bug white paper and a series of webinars for property management professionals, and participated in the National Apartment Association's annual conference.

"In addition to learning identification and remediation techniques, apartment management professionals were eager to discuss how to communicate with residents about bed bug prevention," said Maureen Lambe, CAE, executive vice president of the NAA Education Institute. "Our members recognize that good communication and resident cooperation are critical to successful remediation."

Bed Bug Resources for Multifamily and Commercial Properties:
-- EVICTING UNWANTED RESIDENTS: Responsibility, Prevention and Treatment
of Bed Bugs in the Multifamily Industry
-- Don't Let Them Bite Our Community Multifamily Resident Tipsheet
-- Bed Bugs in the Office?: Take ACTION! Resource for Commercial Property
Managers

------
Community News You Can Use
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter:  @GAFrontPage

New Report Reveals Dramatic Rise in Pesticide Use on Genetically Engineered (GE) Crops Due to the Spread of Resistant Weeds

/PRNewswire/ -- Genetically engineered (GE) corn, soybeans and cotton have increased use of weed-killing herbicides -- a type of pesticide -- by 383 million pounds in the U.S. from 1996 to 2008, according to a new Organic Center report titled "Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use in the United States: The First Thirteen Years" announced today by The Organic Center (TOC), the Union for Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the Center for Food Safety (CFS). In addition, GE corn and cotton have reduced insecticide use by 64 million pounds, resulting in an overall increase of 318 million pounds of pesticides over the first 13 years of commercial use.

Based upon data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), report author Dr. Charles Benbrook presents compelling evidence linking the increase in pesticide use on GE, "herbicide-tolerant" (HT) crops to the emergence and spread of herbicide-resistant weeds. This report comes at a time when farmers are increasingly critical of GE crops because of drastically rising biotech seed prices and increasingly resistant weeds.

The agricultural biotechnology industry claims that the much higher costs of GE seeds are justified by multiple benefits to farmers, including decreased spending on pesticides. The price of GE seeds has risen precipitously in recent years, and the need to make additional herbicide applications in an effort to keep up with resistant weeds is also increasing cash production costs. As an example, corn farmers planting "SmartStax" hybrids in 2010 will spend around $124 per acre for seed, almost three times the cost of conventional corn seed. In addition, new-generation "Roundup Ready" (RR) 2 soybean seed, to be introduced on a widespread basis next year, will cost 42 percent more than the original RR seeds they are displacing.

"The drastic increase in pesticide use with genetically engineered crops is due primarily to the rapid emergence of weeds resistant to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide," said Dr. Charles Benbrook, report author and chief scientist of The Organic Center. "With glyphosate-resistant weeds now infesting millions of acres, farmers face rising costs coupled with sometimes major yield losses, and the environmental impact of weed management systems will surely rise."

Today's report refutes industry's assertions that its crops have reduced pesticide use. Last April, UCS released a report that found engineered crops have largely failed to increase crop yields, despite the industry's consistent claims to the contrary. "Dr. Benbrook's work shows that the overall chemical footprint of today's engineered crops is massive and growing," said Dr. Margaret Mellon, food and environment program director for the Union of Concerned Scientists. "That growth in pesticide use has important implications for farmers' bottom lines, public health and the health of the environment."

"This report confirms what we've been saying for years," said Bill Freese, science policy analyst for the Center for Food Safety. "The most common type of genetically engineered crops promotes increased use of pesticides, an epidemic of resistant weeds, and more chemical residues in our foods. This may be profitable for the biotech/pesticide companies, but it's bad news for farmers, human health and the environment."

Industry claims that GE crops are benefitting the environment ignore the impacts of the 300+ million additional pounds of pesticides required over the period covered by this study, as well as growing reliance by farmers on high-risk herbicides including 2,4-D and paraquat. In addition to the environmental harm, a report released earlier this year by TOC demonstrated that exposure to pesticides is linked to increased risk of reproductive abnormalities, birth defects and neurological problems.

The analytical work required to complete this report was funded by a coalition of non-governmental organizations including the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Center for Food Safety, the Cornerstone Campaign, Californians for GE-Free Agriculture, Greenpeace International and Rural Advancement Fund International USA.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.artsacrossgeorgia.com
Arts Across Georgia

Little Cigar Consumption On the Rise, While Cigarette Use Declines

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New data from the Maxwell Report indicates a dramatic increase in the use of cigarillos and little cigars over the past decade, a troubling trend given the popularity of these products with young adults (ages 18-25) and the African American community. According to the data, over a 10-year period from 1997-2007, little cigar consumption increased 240 percent, while cigarillos increased by almost 150 percent. Meanwhile, cigarette consumption has declined by about 25 percent over the same 10 year period.

"These numbers are extremely concerning. Little cigars and cigarillos are obviously a serious public health threat and there is evidence that they are popular among young adults and minorities," said Dr. Cheryl G. Healton, President and CEO of American Legacy Foundation. "While much effort has been focused over the past decade on increasing awareness about cigarettes and the dangers of smoking, cigar products have emerged as a profitable product while remaining taxed at a much lower rate and consumers are taking the bait," she added. Low prices, candy flavors, marketing promoting affluence and hip hop culture as well as the fact that these products can be sold individually as "loosies" may be factors that make little cigars so popular among youth and young adults. Healton points out that today's announcement of a federal tax increase on these emerging products may help to curb the consumption.

Under the newly signed State Children's Health Insurance Plan law (SCHIP) signed by President Obama [today], taxes will increase not only on cigarettes -- a major victory for public health advocates -- but on cigar products as well. Little cigars will now be taxed at $1.01 per pack, and cigarillos and large cigars will have an increase from $.05 to $.40.

"For years there has been an established correlation between increased taxes on tobacco and a decrease in consumption rates. This is especially true among price-sensitive youth and young adults," Healton said. "The signing of SCHIP into law is indeed a momentous victory for the public health community on several fronts."

Little Cigars

Little cigars -- which look like cigarettes but are wrapped in tobacco leaf -- were once an almost invisible product and have grown exponentially in popularity.

In May of 2006, attorneys general around the country filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Treasury's Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to ask the federal agency to close a loophole allowing tobacco manufacturers to pass off their cigarettes in brown wrappers as "little cigars." Under these rules, the tobacco companies were able to classify their own products in a way that defeats public health and marketing restrictions that would otherwise apply to cigarettes. Some suggest that with the current economic crisis, even the most loyal traditional cigarette smoker may begin to use little cigars or cigarillos to save money.

Cigarillos

Cigarillos are longer, slimmer versions of a large cigar and are currently available in a variety of flavors, including apple, cream and wine, which may be more appealing to youth. While sold in packs they are individually wrapped and often sold individually at a much lower cost than a pack. Additionally, many state and local laws do not have minimum pack size requirements for cigars -- unlike cigarettes. Research shows cigar products' popularity and sales are rising, particularly with young adults and in urban communities of color.

Philip Morris which acquired John Middleton as of (Nov 1, 2007) is the manufacturer of "Black & Mild." Black & Mild is among the most popular cigar brand for young adults today.

This issue holds great significance in the U.S. as Black History Month is observed throughout the month of February and the contributions of the nation's African American leaders is celebrated.

The American Legacy Foundation, the national non-profit organization dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit, and that created the truth(R) youth smoking prevention campaign, has been working with the National Association of Attorneys General and John Hopkins University to monitor and bring attention to the rising health risks associated with little cigar consumption.

The American Legacy Foundation(R) is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the foundation develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use, especially among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco, through grants, technical assistance and training, partnerships, youth activism, and counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns. The foundation's programs include truth(R), a national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as contributing to significant declines in youth smoking; EX(R), an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use; and a nationally-renowned program of outreach to priority populations. The American Legacy Foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. Visit www.americanlegacy.org.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Obesity Comes With a Price Tag

(BUSINESS WIRE)--There are hard dollars-and-cents costs to being overweight or obese, according to Humana (NYSE: HUM), one of the nation’s largest health benefits companies.

Specifically, Humana estimates these costs at the following for 2009:

* $19.39 in added health care costs for every overweight pound;
* $1,037.64 for every overweight individual;
* $127 billion added to the national health care bill.

Overweight people are more prone to heart disease, stroke, diabetes — even some kinds of cancers. Chronic diseases that are a result of weighing too much are an ever-increasing part of America’s health care bill.

Carol McCall — a research actuary at Humana — culled through national health care data and the data from Humana’s members, and here is what she found.

Like butter and sugar, obesity has a cost per pound

On average, the annual per-pound cost of being overweight — that is, the added cost per added pound of the overweight and the obese — is $19.39. The cost increases with age.

For 25-year-olds, it averages $10.25 for every overweight pound. By age 64, it increases to $26.32. (On average, overweight people are 29 pounds overweight; the obese are 82 pounds overweight.)

For someone age 25, the added annual health care cost is $209 for the overweight and $960 for the obese. By age 64, this grows to $610 extra for the overweight and $2,300 for the obese.

Why this impacts the national healthcare crisis

There are more than 122 million overweight and obese Americans between the ages of 20 and 65. On average, their additional health care costs are $534 per year for an overweight person and $1,614 for an obese person. Those costs add up to a $127 billion crisis. The increase in obesity prevalence – going from 23 percent to 33 percent between 1994 and 2004 – added $34 billion to the annual health care bill.

A person who is 25 and obese today, and remains obese until they’re 65, will average $179,000 more in health care costs (in 2009 dollars, assuming health care inflation of 4 percent a year) over those 40 years.

A new way to look at and to count calories

Maintaining all of those extra pounds requires Americans to take in 23 trillion calories a year. That’s the equivalent of 46 billion Big Macs, 114 billion Krispy Kreme donuts or 152 billion bags of chips.

These calories have the same energy as the following:

* 10 1,000-megawatt power stations generating for a year
* 788 million gallons of gasoline
* 10 million tons of coal
* 96 trillion AA alkaline batteries

There is a way to get out of this national problem

The good news is that Humana’s data also indicates that just a small change – a reduction of 276 calories a day for the overweight – makes a big difference. Cutting that little from each day’s intake would start moving millions of Americans from the category of overweight to healthy. That means people don’t have to re-engineer their lives to get on a healthier path. Incremental change — giving up one soft drink and walking an extra 2,500 steps each day, for example — will do the job.

“If obesity were eliminated, or even significantly reduced,” says McCall, “the money saved would be significant. It could pay for food for the poor, health insurance for the uninsured or millions of college educations every year.”

Dr. Jonathan Lord, Humana’s Chief Innovation Officer — who oversees Humana’s efforts to reduce health care costs by engaging people in healthy behaviors — put it this way: “In this time of financial crisis, it’s now clear that Americans can improve the economy as well as their own health prospects by giving up a few pounds.”

“Riding a bike and taking a walk in the park burn calories,” Dr. Lord says, “but those activities are also fun. Life is so hectic and we are so dependent on cars that many of us have forgotten that.”

Humana’s Innovation Center is full of teams trying to find new ways to engage people in their health. The company believes that the key to success is to meet people where they are: at school, playing video games, on cell phones, walking or riding bikes in the park.

Humana, for example, created the Freewheelin bike-sharing program, which debuted at the Democratic and Republican national conventions last summer. In less than two weeks, 7,523 rides were taken, 42,000 miles were ridden, 1.3 million calories were burned – and participants who hadn’t been on a bike in years raved about the experience. Now, Humana is partnering in B-cycle, a new company it created to sell bike-sharing programs to cities and universities.

Humana also is partnering in Sensei, a cell phone application to support people in making better nutritional choices and in physical activity. And the company has also pioneered several very successful pedometer programs in England and in this country.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Community News You Can Use
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page