Health - page 42

SACRAMENTO — California public health officials are urging people to stop vaping and using e-cigarettes as a fourth death related to vaping was reported in the state.

The state’s Department of Public Health said Wednesday 161 people have been hospitalized for severe breathing problems and lung damage since August.

The Marin County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday 45-year-old Amanda Margot Arconti of Vacaville died at a Novato hospital earlier this month. An official cause of death is pending.

California’s first Peer-Run Warm Line officially opened this week ahead of Thursday’s World Mental Health Day, providing a statewide resource for those in need of emotional support.

The non-emergency line offers free support and referrals to anyone in the state via telephone or instant messaging — a service made possible thanks to a state budget allocation of $10.8 million over three years, championed by Gov. Newsom, State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assembly Budget Committee Chair Phil Ting (D-San Francisco).

“When addressing issues surrounding health, the conversation must also include emotional wellness. This new state resource builds on our current mental health system by serving a population that is not in crisis but still in need of support,” Ting said.

According to Mental Health America, about one in five adults in the U.S. experience mental health challenges in a given year. In peer-run or peer-to-peer engagement programs, someone who has personally gone through similar mental health challenges is providing support to callers. It’s a model that helps prevent the need for more expensive, crisis-based interventions, such as hospitalizations. In addition, the term “warm line” illustrates the step before “hotline,” which typically serves people in crisis. Warm lines aim to reach those who are not quite at that stage, but still need some emotional assistance.

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Infectious-disease experts are predicting an early and more severe flu season this year in Stanislaus County and other areas of the state.

Kaiser Permanente said Friday it opened flu clinics in late September because of earlier-than-normal flu activity.

“We have seen a few cases in the Bay Area already,” said Dr. Piero Garzaro, chief of infectious diseases for Oakland-based Kaiser.

Two children, one in Riverside County and the other in Santa Clara County, died from influenza last month. Health officials said both children were otherwise healthy; the particular strain of influenza has not been identified in the two deaths.

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The California Department of Public Health issued a health advisory Tuesday urging people to stay away from all vaping products as health officials expect to see even more cases of lung illnesses from vaping.

The advisory urges everyone to refrain from vaping, no matter the substance or source, until current investigations into the cause of the illnesses is determined. The health advisory follows an executive order signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom Sept. 16 that allocates $20 million towards a statewide digital and social media public awareness campaign to educate youth, young adults and parents about the health risks of vaping nicotine and cannabis products.

As of Sept. 24, the CDPH has received reports that 90 people in California who have a history of vaping were hospitalized for severe breathing problems and lung damage, and two people have died. The last tally from the CDC showed 530 cases in the United States and nine deaths, however, CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Anne Schuchat told a congressional subcommittee that hundreds more cases have been reported to local health districts that have not been included in the national tally as of yet.

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