Recent News

Pugh, other city officials urge comprehensive U.S. help on 'desperate' opioid issues (Baltimore Sun)

Jul 27th, 2018

With 175 Americans dying each day from drug overdoses, the opioid crisis is akin to “a plane crashing every day,” Mayor Catherine Pugh said on Friday as she and other Baltimore officials urged Congress to approve comprehensive legislation to combat the epidemic.

“We are in desperate need at this particular point in time,” Pugh said at a roundtable discussion that included .Baltimore Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, community leaders and addiction experts at the city offices of Health Care for the Homeless.

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Leana Wenopioids

Baltimore Mayor Urged To Remove Milk From Children's Menus At Restaurants (Plant Based News)

Jul 27th, 2018

Campaigners are urging Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh to ban cow's milk from children's menus at restaurants.

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Leana Wn

Baltimore Just Became the First City to Ban Soda From Kids’ Menus (Red Tricycle)

Jul 26th, 2018

With rising childhood obesity rates a growing concern in the United States, one city has taken a big step towards reducing kids’ sugar intake. Baltimore has just become the first major city in the country to have soda banned from kids’ menus.

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Leana Wen

Fetanyl-related deaths rise as Maryland's opioid crisis rages on (Baltimore Business Journal)

Jul 26th, 2018

Maryland's deadly opioid crisis is showing no signs of abating with the latest state data highlighting a rising number of deaths due to fetanyl use.

Fentanyl-related deaths continue to rise, increasing from 1,119 in 2016 to 1,594 in 2017, according to information released Thursday on unintentional drug and alcohol-related intoxication deaths from the Maryland Department of Health. The agency's statistics include deaths in 2017 and the first three months of 2018.

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Leana Wenopioids

Maryland's drug-related deaths increase for seventh straight year, reach all-time high in 2017 (Baltimore Sun)

Jul 26th, 2018

The number of drug- and alcohol-related deaths in Maryland soared to an all-time high of 2,282 last year as the state continued to struggle with an opioid addiction problem that has gripped the entire country.

“This is an escalating epidemic,” said Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana S. Wen. “But still we don’t even see the peak of this epidemic yet.”

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Leana Wenopioids

Doctors at Anne Arundel Medical Center to discuss gun safety with patients (Capital Gazette)

Jul 26th, 2018

When patients at Anne Arundel Medical Center meet with their doctors, the conversations soon will broach a new topic beyond medical history and diagnoses: gun safety.

Hospital officials — viewing gun violence as a public health epidemic — want to strip the politics out of the gun ownership debate and have frank, non-judgmental talks about the measures patients are taking to keep their firearms safe.

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Leana Wen

City bans popular item from kids’ menus (kidspot.com)

Jul 25th, 2018

A major US city has made it illegal for cafes and restaurants to include sugary drinks on children's menus. 

The city – in the state of Maryland which has a population of more than six million – has prohibited restaurants offering kids soft drinks, instead making the default kids' menu options water, milk and 100 percent fruit juices.

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Leana Wen

Democrats, health leaders protest potential loss of women’s health service funds (The Daily Record)

Jul 24th, 2018

Maryland’s congressional delegation and Baltimore City officials denounced Monday a proposed federal rule that they say could restrict access to women’s healt

Baltimore City, Md. Congressional delegation fight proposed federal anti-abortion rule (Baltimore Business Journal)

Jul 24th, 2018

Baltimore City's mayor and health commissioner were joined by the full force of the local Congressional delegation today in denouncing a move by the Trump adm

Baltimore officials denounce proposed cuts to reproductive health centers under federal rule (The Baltimore Sun)

Jul 24th, 2018

Baltimore’s congressional delegation joined city officials Monday in denouncing potential federal cuts to reproductive health services.

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