Philadelphia Medicine Fall/Winter 2019 - 5

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Letter from the president

A

The New Scourge - Vaping

James Cristol,
MD

President

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t the time this issue of Philadelphia Medicine went to press,
33 people had died in our country from vaping-related lung
disease. One of those victims lived in Pennsylvania. Vaping is
the newest national scourge to rear its menacing head. Our cover story written by Ryan
Coffman, manager of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Tobacco Policy
and Control Program, describes the public health danger caused by vaping. Coffman
reports that "in a matter of just 10 years, vaping has gone from being regarded as a
fleeting fad, to an epidemic among youth as defined by both the FDA and the Wolf
Administration here in Pennsylvania." Coffman offers a comprehensive plan for trying
to free people, especially the young, from vaping.
We are also covering another menace to our city, state and country - the continuing
opioid crisis. Safehouse, the non-profit that wants to open a safe injection site in the
Kensington area, has won a significant battle in federal court. U.S. District Judge
Gerald McHugh ruled that a 33-year-old law aimed at closing crack houses was not
intended to apply to safe injection sites. U.S. Attorney William McSwain has vowed
to appeal the ruling, and he has warned Safehouse not to try to open a safe injection
site during the appeals process.
The FOP and several neighborhood associations filed amicus briefs in the case,
siding with the government, but there are local drug counselors and other care
givers who think safe injection sites are a good idea. Peter Clark, a Jesuit priest who
is director of the Saint Joseph's University Institute of Clinical Bioethics, released
a study late last year with research from doctors and students, that concluded that
well-monitored safe injection sites can do a lot of good. Father Clark said he's not an
advocate of illegal drug use, "but I am an advocate of treating people with dignity
and respect, and I think we have to do that where they're at." And on October 27, the
Pennsylvania Medical Society's House of Delegates approved a resolution endorsing
a safe injection site.
Dr. Marylin Howarth, occupational and environmental medicine physician at
Penn, writes an article that gives us some hope in the battle against lead poisoning in
Philadelphia. She reports that City Council has recently approved what she describes
as a major milestone - a bill that requires landlords to obtain lead-free certifications
for all their rental properties.
continued on next page

EDITORIAL BOARD
* Corina Graziani, MD
* Alan Miceli, MA, Editor

* Susan Robbins, MD, MPH, FAAP
* Paul D. Siegel, MD

Fall/Winter 2019 : Philadelphia Medicine

5
Philadelphia Medicine Fall/Winter 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Philadelphia Medicine Fall/Winter 2019
