U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy put out an advisory last week about the link between cancer and alcohol use — which he suggests should be clearly labeled on alcoholic products.

Murthy’s advisory comes as research and evidence mounts about the bad effects that alcohol has on human health, but his proposal for a label would require a rare approval from the U.S. Congress.

Murthy notes alcohol consumption is to blame for nearly one million preventable cancer cases in the U.S. over the last decade. About 20,000 people die every year from those alcohol-related cancer cases, the advisory said.

Bottles of beer, wine and liquor already carry warning labels that say pregnant women should not drink and that alcohol consumption can impair someone’s ability to drive a car. But Murthy’s proposed label would go even further, raising awareness about the risk for cancer, too.

Consuming alcohol raises the risk of developing at least seven types of cancer diseases, including liver, breast and throat cancer, research has found. His advisory also notes that as a person’s alcohol consumption goes up, so does the risk for developing those illnesses.

“For individuals, be aware that cancer risk increases as you drink more alcohol,” Murthy wrote Friday on the social media platform X. “As you consider whether or how much to drink, keep in mind that less is better when it comes to cancer risk.”

Even with the Surgeon General’s advisory and new research that shows the dangers of drinking, it’s unlikely Congress would act swiftly to enact a new Surgeon General’s warning on alcohol products.

It’s been nearly four decades since Congress approved the first government warning label on alcohol, the one that says pregnant women shouldn’t drink and warns about the dangers of driving while drinking. No updates have been made since then.

The surgeon general’s advisory comes as the government is in the process of updating dietary guidelines, including those around alcohol, that will form the cornerstone of federal food programs and policy. The updated guidelines are expected later this year.

The current guidelines recommend women have one drink or fewer per day while men should stick to two or fewer.

Reporting by Amanda Seitz, Associated Press. Associated Press writer Carla K. Johnson contributed.

Other headlines for Monday, Jan. 6, 2025:

• Detroit police have arrested the driver who struck and killed an off-duty officer Sunday morning.
• The Hamtramck Police Department is looking for people to join the Citizens Police Academy. Classes will be held from 6:30-9:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, Jan. 29 through March 19.
• The Neighborhood Vitality Index is a tool to help Detroiters drive change in their neighborhoods. The project  — a collaboration between Community Development Advocates of Detroit, Data Driven Detroit and the JFM Consulting Group — seeks input from Detroit residents to find out more about their health, housing, and transportation needs. The first 4,500 respondents will get a $25 gift card. Participants must be age 18 or older.
• If you’re looking for a way to get rid of your Christmas tree, the city of Detroit is collecting them during the first two weeks of January. Text 313-800-7905 for reminders about trash pickup dates and recycling in the city.
• The Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) is hosting an education series featuring City Council President Pro Tem James Tate to talk about tax incentives and other city resources. The presentation will be held from 6-8 p.m. Jan. 13 at the James Tate Jr. Community Annex, 21511 W McNichols Rd, Detroit.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

“As winter approaches, the horror in Gaza continues to grind on with no end in sight.”

Those are the words of a United Nations official addressing the UN Security Council in November. 

Israel’s war in Gaza, following the attacks last October led by Hamas, has reportedly claimed the lives of more than 44,000 Palestinians and 1,700 Israelis and foreign nationals, the UN reports.

Even before the war, life in Gaza was fragile due to the Israeli blockade and occupation. That blockade deeply affects health care access. 

Recent research in The Lancet found that before the war, 35 hospitals operated at full capacity in Gaza. Those hospitals had roughly 3,400 beds for a population of over two million people.

Now, more than half of Gaza’s hospitals are completely out of service due to Israeli bombardments, according to the United Nations. 

Still, those numbers do not reflect the magnitude of the problem, said Dr. Adam Fahs, a metro Detroit-based orthopedic surgeon and member of Doctors Against Genocide. He said the facilities that are still operating resemble small clinics rather than well-equipped medical facilities.

“These are ‘hospitals’ you can drive by and easily miss,” he said. “I don’t want people to think that these are major Level 1 trauma centers like we have here in the States.”

He said these clinics were already “not fully staffed, not fully functioning…supplies were missing.” 

The Israeli blockade has forced doctors to make impossible decisions: “Now we have to figure out when we’re preparing someone for surgery, do we use sterile gloves for this person, or do we save that for another patient; is this knife blade really needed here? Or can we save this for someone else? These are all things that a hospital trying to take care of maimed and injured people shouldn’t have to be considering,” he said.

Fahs traveled to Gaza last December as the humanitarian crisis unfolded there. During his medical mission in Gaza, Fahs was uncertain he would return to the U.S. alive. 

“I feel that maybe one of the reasons why God did bring me back was that I could share…my account of what happened there, because I don’t think people really appreciate and realize the extent of the destruction that’s happening.”

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Hundreds of schools and day care centers will receive grants for water filters. The filters are to protect children from lead exposure. While lead was banned from use in plumbing in the 1980s, there could be lead in older pipes and fixtures in schools, such as drinking fountains.

The action stems from a law referred to as Filter First.

$50 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act money is being distributed among public and private schools and daycare centers.

“The goal is to make sure that we are protecting the children from the risk of lead exposure in drinking water at schools and childcare centers,” said Holly Gohlke, a school drinking water specialist for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

She said drinking fountains are going away.

“They need to be replaced with a filtered bottle-filling drinking station. And many people see those out in the public already. You know, where you just put a bottle to fill there or you can get a drink without a bottle.”

Additionally, all sink faucets will be filtered.

Michigan is still making changes in light of the Flint water crisis, which resulted in elevated blood lead levels in many children across the city. That prompted Michigan’s “strictest-in-the-nation” Lead and Copper Rule which is intended to eliminate lead in public water supplies.

Overdose deaths in Michigan decreased last year by nearly 6%, with 2,826 deaths recorded compared to 2,998 deaths in 2022, according to state data.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) reports that overdose deaths have fallen five times faster than the national average since 2021.

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Dearborn Health Department Director Ali Abazeed says the prevalence of overdose-reversing medication like naloxone has played a big role in those reductions. The Health Department alone dispensed 8,000 units of Narcan in the past two years through a vending machine at the Dearborn train station.

“We made it so that people know where it’s at, how to get it,” he said. “…and then paired it with instructional videos — both in Arabic and in English — to show what you should do if you come across someone who’s experiencing an overdose.”

Abazeed says one goal is to reduce the stigma and shame associated with drug overdoses. 

Steve Norris, director of Overdose Prevention and Recovery Support at the Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities, spoke with The Metro Producer Sam Corey this week about how similar intervention programs are helping reduce opioid deaths throughout metro Detroit.

“(I)f you look at the highest rate of incidents, our two major areas of concern are Pontiac and Waterford Township,” said Norris. “So those are where we’re really seeing significant numbers and reduction, and that’s where we’ve put a lot of our emphasis.”

Public health measures like Michigan’s Naloxone Direct Portal, which distributes the life-saving drug to community groups for free in high-risk areas, have also played a part in reducing opioid-related deaths. Other harm-reduction measures include increasing access to fentanyl and xylazine testing strips, allowing drug users to test for these dangerous substances and reduce their risk of accidental overdose.

Still, while the latest trends in overdose deaths are promising, the racial gaps continue. Based on 2023 provisional data from MDHHS, Black residents are 2.8 times more likely to die of an overdose than white residents, with American Indian/Alaska Native residents 2.2 times more likely.

MDHHS says the agency is taking a “data-driven approach” to ensure substance use disorder funding reaches communities with the highest need.

WDET’s John Filbrandt contributed to this report.

Other headlines for Monday, Nov. 25, 2024:

• The National Poll on Healthy Aging released a new study on how grandparents are impacted by their grandkids, and found they can improve mental health and reduce loneliness.
• The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) has unveiled a new air monitoring dashboard called MiAir, providing Michigan residents with real-time air quality data and historical trends.
• The Detroit City Council heard public comments Monday on a measure to prevent the sale of cats and dogs in pet stores.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

Tonight on The Detroit Evening Report, we cover a new online dashboard for residents to track complaints against Detroit police; a Detroit-based meat company launching a national ground beef recall due to possible E. coli contamination and more.

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New dashboard aims to improve Detroit police oversight

The Detroit Board of Police Commissioners launched a new online dashboard this week to track citizen complaints against police in the city. The Detroit Free Press reports the dashboard will provide data including the number of open and closed complaints, type of complaints and the number of allegations attached to each incident, as well as the race and gender of the police officer and those who filed the complaint against them. The dashboard can be found on the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners website. 

Book highlights celebrity connections to Detroit

A new book highlighting various celebrities and their unique connects with the city of Detroit came out this month. In the book, titled “Motor City Famous: Celebrity Homes, Graves, and Little-Known Locales,” the author Steve Platto lists various celebrities with known ties to the city like Joe Louis, Stevie Wonder, and Eminem. He also highlights some new connections like Lucille Ball, Tony Hawk and Iggy Pop. Platto will be hosting a book signing from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 30, at Schuler Books in West Bloomfield, and at Paperback Writers & Weirdsville Records in Mount Clemens from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Detroit company recalls ground beef for E. coli risk

Approximately 168,000 pounds of ground beef products from a Detroit-based meat company are being recalled due to possible E. coli contamination. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), Wolverine Packing Co. recalled both fresh and frozen products that were shipped to restaurant locations nationwide. The affected fresh products have a “use by” date of Nov. 14, 2024 and the frozen products are labeled with a production date of Oct. 22, 2024. 10 22 24. All the products subject to recall bear the establishment number “EST. 2574B” inside the USDA mark of inspection. For more information visit fsis.usda.gov.

Hope for the Holidays at Second Ebenezer Church  

The Second Ebenezer Church in Detroit is hosting a turkey giveaway for its 10th annual Hope for the Holidays event. Distribution will take place between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, at the church, located at 14601 Dequindre Rd, Detroit. The church will also host a food distribution event from 2-4 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 26, at 6602 Walton in Detroit. 

Detroit Trivia Night

The city of Detroit Youth Affairs Team is hosting Detroit Trivia Night at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22, with the city’s historian Jamon Jordan. Participants can test their knowledge of the history of Detroit. The event will take place at the Jospeh Walker Williams Recreations Center at 84331 Rosa Parks Blvd. 

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

Detroit officials are reassuring residents about the safety of the city’s water system.   

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The statement comes after the city sent federally mandated letters to thousands of residents about the materials used for water service lines.  Many Detroiters were concerned that the letters served as some sort of warning.

Detroit Water and Sewerage Department Director Gary Brown held a news conference on Tuesday to let residents know there’s no reason to worry. 

“Our water is safe and some of the best water in the world. We’re a leader in the United States in delivering quality water,” he said. “We’re below the actionable level for lead at 12 parts per billion in the most recent testing results.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires municipalities with lead service lines to send out the letters. Brown says the city uses a special coating to prevent old service lines from leeching lead into the water. He says concerned residents can run water for three to five minutes in the morning to flush standing water out of the system. 

Detroit has 10 years to replace all of its lead service lines. Brown says the city has spent $100 million this year in its efforts to replace those lines. 

Other headlines for Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024:

• The city of Detroit broke ground Tuesday on a project that will turn a historic school into affordable housing.
• AAA Michigan says you should pack your patience if you’re planning to take a trip over Thanksgiving, as 2.6 million Michiganders will be traveling over the holiday weekend.
• Gas prices continue to trend lower in metro Detroit, according to AAA Michigan, with the average price of a gallon of self-serve unleaded now at $3.10 — down five cents from a week ago.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

Two Detroit hospitals, both part of the Detroit Medical Center, have received “F” grades on patient safety in a recent report.

Detroit Receiving Hospital and Sinai-Grace Hospital got those grades in the report by the Leapfrog Group, which describes itself as a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that serving as a patient watchdog.

The group says its grades reflect the ability of hospitals nationwide to keep patients safe and prevent them from contracting illnesses or conditions they did not have upon admission.

Bret Jackson, president and CEO of the Economic Alliance for Michigan, which collaborated with Leapfrog on the study, said the findings in the Detroit hospitals were concerning.

“There are some areas where they may even be the worst hospital in the country for a specific metric,” Jackson said.

The report rated the two DMC hospitals poorly in several critical areas, including surgical wounds that reopen, deaths from serious yet treatable complications, severe breathing problems, dangerous bedsores, patient falls and injuries, and harmful blood clots.

The Detroit Medical Center said the report’s findings painted an incomplete picture.

“Detroit Medical Center does not submit data or participate in the annual Leapfrog Hospital Survey. Grades are still published even though there is incomplete or dated information,” the medical center said in a statement to Michigan Public.

DMC did not respond to a followup question asking why it does not participate in the survey.

Jackson said DMC’s participation in the Leapfrog survey is not essential to the grading, as most of the metrics the report used come from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Jackson said he believes that ensuring patient safety starts with senior management.

“Leadership has to engage every single person — not just doctors and nurses, but also those who clean the rooms and work security. Everyone in the hospital must be committed to making it the safest and least harmful place for patients,” he said.

Jackson said the hospitals can improve their scores. He said he’s seen hospitals with D and F grades transform into A-grade facilities in a relatively short period and hopes for a similar turnaround at DMC.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced on Thursday that more than 300 locations across the state now have free contraception resources available through the “Take Control of Your Birth Control” program.

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Resources include over-the-counter birth control pills, emergency contraception, condoms, and family planning educational resources. Participating locations include community partners, local health departments, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) offices, and federally qualified health centers in every county of the state.

Michigan families are encouraged to visit michigan.gov/takecontrol to find an interactive map of participating organizations and learn more about how to access these resources.

“The goal of this program is to ensure individuals, regardless of their circumstances, have access to tools that allow them to make their own decisions about their health and future,” saidDr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive, in a statement. “We want to make sure individuals who need and want these tools can easily obtain them. This campaign reflects the state’s ongoing commitment to ensuring equitable access to reproductive health services.”

Visit Michigan.gov/takecontrol for more information and to find participating locations near you.

Other headlines for Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024:

• Detroit will host a “reverse vending machine” in Campus Martius this holiday season through Dec. 8. The Giving Machine allows people to donate items to people worldwide and in the Detroit area. Visitors can donate a variety of items including clothing, hygiene items, meals, livestock and more.
• Detroit City Council members Latisha Johnson and Gabriella Santiago-Romero are hosting their quarterly meeting with the equitable development task force at 5:30 p.m. next Thursday, Nov. 21 via Zoom. The meeting will cover what the task force has been doing to address the needs of underserved Detroit neighborhoods. Reach out to either councilmember Johnson’s or Santiago-Romero’s offices to get more information on how to attend.
• The Detroit Justice Center is hosting a free community screening of “Coldwater Kitchen,” a film that highlights the culinary training program for incarcerated residents at Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Michigan. The film follows chef Jimmy Lee Hill and three of his students as they navigate the challenges of incarceration and reentry. Dinner will be catered by Chef Dink of Coldwater Kitchen and the Green Mile Grille. The free event will take place at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15 at the LOVE building, 4731 Grand River Ave., Detroit.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.