ATLANTA (AP) ― Construction workers, miners and food service workers top the list of occupations that smoke the most, according to a new government report. Experts say it might have as much to do with lower education levels as the jobs themselves. “There may be other characteristics that are clustering in these industries,” said Dr. Tim McAfee, director of the Office on Smoking and Health at the...

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised people to be alert to possible listeria infection as 13 deaths were reported in the U.S. last week. The outbreak is believed to have been caused by contaminated melons produced at a farm in Colorado. The Korea authorities said no melons had been imported from the farm, but those who visited the U.S. should be extra careful. Those who ...

Janssen Korea said Thursday that its schizophrenia medication Invega Sustenna will be covered by national health insurance from Oct. 1. It means insured patients can buy one month dose of the drug at reduced prices which vary from 12,000 won ($10) to 34,000 won depending on the severity of symptoms. According to the drug maker, the medicine is proven to ease symptoms of schizophrenia significan...

The Korean government will increase the number of state-run “Sejong Hakdang” Korean language institutes overseas to 90 next year from the current 60, as interest in Korean soars thanks to the growing popularity of Korean pop culture. Sejong Hakdang, or the King Sejong Institute, is named after the famous Joseon Dynasty ruler from the 15th century who invented hangeul, the Korean alphabet. The i...

Best prevention is to avoid lung irritants, get ongoing care Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease could be just as threatening as lung cancer or any other lung-related disease. According to Statistics Korea, 5,190 people died of COPD in 2010, an almost fourfold increase from 1991. The U.S. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, COPD defines COPD as a progressive disease that makes it hard ...

We live in an era of technology innovation when many things only seen before in science fiction come true. Treatment of brain disease by delivering electrical pulses through an implanted device is one of those examples. Currently its application in clinical medicine, so-called neuromodulation, is becoming more popular. Neuromodulation is a collective term meaning alteration (or modulation) of n...

CHICAGO (AP) -- By age 6, children should have vaccinations against 14 diseases, in at least two dozen separate doses, the U.S. government advises. More than 1 in 10 parents reject that, refusing some shots or delaying others mainly because of safety concerns, a national survey found. Worries about vaccine safety were common even among parents whose kids were fully vaccinated: 1 in 5 among that ...

LONDON (AP) -- A pill developed in Bulgaria during the Soviet era shows promise for helping millions of smokers cheaply and safely kick the habit, the first big study of it shows. It could become a new weapon to combat smoking in poor countries, but it is unclear whether it will ever reach the market in the U.S. or Western Europe. The drug, cytisine, is now used just in Eastern Europe, where sm...

ATLANTA (AP) -- Construction workers, miners and food service workers top the list of occupations that smoke the most, according to a new government report. Experts say it might have as much to do with lower education levels as the jobs themselves. “There may be other characteristics that are clustering in these industries,” said Dr. Tim McAfee, director of the Office on Smoking and Health at th...

TRIPOLI (AP) -- Actor-activist Sean Penn says he admires Libyans for their courage in overthrowing Moammar Gadhafi. Penn spoke during a visit to Tripoli on Wednesday. He declined to comment on details about what he plans to do in the Libyan capital. But he told Associated Press Television News that he admires “the courage to say we want freedom. It’s an extraordinary thing.” Standing outside a...