Unfortunately, it’s pretty common knowledge that the U.S. spends more on medical care per person than any other country, but did you know that our life expectancy is shorter than that of most other developed nations – and many developing ones?

“More care does not necessarily mean better care.”
– Gerard Anderson, a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

To make matters worse here in South Carolina, we ranked among the worst states in the nation this week for smoking prevention efforts, according to a new report by the American Lung Association, just as our State lawmakers are back in session talking about our lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax issue.

Here are some of the A.L.A. findings:

Tiremaker receives award for innovative employee wellness program from the Nat’l Business Group on Health

Michelin North America has been honored by the National Business Group on Health as one of the nation’s leading corporations for innovative programs promoting a healthy workplace and for helping its employees and their families to make better choices about their own health and well-being, the company announced today.

Michelin was among 63 companies that received the Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles award at the National Business Group on Health’s annual health care summit in Washington, DC. Michelin received a Silver Award for the design and concept of its Choose Well-Live Well program. This is the first year Michelin has been selected for this award.

DHEC Commissioner Earl Hunter says, “This report is a milestone for the state. Cancer is one of the leading causes of deaths and illness. It is critical not only to be able to track the number of deaths, but to have information on the number of people who have been diagnosed with the disease. This cancer survival data provides another avenue to measure the burden of cancer on our residents.”

The five leading types of cancer were prostate, lung, breast, colorectal and bladder.

“The S.C. Central Cancer Registry has maintained national standards of quality, timeliness, and completeness evidenced by certification from the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries each year since 1997,” he said. “Meeting those standards in all categories assures that the data are valid and reliable for use in the healthcare and research communities across the state and nation.”