Scott Pelley reported on the CBS Evening News (6/15, story 6, 2:45, Pelley) that the VA estimates that 22 of the two million American veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan “die each day by their own hand.” Correspondent Chip Reid added that two veterans have “launched an Instagram suicide prevention network” which encourages veterans “who are having suicidal thoughts to call them, any time, day or night.”

Related Links:

— “VIDEO: Veterans launch Instagram page to prevent suicide,” Scott Pelley, CBS News, June 15, 2015.

The New York Times (6/16, A14, Carey, Subscription Publication) reports, “Marijuana use did not increase among teenagers in the states in which medical marijuana has become legal,” according to a study published online June 16 in The Lancet Psychiatry. The study, which “covered a 24-year period and was based on surveys of more than one million adolescents in 48 states,” reveals, however, that “states that had legalized medical use had higher prevailing rates of teenage marijuana use before enacting the laws, compared with states where the drug remains illegal.”

Related Links:

— “Medical Use of Marijuana Doesn’t Increase Youths’ Use, Study Finds,” Benedict Carey, New York Times, June 15, 2015.

The Los Angeles Times (6/13, Dayton) reported that “exercise, mental health,” and “nutrition…can affect how someone lives during and after cancer treatment.” The article looks into how each of these three things can impact individuals with cancer.

In a related article, the Los Angeles Times (6/13, Dayton) reported that “some factors that improve quality of life may also increase survival.” The Times added that “managing symptoms and decreasing impairments that come from cancer treatment is closely linked with psychological well-being, says Dr. Julie Silver…creator of Survivorship Training and Rehabilitation, or STAR, a certification program that assists hospitals in developing cancer rehabilitation programs.”

Related Links:

— “Battling cancer with exercise, nutrition and mental health,” Lily Dayton, Los Angeles Times, June 12, 2015.

The Los Angeles Times (6/12, Khan) reports in “Science Now” that “poison center calls linked to synthetic cannabinoids have spiked roughly fourfold in just the first few months of 2015, according to a report from the” CDC published in the June 12 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The data compiled by the CDC reveal that “between January and May 2015, poison centers received 3,572 calls linked to synthetic cannabinoid use – a 229% jump over the 1,085 calls received during the same period in 2014.” Ages of the user ranged from seven months to 72 years, with a median age of 26. The authors of the report conclude that the sudden spike demonstrates the need for stricter regulation.

Related Links:

— “Increase in poisoning reveals dangers of ‘synthetic marijuana,’ CDC says,” Amina Khan, Los Angeles Times, June 11, 2015.

Health Day (6/12, Mozes) reports, “Close to one in 10 American men suffers from depression or anxiety, but fewer than half get treatment,” according to survey results published June 11 in an NCHS Data Brief, a publication of the CDC. The US-wide survey “of more than 21,000 men also found that among younger males, blacks and Hispanics are less likely than whites to report mental health symptoms.” Stephen J. Blumberg, PhD, associate director for science, division of health interview statistics at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, said, “We suspect that there are several social and cultural pressures that lead black and Hispanic men to be less likely than white men to seek mental health treatments.” Blumberg added, “These pressures, which include ideas about masculinity and the stigma of mental illness, may be more pronounced for men of color.”

Related Links:

— “Many U.S. Men With Depression, Anxiety Don’t Get Treated, CDC Finds,” Alan Mozes, Health Day, June 11, 2015.