instruction:
Given a paragraph, generate a claim that is supported by the given paragraph. 1) The claim must contain information from within the paragraph. 2) A sentence within the paragraph can be used as a claim. 3) The claim should not have contradictions within the paragraph. 4) The claim should be at most one sentence long.
question:
The lung cancer rate dropped by 2.6 percent per year among men and 1.1 percent per year among women, between 2005 and 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found, using the most recent available data. The largest decline was seen in adults aged 35 to 44, with a 6.4 percent drop per year among men and a 5.9 percent decrease for women in that age group, the study said. “This is a big deal,” said Clifford Hudis, president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. But Hudis added that there is still much more work to be done to reduce smoking given all the health problems it creates in addition to lung cancer. More than half of American men and over a third of women were smokers on January 11, 1964, when Dr. Luther Terry delivered the Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health outlining the links between tobacco use, lung cancer and death. Since the surgeon general’s 1964 report, the prevalence of smoking by U.S. adults has been cut by half, the CDC said. “I’m not satisfied with reducing smoking,” Hudis said. “It should be eliminated. There’s no upside to it.”  Up to 90 percent of lung cancer cases are linked to cigarette smoking and second-hand smoke, the CDC said. The CDC, whose officials call the fight to reduce tobacco use a “winnable battle,” promotes increased funding for anti-smoking campaigns. In 2007, the CDC recommended spending $3.7 billion on state-level anti-smoking campaigns. But in 2010, states spent $640 million, only 2.4 percent of the money they received from settlements in lawsuits against tobacco companies, the CDC said. More than half of American men and over a third of women were smokers on January 11, 1964, when Dr. Luther Terry delivered the first Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health outlining the links between tobacco use, lung cancer and death.
answer:
Lung cancer rates decline for U.S. men, women: study.


question:
The first Democrat-only televised debate is Wednesday, a natural forum for the three candidates to tout their agendas to a broader audience after several weeks of unveiling fresh items. Gretchen Whitmer, Shri Thanedar and Abdul El-Sayed agree on many issues, like raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, spending much more on roads and other infrastructure, shutting down twin oil pipelines in a waterway linking two of the Great Lakes and repealing the state’s emergency manager law. But there are some differences that are being emphasized more in the stretch to the Aug. 7 election. El-Sayed, Detroit’s former health director, has proposed a plan to provide all Michigan residents with government-financed “Michicare” until they reach Medicare age, including 600,000 who have no insurance. He hopes to make it a “wedge issue,” especially with Whitmer, who has not embraced the single-payer concept and whom he has criticized for accepting campaign donations from the political action committee of Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state’s dominant insurer. “Health care is a human right,” he said, contending that raising taxes to fund the Medicare-for-all-style system while eliminating premiums, deductibles and copays would save both residents and businesses overall. Whitmer is expected to announce her own health care plan before the primary and most recently has rolled out education and economic proposals while also focusing on her mantra to “fix the damn roads.” The former Senate minority leader frequently points to her role in the bipartisan expansion of Medicaid to more than 600,000 adults, including in a TV ad that is airing. “She’s the only candidate in the race who has actually expanded coverage for Michiganders,” said spokesman Zack Pohl. El-Sayed, who is courting the party’s liberal wing and in recent days outlined a plan to address high auto insurance premiums, proposes paying for Michicare with a 2 percent or 2.25 percent gross receipts tax on businesses, depending on their size, with the first $2 million exempt from taxation. He also would effectively raise the state’s 4.25 percent personal income tax to between 5 percent and 8 percent, via a graduated payroll tax. Thanedar, a multimillionaire businessman, also supports a universal, single-payer system but has not elaborated. He is recommending tax increases to fund signature facets of his economic plan — expanding child care subsidies to cover 345,000 additional low-income children, ten times more than now, and paying for 78,000 more 3- and 4-year-olds to attend preschool. He says the moves would allow thousands of women to re-enter the workforce and improve students’ educational outcomes. He wants to boost the 6 percent corporate income tax to 7.5 percent for businesses with at least $350,000 in gross receipts and assess a 10 percent tax on the portion of receipts exceeding $1 million. He also would assess an 8.85 percent personal income tax for individuals earning at least $200,000 and a 10 percent rate for millionaires. Households with less than $50,000 income would pay no income tax. “We are one big family. We need to chip in to make it helpful to the ones who need help,” Thanedar said during a recent joint Democratic-Republican debate on Mackinac Island. Both he and El-Sayed, if elected, would face steep obstacles, including a Republican-led Legislature — unless power shifts — and the constitutional requirement that voters approve a graduated income tax. Whitmer, with an eye toward the general election, has been more pragmatic — focusing on what her camp says is actually achievable in the current budget and political environment. While not ruling anything out, she has not called for changes to business or income taxes and has proposed repealing the taxation of retirement income that was enacted as part of a GOP-written tax overhaul. She pledges to work with lawmakers to fund an infrastructure bank to upgrade roads through user fees such as higher fuel taxes or, if that is unsuccessful, to ask voters to approve bonding. Thanedar wants to borrow money, while El-Sayed also proposes an infrastructure bank funded with increased fuel taxes and other revenue-raising mechanisms. The centerpiece of Whitmer’s jobs plan is providing a two-year maximum $3,040 annual scholarship to high school graduates who attend an in-state university, community college or receive technical training, as long as they do community service, maintain a certain grade point average and have a good attendance record. The estimated cost is $100 million a year. “It’s about creating a path for everyone in to a high-wage skill,” she said. ___ Online: Policy plans for — El-Sayed: https://abdulformichigan.com/issues — Thanedar: https://www.shri2018.com/ — Whitmer: https://www.gretchenwhitmer.com/issues/ ___ Follow David Eggert on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00 . His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/David%20Eggert
answer:
Democrats unveil new policies before gubernatorial primary.


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A cost for the medications discussed was provided; in addition the story noted that niacin was available in a less expensive, generic version. The story adequately discussed the benefits observed in this study, in a somewhat scattered fashion. It mentioned the difference in heart attacks and other heart problems observed and though they were few, the difference was  statistically significant. The story does note the issues related to the surrogate endpoint and puts the study into context. The use of a spokesperson from the manufacturer of eztimibe in comments on the value of the surrogate endpoint is curious and takes away from the legitimate discussion on its value. This is offset somewhat by the comments of another presumably less conflicted expert. The side effect, flushing, associate with naicin was mentioned in the story as well as an estimate (1/3 of those taking Niaspan) for how many in the study were affected. The story provided information about the study in a piece meal fashion which included the number of individuals studied and that the study was stopped early because one group appeared to be faring better than the other with respect to size of carotid plaque. A comment from a representative of the other drug makers mentioned that the end point (size of plaque buildup in the carotid) needs to followed up on because in and of itself does not have a health impact. Coming from him it almost seemed as though it was sour grapes, but it is a very valid concern for interpreting the results of the study. It would have been better to have a less involved expert comment on the surrogate endpoint/ The story did not engage in overt disease mongering. Comments from several expert sources outside of the study investigators or the manufacturer of the drug that appear to provide a better outcome were included in this story. The story discussed several of the available medications that could be used in addition to statins to lower heart attack risk. It might have been useful to include some information about dietary and lifestyle changes that could also be used to lower heart attack risk. The story made it very clear that the medications discussed are all currently commercially available. None of the medicines discussed in this story are new or novel and they were not presented as such. Does not appear to rely exclusively on a press release.
answer:

Niacin shrinks artery plaque; Merck’s Zetia does not and may carry risks, new study finds