The francis prize for outstanding books on American History 1997. He is current New York Times bestseller is the great influenza. Hes here to talk about that with us today. Hes currently a consultant with the World Health Organization on the subject of influenza. When hes done speaking, if you would like to ask questions, there will be two microphones in the back of the room. You can go and get a microphons are your questions can be heard. Please join me in welcoming john barry. [applause] thank you very much. Its kind of funny to be sitting here in a Community Room of the Louisiana Legislature talking about this subject largely because although you might not think it, politics is very involved in the story of the pandemic i cant think of a better place to talk about politics in the legislature. When you read about the 1918 pandemic in the newspapers these days you say the death toll was over 20 million. That estimate comes from the first of the disease thats fairly accurate for the we
You can go and get a microphons are your questions can be heard. Please join me in welcoming john barry. [applause] thank you very much. Its kind of funny to be sitting here in a Community Room of the Louisiana Legislature talking about this subject largely because although you might not think it, politics is very involved in the story of the pandemic i cant think of a better place to talk about politics in the legislature. When you read about the 1918 pandemic in the newspapers these days you say the death toll was over 20 million. That estimate comes from the first of the disease thats fairly accurate for the western world but wildly inaccurate for the rest of the world. In a Nobel Prize Winner that spent most of his life studying influenza concluded that the death toll was a minimum of 50 Million People and possibly as many as 100 million. All this was in a world with the population 28 the size of today. So, if you adjust the population, the death toll on 1918 was between 175 to 350
Im now delighted to introduce our second panel of witnesses for todays hear iing chief Deputy Director for health and chief medical executive Michigan Department of health and Human Services, dr. Elizabeth cuervo tillson, chief medical officer of North Carolina department of health and Human Services, dr. Lee norman, secretary of the Kansas Department of health and environment and dr. Monica berell. Dr. Berell is the commissioner of Massachusetts Department of Public Health. I want to thank all of you for appearing before the committee today. Now youre aware the committee is holding an investigative hearing and when we do so, we have the practice of taking our testimony under oath. Do you have any objections to testifying under oath today . Let the record reflect the witnesses have responded no. The chair then advises you that under the rules of the house and under the rules of the committee youre entitled to be accompanied by counsel. Do any of you request to be accompanied by counsel
Next, the hearing on the house energy and commerce subcommittee on the potential Health Effects of e. Cigarettes. It also includes Public Officials from North Carolina, massachusetts, michigan and kansas testifying how the states are responding to the rise in vaping related illnesses. The subcommittee on oversight and investigations hearing will now come to order. Today the committee is holding a hearing entitled sounding the alarm the Public Health crisis of cigarettes. The purpose is to examine the Public Health impacts the regulatory authorities related to key cigarette manufacturing sales and use. The chair now recognizes for purposes of an opening statement. Our country is facing a serious Public Health epidemic one that is causing severe harm. It will examine the cost of the epidemic and the uncontrolled rising use of e. Cigarettes lifethreatening illnesses and the use of products we must work to protect the American People from the misunderstanding about these products. The data
The subcommittee on oversight and investigations hearing will now come to order. Today the committee is holding a hearing entitled sounding the alarm the Public Health crisis of cigarettes. The purpose is to examine the Public Health impacts the regulatory authorities related to key cigarette manufacturing sales and use. The chair now recognizes for purposes of an opening statement. Our country is facing a serious Public Health epidemic one that is causing severe harm. It will examine the cost of the epidemic and the uncontrolled rising use of e. Cigarettes lifethreatening illnesses and the use of products we must work to protect the American People from the misunderstanding about these products. The data is clear over the past several years, we have seen an unacceptably high proportion of people facing nicotine addiction. This year alone more than 27 of High Schoolers report they are using ecigarettes or vaping as it is also known. 2011 to 2015, there was a 900 increase, 900 increase