Current Events in December 2016

Electronic cigarettes are growing in popularity as current smokers find they can get their nicotine fix by inhaling the vapor produced by these devices.

More concerning to health officials is the growing use of e-cigarettes by teens and young adults. Not only do health officials worry e-cigarettes could eventually lead to smoking, they are increasingly focusing on the chemicals that are present in e-cigarette vapor.

Researchers writing in the American Chemical Society (ACS) journal Environmental Science & Technology looked at what happens to e-liquid flavorings when they're heated up. Their study reports some flavorings, when vaporized, break down into toxic compounds. These compounds, they say, tend to exceed occupational safety standards.

Heat can alter chemistry

The researchers say knowing what compounds are present in e-cigarettes isn't enough. They say there needs to be more information about how these chemicals change once heated to the point of becoming water vapor.

The study cites previous research that has shown that subjecting e-cigarette chemicals to heat produces aldehydes and other toxic compounds. In this study, the researchers wanted to focus on what happens when flavoring agents are heated up.

They tested a wide range of e-cigarettes, some with flavorings and some without. They found the amount of potentially harmful compounds produced by heat varied widely across the different products tested.

In general, however, the researchers concluded that just a single puff of flavored vapor contained levels of aldehydes exceeding the safe thresholds for occupational exposure by factors of 1.5 to 270. Unflavored e-cigarettes produced significantly lower levels of aldehydes.

7,700 different flavors

According to the American Lung Association, there are 500 brands of e-cigarettes on the market with 7,700 different flavors. While e-cigarettes now fall under Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation, the association says it could be another two years before the FDA has a full grasp on the chemicals present in these products.

“We don't presently know what is in e-cigarettes,” the Lung Association says on its website. “However, in initial lab tests conducted in 2009 the FDA found detectable levels of toxic cancer-causing chemicals, including an ingredient used in anti-freeze, in two leading brands of e-cigarettes and 18 various cartridges.”

The Lung Association also has raised concerns about flavorings used in e-cigarettes, saying just because they have been safe to consume in food does not mean they are also safe to inhale.

The words "airline food" are usually good for a laugh, but at New York's Hunter College, researchers take the subject seriously. They've just completed the latest annual study rating the food choices at 12 airlines.

The winner was Virgin America, followed by Delta and Air Canada, which tied for second. Frontier was dead last, with the researchers recommending you bring your own food.

The study is directed by Charles Platkin, PhD, JD, MPH, the executive director of the NYC Food Policy Center at Hunter College and editor of DietDetective.com. The study assigned a "Health Score" (5 stars = highest rate, 0 stars = lowest) based on ten criteria, including health and calorie levels of meals, snack boxes and individual snacks, improvement and maintenance of healthy offerings, menu innovation, and cooperation in providing nutritional information. 

Summary of Health Ratings (5 stars = highest rating):

• Virgin America 4.25 stars,
• Delta 4 stars,
• Air Canada 4 stars,
• Alaska Air 3.75 stars,
• JetBlue 3.5 stars,
• United Airlines 3.25 stars,
• American 3 stars,
• Southwest Airlines 2 stars,
• Allegiant Air 1.75 stars,
• Hawaii 1.75 stars,
• Spirit Airlines 1 star,
• Frontier Air 1 star

Highlights, low points

Here are a few of the researchers' findings and comments:

Virgin America

Best Bets: Avoid the individual snack if you can. Even the nuts, which are the best choice, are high in calories if you consume the entire package. Always choose a real meal if you can, even if it's slightly more calories it will keep you full longer.

For breakfast, try the Udi's Granola with Yogurt and Fruit, which is a bit high in sugar but overall low in calories at 330. The best snack box is the Protein Meal with hummus, nuts, and tuna; the others are a bit high in calories and are not really worth it.

Delta Air Lines

Best Bets: For a snack, the nuts are the best choice -- even over the lower-calorie pretzels. The vegan, gmo-free Tapas Snack Box is a good healthy choice if you share or make it a meal (it's too high in calories as a snack). 

Air Canada

Best Bets: For breakfast, the Greek yogurt is still a good option and will probably fill you up. And while the egg sandwich has bacon, it's low in calories and has slightly more protein than the yogurt. The Chicken Soup is a low calorie choice for a snack that will fill you up, but be wary of the 950mg of sodium if you have high blood pressure. The Celery & Carrots with Ranch Dip (if you use no more than half the dip) is still an OK choice. 

Southwest Airlines

The peanuts are the best, even though the pretzels are lower in calories. There haven't been many healthy changes to the menu, and don't be fooled by the word "veggie" in the wheat thins.

Frontier Airlines

Best Bets: Perhaps the trail mix -- but we had to estimate the calories and don't know the nutrient values - share it and you'll be safe. Also, if you're not sodium sensitive you can grab the jerky. Bring your own food is the bottom line.

The complete study is available online.

U.S.-based employers announced plans to cut their payrolls by 26,936 workers in November, putting the pace of downsizing at the lowest level of the year.

Outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas says that puts job cuts 12% lower than they were in October and down 13% from the same month a year ago.

Last month’s total was the lowest of the year, falling below the previous low of 30,157, recorded in May. It was slightly higher than last December’s 23,622 job cuts, which was the lowest monthly total since June, 2000, when employers announced just 17,241 planned layoffs.

So far this year, employers have cut 493,288 jobs, a year-over-year decline of 5.5%.

Retail sector loses big

The heaviest job cutting came in the retail sector -- of which there are 4,850 announced terminations, most due to the bankruptcy of American Apparel, which could affect nearly 3,500 workers.

Those losses are more than offset, though, by the surge in holiday hiring. Challenger tracked 317,000 retail hiring announcements in September.

“These represent just a small fraction of the jobs being created, since most retailers, including the thousands of small, independent stores across the country, do not formally announce hiring intentions,” said Challenger, Gray & Christmas CEO John A. Challenger.

Overall, retail job cuts are down 12% from a year ago with employers planning to cut 57,969 workers from their payrolls. Even with the decline, year-to-date retail job cuts rank third among all industries, behind computer and energy.

“Barring an unlikely December surge in downsizing, the year-end job cut total should remain well below the 598,510 layoffs announced last year,” Challenger said. “Even if the new administration creates some uncertainty among corporate forecasters, most employers are in a strong enough position to take a wait-and-see approach when planning for next year.” 

Consumers found themselves with more money in their pockets in October, spent part of it, and saved the rest.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reports personal income increased $98.6 billion, or 0.6%, while disposable personal income -- what's left after taxes are paid -- also increased 0.6%, or $86.5 billion.

October's increase in personal income was due in large part to gains in employee compensation and personal interest income.

Spending and saving

Personal consumption expenditures (PCE), the value of goods and services, increased $38.1 billion, or 0.3%. That advance reflects increases in spending for durable and nondurable goods, which were mostly offset by a decrease in spending for services.

Personal outlays, which is the sum of PCE, personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments, rose $40.4 billion.

The PCE price index, a measure of inflation, increased 0.2%. When the volatile food and energy categories are excluded, what's known as the core PCE price index was up 0.1%.

Personal savings totaled $860.2 billion in October, while the personal saving rate -- personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income -- was 6.0%, a gain of 0.3% from September.

The complete report is available on the BEA website

Jobless claims

Ninety-one weeks and counting.

That's how long the number of initial jobless claim filings have been below the 300,000 mark -- the longest streak since 1970.

The Department of Labor (DOL) reports that in the week ending November 26, there were a seasonally adjusted 268,000 first-time applications for state unemployment -- 17,000 more than during the previous week.

The four-week moving average, considered by economists to be a better gauge of the labor market because of its lack of volatility, was up just 500 from the previous week to 251,500.

The full report may be found on the DOL website.