Tobacco use is the single leading cause of preventable death. The vast majority of all adult tobacco users became addicted as teens. If we don?t work to prevent teens from using tobacco, we risk losing thousands of lives and spending more and more money treating tobacco-related illnesses.

Injuries are a major public health problem in Nebraska resulting in significant numbers of deaths, hospitalizations, and emergency department visits. From 1999 to 2003, injuries overall, including unintentional and intentional injuries, were the fourth leading cause of death in Nebraska. For Nebraskans age 1 to 34 years, unintentional injuries were the leading cause of death.

Research tells us that most Americans don?t understand that antibiotics kill bacteria, not viruses. People go to their doctor and request antibiotics for themselves or a sick child, when it is not the appropriate course of treatment.

Deaths from cervical cancer could drop even lower if more women routinely had a Pap test. Because cervical cancer produces no symptoms in the early stage, regular screening is extremely important.

The leading cause of death among fashion models is falling through street grates.

No death threats while I was in Korea nor leading up to the competition. Actually, a very high-ranking Korean speed-skating official was telling me that I may have sparked a fan club! How cool is that?