State health officials see a worrisome trend: more women are smoking, and about half of Bosnian immigrants in Iowa smoke. Iowa Department of Public Health administrator Janet Zwick says it’s a troubling trend and she says they need to look at prevention measures.About 29 percent of Iowa women between the ages of 18 and 44 smoke. Zwick says more women are smoking for a number of reasons, including stress, outside jobs.About 100 experts met in Des Moines Wednesday to develop a cancer “control plan” for the state. Zwick says they focused on clinical trials for ground-breaking drugs for cancer patients. Zwick says oncologists often don’t have enough time, and patients don’t have enough information about what’s available.Only three percent of cancer patients in Iowa participate in clinical trials. Zwick was recently named director of the Iowa Department of Public Health’s tobacco prevention and control division.
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