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At the California State Capitol last Thursday, teenage health advocates from Stockton urged lawmakers to stand with communities like theirs and put people’s health over corporate profits. After more than a year of knocking on doors, talking with people at farmers markets, and attending community events to build support for a soda tax in their city, these young activists were up against an unexpected challenge — a state law that would render their efforts meaningless by banning cities from adopting soda taxes until 2030. These young people talked emotionally about how chronic health problems affect their families in a city where 36 percent of youth suffer from diabetes or pre-diabetes — and shared how the beverage industry misleads consumers about the safety of their products. As the youth spoke out against the bill, the other side was conspicuously quiet. That's because the American Beverage Association — representing the soda industry — wasn’t even in the room. It didn’t need to be — its fingerprints were already all over the legislation that ended up being signed by Gov. Jerry Brown later in the day. (Larry Cohen, 7/1)

How did opioids become America’s most severe public health crisis in decades? The answer is complex, but how frequently doctors overprescribe addictive prescriptions is alarming. (Ken Blackwell, 6/30)

If you have type 1 diabetes and wind up behind bars, you’ll get the insulin injections needed to control your blood sugar. If you don’t, there will be public outrage over this violation of your human rights. But if you have an opioid addiction — like type 1 diabetes, a disease that could rob you of your life — and are taking an opioid agonist medication like buprenorphine or methadone to stay sober, it’s virtually guaranteed it will be stopped the day you step foot inside your cell. Over the next few days you’ll go through a brutal withdrawal and your risk of relapsing will soar. Once you’re released, there’s a good chance you’ll use opioids almost immediately, along with the possibility that you’ll accidentally overdose and die. This barbaric practice happens across the country every day. (Brian Barnett, 7/2)

The World Health Organization declared last week that “gaming disorder,” or video game addiction, is a “mental health disorder” similar to an addiction to gambling. Less than 24 hours later, at a standing-room-only session at the Cannes Lions festival, two prominent executives, Tristan Harris of Google and Scott Hagedorn of Omnicom, issued a dire warning that we are on the verge of a global public health crisis, particularly among teenagers, because of an “addiction to likes.”  And data from the analytics firm Flurry shows that we spend five hours a day interacting with about 88 apps, including those connected to video games, on our smartphones.  Is it any wonder, then, that Cam Adair, the founder of the online support community Game Quitters, stressed recently in an interview that, “There’s a massive tsunami coming that we’re not prepared for.” (Pete Ingram-Cauchi, 6/30)

This column is a plea to all current and future college students and their families to deal openly and constructively with emotional, social and academic turmoil that can sometimes have heartbreaking — and usually preventable — consequences. Suicide is the second leading cause of death, after traffic accidents, among college students. For most, it’s their first time living away from home, away from the support and comfort usually provided by good friends and family members. The adjustment can be overwhelming for some students, especially those who don’t make friends easily or who have difficulty meeting the demands of challenging college courses. (Jane E. Brody, 7/2)

The Human Rights Campaign – the leading LGBTQ rights and advocacy organization in the nation – notes that an estimated 2 million LGBTQ adults are interested in adoption in the U.S. But the organization reports the community is often overlooked when it comes to finding families for youth in foster care. (Lane Baker, 6/29)