Letters: Rob Portman should take a stand against forces 'undermining of our democracy'

Portman has nothing to lose

The Sept. 23 column "Don't back those who undermine democracy" by John Bridgeland was much-needed. We should all vote for "candidates who do not undermine our democracy and who, at all costs, will defend it over party."

More:Bridgeland: J.D. Vance, others advance myth election was rigged. Vote country over party

Bridgeland points out that he served with Sen. Rob Portman when he was a congressman. It is dismaying that Sen. Portman has not spoken out forcefully against the undermining of our democracy.

With his imminent retirement from public service, Sen. Portman has nothing to lose by doing so.

David Elliot, Columbus

Program helps youth 'Kick the Nic'

The Breathing Association is in support of the Coalition to End Tobacco Targeting's goal to ban the sale of all flavored tobacco and menthol cigarettes products. The Breathing Association has decades of experience as the hub of tobacco cessation and treating dependency with our Central Ohio community.

Seventy percent of those we serve are minority and all very low income. Our population is a target to buy these harmful products. We see the health effects and increased usage due to e-cigarettes in our community and support the ban of these products.

More:Angel: Big tobacco industry luring Black teens to death with candy-flavored e-cigarettes

The Tobacco Treatment Specialist program we offer to train medical professionals to treat and educate those with nicotine dependency has grown fast to meet the local needs. This comprehensive online program provides medical professionals the tools they need to provide smoking, vaping, nicotine treatment.

The epidemic with youth and young adults is setting the groundwork for a lifetime of dependency and lung health issues. While smoking cigarettes has declined in the youth population the overwhelming acceptance and trend to vape and use e-cigarettes with flavors has become an epidemic.

More:Kids saying no to cigarettes, yes to vaping

We are launching a new program to educate youth about the hazards of using these flavored nicotine product so they know the harms. Our new program called Kick the Nic is being piloted and we hope to expand it across central Ohio to help youth understand and have the tools they need to kick this nicotine habit now while they are young and hopefully, we will reach youth before they begin.

The Breathing Association has been serving central Ohio residents for over 115 years and now serves 1,500 patients per year in our Free Lung Health Clinic and in our Mobile Medical Unit, which travels to low-income Franklin County neighborhoods, relieving those living at or below the 175% Federal Poverty line of the lung health ailments and diseases that plague them through detection, diagnosis, care, and treatment.

Columbus must take action.

Lori Sontag, president and CEO, The Breathing Association

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'Morality police' have no place

Mahsa Amini was a young woman who was arrested and assaulted by Iranian officials, and subsequently died. This has left the Muslim world shocked and saddened at this human atrocity.

My Islam vehemently does not support a concept of a “morality police” that goes around looking for problems. Instead, we as Muslims are taught to conceal each other's shortcomings. Look no further than Chapter 2, Verse 157 of the Holy Quran: "There should be no compulsion in religion” (2:257).

More:How protests in Iran over Mahsa Amini's death 'forever moved the debate' over women's rights

It is so unfortunate that from countries such as Iran to France, Muslim women are not given the agency to make their own choices about how they want to dress in relation to their faith.

Ultimately, while Islam prescribes a hijab or headscarf for women, nowhere in Islamic scripture is there an example of women being punished for how they dress.

The true tragedy is that if the Muslim governments took more effort to understand the Holy Quran, they would understand the sheer folly of their ways, come to their senses about the correct moral practice, and would avoid more senseless crimes and protests that have plagued Iran since the passing of the innocent Mahsa Amini.

Samar Ahmad, Pickerington

There is a childhood mental health crisis

Well-child visits are standard medical care that address children’s overall growth and development, and provide treatment as needed. But when a child has anxiety, depression or anger outbursts, resources are not always offered or used until the behavior becomes more severe and less easily remedied.

This is because many insurances do not cover pediatric early interventions for mental wellness. The system is setting up a culture that neglects mental health services until a specific psychological diagnosis impairs a child’s life, which is far too late. It is more effective to intervene early in a child’s depression than after they are suicidal.

More:Mental health, teen birth rates: 5 takeaways from new data on Ohio's children

We are amid a pediatric mental health crisis with more children suffering than ever before. Priority should be placed on covering patients and reimbursing providers for mental health checks, just as yearly physicals are covered with pediatricians.

Early identification and interventions for mental health conditions not only improve children’s overall well-being, but they can also save lives before it is too late.

Dr. Andriana La Mantia, Columbus

Kids need HPV vaccine

As a pediatrician, every parent I know would do anything to prevent their child from ever having cancer.

No one wants to hear that dreaded diagnosis at the doctor’s office. Yet, people often forget that I have a proven cancer-preventing vaccine sitting in my office.

HPV, or human papilloma virus, is a widespread virus that many people are unknowingly infected with at some point. In some men and women, it can cause cancer including throat, head, neck, anal, penile, and cervical cancer.

The HPV vaccine, when given in childhood or adolescence, has been shown to prevent HPV infections and thus prevent 90% of those cancers.

More:Few kids getting HPV vaccine; health advocates frustrated

More than 270 million doses of the HPV vaccine have been safely given without harmful side effects. When given between ages 9 and 14, the vaccine is two doses, and after age 15, it is three.

Please take this simple, proven step for your children so we can ensure their lives are never devastated by a preventable cancer.

Dr. Paige Lester, Columbus

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Letters: Minorities, low income targeted by flavored tobacco marketing