Multimedia Reporting (Fred-Musser)

Gardasil®, the vaccine that prevents contraction of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, or HPV, is becoming more frequent since its approval last June. Health officials encourage all females up to the age of 26 to get the vaccination and college-age women are responding to the suggestion.

Since the vaccine became available, Watkins Health Center has vaccinated 35 women. Despite initial low numbers, Watkins has seen a recent surge in vaccinations and it is expected to continue.

“It’s picking up,” Supervisor of Nursing at Watkins Patty Quinlan, said. “The reason is because insurance is picking it up.”

Insurance companies are slowly adding the vaccine to their programs, making it more affordable, Quinlan said. The vaccine Gardasil® was approved in June by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Center for Disease Control names HPV as the most commonly contracted sexually transmitted disease. Health officials say clinical trials of the vaccine show it to be 100 percent effective in preventing the contraction of four strains of the HPV virus, two of which are known to cause cervical cancer.

Statistics show that 50 percent of sexually active people have HPV, making it more frequent on college campuses than people think, Quinlan said. After a suggestion from both her mother and her physician, sophomore Jordan Krouse decided to get the vaccine.

“I just think it’s a good decision,” she said. “Even if you don’t have sex until you get married, your husband could have HPV and you would still be exposed. It’s just safe to get the shots.”

The HPV virus causes 70 percent of cervical cancer cases, the second leading cancer-killer of women, and can be contracted through sexual intercourse as well as skin-on-skin contact. Statistics show that 80 percent of sexually active women will contract some form of HPV by the time they reach 50.

Krouse said her opinion is different from what she’s heard from other women. Conversations with friends make her think they don’t understand the seriousness of the disease she said. “I think people only think it’s an STD,” Krouse said. “And no one thinks they’re going to get an STD.”

Since the approval of Gardasil®, advertisements and public awareness campaigns have spread the word about HPV and the vaccine.

“I have two daughters in their 20s and I see the advertisements at the stores they shop at and the magazines they get,” Quinlan said. “It’s hard to say that there isn’t enough publicity.”

Women health advocates and political groups are strongly encouraging the routine vaccination of approved age groups, ages 9-26. Ellen Schleicher, a member of Women in Government, a non-profit organization of women state legislators, said that getting the vaccination is a good way to avoid contracting HPV and cut the risk of developing cervical cancer.

“The purpose is to help women with something they face everyday,” Schleicher said. “Cervical cancer is something that can be stopped with regular and required screening.”

The vaccine is administered in three shots over a six-month period and is available at most hospitals and doctor’s offices. A second HPV vaccine, Cervarix, is likely to be approved by next year.

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The Christmas season is up and running and for many retailers it has been since before Halloween. Lawrence stores stocked their shelves with Christmas merchandise in the weeks before Halloween, much sooner than the traditional post-Thanksgiving shopping rush. And retailers say consumer demand began earlier than that.

According to the National Retail Federation, 40 percent of holiday shopping occurs before Halloween. A survey by Shop.org, a branch of NRF, shows that internet retail sites also plan for earlier consumer demand with one in five shoppers saying they will start their shopping earlier this year.

Target stores are required to have their Christmas stock out by the day after Halloween, a deadline that hasn’t changed from past years. But the superstore said it has noticed a change in holiday shopping. "What’s different is that the consumers are actually looking for merchandise earlier and earlier." Manager Jennie McCart said. "They’ll ask questions like ‘when are your ornaments coming out?"

Most stores will have a deadline to get their Christmas decorations and merchandise on display, but retailers say that the reason Christmas is coming earlier and earlier is because consumers are looking for it. Everything from gift-wrap to Christmas trees are off the shelves and in consumers hands before summer has ended.

Earl May Garden Center employee Sarah Toole has noticed Christmas tree sales happening earlier and earlier each year. "We have a woman who dropped off her tree stand about a week ago and she’s waiting for a live Christmas tree," Toole said. "She was calling us in August to get this tree."

Michael’s arts and craft supply store has had their Christmas merchandise out since July in accordance with a national company policy. "There is a consumer demand for these things and we will sell things as early as July." Store Manager Marc Keim said. "In fact, if you get here by December first, most of our things will be gone."

Retailers send out holiday catalogs and provide gift boxes as early as September, pushing holiday sales back-to-back with school shopping in the fall. The purpose of bringing Christmas out so early is to increase sales, officials say. NRF reports there has been a 4.6 percent increase in holiday sales over the last 10 years.

While the Christmas season grows, the Thanksgiving holiday is shrinking into just another shopping day.

"It’s almost like Thanksgiving is a non-holiday now because Halloween is set up and as they’re setting up Halloween they’re also setting up Christmas," Toole said. However, in terms of consumer statistics, Christmas is the season to shop.

Christmas shopping accounts for one-fifth of the retail industries sales each year. Overall, holiday sales are expected to increase 5 percent over last year.

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While inattention is often thought to be within a person’s control, studies suggest otherwise. There is in fact a science to attention and now research shows that attention is a mental resource with only so much capacity, Greg Simpson, Professor and Department Chair of the Psychology Department said. Attention is the ability to respond to the environment and what is around us. "Attention is a crucial step toward other cognitive processes," graduate student Mark Chan said. "It leads too things such as perception, memory, and decision making."

When a driver is talking on a phone or having a conversation in the car, attention is focused on the message of the conversation as opposed to the aspects of driving. All other messages in the environment such as traffic and traffic signals are replaced as the driver’s main focus. This can lead to dangerously divided attention and a greater risk of getting in an accident.

Research conducted at the University of Kansas by Dr. Paul Atchley has looked at in-car phone use and its effect on the increase of crash risk. His research shows that when conversational demands increase, attention to other areas of the environment decrease. When attention is taken away from the environment, the risk of having an accident becomes greater, researchers say.

The Kansas Department of Transportation has collected data over the past three years involving accidents caused by cell phone distractions. Since 2003, the number of accidents caused by cell phone distractions increased from 198 to 292. Deaths resulting from those accidents also increased from 1 to 3.

Because data is only three years old, the statistical increase in accidents is most likely not due to an actual increase in cell phone related accidents. “Even though data reflects an increase in accidents, it’s very recent data and the increase is most likely due a learning curve within law enforcement.” John Eichkorn with the Highway City Patrol said. “They know what to look for now.”

Despite the fact that there is only three years of data on cell phone related accidents, the research was enough to support a cell phone ban proposal last year. The proposal in Lawrence this past year aimed to ban the use of both hand-held and hands-free cell phones by drivers. With the frequency of cell phone use, the concern for inadequate attention is very real. “Distractions in general were the number one cause of accidents last year.” Eichkorn said. “With cell phones, it seems like everybody has them and everyone’s kid has them.”

People often assume that the coordination needed to use a phone is the main problem and the main distraction while driving. However, research is showing that the actual conversation, whether on hand-held or hands-free phones, is the distraction, researchers said.

Dr. Atchley was unavailable for comment, but his research reports say that the intentions of his research include improving driver performance.

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