Author: Mike Stobbe
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Suicide, at 50-year peak, pushes down U.S. life expectancy
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NEW YORK • Suicides and drug overdoses pushed up U.S. deaths last year, and drove a continuing decline in how long Americans are expected to live. Overall, there were more than 2.8 million U.S. deaths in 2017, or nearly 70,000 more than the previous year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. It…
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FDA looking to crack down on menthol cigarettes, flavored vapes
NEW YORK — A top U.S. health official on Thursday pledged to try to ban menthol from regular cigarettes, outlaw flavors in all cigars, and tighten rules regarding the sale of most flavored versions of electronic cigarettes. The move represents a major step to further push down U.S. smoking rates, which have been falling for…
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Fewer US teens smoking, doing drugs … and drinking milk
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save NEW YORK — Fewer U.S. teens are smoking, having sex and doing drugs these days. Oh, and they’re drinking less milk, too. Less than one-third of high school students drink a glass of milk a day, according to a large government survey released Thursday. About…
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Study says vaping by kids is down, but it may have missed something crucial
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save NEW YORK (AP) — Vaping held steady last year in high school students and declined in middle school kids, according to new government data, but some researchers are skeptical because the survey may have missed…
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UN health agency aims to wipe out trans fats worldwide
NEW YORK — The World Health Organization has released a plan to help countries wipe out trans fats from the global food supply in the next five years. The United Nations agency has in the past pushed to exterminate infectious diseases, but now it’s aiming to erase a hazard linked to chronic illness. In a…
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When to say when: Study says limit alcohol to 1 drink a day
NEW YORK — Here’s some sobering news: A large international study says adults should average no more than one alcoholic drink per day, and that means drinking guidelines in many countries may be far too loose. The study found that people who down more than seven drinks a week can expect to die sooner than…
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14 worms pulled from woman’s eye after rare infection
NEW YORK — An Oregon woman who had worms coming out of her eye is being called the first known human case of a parasitic infection spread by flies. Fourteen tiny worms were removed from the left eye of the 26-year-old woman in August 2016. Scientists reported the case Monday. The woman, Abby Beckley, was…
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Flu widespread across US for third straight week
NEW YORK — Sick with the flu? You’ve got a lot of company. The flu blanketed the U.S. again last week for the third straight week. Only Hawaii has been spared. The government doesn’t track every flu case but comes up with estimates. One measure is how many people seek medical care. Last week, 1…
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US flu season gets worse, has ‘lot more steam’ than expected
NEW YORK— The flu season in the U.S. is getting worse. Health officials last week said flu was blanketing the country but they thought there was a good chance the season was already peaking. But the newest numbers out Friday show it grew even more intense. “This is a season that has a lot more…
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Nearly half of US cancer deaths blamed on unhealthy behavior
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NEW YORK — A new look at cancer in the U.S. finds that nearly half of cancer deaths are caused by smoking, poor diet and other unhealthy behaviors. That’s less than commonly-cited estimates from more than 35 years ago, a result of new research methods and changes in American society. Smoking rates have plummeted, for…