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Smoking shrinks key brain regions while cannabis shows weaker effects

The study highlights brain changes from tobacco use and calls for more research on cannabis, as its effects on brain structure remain inadequately understood.

7 Apr 2026

Rising e-cigarette exposures threaten safety of toddlers and infants

While cigarette exposures are decreasing for young children, electronic nicotine products are putting toddlers at new risk of inhalation, according to Rutgers Health researchers.

3 Apr 2026

Shisha smoking overlooked despite growing public health concerns in the UK

Shisha smoking continues to be overlooked as a public health issue in the UK, argue experts in The BMJ today.

1 Apr 2026

How swapping unhealthy foods can significantly reduce your heart risk

More than half of adults and about 60% of children in the U.S. have unhealthy diets, which can contribute to higher rates of health factors such as high blood pressure and obesity, and lead directly to poor health outcomes including deaths from cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions, according to the American Heart Association.

31 Mar 2026

Vaping beats traditional tools for quitting smoking

The review indicates nicotine e-cigarettes could surpass traditional quit aids in effectiveness, but lingering safety uncertainties warrant further research.

31 Mar 2026

How do diet, smoking, alcohol, and stress reshape the female microbiome?

This review examines how modifiable lifestyle and environmental factors shape the female vaginal, gut, oral, and skin microbiomes, with diet, alcohol, smoking, obesity, stress, hygiene, physical activity, and sexual behaviours all linked to site-specific microbial shifts. It argues that understanding these patterns could help guide future female-focused prevention and intervention strategies.

30 Mar 2026

LDCT screening significantly reduces lung cancer mortality in non-smokers

New evidence from a Chinese cohort presented today at the European Lung Cancer Congress (ELCC) 2026 shows that onetime lowdose computed tomography (LDCT) screening can significantly reduce lung cancer mortality in a non-risk based population, including individuals with no smoking history.

27 Mar 2026

Updated heart guidelines urge earlier screening for high blood cholesterol

For the first time since 2018, a clinical guideline from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association for screening and managing blood cholesterol levels has been updated and jointly published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and Circulation.

27 Mar 2026

Nicotine e-cigarettes outperform other methods for quitting smoking

A new analysis of existing studies co-led by a University of Massachusetts Amherst public health researcher finds that nicotine e-cigarettes consistently help adults quit smoking, a conclusion that emerges with striking agreement across nearly a decade of studies.

26 Mar 2026

Scotland marks twenty years of landmark smoke-free legislation

Second-hand smoke exposure in Scotland is down 96% since the country's landmark smoke-free legislation came into force on March 26, 2006, new research by the University of Stirling and Public Health Scotland has shown.

26 Mar 2026

New fathers face delayed mental health risks after childbirth

Paternal mental health risks increase after childbirth, with delayed detection of psychiatric disorders underscoring the need for targeted support for fathers.

26 Mar 2026

Proposed policy solutions for the worldwide rise in chronic diseases

Chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes, neurocognitive disorders and infertility are rising globally, with health-harming products such as fossil fuels, tobacco, ultra‑processed foods, toxic chemicals, plastics and alcohol being major contributors, say the authors of a new paper published in New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The authors include proposed solutions, including policy safeguards and a stronger research focus on the risks to health connected with corporate activity.

26 Mar 2026

New tool aims to support the delivery of whole-person care in everyday clinical practice

As whole-person care accelerates across the U.S. health care system, clinicians face a persistent and consequential gap: the lifestyle and upstream health factors that drive chronic disease remain largely unmeasured, undocumented, and uncompensated in health care data systems.

25 Mar 2026

How behavior and biology combine to drive addiction

Genomic analyses reveal that addiction risk is influenced by both shared behavioral traits and specific biological factors, informing prevention and treatment.

24 Mar 2026

Snus linked to gum damage but tooth decay risk unclear

Snus is clearly linked to damage to the gums. The connection to tooth decay, however, remains unclear, according to a systematic review. When it comes to white snus, more studies are needed.

23 Mar 2026

New cholesterol guidelines emphasize earlier risk assessment and prevention

New national guidance for managing cholesterol and other blood lipids emphasizes earlier risk assessment, more personalized treatment, and long-term prevention—including, in some cases, treatment beginning as early as age 30.

23 Mar 2026

Study finds addiction risk tied to reward and impulse genes

Most of the genetic risk for developing a substance use disorder comes from genes that broadly affect how our brains process rewards, regulate impulses and weigh consequences – not from genes that specifically influence substance use disorder or any single drug.

22 Mar 2026

New tool helps thousands achieve better blood pressure control

A blood pressure program adopted across the University of California's six academic medical centers has effectively lowered hypertension and prevented serious disease or death for thousands of patients, according to a new study led by UC San Francisco.

18 Mar 2026

Automated system boosts maternal smoking cessation in pediatric care

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found that a new automated tobacco treatment system integrated into routine pediatric care helped drive a 3.9% absolute increase in smoking cessation among mothers – a population-level impact that could translate to tens of thousands of parents quitting each year and protect hundreds of thousands of children from harmful secondhand smoke exposure.

17 Mar 2026

Study links smokable drug use to heightened incidence of severe burns

A new analysis in Oregon reveals a heightened incidence of severe burns requiring hospital-level care as illicit drug use has shifted nationwide from injection to smoking.

16 Mar 2026