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Reckoning with state and federal cuts, Los Angeles safety-net clinics push for a new tax

Mia Angulo, who is pregnant and due in May, is living in a tent with her boyfriend in the predominantly Latino neighborhood of Boyle Heights.

16 Mar 2026

U.S. cigarette smoking falls below 10% for the first time but millions still use tobacco

Analysis of the 2023–2024 National Health Interview Survey shows that 18.8% of U.S. adults use tobacco, while cigarette smoking has fallen to 9.9%, the first time it has dropped below 10% nationally. Despite this milestone, millions of Americans still use cigars, e-cigarettes, or smokeless tobacco, with notable disparities across age, income, occupation, and geography.

15 Mar 2026

Updated guideline emphasizes earlier treatment for high cholesterol

The American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Heart Association and nine other leading medical associations, today issued an updated guideline for the management of dyslipidemia-abnormal levels of one or more types of lipids or lipoproteins in the blood, including cholesterol and triglycerides.

13 Mar 2026

Personalized counseling program helps cervical cancer survivors quit smoking

A new study led by UCLA researchers suggests that a personalized counseling program can significantly help women who have survived cervical precancer or cervical cancer to quit smoking - and does so at a cost that researchers say represents good value for healthcare systems.

12 Mar 2026

Father's nicotine use may increase diabetes risk for offspring

A mouse study found that a father's nicotine exposure can affect the offspring's ability to process sugar and may contribute to diabetes risk, according to new research published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

12 Mar 2026

As lung disease threatens workers, lawmakers seek protections for countertop manufacturers

César Manuel González, 37, used to work with stone that was engineered to endure: dense, polished slabs designed to outlast the kitchens in which they were installed.

12 Mar 2026

Cannabis, cocaine and amphetamines linked to higher stroke risk

Cannabis and other illicit drugs are associated with higher stroke risk, underscoring the importance of addressing substance use disorders in health strategies.

11 Mar 2026

Global physical activity levels remain low despite widespread policy adoption

The prevalence of physical activity among the global population has remained low for the last two decades despite a majority of countries making notable progress in developing policies that include physical activity, UTHealth Houston researchers found.

9 Mar 2026

Six federal scientists run out by Trump talk about the work left undone

Marc Ernstoff, a physician who has pioneered immunotherapy research and treatments for cancer patients, said his work as a federal scientist proved untenable under the Trump administration.

6 Mar 2026

Global breast cancer burden rising fastest in low-income countries

Despite recent advancements in breast cancer treatments, new breast cancer cases in women are predicted to rise by a third globally from 2.3 million in 2023 to more than 3.5 million in 2050.

2 Mar 2026

Ultraprocessed foods are engineered like cigarettes

The parallels between ultraprocessed foods and tobacco raise concerns about addiction and health risks, urging policymakers to implement effective regulations.

2 Mar 2026

Global study reveals rising disparities in early-onset gastric cancer

Gastric cancer remains the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Although its overall incidence has declined, early-onset cases-diagnosed before age 50-display unique biological and clinical patterns.

26 Feb 2026

Smoking triggers epigenetic damage linked to macular degeneration

Through a series of experiments supported by the National Institutes of Health, Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) researchers say they have advanced understanding of how smoking damages the eye and contributes to the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading worldwide cause of visual impairment and blindness among people 50 and older.

26 Feb 2026

Heart attack deaths increase in young adults, especially women

A new study found that heart attack deaths were up among younger adults with women more likely than men to die after a first heart attack.

26 Feb 2026

Could a rare gene variant help reduce smoking? New study suggests it might

An exome-wide association study of nearly 38,000 smokers from the Mexico City Prospective Study identified rare coding variants in CHRNB3 that are associated with substantially fewer cigarettes smoked per day. Cross-ancestry analyses in European and East Asian datasets support a role for the β3 nicotinic receptor subunit in modulating smoking intensity.

25 Feb 2026

Nearly 6 in 10 women in the U.S. may have cardiovascular disease in the next 25 years

Driven by rising rates in high blood pressure, nearly 6 in 10 women in the U.S. will have some type of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the next 25 years, according to a new scientific statement published today in Circulation, the peer-reviewed, flagship journal of the American Heart Association, a global force changing the future of health for all.

25 Feb 2026

Parental obesity before conception raises offspring fatty liver risk

Pre-pregnancy parental overweight and obesity is linked to the next generation's heightened risk of developing fatty liver disease, a potential precursor to cirrhosis and liver failure, suggests research published online in the journal Gut.

24 Feb 2026

Teen cannabis use trends mirror established alcohol consumption patterns

A new study published in the journal Addiction shows that cannabis use among Swedish adolescents appears to follow the same population-level pattern previously observed for alcohol.

24 Feb 2026

Study examines low-risk cannabis use years after legalization

A new study led by Marie-Pierre Sylvestre, professor at the Université de Montréal School of Public Health, examines cannabis use 4 to 5 years after Canadian legalization by adopting a different perspective: rather than focusing solely on at-risk cases or those associated with problems, it identifies the socio-demographic, mental health, and lifestyle profiles of those who present a low risk of cannabis use disorder (CUD).

19 Feb 2026

Reducing maternal smoking during pregnancy could lower hypertension rates in children

Maternal smoking during pregnancy may be associated with higher blood pressure and increased risk of hypertension in children, according to a new ECHO Cohort study led by Lyndsey Shorey-Kendrick, PhD, of Oregon Health & Science University and Christine Ladd-Acosta, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University.

17 Feb 2026