Public health
fromFortune
7 hours agoAmerican overdose deaths decline for third straight year to 2019 levels | Fortune
About 70,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2025, marking a third straight annual decline and the longest drop in decades.
The assembly member explained that paraquat is primarily used by fruit growers to prevent weed growth, adding that many other countries have already banned the chemical. More than 70 countries, including the countries where paraquat is manufactured, ban its use, she said. China has banned paraquat for use in its country, yet it is a prime manufacturer of the restricted-use chemical. In 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided to keep allowing paraquat in the U.S. despite public concern and studies linking it to health risks.
Meth is meth. Like aspirin is aspirin. What matters is how much is in each dose. Today, Los Angeles does have a hyper-pure methamphetamine problem. It is a major driver of homelessness and mental illness here and in many other parts of the country. But it's not new.
Last week, the Food and Drug Administration officially authorized the sale of two new fruit-flavored vapes to adult consumers, prompting criticism from health advocates who fear the move will once again spark a rise in minors becoming addicted to the nicotine products. The federal government's Trump-pressured embrace of e-cigarettes has also sparked turmoil inside the his administration, so far prompting the exits of two officials and counting: the FDA commissioner and a top HHS spokesperson.
“We know that smoking is linked to heart disease, respiratory disease, all types of illnesses like asthma,” said Dr. John Maa, a member of the San Francisco Marin Medical Society. His organization supports Melgar's proposal and says tobacco is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States.
Attkisson asked if Trump thought there should be a Vaccine Safety Commission. I believe in vaccines, but I don't believe that, you know, you have to have a mandate for all of them, Trump said. He continued: The polio vaccine's amazing, you know, wiped it out. And I believe in vaccines, but you know, I think we're up to 88 vaccines. And I really feel that vaccines, if they were given in smaller quantities. They want to cut some out, and I think that's good, too, and I agree with that. Eighty-two's too many.
“Are you looking for that flesh-eating bacteria?” she asked. “We’re looking into it,” they replied, hoping not to frighten her. The woman turned back toward the ocean, her curiosity satisfied. As she walked away, Kumar noticed that she had scrapes and bruises on her body. A few minutes later, he watched her step into the waves. He shook off a chill and returned to the task at hand.
Now there is a new call to action: asking you to show up, not just for a day, but for an entire week, focused specifically on the healthcare crisis our country is facing. Activist Cleve Jones and a growing coalition of organizations and advocates are calling for us all to show up and speak out throughout the first week of June, to demand that our federal, state, and local representatives prioritize healthcare.
A new law passed by the state legislature, and signed by Gov. Jared Polis (D), allows Colorado to further uncouple itself from federal guidance. The law allows health officials to follow the recommendations of national medical groups when making decisions such as purchasing bulk vaccines for the Medicaid program. “We are insulating our state from the dysfunction coming out of Washington,” said state Sen. Kyle Mullica, the bill's co-sponsor, and a registered nurse. “We're going to rely on science.”
Most scientific papers explain that hantavirus transmission occurs from rats to humans and that human-to-human contagion is rarely documented. It happens only with this strain and, until now, has been limited to very close contact in hospital settings or through sexual contact. But this 2020 study confirms the existence of superspreaders: people who, because of their viral load and social activity, can transmit the virus at a rate of 2.12.
CPR and defibrillation can increase the chance of survival by up to 70% if done in the first three to five minutes of cardiac arrest, and an ambulance may not arrive in that time.
Congestion pricing has been a win-win: fewer cars, safer streets, and better quality of life. This critical funding will continue and accelerate that improvement in children's respiratory health through environmental justice initiatives like these.
The analysis found that during the period where stroke incidents were on the rise, people from black African and Caribbean backgrounds were more than twice as likely to experience a stroke compared with their white counterparts.
The Asian needle ant is a small-to-medium-sized ant, with workers and queens measuring up to one-fifth of an inch in length. They are shiny, dark brown to black, with the end of the antennae and the legs being a lighter orange-brown.