The U.S. government has shut down or paused several major anti-smoking efforts.  Public health leaders say the cuts could reverse decades of progress that have smoking rates in the country at all-time lows. Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) made major cuts to tobacco control offices at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dozens of workers were let go, including Brian King, the FDA’s top tobacco regulator. The CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, which led work on smoking cessation and research into youth tobacco use, was also cut. Former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden, now president of the global health organization Resolve to Save Lives, called the decision a “gift to Big Tobacco.” “The only winner here is the tobacco industry and cancer cells,” Frieden told NBC News. One of the biggest casualties? The CDC’s popular “Tips From Former Smokers” ad campaign. The program, which began in 2012, features real people who suffered health damage from smoking. A study published recently in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research shows that the ads lead to a sharp rise in calls to quit lines each time they air. “We estimate the Tips campaign generated nearly 2.1 million additional calls to 1-800-QUIT-NOW during 2012-2023,” the researchers wrote. 1-800-QUIT-NOW, the national quit line, connects…  read on >  read on >

Smoke from wildfires driving you mad? You’re not alone, a new study says. Short-term exposure to air choked with wildfire smoke increases people’s risk of mental health problems, according to findings published April 4 in JAMA Network Open. Hospital emergency rooms experience surges in patients with mental health conditions on days when smoke pollution is at its worst, researchers found. “Wildfire smoke isn’t just a respiratory issue — it affects mental health, too,” said corresponding author Dr. Kari Nadeau, chair of environmental health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Our study suggests that — in addition to the trauma a wildfire can induce — smoke itself may play a direct role in worsening mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and mood disorders,” Nadeau added in a news release. For the study, researchers tracked levels of particle pollution caused by California wildfires that occurred between July and December 2020 — the state’s most severe wildfire season on record. They compared that data to ER visits for mental health problems, and found that exposure to wildfire smoke substantially increased the number. Specifically, a 10 microgram-per-cubic-meter increase in wildfire particle pollution was linked to more ER visits for: Any mental health condition, with an 8% increased risk. Depression, with a 15% increased risk. Other mood disorders, with a 29% increased risk. Anxiety, with a 6%…  read on >  read on >

Ozone air pollution increases the risk of asthma among preschoolers and kindergarteners, a new study says. Relatively small increases in ozone smog in a child’s first two years of life is associated with an increased risk of asthma and wheeze at 4 to 6 years of age, researchers reported April 2 in JAMA Network Open. However, ozone exposure didn’t increase risk of asthma at ages 8 and 9, results show. “It’s a puzzling finding,” said lead researcher Logan Dearborn, a doctoral student with the University of Washington Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences. “It’s something we spent a long time trying to consider, and I don’t know if we ever came up with a satisfying answer.” “But these findings are important,” Dearborn added in a news release. “Even if we only see the effects early in life, there are still all kinds of associated health care costs and stresses for families.” For the study, researchers analyzed data on more than 1,100 children from a federal research project investigating how environmental factors can affect children’s health. The children lived in six cities – Minneapolis; San Francisco; Seattle; Memphis, Tenn.; Rochester, N.Y.; and Yakima, Wash. The team compared kids’ asthma and wheeze as reported by their moms to federal data on ozone pollution in their area. Previous studies have linked childhood asthma to exposure to fine…  read on >  read on >

Antidepressants appear to increase people’s risk of sudden cardiac death, a new study says. People taking the mood meds are more likely to die suddenly from heart problems, and their risk rises the longer they’re on the drugs, according to findings presented Monday in Vienna at a meeting of the European Society of Cardiology. “Exposure time to antidepressants was associated with a higher risk of sudden cardiac death, and linked to how long the person had been exposed to antidepressants,” said lead researcher Jasmin Mujkanovic of Rigshospitalet Heart Center in Copenhagen. “Those exposed for six years or more were at even more increased risk than those exposed for one to five years, when compared with people unexposed to antidepressants in the general population,” Mujkanovic said in a news release. For the new study, researchers examined all deaths among adults in Denmark in 2010, looking for people taking andepressants and people who suffered sudden cardiac death. Sudden cardiac death involves a person’s heart unexpectedly stopping due to some heart-related problem, researchers said in background notes. Younger adults usually suffer sudden cardiac death due to heart disease or an electrical problem with the heart, while older people most often fall prey due to clogged arteries, researchers said. Overall, people who’d been taking antidepressants for one to five years had a 56% increased risk of sudden cardiac death,…  read on >  read on >

Disrespected by a neighbor or colleague? Eyerolls from servers at a restaurant or store? Denied a job or a mortgage due to skin color? More than half of Americans have experienced some such form of discrimination, and this mistreatment dramatically increases their risk of depression or anxiety, a new study says. Nearly 56% of Americans have encountered discrimination in their lives, and almost 4% said they’d experienced high levels of discrimination, according to findings published March 28 in JAMA Network Open. Those exposed to high levels of discrimination are five times more likely to be diagnosed with depression or anxiety, and nearly nine times more likely to screen positive for both mood disorders, results show. “Everyday discrimination is a widespread issue that negatively impacts mental health across all racial and ethnic groups,” lead researcher Monica Wang, an associate professor of community health services at Boston University School of Public Health, said in a news release. For the study, researchers analyzed 2023 federal survey data to gauge experiences of discrimination, depression and anxiety among nearly 30,000 U.S. adults. Discrimination was scored based on answers to questions like: “How often are you treated with less courtesy or respect than others?” “How often do you receive poorer service at restaurants or stores compared to others?” “How often do people act as if they think you are not smart?”…  read on >  read on >