Global Health NOW: Smoking Cessation Setbacks; Hollowing Out American Public Health; and The Amazon’s River Clinics
The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, conflicts, and other crises have disrupted global smoking cessation efforts, per an ASH Canada report endorsed by 57 campaign groups and released ahead of World No Tobacco Day on Saturday, reports Reuters via the Economic Times.
Missed target: Governments have missed the 30% reduction goal set in 2015, meaning that ~95,000 people above the targeted 1,112,400,000 are still smoking, based on a Reuters analysis.
Action plan: The report’s authors urge governments to redouble efforts on tobacco control policies such as tax increases and smoking bans.
Meanwhile, the WHO marked World No Tobacco Day with a call for governments to ban all flavors in tobacco and nicotine products, and released a new publication documenting the impact of flavored products—especially on youth, as flavor accessories remain largely unregulated.
More Numbers:
- The global tobacco epidemic kills ~8 million people each year—and cigarettes kill up to half of their users.
- 50+ countries have banned flavored tobacco; 40+ countries have banned e-cigarette sales.
Around the World:
French health ministry extends smoking ban – NPR
UK bans single-use vapes to stem use by children and reduce harmful litter – AP
Every parent worries about “the wrong crowd.” Especially when it’s Big Tobacco. – El Universal (commentary)
Why India’s Fight Against Smoking Needs A Behavioural Shift – IndiaSpend
Bangladesh: Experts urge swift tobacco law reform to shield youth from industry tactics – Daily Sun
World No Tobacco Day: Unmasking the Appeal of New Products – Public Health On Call (podcast) GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners A northern enclave in Pakistan reported today its first polio case in seven years, just as the country wrapped up a polio vaccination effort aiming to immunize 45 million children; the case is Pakistan’s 11th so far this year. AP
Mpox cases in Liberia are rising, with an “alarming increase” of 69 active clade IIa and clade IIb cases reported by the National Public Health Institute of Liberia; so far, no deaths have been recorded. Liberian Observer
Infant malnutrition affects 10 million+ babies under 6 months old in LMICs, finds a new analysis published in BMJ Global Health conducted by researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the Emergency Nutrition Network, who described malnutrition in this age group as a “far bigger problem than previously recognized.” News Medical
Removing fluoride from American water systems could lead to 25 million cavities and $9.8 billion in costs over five years, per projections published in JAMA Health Forum showing that such a shift would “worsen oral health in children and … significantly increase national health care costs.” STAT U.S. Health Policy Hollowing Out American Public Health
American public health systems are being “hollowed out” as funding cuts lead to the widespread elimination of services that communities small and large depend on—and often take for granted, finds an in-depth report by the AP.
The cuts—which include $11 billion in federal support for public health and ~20,000 national health agency jobs—are now being absorbed at state and local levels and include the dismantling of vital services like:
- Air quality monitoring
- Water testing
- Food and restaurant inspections
- Early childhood interventions for deafness and drowning prevention
- Vaccination outreach and disease tracking
Meanwhile, a NOTUS investigation of the Make America Healthy Again report released last week found errors including citations linking to at least seven nonexistent studies, per Environmental Health News.
- The White House acknowledged “formatting” errors, per the AP, and later replaced the study links with real ones, but EHN says it isn’t clear that the replacement links support the report’s claims.
Science is confirming what fenceline communities experience every day. In February 2023, with funding from Beyond Petrochemicals, researchers Keeve Nachman of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Peter DeCarlo of the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering, traveled along a route through parts of Cancer Alley, Louisiana, taking direct mobile measurements of ethylene oxide and other air pollutants. What they found was alarming.
ICYMI Related: Frontline Research, Real Progress – Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health HEALTH SYSTEMS The Amazon’s River Clinics
In many remote villages in the Brazilian Amazon, reaching medical help requires an hours-long journey by river.
So, doctors are trying to bring care downstream.
Floating mobile clinics, deployed by Brazil’s national health system, provide primary care including vaccinations, tests, and common medications to riverside communities.
- The clinics are scheduled to visit remote communities six times a year per national guidelines.
The Telegraph QUICK HITS In Emaciated Children, Gaza’s Hunger Is Laid Bare – The New York Times (gift link)
HIV’s Most Promising Breakthrough Has Taken a Hit – The Atlantic
The global, regional, and national brain and CNS cancers burden and trends from 1990 to 2021 – Nature
Abortion opponents are coming for mifepristone using what medical experts call ‘junk science,’ – The 19th
Exercise may benefit colon cancer patients as much as some drugs – NBC
Digital baby formula campaigns undermine breastfeeding and put child health at risk – News Medical
Health policy expert Keshia Pollack Porter named next dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health – The Hub / Johns Hopkins University
How do I choose a principal investigator for my next postdoc? – Nature
Memory cafes offer camaraderie and fun for people with dementia — and their caregivers – NPR Shots Issue No. 2734
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @globalhealth.now and X @GHN_News.
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World News in Brief: Education suffers amid DR Congo violence, WHO greenlights RSV vaccines, more hurricanes ahead for Haiti
Flavoured nicotine products driving youth addiction, WHO warns
McGill’s President honours outstanding early-career researchers
Three McGill scholars were recognized with the 2025 President’s Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers at the Health Sciences Convocation Ceremony on May 27. The award honours exceptional early-career researchers whose work is expanding the frontiers of knowledge in their fields.
McGill’s President honours outstanding early-career researchers
Three McGill scholars were recognized with the 2025 President’s Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers at the Health Sciences Convocation Ceremony on May 27. The award honours exceptional early-career researchers whose work is expanding the frontiers of knowledge in their fields.
McGill’s President honours outstanding early-career researchers
Three McGill scholars were recognized with the 2025 President’s Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers at the Health Sciences Convocation Ceremony on May 27. The award honours exceptional early-career researchers whose work is expanding the frontiers of knowledge in their fields.
McGill’s President honours outstanding early-career researchers
Three McGill scholars were recognized with the 2025 President’s Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers at the Health Sciences Convocation Ceremony on May 27. The award honours exceptional early-career researchers whose work is expanding the frontiers of knowledge in their fields.
McGill’s President honours outstanding early-career researchers
Three McGill scholars were recognized with the 2025 President’s Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers at the Health Sciences Convocation Ceremony on May 27. The award honours exceptional early-career researchers whose work is expanding the frontiers of knowledge in their fields.
McGill’s President honours outstanding early-career researchers
Three McGill scholars were recognized with the 2025 President’s Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers at the Health Sciences Convocation Ceremony on May 27. The award honours exceptional early-career researchers whose work is expanding the frontiers of knowledge in their fields.
McGill’s President honours outstanding early-career researchers
Three McGill scholars were recognized with the 2025 President’s Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers at the Health Sciences Convocation Ceremony on May 27. The award honours exceptional early-career researchers whose work is expanding the frontiers of knowledge in their fields.
McGill’s President honours outstanding early-career researchers
Three McGill scholars were recognized with the 2025 President’s Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers at the Health Sciences Convocation Ceremony on May 27. The award honours exceptional early-career researchers whose work is expanding the frontiers of knowledge in their fields.
McGill’s President honours outstanding early-career researchers
Three McGill scholars were recognized with the 2025 President’s Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers at the Health Sciences Convocation Ceremony on May 27. The award honours exceptional early-career researchers whose work is expanding the frontiers of knowledge in their fields.
McGill’s President honours outstanding early-career researchers
Three McGill scholars were recognized with the 2025 President’s Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers at the Health Sciences Convocation Ceremony on May 27. The award honours exceptional early-career researchers whose work is expanding the frontiers of knowledge in their fields.
McGill’s President honours outstanding early-career researchers
Three McGill scholars were recognized with the 2025 President’s Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers at the Health Sciences Convocation Ceremony on May 27. The award honours exceptional early-career researchers whose work is expanding the frontiers of knowledge in their fields.
