Sweden Nears Being ‘Smoke Free’; Each Canadian Cigarette To Have A Warning

AP: Sweden Close To Becoming First 'Smoke Free' Country In Europe As Daily Use Of Cigarettes Dwindles 
Summer is in the air, cigarette smoke is not, in Sweden’s outdoor bars and restaurants. As the World Health Organization marks “World No Tobacco Day” on Wednesday, Sweden, which has the lowest rate of smoking in the Europe Union, is close to declaring itself “smoke free” — defined as having fewer than 5% daily smokers in the population. Many experts give credit to decades of anti-smoking campaigns and legislation, while others point to the prevalence of “snus,” a smokeless tobacco product that is banned elsewhere in the EU but is marketed in Sweden as an alternative to cigarettes. (Ritter and Pele, 6/1)

AP: In Canada, Each Cigarette Will Get A Warning Label: 'Poison In Every Puff'
Canada will soon become the first country in the world where warning labels must appear on individual cigarettes. The move was first announced last year by Health Canada and is aimed at helping people quit the habit. The regulations take effect Aug. 1 and will be phased in. King-size cigarettes will be the first to feature the warnings and will be sold in stores by the end of July 2024, followed by regular-size cigarettes, and little cigars with tipping paper and tubes by the end of April 2025. (Gillies, 6/1)

In other global health news —

Bloomberg: US Finds Contaminated Drugs, Further Lapses In India Pharma Factories Post-Covid
US inspectors have in recent months uncovered wide-ranging lapses at factories run by some of India’s biggest pharmaceutical firms, as the world’s top supplier of cheap medicine faces increased scrutiny after a spate of deadly manufacturing incidents. (Kay, 5/31)

The Washington Post: Peru Battles Record Dengue Outbreak, In A Warning For A Warming World
Peru is taking extraordinary measures such as banning households from filling vases with water, as it battles its worst dengue outbreak on record, a crisis that experts have linked to increased rainfall and warmer temperatures as the climate changes. As of Monday, the South American nation has recorded more than 110,000 probable cases of dengue this year, according to its National Center for Epidemiology, Prevention and Control of Diseases. At least 114 people have died after being infected with the virus, with another 39 fatalities under investigation. (Vinall, 5/31)

Reuters: Congo Woman Saves Young Mothers From Unpaid Maternity Bills 
Three weeks after giving birth to twins, 16-year-old Annaelle felt like a hostage: the hospital would not let her leave until she'd paid her medical bills, but she had no money. Her mother was doing shifts there as a cleaner to stump up the cash. Then a woman Annaelle had never met called Grace Mbongi Umek entered the maternity ward at Bethesda clinic in Congo's capital Kinshasa and handed doctors a wad of bank notes - $130 to cover Annaelle's caesarean section, and more for two other women who had also been forced to stay. Like most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo has no universal health coverage, and most cannot afford what limited care there is. Hospitals, also cash-strapped, are forced to make patients stay until they have paid in full. (Lorgerie, 6/1)

The Washington Post: Harald Zur Hausen, Who Found Virus Link To Cervical Cancer, Dies At 87
Harald zur Hausen, a German virologist awarded a Nobel Prize for groundbreaking work that found links between a common wart-causing virus and cervical cancer, leading to a vaccine that is considered highly effective but remains in relatively limited use worldwide, died May 29 at 87. The German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, where Dr. zur Hausen had served as scientific director until 2003, announced the death but gave no further details. (Murphy, 5/31)