Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fewer Adults Than Ever Are Smoking Cigarettes, But Vaping Rates Are Rising
ABC News: Smoking Rate Among US Adults Drops To Record Low As Vape Use Rises: CDC
Cigarette smoking among U.S. adults continues to fall to record low levels as e-cigarette use rises, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published early Thursday. Nearly 10% of adults in the U.S. smoked cigarettes in 2024, the report found. This is down from about 11% in 2023, CDC data shows. Rates of cigarette use have dramatically fallen since a landmark 1964 Surgeon General report warned about the dangers of cigarette smoking and linked it to lung cancer, chronic bronchitis and other serious diseases. (Kekatos and Le, 3/26)
On cancer and pharmaceutical pollution in oceans —
Stat: Researcher Links Agent Orange Exposure To MDS Blood Cancer
Decades after the Vietnam War, hematologist-oncologist Mikkael Sekeres began seeing veterans in his clinic with myelodysplastic syndromes, a group of blood cancers known as MDS. Many of the vets had been exposed to Agent Orange, a blend of herbicides that the military used to peel back dense foliage during the war. (Chen, 3/27)
CBS News: Sharks In The Bahamas Test Positive For Caffeine, Painkillers And Even Cocaine, Study Finds
Sharks in the Bahamas are consuming substances including caffeine, painkillers and even cocaine, according to a new study by marine scientists who say it could potentially impact the animals' health and behavior. The research team, made up of marine biologists and scientists from a variety of international programs, analyzed blood samples from 85 sharks of five different species. The sharks were captured about four miles off the coast of a remote island and their blood levels were tested for 24 legal and illegal drugs. (Breen, 3/26)
On the spread of measles, TB, pertussis, hep C, and E. coli —
The Texas Tribune: Measles In Federal Detention Facility Reaches The Texas Public
An explosion of reported measles cases in Texas’ federal detention facilities broke through to the public last month, infecting at least four El Paso residents who worked in one of the centers and potentially exposing the highly contagious disease to the wider population, according to emails obtained by The Texas Tribune through record requests. (Nguyen and Keemahill, 3/26)
MedPage Today: Utah Is The New U.S. Hotspot For Measles
While South Carolina appears to be getting its measles outbreak under control, a new U.S. hotspot has popped up: Utah. A cross-border outbreak between Utah and Arizona has persisted since last summer, but researchers are eyeing a state high school wrestling championship as a possible super-spreader event. (Henderson, 3/26)
CIDRAP: CDC Data Suggest Small Decline In US TB Cases
New surveillance data published this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show a slight decline in US tuberculosis (TB) cases in 2025. The provisional report of data submitted to the CDC’s National Tuberculosis Surveillance System shows 10,260 TB cases were reported in 2025, with a corresponding rate of 3.0 cases per 100,000 population. That represents a 1% decline in cases and 2% decline in the national TB rate from 2024 to 2025. (Dall, 3/26)
CIDRAP: Pertussis Cases In The Americas Region See Post-Pandemic Swing
After two years with spikes in activity, the Americas region is reporting a slight decline in confirmed cases of pertussis, or whopping cough, in 2025, according to the newest epidemiological update from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). (Soucheray, 3/26)
CIDRAP: Hepatitis C Is Curable, Yet Only 1 In 3 Patients Receive Antiviral Drugs, Study Estimates
Only one in three Americans who have hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection receive curative antiviral drugs, according to a research letter published yesterday in JAMA. Researchers from the University of Virginia and Brigham and Women’s Hospital analyzed data from the Symphony Health Metys database, which estimates US prescription counts by county and month using a large sample of retail, mail-order, and specialty pharmacy data, from January 2013 to December 2025. (Van Beusekom, 3/26)
AP: 9 Sickened In E. Coli Outbreak Tied To Raw Milk And Cheese
Nine people, including children, have been sickened in an expanding outbreak of E. coli food poisoning tied to raw milk and cheddar cheese made with it from Raw Farm, a Fresno, California, producer, health officials said. Two cases in California were added Thursday to the outbreak first announced March 15, bringing the total number of ill people in that state to seven. Two others fell ill in Texas and Florida, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over half of the illnesses are in children younger than 5. Three people were hospitalized and one developed a dangerous type of kidney infection, the CDC said. (Aleccia, 3/27)
