Morning Briefing

"By the end of the 21st century, more than one billion people are expected to die from illnesses related to tobacco use primarily in low to middle income countries," Amie Newman, communications officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and editor of the foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, writes in this blog post in recognition of World No Tobacco Day. "We'll continue to support efforts which reduce the number of deaths and diseases due to tobacco use -- especially in developing countries," she adds (5/31). An AIDS.gov blog post addresses tobacco use by people living with HIV, writing, "Smoking rates of people living with HIV are estimated to be two to three times higher than the national average, and smoking weakens the immune system, making it harder to fight off HIV-related infections" (5/31).