Check out your surgeon as you’re wheeled into the operating room. Do they seem tense, on edge, or stressed out? If so, that could be good news for you, a new study says. The patients of stressed surgeons tend to suffer fewer major complications from surgery, according to findings of new study published in JAMA…  read on >  read on >

Menthol cigarettes are under fire in the United States for promoting smoking among Black Americans, with a number of cities and states banning the smokes. In response, the tobacco industry has come up with “menthol mimics” that imitate the cooling effect of menthol, and smokers are taking note of the innovation, a new study published…  read on >  read on >

Sewer sludge from wastewater treatment plants appears to expose farmers and nearby neighbors to toxic “forever” chemicals, a new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) draft risk assessment says. This sludge — which is sometimes applied to farmland as fertilizer — can contain high levels of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, the EPA…  read on >  read on >

Nearly a third of Americans have been exposed to unregulated contaminants in their drinking water that might affect their health. What’s more, Hispanic and Black people are more likely to have unsafe levels of contaminants in their drinking water, and to live near pollution sources like industrial facilities, researchers said in a new study published…  read on >  read on >

It takes a village to help a smoker quit. And a new study published recently in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that smokers had a nearly doubled success rate quitting when supported by an integrated approach that included medication and personal counseling. “Our study demonstrates that providing access to effective medications and trained tobacco cessation specialists…  read on >  read on >

MONDAY, Jan. 13, 2025 (HealthDay news) — The sleep aid Ambien could be allowing toxic proteins to pollute the brain, potentially increasing a person’s risk of disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. Drugs like the main ingredient in Ambien, zolpidem, suppresses a system designed to clear protein waste from the brain during dreamless sleep, a mouse study…  read on >  read on >

Text-based support programs are one of the best ways to help young people quit vaping, a new evidence review says. These texts offer motivational messages and tips for quitting vaping. “I think it’s clear that this approach helps young people,” senior researcher Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, an assistant professor of health policy and management at the University…  read on >  read on >