Just a little exposure to secondhand smoke may increase your risk for the heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation (A-Fib), a new, large study suggests. People who have A-Fib, the world’s most common heart rhythm disorder, are five times more likely to have a stroke than their healthy peers.  While passive smoking has been linked to…  read on >  read on >

A new oral vaccine could prove a potential alternative to antibiotics for people with recurring urinary tract infections, a new study says. More than half of patients with recurring UTIs (54%) wound up infection-free for nine years after receiving the oral spray vaccine, with no notable side effects, researchers report. “Before having the vaccine, all…  read on >  read on >

Childbirth is a harrowing ordeal, and it’s being made worse by mistreatment from health care providers during labor, a new study says. More than one in every eight women are mistreated during childbirth, researchers found. Most commonly, women’s requests for help during labor were refused or ignored, results show. Nearly 8% of women said this…  read on >  read on >

Three anti-smoking groups announced Tuesday that they have sued the U.S. government yet again after it missed its latest deadline for enacting a ban on menthol cigarettes. This is the second lawsuit that the plaintiffs — the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, Action on Smoking and Health and the National Medical Association — have…  read on >  read on >

Cutting back on late-night alcohol sales might help curb crime in violence-ridden neighborhoods, a new report claims. Murders dropped by half (51%) within a month after one Baltimore neighborhood limited alcohol hours of sale for bars and taverns, researchers report April 1 in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. Further, violent crimes declined in the surrounding…  read on >  read on >