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Global Health NOW: Smoking Cessation Setbacks; Hollowing Out American Public Health; and The Amazon鈥檚 River Clinics
June 2, 2025
Medical workers hold placards to mark World No Tobacco Day, inside a private hospital. Kolkata, India, May 31. Sudipta Das/NurPhoto via Getty
Smoking Cessation Setbacks
The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, conflicts, and other crises have disrupted global smoking cessation efforts, endorsed by 57 campaign groups and released ahead of World No Tobacco Day on Saturday, .
Missed target: Governments have missed the 30% reduction goal set in 2015, meaning that ~95,000 people above the targeted 1,112,400,000 are still smoking, based on a Reuters analysis.
Action plan: The report鈥檚 authors urge governments to redouble efforts on tobacco control policies such as tax increases and smoking bans.
Meanwhile, the WHO marked World No Tobacco Day with a and nicotine products, and鈥攅specially on youth, as flavor accessories remain largely unregulated.
More Numbers:
Around the World:
French health ministry extends smoking ban 鈥�
UK bans single-use vapes to stem use by children and reduce harmful litter 鈥�
Every parent worries about 鈥渢he wrong crowd.鈥� Especially when it鈥檚 Big Tobacco. 鈥�
Why India鈥檚 Fight Against Smoking Needs A Behavioural Shift 鈥�
Bangladesh: Experts urge swift tobacco law reform to shield youth from industry tactics 鈥�
World No Tobacco Day: Unmasking the Appeal of 黄片荔枝视频 Products 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners A northern enclave in Pakistan reported today its first polio case in seven years, just as the country wrapped up a polio vaccination effort aiming to immunize 45 million children; the case is Pakistan鈥檚 11th so far this year.
Mpox cases in Liberia are rising, with an 鈥渁larming increase鈥� of 69 active clade IIa and clade IIb cases reported by the National Public Health Institute of Liberia; so far, no deaths have been recorded.
Infant malnutrition affects 10 million+ babies under 6 months old in LMICs, conducted by researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the Emergency Nutrition Network, who described malnutrition in this age group as a 鈥渇ar bigger problem than previously recognized.鈥�
Removing fluoride from American water systems could lead to 25 million cavities and $9.8 billion in costs over five years, showing that such a shift would 鈥渨orsen oral health in children and 鈥� significantly increase national health care costs.鈥� U.S. Health Policy Hollowing Out American Public Health
American public health systems are being 鈥渉ollowed out鈥� as funding cuts lead to the widespread elimination of services that communities small and large depend on鈥攁nd often take for granted, .
The cuts鈥攚hich include $11 billion in federal support for public health and ~20,000 national health agency jobs鈥攁re now being absorbed at state and local levels and include the dismantling of vital services like:
Meanwhile, released last week found errors including citations linking to at least seven nonexistent studies, .
Science is confirming what fenceline communities experience every day. In February 2023, with funding from Beyond Petrochemicals, researchers Keeve Nachman of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Peter DeCarlo of the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering, traveled along a route through parts of Cancer Alley, Louisiana, taking direct mobile measurements of ethylene oxide and other air pollutants. .
ICYMI Related: Frontline Research, Real Progress 鈥� HEALTH SYSTEMS The Amazon鈥檚 River Clinics
In many remote villages in the Brazilian Amazon, reaching medical help requires an hours-long journey by river.
So, doctors are trying to bring care downstream.
Floating mobile clinics, deployed by Brazil鈥檚 national health system, provide primary care including vaccinations, tests, and common medications to riverside communities.
QUICK HITS In Emaciated Children, Gaza鈥檚 Hunger Is Laid Bare 鈥�
HIV鈥檚 Most Promising Breakthrough Has Taken a Hit 鈥�
The global, regional, and national brain and CNS cancers burden and trends from 1990 to 2021 鈥�
Abortion opponents are coming for mifepristone using what medical experts call 鈥榡unk science,鈥� 鈥�
Exercise may benefit colon cancer patients as much as some drugs 鈥�
Digital baby formula campaigns undermine breastfeeding and put child health at risk 鈥�
Health policy expert Keshia Pollack Porter named next dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 鈥�
How do I choose a principal investigator for my next postdoc? 鈥�
Memory cafes offer camaraderie and fun for people with dementia 鈥� and their caregivers 鈥� Issue No. 2734
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, conflicts, and other crises have disrupted global smoking cessation efforts, endorsed by 57 campaign groups and released ahead of World No Tobacco Day on Saturday, .
Missed target: Governments have missed the 30% reduction goal set in 2015, meaning that ~95,000 people above the targeted 1,112,400,000 are still smoking, based on a Reuters analysis.
Action plan: The report鈥檚 authors urge governments to redouble efforts on tobacco control policies such as tax increases and smoking bans.
Meanwhile, the WHO marked World No Tobacco Day with a and nicotine products, and鈥攅specially on youth, as flavor accessories remain largely unregulated.
More Numbers:
- The global tobacco epidemic kills ~8 million people each year鈥攁nd cigarettes kill up to half of their users.
- 50+ countries have banned flavored tobacco; 40+ countries have banned e-cigarette sales.
Around the World:
French health ministry extends smoking ban 鈥�
UK bans single-use vapes to stem use by children and reduce harmful litter 鈥�
Every parent worries about 鈥渢he wrong crowd.鈥� Especially when it鈥檚 Big Tobacco. 鈥�
Why India鈥檚 Fight Against Smoking Needs A Behavioural Shift 鈥�
Bangladesh: Experts urge swift tobacco law reform to shield youth from industry tactics 鈥�
World No Tobacco Day: Unmasking the Appeal of 黄片荔枝视频 Products 鈥� GLOBAL HEALTH VOICES The Latest One-Liners A northern enclave in Pakistan reported today its first polio case in seven years, just as the country wrapped up a polio vaccination effort aiming to immunize 45 million children; the case is Pakistan鈥檚 11th so far this year.
Mpox cases in Liberia are rising, with an 鈥渁larming increase鈥� of 69 active clade IIa and clade IIb cases reported by the National Public Health Institute of Liberia; so far, no deaths have been recorded.
Infant malnutrition affects 10 million+ babies under 6 months old in LMICs, conducted by researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the Emergency Nutrition Network, who described malnutrition in this age group as a 鈥渇ar bigger problem than previously recognized.鈥�
Removing fluoride from American water systems could lead to 25 million cavities and $9.8 billion in costs over five years, showing that such a shift would 鈥渨orsen oral health in children and 鈥� significantly increase national health care costs.鈥� U.S. Health Policy Hollowing Out American Public Health
American public health systems are being 鈥渉ollowed out鈥� as funding cuts lead to the widespread elimination of services that communities small and large depend on鈥攁nd often take for granted, .
The cuts鈥攚hich include $11 billion in federal support for public health and ~20,000 national health agency jobs鈥攁re now being absorbed at state and local levels and include the dismantling of vital services like:
- Air quality monitoring
- Water testing
- Food and restaurant inspections
- Early childhood interventions for deafness and drowning prevention
- Vaccination outreach and disease tracking
Meanwhile, released last week found errors including citations linking to at least seven nonexistent studies, .
- The White House acknowledged 鈥渇ormatting鈥� errors, , and later replaced the study links with real ones, but EHN says it isn鈥檛 clear that the replacement links support the report鈥檚 claims.
Science is confirming what fenceline communities experience every day. In February 2023, with funding from Beyond Petrochemicals, researchers Keeve Nachman of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Peter DeCarlo of the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering, traveled along a route through parts of Cancer Alley, Louisiana, taking direct mobile measurements of ethylene oxide and other air pollutants. .
ICYMI Related: Frontline Research, Real Progress 鈥� HEALTH SYSTEMS The Amazon鈥檚 River Clinics
In many remote villages in the Brazilian Amazon, reaching medical help requires an hours-long journey by river.
So, doctors are trying to bring care downstream.
Floating mobile clinics, deployed by Brazil鈥檚 national health system, provide primary care including vaccinations, tests, and common medications to riverside communities.
- The clinics are scheduled to visit remote communities six times a year per national guidelines.
QUICK HITS In Emaciated Children, Gaza鈥檚 Hunger Is Laid Bare 鈥�
HIV鈥檚 Most Promising Breakthrough Has Taken a Hit 鈥�
The global, regional, and national brain and CNS cancers burden and trends from 1990 to 2021 鈥�
Abortion opponents are coming for mifepristone using what medical experts call 鈥榡unk science,鈥� 鈥�
Exercise may benefit colon cancer patients as much as some drugs 鈥�
Digital baby formula campaigns undermine breastfeeding and put child health at risk 鈥�
Health policy expert Keshia Pollack Porter named next dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 鈥�
How do I choose a principal investigator for my next postdoc? 鈥�
Memory cafes offer camaraderie and fun for people with dementia 鈥� and their caregivers 鈥� Issue No. 2734
Global Health NOW is an initiative of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contributors include Brian W. Simpson, MPH, Dayna Kerecman Myers, Annalies Winny, Morgan Coulson, Kate Belz, Melissa Hartman, Jackie Powder, and Rin Swann. Write us: dkerecm1@jhu.edu, like us on and follow us on Instagram and X .
Please send the Global Health NOW free sign-up link to friends and colleagues:
Want to change how you receive these emails? You can or . -->
Copyright 2025 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in Global Health NOW do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health or Johns Hopkins University.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or .
Categories: Global Health Feed
In Ituri, a province in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), intensifying conflict, intercommunal violence and mass displacement are forcing hundreds of thousands of children out of school.
Categories: Global Health Feed
For most nicotine users today, their first experience with the drug is a flavoured product 鈥� making it easier, and more appealing, to try.
Categories: Global Health Feed
McGill鈥檚 President honours outstanding early-career researchers
Professors Guojun Chen, Mahsa Dadar and Phoebe Friesen 鈥� all members of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences 鈥� win President鈥檚 Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers听听
听
Three McGill scholars were recognized with the 2025 President鈥檚 Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers at the Health Sciences Convocation Ceremony on May 27. The award honours exceptional early-career researchers whose work is expanding the frontiers of knowledge in their fields.
Categories: Global Health Feed
McGill鈥檚 President honours outstanding early-career researchers
Professors Guojun Chen, Mahsa Dadar and Phoebe Friesen 鈥� all members of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences 鈥� win President鈥檚 Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers听听
听
Three McGill scholars were recognized with the 2025 President鈥檚 Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers at the Health Sciences Convocation Ceremony on May 27. The award honours exceptional early-career researchers whose work is expanding the frontiers of knowledge in their fields.
Categories: Global Health Feed
McGill鈥檚 President honours outstanding early-career researchers
Professors Guojun Chen, Mahsa Dadar and Phoebe Friesen 鈥� all members of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences 鈥� win President鈥檚 Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers听听
听
Three McGill scholars were recognized with the 2025 President鈥檚 Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers at the Health Sciences Convocation Ceremony on May 27. The award honours exceptional early-career researchers whose work is expanding the frontiers of knowledge in their fields.
Categories: Global Health Feed
McGill鈥檚 President honours outstanding early-career researchers
Professors Guojun Chen, Mahsa Dadar and Phoebe Friesen 鈥� all members of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences 鈥� win President鈥檚 Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers听听
听
Three McGill scholars were recognized with the 2025 President鈥檚 Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers at the Health Sciences Convocation Ceremony on May 27. The award honours exceptional early-career researchers whose work is expanding the frontiers of knowledge in their fields.
Categories: Global Health Feed
McGill鈥檚 President honours outstanding early-career researchers
Professors Guojun Chen, Mahsa Dadar and Phoebe Friesen 鈥� all members of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences 鈥� win President鈥檚 Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers听听
听
Three McGill scholars were recognized with the 2025 President鈥檚 Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers at the Health Sciences Convocation Ceremony on May 27. The award honours exceptional early-career researchers whose work is expanding the frontiers of knowledge in their fields.
Categories: Global Health Feed
