Banning menthol cigarettes; Abortion info hidden on hospital websites; Black patients 42% more likely to die

Banning menthol cigarettes

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent a list of proposed menthol product bans to the White House Office of Management and Budget for final review. The bill also seeks to ban flavored cigars. The American Lung Association said this may be the most significant step toward progress in 14 years. Smoking is still the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the US, according to research.

Abortion info buried on many hospital websites

Abortion information is hidden on many hospital websites and almost 80% of hospitals omit it entirely, a new study shows. For comparison, only 11% of hospital websites do not mention colonoscopy. The 24 states with the most restrictive abortion rules were not included in the study.

Black patients 42% more likely to die

When it comes to high-risk surgeries, Black and Hispanic patients are 42% more likely to die than their white counterparts, according to new research. For the study, researchers looked at 1 million procedures done from 2000 to 2020. An estimated 12,000 lives could have been saved during this time if the disparities had not existed.