Smoking rates among U.S. adults are at an all-time low. While this is good news, smoking and tobacco use still have significant health and economic implications for the global population. 

On May 31, the World Health Organization (WHO) observes World No Tobacco Day. This day is a powerful reminder of the tobacco epidemic that persists worldwide. Individuals and communities can take action against tobacco use. Also, World No Tobacco Day can empower people wanting to quit smoking for good. 

Adult Smoking Rates Have Dropped 

Last year, U.S. smoking rates dropped to one in nine adults or about 11%, an all-time low compared to 42% in the 1960s. However, adult use of electronic cigarettes rose to about one in 17. These findings come from a National Center for Health Statistics survey of over 27,000 adults. 

Firefighters sign up for the job knowing they will put their lives on the line to serve and protect the public from fires. Unfortunately, burgeoning data shows that these critical first responder communities across the country might also be facing threats to their health over the long term due to their heroic occupation. While much more information is still needed about the link between cancer and firefighting, it has been compelling enough for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to create a National Firefighter Registry for Cancer. This registry is the nation’s largest effort that works to explore cancer occurrences in the firefighter community nationwide. 

Whether you’re a current firefighter, a retired firefighter, or a public health communicator, being aware of the ongoing research evaluating cancer incidence in firefighters is crucial. Here’s what you need to know about why this research push is needed, the various exposures that firefighters face, the potential long-term impacts on their health, and what’s on the horizon for the newly-created cancer registry. 

Why Has the NIOSH Created a New Cancer Registry? 

In a press release in mid-April 2023, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the launch of its new National Firefighter Registry for Cancer, encouraging all U.S. Firefighters to join. According to the CDC, the registry's goals are to understand and reduce cancer in the fire service. 

If you’ve ever needed a menstrual hygiene product but didn’t have one at your disposal, then you know the agony and discomfort associated with not having access to menstrual supplies. Unfortunately, for many menstruating students across the country, lacking access to menstrual products is not an uncommon occurrence. In fact, estimates show that period poverty, defined as a “lack of access to menstrual products, menstrual health education, hygiene management, waste facilities or any combination of these barriers,” affects nearly a quarter of teens in the state of Connecticut alone. 

Whether you are a member of the general public or a public health communicator, the only way to confront the issue of menstrual inequity—and its impact on education and public health—is through advocacy. 

Here’s what you need to know about period poverty and a new Connecticut law that requires schools to offer free menstrual products to all students in 3rd through 12th grade. 

Now that the COVID-19 public health emergency has been lifted, another type of public health crisis—known as loneliness—has come to the forefront of national attention. At the beginning of May, the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, called for action regarding the ongoing epidemic of loneliness and isolation. In his general advisory issued on May 3, 2023, he reported that even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, “approximately half of U.S. adults reported experiencing measurable levels of loneliness.” This loneliness can lead to an increased risk of mental health challenges, and it can increase your risk of dying from premature death, similar to smoking 15 cigarettes every day. 

May is recognized as Mental Health Month, a designation that has existed since 1949. This year’s themed campaign for Mental Health Month is #MoreThanEnough which, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), reinforces that everyone is “inherently worthy of life, love, and healing, regardless of their diagnosis, appearance, socioeconomic status, background or ability.” 

The month of May also includes several important health holidays related to mental health, including National Postpartum Psychosis Awareness Day (May 6), National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day (May 7), Mental Health Action Day (May 19), World Meditation Day (May 21), and National Schizophrenia and Psychosis Awareness Day (May 24).