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Adult and youth smoking rates this decade have dipped to the lowest levels on record. Despite this progress, the nation's top doctor is warning about stubborn disparities that remain among the 36 million adults and 760,000 kids who smoke. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a report Tuesday saying that cigarette smoking is more common among American Indian and Alaska Native people than other racial and ethnic groups. People living in poverty are more than twice as likely to smoke than those who earn non-poverty wages. Black people, lower-income populations and people with less education are more likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke. (Alltucker, 11/19)

From August 2021 to August 2023, 4.5 percent of adults in the United States had undiagnosed diabetes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says in a recent report. And a little over 11 percent of U.S. adults had been diagnosed with the condition as of the same time period, the CDC says. The study looked at how total, diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes differed across demographics including age, weight and educational attainment. (Docter-Loeb, 11/18)

CR’s recent tests of nearly 100 foods found two types of chemicals used in plastic, bisphenols and phthalates, in a wide variety of packaged foods. These findings are concerning because there’s clear evidence linking exposure to these particular chemicals to a number of health effects, including disruptions of the endocrine or hormone system. ... According to one new study, diseases that have been linked to exposure to plastic-related chemicals cost the U.S. approximately $250 billion in healthcare costs in 2018. (Loria, 11/18)

Sitting at your desk all day may put you at greater risk for heart disease –– even if you work out in your spare time, according to new research. “Our findings really emphasize the importance of avoiding excess sitting… whether or not you’re physically active,” said first study author Dr. Ezim Ajufo, a cardiology fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. (Holcombe, 11/18)

Public awareness of the 988 national suicide prevention hotline is growing but still low, new survey data from University of Pennsylvania found. Calls and texts to 988 are increasing. Still, the hotline can't help someone if they don't know about it, said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center. (Goldman, 11/19)