Latest Public health News
Minneapolis smokers to pay some of the highest cigarette prices in US with a $15 per-pack minimum
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Smokers in Minneapolis will pay some of the highest cigarette prices in the country after the City Council voted unanimously Thursday to impose a minimum retail price of $15 per pack to promote public health. The ordinance not only sets a floor price. It prevents...
Chipotle reverses protein policy, says workers can choose chicken once again
Chipotle says its employees can choose chicken once again. Last week, the chain asked its U.S. and Canadian employees to temporarily select another protein for their work meals to preserve the company's supply of chicken. The directive applied to both corporate staff and restaurant...
Congo questions Apple over knowledge of conflict minerals in its supply chain
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Congo ’s government is questioning Apple about the tech company’s knowledge of “blood minerals” from a conflict zone in the African country that could be smuggled into its supply chains and is demanding answers within three weeks. A group of...
Climate change is bringing malaria to new areas. In Africa, it never left
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — When a small number of cases of locally transmitted malaria were found in the United States last year, it was a reminder that climate change is reviving or migrating the threat of some diseases. But across the African continent malaria has never left, killing or sickening...
Malaria is still killing people in Kenya, but a vaccine and local drug production may help
MIGORI, Kenya (AP) — As the coffin bearing the body of Rosebella Awuor was lowered into the grave, heart-wrenching sobs from mourners filled the air. Her sister Winnie Akinyi, the guardian to Awuor’s orphaned son, fell to the ground, wailing. It was the latest of five deaths in...
Jury: BNSF Railway contributed to 2 deaths in Montana town where asbestos sickened thousands
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A federal jury on Monday said BNSF Railway contributed to the deaths of two people who were exposed to asbestos decades ago when tainted mining material was shipped through a Montana town where thousands have been sickened. The jury awarded $4 million each in...
BNSF Railway says it didn't know about asbestos that's killed hundreds in Montana town
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — BNSF Railway attorneys told a Montana jury Friday that the railroad should not be held liable for the lung cancer deaths of two former residents of an asbestos-contaminated Montana town, one of the deadliest sites in the federal Superfund pollution program. ...
California sets long-awaited drinking water limit for 'Erin Brockovich' contaminant
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California regulators voted Wednesday to establish a drinking water limit on hexavalent chromium, a toxic chemical compound made infamous by the movie “Erin Brockovich.” The rule is the first in the nation to specifically target the heavy metal, known as...
Homes are demolished in Ivory Coast's main city over alleged health concerns. Thousands are homeless
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Dame Touré rushed to quickly gather what she could as bulldozers rolled into her neighborhood in Ivory Coast's fast-growing economic hub of Abidjan. Her three children joined her, stuffing plastic bags with clothes and whatever other items they could grab, before...
Asbestos victim's dying words aired in wrongful death case against Buffet's railroad
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Thomas Wells ran a half-marathon at age 60 and played recreational volleyball until he was 63. At 65 years old, doctors diagnosed him with mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive lung cancer linked to asbestos exposure. “I’m in great pain and alls I see is this...
