Report: Drop in US adult smoking rate appears to be stalled
NEW YORK — The U.S. decline in cigarette smoking could be stalling while the adult vaping rate appears to be rising, according to a government report released Thursday.
About 14% of U.S adults were cigarette smokers last year, the third year in a row the annual survey found that rate. But health officials said a change in the methodology makes it hard to compare that to the same 14% reported for 2017 and 2018.
The adult smoking rate last saw a substantial drop in 2017, when it fell from 16% the year before.
The new figures fromthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mean there are more than 34 million adult smokers in the U.S.
Meanwhile, about 4.5% of adults were counted as current e-cigarette users last year — about 11 million people.
That rate appears to be up from 3.2% in 2018 and 2.8% in 2017. But again, officials said that comparing 2019 with earlier years is difficult because of the survey change.
The CDC figures are based on responses from about 32,000 people.
HIV deaths down:
Deaths related to HIV in the United States fell significantly from 2010 through 2018, regardless of sex, age, race or region, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.
The death rate declined overall by about half, experts said. But data also showed gains among women, Black people and those of multiple races were much smaller. And the rate of death was about twice as high in Southern states as in the Northeast.
Amid the pandemic, the CDC did not offer numbers on testing for HIV or access to pre exposure prophylaxis therapy over the past few months, but many facilities have shuttered HIV clinics or reported decreases in the number of people using their services, researchers said.
From 1990 through 2011, deaths among people with AIDS decreased significantly. They dropped even more after 2012, when treatment guidelines began recommending antiretroviral therapy for anyone with HIV.
Census irregularities:
The director of the Census Bureau said Thursday that irregularities have been found during the numberscrunching phase of the 2020census, a development that jeopardizes the statistical agency’s ability to meet a year-end deadline for handing in numbers used for divvying up congressional seats.
The Census Bureau already was facing a shortened schedule of 21⁄ 2 months for processing the data collected during the 2020 census — about half the time originally planned. The Census Bureau would not say Thursday what the anomalies were or publicly state a new deadline for the apportionment numbers.
“These types of processing anomalies have occurred in past censuses,” Census Bureau director Steven Dillingham said in a statement. “I am directing the Census Bureau to utilize all resources available to resolve this as expeditiously as possible.”
The Census Bureau said it would not comment further
on the matter.
California curfew:
California is imposing an overnight curfew on most residents as the most populous state tries to head off a surge in coronavirus cases that it fears could tax its health care system, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday.
The limited stay-at-home order requires people not working essential jobs to stay home from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. starting Saturday. The order will last until Dec. 21. The curfew covers 94% of the state’s nearly 40 million residents. It’s in place in 41 of the state’s 58 counties that have the most significant increases in virus cases and face the most severe restrictions under California’s system for reopening the economy.
Tyson suspensions:
Tyson Foods suspended top officials at its largest pork plant on Thursday and launched an investigation into allegations that they bet on how many workers would get infected during a widespread coronavirus outbreak.
The company’s president and CEO, Dean Banks, said he was “extremely upset” about the allegations against managers at its plant in Waterloo, Iowa, saying they do not represent the company’s values.
“If these claims are confirmed, we’ll take all measures necessary to root out and remove this disturbing behavior from our company,” Banks said in a statement.
Banks said the accused have been suspended without pay. A spokesman for the Arkansas-based company said it would not release their names during the investigation.
Virus in Africa:
The African continent has surpassed 2million confirmed cases as health officials warn of infections starting to creep up again into a second surge.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that the continent had crossed that milestone. Its numbers show the 54-country continent also has seen more than 48,000 deaths from COVID-19.
The continent of 1.3 billion people is being warned against “prevention fatigue” as countries loosen pandemic restrictions to ease their economies’ suffering and more people travel.
Troubled telescope:
The National Science Foundation announced Thursday that it will close the huge telescope at the renowned Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico in a blow to scientists worldwide who depend on it to search for planets, asteroids and extraterrestrial life.
The independent, federally funded agency said it’s too dangerous to keep operating the single dish radio telescope — one of the world’s largest — given the significant damage it recently sustained. An auxiliary cable broke in August and tore a 100-foot hole in the reflector dish and damaged the dome above it. On Nov. 6, oneof the telescope’s main steel cables snapped leading officials towarn the structure could collapse.
The telescope boasts a 1,000-foot-wide dish featured in films and had been operating for 57 years.
Brexit talks on hold:
The Brexit trade negotiations have been suspended at a crucial stage because an EU negotiator has tested positive for the coronavirus.
EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said that together with his U.K. counterpart, David Frost, “we have decided to suspend the negotiations at our level for a short period.” He added that talks among lower ranking officials would continue.
Any long suspension of talks will make it even tougher for the negotiator to clinch a deal ahead of the Jan. 1 deadline.
The medical setback complicates further negotiations that are facing a daunting deadline, since in the time ahead of New Year the EU will need about four weeks to complete the approval process of any deal agreed upon by Frost and Barnier.