Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

Kratom, a plant-based drug with opioid-like effects, is an emerging public health threat, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns.

While it’s true that smoking has dropped overall in the United States, smoking rates are significantly higher among people with mental illness than in the general population. Because so many people with mental illness smoke, many of them will get sick from tobacco-related diseases, explains Amy Taylor of Truth Initiative.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidelines Tuesday that recommend primary care providers avoid prescribing opioid painkillers for patients with chronic pain, according to USA Today. The risks from opioids greatly outweigh the benefits for most people, the CDC says.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said its recommendation that sexually active women should not drink alcohol if they are not using birth control is valid, despite criticism from many women. The New York Times reports the advice was viewed by some women as insulting and impractical.

Family members of people who have died from opioid painkiller overdoses are calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to publish guidelines designed to reduce prescriptions of the drugs, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Centers for Disease Control’s newest anti-smoking ads target current and former members of the military and people with mental health conditions, Bloomberg News reports. The ads will run in areas with the highest smoking rates.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention face stiff opposition to its effort to reduce prescribing of opioid painkillers, the Associated Press reports. Critics of new prescribing guidelines include drug manufacturers, industry-funded groups and some public health officials.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released draft guidelines for physicians who prescribe opioid painkillers, which call for a more conservative approach to the drugs’ use.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will spend $20 million in 16 states to reduce opioid overdoses, UPI reports.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week launched a social media campaign called “When the Prescription Becomes the Problem.” The campaign is designed to raise awareness of prescription painkiller abuse and overdose.

A new government anti-smoking campaign will include radio and print ads that question e-cigarettes’ value in helping smokers quit.

An anti-smoking campaign called “Tips From Former Smokers” cost just $480 per smoker who quit and $393 per year of life saved, according to a new report. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which ran the campaign, called it successful and highly cost-effective.

Fewer American adults are smoking than ever before, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The dip in the smoking rate is due to higher cigarette prices, smoke-free policies and campaigns to combat smoking, the CDC said.