More than a quarter of a million youth who had never smoked a cigarette used electronic cigarettes in 2013, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research. This number reflects a three-fold increase, from about 79,000 in 2011, to more than 263,000 in 2013.

Respirators had been used by employees in about 10 percent of the private industry workplaces surveyed in late 2001. In nearly half of these 619,400 establishments where respirators were used, they were used by employees on a voluntary basis only, and, in about 12 percent, they were used only when required because of emergencies.

TOM FRIEDEN: First, we had the potential exposure to anthrax at CDC’s laboratory. Second, earlier this week, we learned about an incident in CDC’s influenza laboratory. And third, we had the discovery of vials labeled as smallpox in a storage room on the NIH campus and CDC’s work to secure and to characterize these materials.

Each year, the U.S. spends nearly $9,000 for the health of every American -- far more than what the governments of other countries spend on the health of their citizens – yet life expectancy and health outcomes are generally worse for Americans than for citizens of other developed nations in North America and Europe.

Excessive alcohol use accounts for one in 10 deaths among working-age adults ages 20-64 years in the United States, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published recently in Preventing Chronic Disease

The Million Hearts initiative announces the launch of a new Healthy Eating and Lifestyle Resource Center, developed in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Eating-Well magazine.

The American Industrial Hygiene Association® (AIHA) has issued recommendations to prevent lead poisoning among children in developing nations, based on a case study of lead contamination conditions in several countries in Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia. 

While cigarette smoking among U.S. workers continues to decline, the use of smokeless tobacco – particularly among those who do certain types of jobs – remains steady.

Injuries from pool chemicals led to nearly 5,000 emergency room visits in 2012, according to a study released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly half of these preventable injuries were in children and teenagers and more than a third occurred at a home.