The number of calls to poison centers involving e-cigarette liquids containing nicotine jumped from one per month in September, 2010 to 215 per month in February, 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

One-in-three patients in skilled nursing facilities suffered a medication error, infection or some other type of harm related to their treatment, according to a government report released today that underscores the widespread nature of the country’s patient harm problem.

Prevalence of Adult Vision Impairment and Age-Related Eye Disease in the United States: Estimated Number of Cases by Vision Problem Age ≥ 40.

Although electronic cigarettes are being aggressively promoted as tools that can help people quit smoking, scientific studies are not bearing that out. A report published recently in JAMA Internal Medicine noted that the effectivenss of e-cigarettes (or electronic nicotine delivery systems) in smoking cessation efforts has been “unconvincing” in studies conducted so far.

In the largest, most comprehensive, nationwide study to examine the prevalence of allergies from early childhood to old age, scientists from the National Institutes of Health report that allergy prevalence is the same across different regions of the United States, except in children 5 years and younger.

More smokers would quit if state Medicaid programs covered more cessation treatments and removed barriers to coverage, according to a CDC study published in today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. All 50 states and the District of Columbia cover cessation treatments for at least some Medicaid enrollees.

U.S. health departments are saving an estimated $15 million in treating TB among immigrants to the U.S., thanks to CDC recommendations that people be screened for the disease prior to their arrival in the country.