Peanut Allergies at Birth More Than Doubled Since 2001
Infants born with a peanut allergy have more than doubled since 2001, say researchers with the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI). In the early part of the millennium, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that 1.7 percent of babies were born with a peanut allergy; in 2017, 5.2 percent were born with the same allergy.
Researchers also revised the total number of children with a peanut allergy upward, noting that around 2.2 percent of children and adolescents in the U.S.—to the tune of 1.25 million—suffer from the allergy. In previous decades, the number of kids with peanut allergies hovered around one percent.
Milk allergies are also on the rise, affecting 1.9 percent of kids in the U.S. Although milk is the most common food allergy for children under age five, they’re likely to outgrow it by the time they reach age 18.
Smoking Rates Hit Record Lows
When it comes to cigarette smoking, the rates continue to improve, falling to 14 percent of Americans in 2017—a whopping 67 percent lower than it was in 1965. “This new all-time low in cigarette smoking among U.S. adults is a tremendous public health accomplishment—and it demonstrates the importance of continued proven strategies to reduce smoking,” Robert Redfield, CDC director, says in an agency news release.
However, one in five adults in the U.S. still use a tobacco product, killing more than 480,000 people annually, while 16 million have a tobacco-related illness. In addition to cigarettes, the most common tobacco product, 3.8 percent smoke cigars or cigarillos, 2.8 percent use e-cigarettes, 2.1 percent use smokeless tobacco, and one percent use a pipe, water pipe, or hookah.
Cigarette smoking has been the leading cause of death from cancer in the U.S. for more than 50 years, notes Norman Sharpless, MD, director of the U.S. National Cancer Institute. Entirely eliminating smoking would decrease cancer deaths over time by one-third, he says.
