January 14 News: Air in Australia posed a threat to the people, Thailand reports case of coronavirus from China, number of US alcohol deaths per year doubles

The Washington Post – In Australia, the air poses a threat; people are rushing to hospitals in cities choked by smoke

Australia’s bush fires have blanketed parts of the continent with pollution, affecting hundreds of thousands of people who are not in immediate danger from the flames. Government agencies and medical officials say distress calls, ambulance runs and hospital emergency room visits have surged.

Associated Press – Thailand reports case of coronavirus from China

A Chinese visitor to Thailand has been confirmed to be infected with a new strain of coronavirus that has been linked to a pneumonia outbreak in central China, health officials said Monday.

Vox News – The number of US alcohol deaths per year has doubled since 1999

A new study published this month in Alcoholism found the number of alcohol-related deaths more than doubled between 1999 and 2017 from nearly 36,000 to nearly 73,000.

The New York Times – To the contrary, Trump has tried to weaken protections for preexisting conditions

Despite his claims, President Trump was not in Washington when the Affordable Care Act established a right to health insurance for Americans with preexisting health conditions. His first legislative priority as president was a bill that would have repealed key parts of the ACA and weakened such protections.

Kaiser Health News – Smokers need not apply: fairness of no-nicotine hiring policies questioned

When U-Haul recently announced it will no longer hire people who use nicotine in any form in the 21 states where such hiring policies are legal, the Phoenix-based moving company joined a cadre of companies with nicotine-free hiring policies.

The Hill – Big Pharma looks to stem losses after trade deal defeat

Drug companies are protesting the elimination of a provision that would have given them 10 years of market exclusivity for an innovative type of drug called biologics.

STAT News – Our body systems age at different rates, study finds, point to personalized care to extend healthy life

In a study published on Monday in Nature Medicine, researchers conclude that just as people have an individual genotype, so too do they have an “ageotype,” a combination of molecular and other changes that are specific to one physiological system.