data

FDA finally analyzed its own youth tobacco data

Last year, 7.2% of middle and high schoolers in the U.S. reported using any sort of tobacco product, according to newly analyzed federal survey data. That represents an overall decline from 2022, though interestingly, use of nicotine pouches among young people increased to 1.7%, compared to 1.4%. Vapes were the most popular tobacco product, with 5.2% of survey respondents reporting current use in 2025.

Among young vape users, nearly 90% used flavored products, with fruit, candy, dessert, and other sweet flavors the most prominent. Despite the popularity of sweet flavors among young people, the FDA touted its recent approval of four flavored e-cigarette products as a mitigation strategy.

“We call on FDA to reverse its decision to authorize flavored e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches,” Thomas Carr, the director of national policy at the American Lung Association, said in a statement. “And on the federal government to restore staffing at CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health to help prevent tobacco use and help people quit for good.”

(As a reminder: The raw data from the survey was first released in March without analysis, an unusual circumstance that left an opening for the tobacco titan Altria to circulate its own assessment before the government weighed in.)

policy

Government can’t restrict SNAP dollars on candy, drinks

A federal judge ruled Monday that the government cannot block people who receive SNAP benefits from buying candy, soda, and other sugary drinks with the money. Under the Trump administration, the Agriculture Department has given 23 states so far permission to implement these restrictions.

The decision didn’t come down to whether such restrictions are a good idea, the judge clarified. Rather, it had to do with the definition of “food” used when states asked the Agriculture Department for permission to restrict SNAP purchases. Read more from the AP on the details and what might come next.

reproductive health

Endless add-ons for IVF may not be worth it

Unless you’ve undertaken IVF yourself, you may not even know about all the add-on procedures that you can get (buy) to try improving your chance at pregnancy: There’s acupuncture, corticosteroids, intrauterine infusions, endometrial biopsies, something called EmbryoGlue, and more. A new systematic review out of Australia, published last night in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health, found that most of these options either have no benefit for fertility, or the data is inconclusive.

There was weak evidence supporting three options: EmbryoGlue, endometrial scratching, and physiological intracytoplasmic sperm injection. (For information on what this all entails, the study authors created a website with evidence-based information about these options.) The authors also emphasize that robust clinical trials are needed to learn more about any benefit these options may have. It’s unclear how often American patients opt for these procedures, but they’re largely unregulated — and some say they’re just a racket.