Public Health

The death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman as a result of an apparent heroin overdose has prompted broader discussion about the drug’s prevalence and effects currently across American society. In general, the usage of heroin, its availability and the number of persons arrested for trafficking have grown in recent years.

Car emissions account for half of the carbon monoxide pollution in the United States, one third of the nitrogen oxide pollution, and 10% of fine particulate matter emissions. Areas of heavy traffic congestion — which see concentrated emissions levels in the ambient air — are of particular concern, as previous research has linked such pollution with negative effects on fetal health.

There are almost 1.3 million lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) high school students in the United States, according to the first nationwide survey measuring their numbers and attitudes toward risk. These students – about 8 percent of the total – are nearly five times more likely than their straight peers to have attempted suicide and more than four times more likely to have experimented with hard drugs like heroin and meth.