New research shows that nicotine pouches are the fastest growing source of nicotine addiction in young children.

Researchers at the National Children’s Hospital in Ohio have analyzed data over a decade, examining over 134,000 children under the age of six, and mistakenly intaken nicotine on products such as steam, gums and lozenges. Most types of exposure have decreased since 2016. However, one delivery method (nicotine pouch) shot, rising over 760% between 2020 and 2023.

“It’s a high concentration of nicotine product and it tastes better,” said Dr. Natalie Rine, director of the Central Ohio Poison Center at the National Children’s Hospital and co-author of the study published Monday in Journal Pediatrics. “There’s nothing to say to a child, ‘This is a bad thing, you should spit it out’…it gets you into trouble. ”

A miniature white packet that users tuck between their lips and gum hit a US shelf in 2014. They do not contain tobacco, but instead are filled with synthetic or naturally derived nicotine along with aromas and sweeteners.

The modest, sweet, smokeless nature of nicotine pouches has sparked concern among public health advocates who have meticulously watched the growing popularity among teens and young adults. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they have become the second most used nicotine product among young people. The National Youth Tobacco Survey has discovered that nicotine pouch use among teenagers doubled between 2021 and 2024.

Still, the overall user base remains small. According to data from the US Census Bureau, only 0.5% of Americans use nicotine pouches, while 9% smoke and 3% use vape or e-cigarettes.

In January, the US Food and Drug Administration gave marketing permission for certain nicotine pouches for the first time, allowing sales of 10 flavors from popular brand Zyn to help adult smokers stop or reduce cigarette use. The agency said Zyn products contain fewer harmful ingredients than tobacco and some types of chewing cigarettes.

At the time, the FDA noted that overall youth use of nicotine pouches was low, with only 1.8% of middle and high school students.

The level of nicotine in the pouch is from 3 to 12 milligrams per pouch. At the lowest dose, it supplies more stimulants than tobacco, and even small amounts of nicotine are dangerous to small children. Among other serious symptoms, ingestion of 1-2 milligrams more than that found in one rule strength pouch can cause nausea, vomiting and trembling, according to the National Library of Medicine.

This study found that nicotine pouches are associated with a 150% higher risk of serious medical effects, and are twice as likely to lead to hospitalization than other smokeless nicotine products that children swallow, such as gums, lozenges, e-liquids, tablets, and powders.

While the majority of pediatric nicotine intake caused little harm, more than 1,600 children had serious medical consequences, the study found. Two children died after taking liquid nicotine.

Philip Morris International, who owns Zyn through Swedish Match, said in a statement Monday that each can of the nicotine pouch includes warnings about keeping the product out of reach of children, and packaging includes child-bearing.

Rine recommends parents use nicotine pouches in front of their children to avoid imitating potentially dangerous adult behavior. She also suggests keeping nicotine products out of reach of children and having conversations with other caregivers, such as babysitters and extended families.

If your child may have taken a nicotine pouch, the best first step is to control the poison at 1-800-222-1222. Trained staff will guide caregivers based on their child’s symptoms and help them determine whether emergency care is needed.

An estimated 14.3 million children remain completely unvaccinated worldwide, and public health experts point to conflict zones that threaten childhood vaccination efforts around the world, according to a new report.

Each year, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund publish a comprehensive report on national vaccination estimates based on data from 195 countries. This year’s report, released Monday, said there have been some improvements in protecting children from certain illnesses through routine vaccinations.

Globally, 171,000 children were vaccinated more than in 2023 last year than in 2023, according to the report. But that leaves an additional 5.7 million children with partial protection alone, as more than 14 million children are vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases and may not have obtained all recommended doses of a particular vaccine series.

“The latest estimates underline the real concerns about trajectories,” Dr. Kate O’Brien, director of the WHO’s Department of Vaccination, Vaccines and Biology, said in a news briefing.

“The global vision is that everyone everywhere will benefit from a life-saving vaccine,” she said. “But we’ve been hitting this very stubborn glass ceiling and breaking through that glass makes it even more difficult to protect more children from vaccine-preventable diseases.”

The rise in conflict and war zones that are emerging around the world have eroded some of the progress in providing vaccinations to children, adding that many children are not maintaining vaccine connectivity, particularly in low- or middle-income countries.

“Children who live in one of 26 countries affected by vulnerability, conflict, or humanitarian emergencies are three times more likely to be vaccinated than children who live in stable countries,” O’Brien said. “In fact, half of all unvaccinated children in the world live in these vulnerable, vulnerable conflict countries.”

Last year, nine countries, Nigeria, India, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Angola, accounted for 52% of all children who had not received a vaccine dose, according to a new report.

Meanwhile, in high-income countries, vaccine coverage has been affected by institutional vaccine reluctance and mistrust, leading to the revival of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and polio, says Dr. Efrem Lemango, UNICEF’s Associate Director of Health and Global Chief of Immunity.

“Based on everything we know, over the last 50 years, more than 150 million lives have been saved by vaccinations, which has helped protect children from diseases that can be prevented with all forms of vaccine,” Lemango said in a briefing.

“However, misinformation and all forms of sut for vaccines reflect a broader lack of trust or mistrust in the systems that provide the vaccine, healthcare workers that provide the vaccine, manufacturing facilities or ecosystems that manufacture the vaccine,” he said. “So it’s important to see misinformation and lack of information as part of a broader ecosystem that can be addressed.”

Misinformation appears to be driving the outbreak of disease in your pocket O’Brien said that countries tend to have high vaccination rates.

“Beneath the number of countries where vaccination coverage is very low, there are communities where communities are hidden. That’s where the outbreak is happening and those kids are people who are suffering,” she said.

The outbreak of measles that occurred in parts of West Texas, where vaccination rates are low, has continued to spread in the US, with more cases of measles reported than any other cases since the disease was declared eliminated a quarter century ago.

But O’Brien added that while the effects of misinformation are concerning, it is not the main reason why millions of children are not vaccinated worldwide.

“The main reason is that when you can see all over the world, the reason your child is not vaccinated is because of access to vaccines and access to vaccination services. This is especially important,” O’Brien said.

“They are not vaccinated because they don’t have access,” she said. “They are in dangerous environments. They are difficult to access and in some circumstances the government cannot access those environments.”

The new report has raised concerns about funding global vaccination efforts. The Trump administration has dismantled the US International Development Agency, or USAID, which is affiliated with organizations such as Gavi, a vaccine alliance that provides vaccines. The US has announced plans to cut funding from its Global Fund to combat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

“We still have a lot to do,” Director Tedros Adhanom Gebrees said in a news release. “The dramatic cuts in aid, coupled with misinformation about vaccine safety, are threatening to rewind decades of progress. Who is committed to working with partners to develop local solutions and reaching all children who will increase domestic investment and save vaccine lives.”

In 2024, an estimated 89% of infants worldwide received at least one dose of the DTP vaccine, thus earning the same share as in 2023 and 2022, meaning that protection against difteria, tetanus and thoracic remains constant in 2024, according to a new report.

According to a new report, the percentage of children who received the first dose of the measles vaccine remained relatively constant at 84% last year, compared to 83% in 2023 and 2022. Overall, the report shows that 20.6 million children missed the first dose of their daily measles vaccine last year.

Meanwhile, the global proportion of children who received the second measles vaccine for the measles vaccine increased from 73% in 2022 and 73% in 2024 to 76% in 2024, according to a new report.

In the United States, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that US vaccine coverage is declining, and pediatric vaccine coverage is declining this year, with the majority of over 90% this year, more than 90%.

“The good news is that we were able to reach more children with a life-saving vaccine. But millions of children remain unprotected from preventable diseases. That should be worrying to us all.” “We must now act with determination to overcome barriers such as reduced health budgets, vulnerable health systems, and more, along with misinformation and access constraints due to conflict.

O’Brien said there has been “an incredible improvement” in the global coverage of HPV vaccines, which will help protect against human papillomavirus, which can cause cervical cancer and other related diseases.

According to a new report, the percentage of girls who received their first dose increased from 27% in 2024, 27% in 2023, 27% in 2022, 28% in 2024, 28% in 2024, and 21% in 2022 to 14%.

HPV vaccine coverage has been somewhat stable among boys, with 8% receiving their first dose in 2024 and 2023.

“This is a truly bright spot for data, and again, we see an increase in HPV vaccine coverage year by year,” O’Brien said, adding that the recent increase was largely due to vaccine introductions in Nigeria, Bangladesh and four other countries.

Overall, the new report states that there were no major withdrawals in child vaccine coverage around the world, but no major improvements, said Dr. Dan Baruch, director of the Center for Virology, Vaccines and Research at Beth Israel Deacones Medical Center.

“There are too many 14 million children who have not been vaccinated. Vaccination as a child is one of the most cost-effective medical interventions ever developed,” Baruch said. “We hope that global health authorities will prioritize childhood vaccination programs and that funding mechanisms will be developed to ensure the continuity of these programs.”

Thousands of employees of the US federal health agency received emails Monday afternoon.

The shooting was originally reported on April 1st for most of the included employees, but they were late A legal battle unfolded. The US Department of Health and Human Services said in an email that it reached its peak with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on July 8th. This means that the agency is “currently allowed to proceed with some of its reductions.”

According to a copy obtained by CNN, “we are notified that it has been officially separated from HHS at closing on July 14, 2025.” “Thank you for serving the Americans.”

“HHS previously announced plans to convert this department into health again, and we’re going to do just that,” HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said in an email to CNN after the Supreme Court ruling last week.

In a reorganization announced on March 27, HHS eliminated 10,000 employees across agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health. Some have since regained their jobs, but thousands have lost jobs on Monday.

But some of these 10,000 are temporarily protected at least in another trial, New York v. Kennedy isn’t split anytime soon, the spokesman said. This includes six CDC employees. This is HIV National Center, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention. National Center for Environmental Health. Reproductive Health Division; National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. Office on smoking and health. National Center for Birth and Developmental Disorders – FDA’s Cigarette Products Center. Head Start’s office. Department of Data and Technical Analysis under Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.

“All employees previously notified on April 1 are separated, except for those with temporary New York vs. Kennedy protections,” a HHS spokesperson said.

In that case, Judge Melissa Dubose, of the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, granted a provisional injunction request this month from a coalition of 19 states and the District of Columbia, in order to halt its March 27 reorganization plan.

Last week, the administration asked Dubose to narrow her decision down to the department cited by a spokesman for the HHS, but the judge has yet to rule that request.

Given that many HHS workers are still protected by the Dubose order, layoffs will likely be challenged in court, but the agency could argue that the Supreme Court ruling allows staff to be cut, said Michael Fallings, managing partner at Tully Rinckey, a federal employment law specialist.

Also on Monday, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to proceed with a massive layoff at another institution for now: the Department of Education. The verdict was caught up in a lawsuit filed by teachers’ unions, school districts, states and education groups.

Within two hours of that decision, the department sent notifications to employees, promptly reopening plans, indicating that workers would be let go on August 1st.

“They seem to be encouraged by recent Supreme Court decisions that have been lit up the actions of the Trump administration, where other courts remain,” said Andrew Twinamatsuko, director of the O’Neill Institute Law and Law Center at George Gettown University, which is underway during the HHS layoffs.

In a Supreme Court decision last week, the judges allowed federal agencies to suspend orders that temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from taking those steps without Congressional approval.

However, the judge said, “We do not consider the legality of the agency RIF and the reorganization plan,” opening up the possibility of control over certain agency layoff plans in the future, and that the reductions appear to have made it impossible for the department to carry out its obligations under the law.

It was submitted by a coalition of over 12 unions, nonprofits and local governments. The case, which comes from an executive order signed in mid-February, began a process that significantly reduces the size of federal agencies.

CNN’s John Fritze, Devan Cole and Sunlen Serfaty contributed to this report.