Latest news with #UnitedStates
Medscape
16 minutes ago
- General
- Medscape
How Are Young Adults Quitting Vaping?
In 2022, nearly one third of young adults in the United States used electronic nicotine products, and almost one third of the young adults who used them attempted to quit, with social support being the most commonly used cessation method. METHODOLOGY: Researchers performed a secondary analysis and analyzed Wave 7 data, collected between January 2022 and April 2023, from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study to assess vaping cessation methods used by young adults. They included 10,310 young adults aged 18-24 years who reported using electronic nicotine products and attempting to quit or successfully quitting the use of electronic nicotine products in the past 12 months. Six methods used to quit vaping, namely, social support from family and friends, behavioral support, smartphone applications , nicotine replacement therapy, nicotine product substitution, and prescription medications, were assessed. Results were reported as unweighted numbers and weighted percentages to provide population estimates. TAKEAWAY: Of 10,310 participants, 3024 reported using electronic nicotine products in the past 12 months, and 855 (mean age, 20.9 years; 52.3% women) reported quitting or attempting to quit in the past 12 months. Of those who reported quitting or attempting to quit, 20% did not use electronic nicotine products in the past 30 days, indicating an 80% rate of unsuccessful quit attempts. Support from family and friends was the most common method used by young adults to quit vaping (29.8%). Nicotine product substitution was used by 11.0% of participants, with nicotine pouches and cigarettes being the most common substitutes. Behavioral support, smartphone applications, and nicotine replacement therapy were less commonly used methods, reported by 9.6%, 8.9%, and 5.0% of participants, respectively, while prescription medications were the least used cessation method (1.7%). IN PRACTICE: 'More frequent use of social support by young adults suggests this may be an important component of future cessation treatment programs,' the authors wrote. 'Given the popularity of ENPs [electronic nicotine products] among YAs [young adults], there is a need for both evidence-based cessation treatments and improved implementation of effective treatments to help reduce ENP use,' they added. SOURCE: This study was led by Brian S. Williams, MD, of the Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, Wisconsin. It was published online on May 29, 2025, in JAMA Network Open . LIMITATIONS: This study relied on self-reported data with a possibility of recall bias. DISCLOSURES: This study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health. One author reported receiving grants from the same source.
Crypto Insight
23 minutes ago
- Business
- Crypto Insight
US lawmakers introduce bipartisan regulatory framework for digital assets
US Representative French Hill has announced the introduction of the much-awaited market structure bill for digital assets. The 'Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025' or 'CLARITY Act of 2025' comes with support from lawmakers across both sides of the aisle, including three Democratic co-sponsors. The bill covers the roles of both the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on digital assets oversight, seeking to resolve longstanding questions about which agency oversees which types of digital assets. 'I am proud to introduce the bipartisan CLARITY Act with my colleagues,' Hill said in a May 29 statement. 'Our bill brings long-overdue clarity to the digital asset ecosystem, prioritizes consumer protection and American innovation, and builds off our work in the 118th Congress.' Under the CLARITY Act, developers would be required to provide accurate and relevant disclosures detailing a project's operation, ownership, and structure. The bill also introduces new compliance requirements for customer-facing firms such as brokers and dealers, including clear disclosures to customers, segregation of customer assets from company funds, and mitigation of conflicts of interest through strict registration, transparency, and operational standards. In addition, the Act establishes 'comprehensive registration regimes' that would allow digital asset firms to legally serve customers in the US market. 'The CLARITY Act will deliver clear rules of the road that entrepreneurs, investors, and consumers deserve,' Representative Ritchie Torres said in a statement. The bill emerged from the House Committee on Financial Services. The committee had previously worked on the FIT21 Act, which passed out of the House of Representatives but stalled in the Senate. Hearings for a market structure bill started initially in April within the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Artificial Intelligence. Market structure, stablecoin bills points of emphasis for Congress Market structure and stablecoin bills have long been points of emphasis for Congress, which has sought to regulate the burgeoning crypto industry in the United States. Representative Ro Khanna said in March that Congress 'should be able to get' both a stablecoin bill and a market structure bill done this year. The stablecoin bill, known as the GENIUS Act, faces a full Senate vote after it passed a procedural vote earlier in May. The Trump administration has pushed for the passing of the GENIUS Act, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Crypto Czar David Sacks both advocating for it publicly. The bill initially lost key support in May from Democrats protesting against US President Donald Trump's crypto ties. Source:
Japan Times
25 minutes ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Trump aims to exceed first term's weapons sales to Taiwan, officials say
The United States plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taipei to a level exceeding President Donald Trump's first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the democratic island, according to two U.S. officials. If U.S. arms sales to Taiwan do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump's commitment to the island. It would also add new friction to the tense U.S.-China relationship. The U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they expect U.S. approvals for weapons sales to Taipei over the next four years to surpass those in Trump's first term, with one of the officials saying arms sales notifications to Taiwan could "easily exceed" that earlier period. They also said the United States is pressing members of Taiwan's opposition parties not to oppose the government's efforts to increase defense spending to 3% of the island's budget. The first Trump administration approved sales of approximately $18.3 billion worth of weapons to Taiwan, compared with around $8.4 billion during Joe Biden's term, according to Reuters calculations. The United States is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties between Washington and Taipei. Even so, many in Taiwan, which China claims as its own, worry that Trump may not be as committed to the island as past U.S. presidents. On the election campaign trail, Trump suggested Taiwan should pay to be protected and also accused the island of stealing American semiconductor business, causing alarm in Taipei. China has vowed to "reunify" with the separately governed island, by force if necessary. Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only the island's people can decide their future. The U.S. officials said administration officials and Trump himself were committed to "enhancing hard deterrence" for Taiwan. "That's where the president is. That's where all of us are," one U.S. official said, adding that they were working closely with Taiwan on an arms procurement package to be rolled out when Taiwan secured domestic funding. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te visits the Republic of China Military Academy, an officer training academy, for its 100th anniversary celebrations, in Kaohsiung last June. | REUTERS Taiwan's Presidential Office said the government is determined to strengthen its self-defense capabilities and pointed to its proposals to increase defense spending. "Taiwan aims to enhance military deterrence while continuing to deepen its security cooperation with the United States," presidential office spokesperson Wen Lii said. Taiwan's defense ministry declined to comment on any new arms sales, but reiterated previous remarks by the island's defense minister, Wellington Koo, about the importance of "solidarity and cooperation of democratic allies." Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) aim to increase defense spending to 3% of GDP this year through a special defense budget. But the island's parliament, controlled by opposition parties the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), passed budget cuts earlier this year that threatened to hit defense spending. That triggered concerns in Washington, where officials and lawmakers have regularly said the U.S. cannot show more urgency over Taiwan's defense than the island itself. "We're messaging pretty hard (in Taipei) to the opposition. Don't get in the way of this. This isn't a Taiwanese partisan question. This is a Taiwanese survival question," one of the U.S. officials said. Three people in Taiwan with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed that the U.S. government and U.S. congressional visitors have been pressing the opposition parties in Taiwan not to block defense spending, especially the coming special defense budget, which is expected to be proposed to parliament later this year. "As long as they knew there were people from the opposition in the room, they directly asked them not to cut the defense budget," one of the people said. Alexander Huang, director of the KMT's international department, said it was "beyond question" that the party firmly supports increasing the defense budget and its "doors are open" to the U.S. government and the ruling DPP for consultations. "Supporting an increased budget does not mean serving as a rubber stamp, nor does it preclude making adjustments or engaging in negotiations regarding the special budget proposals put forth by the DPP administration," he added. The much smaller TPP said it has "always had smooth communication with the U.S. side and has continued to engage in in-depth dialogue on issues such as national defense and regional security." It was reported in February that Taiwan was exploring a multibillion-dollar arms purchase from the U.S., hoping to win support from the new Trump administration. New weapons packages are expected to focus on missiles, munitions and drones, cost-effective means to help improve Taiwan's chances of rebuffing any military action by China's much larger forces. For years, China has been steadily ramping up its military pressure to assert its sovereignty claims over the island, which is home to critical chip manufacturing vital to the global economy. Separately, one of the U.S. officials said the Trump administration would not object to a transit this year through U.S. territory by Lai, whom Beijing labels a "separatist." Past visits to the United States by Taiwanese officials have triggered angry objections by China, which sees such trips as inappropriate given that the United States has diplomatic relations with Beijing, not Taipei. Taiwan's presidential office spokesperson Lii said there are currently "no plans for a presidential transit through the United States at the moment."
CNN
an hour ago
- Politics
- CNN
Dreams cut short, Chinese students anxious and angry over ‘aggressive' US visa ban plans
Kiwi Zhang, a computer science student from China, was full of hope for his academic future in the United States – until his visa was revoked at the US border last week. The first-year PhD student at a university in central US had just presented his research at a conference in Asia. He was returning to the US after a brief visit home when his American dream was abruptly cut short. According to Zhang, he was detained at the border for 48 hours by US officials, who confiscated his phone and laptop, and searched his belongings. He said they questioned him about his ties to the Chinese Communist Party and meetings with friends while in China. At the end of the interrogation, Zhang said he was deported and barred from the US for five years, on suspicion of having shared his research with the Chinese government – an allegation he denies. He is now back in China and mulling his next steps. 'I never imagined this could happen to me,' said Zhang, who – like everyone CNN spoke to for this story – asked to use a pseudonym out of fear of retaliation. 'I didn't know things would get this extreme after Donald Trump returned to office. His administration is jeopardizing my academic future, and I feel powerless to defend my rights.' Now, many Chinese students studying in the US fear they could meet the same fate, after President Trump's administration vowed on Wednesday to 'aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.' The announcement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio was brief and vaguely worded, but it sent shock waves through China, triggering widespread confusion, anxiety and fear among current and prospective students and their families, as well as strong opposition from Beijing. Student chat groups lit up with messages of disbelief. Education consultants were flooded with panicked phone calls. Many students aired their frustration and anger on social media. At a regular news conference Thursday, China's foreign ministry accused the Trump administration of using ideology and national security as a 'pretext' for the 'politically motivated and discriminatory' move. Suddenly, hundreds of thousands of young Chinese minds, drawn by the prestige of a world-class education and the allure of the American dream, found themselves facing a stark reality: the future they had worked so hard for now hangs in the balance, held hostage by the whims of a US administration that increasingly views them – and their homeland – as a threat. 'What strikes me is how tiny individuals are in the tide of history – career plans can collapse overnight,' said Joyce, who received an offer from her dream school, Harvard, to pursue a master's degree in architecture. Her visa from her undergraduate program in the US is still valid for another year, but she did not dare to return to China for the summer, worrying that she might be denied reentry at the US border. 'I can't help wishing I'd grown up in a golden age of US-China relations,' she said. For decades, China's brightest minds have flocked to America, as their home country played catch-up with the world's leading superpower. Until last year, Chinese students made up the largest group of international students in the US, contributing significantly to the economy and helping America maintain its competitive edge in scientific research and technological innovation. But as strategic rivalry between the two nations intensifies, mistrust has deepened. Both sides have ramped up national security measures and grown more protective of their advanced technologies – particularly in sensitive sectors with military implications. During his first term in 2020, Trump introduced a ban that effectively denied US visas to graduates in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields from Chinese universities believed to be linked to the military. Within just three months, more than 1,000 Chinese nationals had their visas revoked, and the order remained in place under former President Joe Biden. It's unclear how quickly or widely the new revocations will be carried out. But the fear is palpable in CNN's interviews with Chinese students. Studying in a country that has long held itself up as a beacon of freedom, many were too afraid to speak openly under their real names – a fear all too familiar to those back in China. They include David Yang, whose heart sank when he saw Rubio's announcement. 'This is just too surreal,' said the second-year PhD student in theoretical chemistry at a top university in the Midwestern US. 'When the news broke, some classmates said they were working on their final assignments but completely lost the motivation to continue. I felt the same way,' he said. In recent weeks, Yang has found it nearly impossible to focus on his research, simulating how molecules interact with each other in the human body. Instead, he's been glued to the news, anxiously tracking Trump's escalating war on elite universities and international students, trying to gauge whether he might land in the crossfire. Last week, the Trump administration barred Harvard University from enrolling international students, accusing the prestigious institution of 'coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party,' among other allegations. Although a federal court has since blocked the move, the State Department soon followed with a diplomatic cable instructing US embassies and consulates worldwide to halt new student visa appointments. As Yang scrolled through the headlines, periods of anxiety would suddenly hit, and he found himself compulsively refreshing news sites over and over. 'I felt sad, lost and helpless. It's been incredibly stressful,' he said. 'The constant policy changes bring so much uncertainty into our lives. It really impacts productivity and, over time, takes a toll on your mental health – and for me, it already has.' Worried about his visa, Yang is planning on canceling his trip home this winter. His major could well fall under what Rubio called 'critical fields' and – like millions of Chinese students – he's a member of the Communist Youth League, a youth branch of the 99-million-strong Communist Party for those aged between 14 and 28. In China, most students are Youth League members by the time they finish high school, or have party members among family and friends – thanks to the party's ubiquity across government and business, as well as cultural and social sectors. 'The vast majority of people in China have some connection to the Communist Party – so this is essentially the same as condemning all Chinese students with a single stroke,' Yang said. Zhang, the student whose visa was revoked at the border, said US officials asked whether anyone in his family was a member of the Communist Party. He told them both of his parents were. They then questioned him about his own affiliation with the Communist Youth League, he said. 'I said I've never had any connection with them. The Communist Youth League charges us seven or eight yuan (about $1) a year, but there are no activities at all. But the officials said: 'You are lying.' I honestly didn't know what to say. I could only sit there, stunned,' Zhang said. Facing potential deportation in the middle of their hard-won education, some Chinese students are considering other options. Ella Liu, a math undergraduate at the University of Michigan, is visiting family in the southern city of Guangzhou before her summer research project in the US starts next month. 'Me and my parents are all praying that I won't be banned from entering the country in June,' she said. Liu was drawn to the US by its academic freedom and resources. But if the hardline visa policy continues, she might consider transferring to another university in Europe or Hong Kong. 'I am very determined to study mathematics and there are also many excellent math resources in other countries, such as in France,' she said. Like many Chinese students, Liu comes from a middle-class family. Her parents saved for years for her to attend college in the US, where tuition and living costs can run to more than $80,000 – much more than getting a degree in Europe or Asia. Some Chinese students are already looking elsewhere. In recent years, the number of Chinese students in the US has steadily declined from a peak in the 2019-2020 school year – a drop that coincides with the Covid-19 pandemic but also increasing friction between the two governments. Nelson Urena Jr., co-founder and director of college counseling at an education management firm in Shanghai, said that for years many Chinese families saw American universities as the 'gold standard' for college education. Since around 2018, however, he has noticed more interest from students and parents alike in universities in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, as well as the semi-autonomous Chinese city of Hong Kong. 'A lot of families were concerned legitimately about their children's safety, and then also just the rhetoric of, you know, whether they're welcome in the US,' he said, citing issues such as gun violence and racist hostility or even violence against Asian people. 'More recently, I think people are starting to see the growing disconnect between the US and China, and feeling like maybe things are going to be more difficult for them – from getting the visa to making payments for tuitions.' Rubio's announcement Wednesday also vowed to 'revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications' from China, including Hong Kong. Since then, Urena has been inundated by phone calls from anxious students preparing to start their college education in the US. But he didn't have a ready response for them. 'It's just a lot of uncertainty right now. The students are trying to figure out what to do…The options are very limited at this point – Do they do a gap year? Do they go to university elsewhere? Do they have to go back to the application process?' he said. Nevertheless, for some Chinese parents, the allure of American higher education has not worn off. Arno Huang, a 56-year-old businessman from China's coastal Fujian province, still wants to send his kids to the US for graduate schools after they finish undergraduate studies in Hong Kong. 'The US represents one of the most civilized, developed, and open places for humanity. Although US-China relations are currently strained, smart people still recognize this fact,' said Huang. Having kids studying in the US gives a family 'face,' he said, using a common Chinese phrase to refer to good reputation or social standing. 'Once their child is in the US, they can proudly tell others, 'Look how successful my son is!'' Zichen Wang, a research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, a non-government think tank in Beijing, lamented a seemingly bygone era, when Chinese officials, entrepreneurs and scientists alike were trained in the US – especially those who played key roles during China's reform and opening-up era that began in 1978. 'When they returned to China, they brought back not only professional knowledge and credentials, but also a deep respect and admiration for America as an open and inclusive society,' he said. 'I believe many Chinese people see what makes America great not merely as its economic or military strength, but its openness – its world-class universities, its confidence in the marketplace of ideas, and its ability to attract top global talent,' Wang added. 'That, at least in my view, is what many people around the world truly admire about the United States.'
Al Jazeera
an hour ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
White House to amend flagship health report citing phantom studies
The United States government has said it will amend a flagship report on children's health that was found to have cited non-existent studies. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that any citation errors were due to 'formatting issues' and would be updated. The problems with the report will do little to assuage concerns over President Donald Trump's appointment of Robert F Kennedy Jr as Health and Human Services Secretary. The issues with the report, compiled and published last week by the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission, were revealed by digital news outlet NOTUS. It found that seven studies referenced did not exist, while there were also broken links and 'misstated conclusions'. Leavitt insisted that the problems do 'not negate the substance of the report, which, as you know, is one of the most transformative health reports that has ever been released by the federal government'. The report found that processed food, chemicals, stress and the overprescription of medications and vaccines could be factors behind chronic illness in children, citing more than 500 studies. However, authors credited with producing some of those studies said that they were not part of the research, or that the studies did not exist. Noah Kreski, a Columbia University researcher listed as an author of a paper on adolescent anxiety and depression during COVID-19, told the AFP news agency that the paper was 'not one of our studies' and 'doesn't appear to be a study that exists at all'. The citation for the report included a link to an article in the peer-reviewed JAMA Paediatrics Medical Review that was broken. A spokesperson for the JAMA Network said that the article referenced 'was not published in JAMA Paediatrics or in any JAMA Network journal'. The Democratic National Committee on Thursday slammed the report as 'rife with misinformation', accusing Kennedy's agency of 'justifying its policy priorities with studies and sources that do not exist'. Kennedy's approval as health secretary in February stirred significant controversy. He previously spent decades sowing doubt about the safety of vaccines, raising concerns within the scientific and medical communities over the policies he would pursue. Since taking the role, he has fired thousands of workers at federal health agencies and cut billions of dollars from biomedical research spending. 'The substance of the MAHA report remains the same – a historic and transformative assessment by the federal government to understand the chronic disease epidemic afflicting our nation's children,' the Department of Health and Human Services said.
