Cigarettes with ultralow nicotine levels are now being called the game-changer in the fight against smoking. If you are having trouble in quitting smoking, then, it is for you, that soon the Biden White House is expected to formally propose a plan that will order cigarette nicotine levels to be reduced, reports The Washington Post. For now though, it has been a failure, as these cigarettes, also known as VLN cigarettes that stands for very low nicotine are only available in 5,100 stores in 26 states. This is a very small fraction of the overall market for cigarettes. The company that makes it, 22nd Century, is struggling not because of the low supply, but also from the advocates who have long believed slashing nicotine levels altogether.

The Advent and ideation

Nicotine is a chemical that is produced naturally from tobacco that makes the cigarette and also keeps people hooked. While it is believed that it makes people alert, and get the "hit" to keep them going, it exposes the users to harmful substances, carcinogens, and increases the risk of heart disease, lung cancer, and other illness.

Ultralow-nicotine cigarettes, like the VLN brand, contain about 95% less nicotine than the regular cigarettes. The idea is quite simple: without the addictive grip of nicotine, smokers will find it easier to quit. Research too has shown some promise. For instance, the studies funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse revealed that very low nicotine cigarettes reduced addiction potential significantly without having users to increase their smoking frequency. However, the problem is, why would anyone choose for a low-nicotine that does not make them feel the same way, when the high-nicotine cigarette is right next to it, making them feel the same way, with the same alertness, sold at the same price.

“It’s very hard to imagine someone actively choosing to continue to use a low-nicotine product for the same price when a high-nicotine product is right next to it,” said Eric Donny, a Wake Forest University School of Medicine nicotine researcher.

No wonder, the experiment with low nicotine product by Philip Morris' Next cigarettes in the 1980s and Vector Tobacco's Quest brand in the early 2000s, flopped.

FDA's Role in the Push

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has supported the development of such products, even allowing VLN cigarettes to be marketed as lower-risk options. However, these products remain a niche market, available in only a fraction of U.S. stores.

Recently, the Biden administration has considered a bold step—mandating a dramatic reduction in nicotine levels for all cigarettes sold in the United States. Supporters believe this move could save millions of lives, while critics, including tobacco companies, warn of potential unintended consequences.

What Could Be The Challenges?

Resistance from Big Tobacco Companies: They could argue that slashing nicotine levels could backfire. Their claim is, smokers will turn to black markets or smoke more to satisfy their cravings, which may lead to greater exposure to harmful substances.

Consumer Reluctance: History is proof to the instances of smokers being hesitant to embrace the low-nicotine products.

Political Hurdle: It may face political roadblocks, as under the Trump administration, plans to cut nicotine were shelved.

Could Low-Nicotine Cigarettes Be The Solution?

Advocates believe that ultralow-nicotine cigarettes could be a game-changer, comparing them to decaf coffee or non-alcoholic beer—products that reduce harm while offering a similar experience.

Some experts warn that a black market for traditional cigarettes could undermine these efforts. They also stress the need for safer alternatives, such as vaping products, to support smokers transitioning away from traditional cigarettes.

Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong’o has revealed that her fibroids have returned after undergoing surgery in 2014 -- now doubling up to 50, raising awareness about the often-overlooked health condition in women.

Speaking at the Today show, the Oscar-winning star Nyong’o said that she was first diagnosed with fibroids, a noncancerous tumor -- about 30 in number -- in 2014.

The growths made of muscle and tissue were removed with myomectomy, the fibroid-removal surgery.

However, the fibroids came back after over a decade, with the largest being the size of an orange, Nyong’o said.

She noted that the doubled-up fibroids are causing her more pain, while her treatment options remain largely the same.

“The first time I got the fibroids taken out, they took out 23,” she said on the show. “And this time, I’ve been informed two years ago that I have over 50.”

“And I’m being faced with the same options,” she added. “Surgery or live with the pain.”

Even as she is contemplating her treatment options, the A Quiet Place: Day One star opened up about feeling left alone and scared for her reproductive health during the initial phase.

She is now speaking out and connecting with other women suffering like her. Nyong’o is also advocating and raising money for scientists to research less invasive and non-invasive treatment methods for fibroids.

I was told that fibroids were something women live with. In refuse to accept that. Millions of women are suffering in silence, and we deserve better answers, better care and better options," Nyong’o wrote in a post on Instagram.

What Are Fibroids

Uterine fibroids are noncancerous growths that form inside or on the uterus. They are very common, affecting an estimated 40 to 80 percent of people with a uterus between the ages of 30 and 50.

In some cases, fibroids do not cause any noticeable symptoms, which means many people may not realize they have them. However, when symptoms are present, they often include:

• Heavy menstrual bleeding or painful periods
• Longer or more frequent periods
• Pelvic pressure or pain
• Frequent urination or trouble urinating
• Growing stomach area
• Constipation
• Pain in the stomach area or lower back, or pain during sex

Obesity and a higher body mass index (BMI) are the most common risk factors that can increase the chances of developing fibroids. Others include family history, not having children, early onset of menstruation (getting your period at a young age), and late age of menopause.

How To Treat Fibroids? Can They Recur?

There are several tests that can be done to confirm fibroids and determine their size and location.

These tests can include ultrasonography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) scan, hysteroscopy, and laparoscopy.

Myomectomy is a commonly used surgical procedure to remove fibroids. There are several types of myomectomy, and they are used depending on the location of the fibroids, their size, and number.

The types of myomectomy procedures include hysteroscopy, laparoscopy, laparotomy, hysterectomy, uterine fibroid embolization, and radiofrequency ablation (RFA).

Even after a successful myomectomy, new fibroids can still develop. The recurrence risk is more common among young adults (under age 40) with many fibroids. The risk is less among people near menopause or with few fibroids.

Visit your doctor if you have:

• Pelvic pain that doesn't go away
• Heavy or painful periods that limit what you can do
• Spotting or bleeding between periods
• Trouble emptying your bladder
• Ongoing tiredness and weakness, which can be symptoms of anemia, meaning a low level of red blood cells.

For the first time, a baby boy has been born to a mother with a womb transplanted from a deceased donor at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea hospital in London.

Weighing merely 3.09kg (6lb 13oz), Hugo Powell was born to Grace Bell and Steve Powell from Kent, right before Christmas 2025. "It's simply a miracle. I never, ever thought that this would be possible," Bell said. "I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life. When I was 16, I was told that this would never be possible," she said of her son's birth.

The father added: "When he came over the curtain, it was just sort of overwhelming emotions. I felt like I wanted to cry, but couldn't. From where we started - first meeting - to where we are today, with Hugo, is nothing short of a miracle after everything we've been through. It just felt quite unreal at the time, because this has been a long journey for us both."

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The couple also paid tribute to the "kindness and selflessness" of their transplant donor and her family for their "incredible gift", while also thanking medical teams in Oxford and London who supported their journey.

"There are no words to say thank you enough to my donor and her family. Their kindness and selflessness to a complete stranger is the reason I have been able to fulfil my lifelong dream of being a mum.

"I hope they know that my child will always know of their incredible gift, and the miracle that brought him into this world," Bell said.

What Is Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser Disorder?

Bell, an IT programme manager, was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH), a disorder that causes the vagina and uterus to be underdeveloped or absent. MRKH syndrome is also called:

• Müllerian agenesis
• Müllerian aplasia
• Congenital absence of the uterus and vagina
• Rokitansky syndrome

Also Read: Indore Food Contamination: 6 People Hospitalized In Bhagirathpura

While women with MRKH syndrome have normal external genitalia, functioning ovaries, breast and pubic hair development, they are unable to carry a pregnancy and rely on either surrogacy or a womb transplant, as in the case of Bell.

There are two versions of the disorder:

• Type 1: The patient has normally functioning ovaries and fallopian tubes but a blocked or missing upper vagina, cervix and uterus. No other organs are affected.
• Type 2: The patient has a blocked or missing upper vagina, cervix and uterus as well as issues with ovaries, fallopian tubes, spine, kidneys or other organs.

However, these genetic changes have been found in only a small number of affected people and subsequent studies have not identified a clear association between MRKH syndrome and any specific environmental factors. It remains unclears whether they actually cause MRKH syndrome.

Treatment for MRKH depends on the patient's goals and symptoms and some options include:

• Vaginal dilators: Dilators are made of plastic or silicone and vary in length and width. These tubelike devices help expand and stretch the inside of the vagina.
• Vaginoplasty: This is a surgical procedure to create a vagina. There are several ways surgeons perform vaginoplasty, but most involve creating a hole and lining it with tissue from another part of your body.
• Uterus transplant: This is a major surgery that involves placing a donor uterus inside someone without a uterus. Uterine transplants give people with MRKH an opportunity to carry and deliver a child. Uterus transplants are rare.

How Did Bell Conceive Her Child?

"I still can't believe that I'm here today and I've gone through this. It's just amazing."

At the age of 16, the new mother was told she wouldn't be able to carry her own child. However, in 2024 she received a phone call saying a womb had been donated and a transplant was possible, a moment she recalls left her "in complete shock" and "really excited".

Bell's womb transplant operation lasted 10 hours and took place at The Churchill Hospital in Oxford in June 2024 After her transplant surgery, she began fertility treatments several months after the transplant in 2024 and her son was born a year later.

According to The Guardian, Bell's transplanted womb will be removed when the couple have finished having children, to save her from a lifetime of taking immunosuppressant drugs.

Not too long ago, Indore made headlines in water contamination case where a 67-year-old woman, identified as Parvati Bai Kondla also showed signs of Guillain-Barré syndrome. Bacteria like E coli. and Klebsiella were found in the water sample of Bhagirathpura, the epicentre of water contamination.

Indore's Bhagirathpura is again on the news, this time for food contamination.

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Indore Food Contamination: What Happened?

Six people have been admitted to a hospital after they consumed contaminated food in Bhagirathpura. At a birthday party in Bhagirathpura on a late Saturday night, 60 people ate the food and some of them developed health problems. Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr Madhav Hasani stated on Monday.

Bhagirathpura was the epicentre of water contamination that claimed 22 lives earlier. The minister said that affected individuals were treated and as a precaution, six of them were admitted to the Government Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital.

Indore Municipal Corporation Commissioner Dilip Kumar said, “We have found that in case of the construction of the toilet, no safety tank was constructed beneath it. We are also probing the other lapses.”

As per the official statement, all patients are doing well after the treatment.

Indore Food Contamination: What Happened In Indore Before?

Earlier in January, Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav reported that due to lapses in civic infrastructure. Investigation revealed that a toilet constructed directly above a main drinking pipeline near a police outpost, without a mandatory safety tank resulted in the sewage mixing with drinking water.

Read: Sewage Mixing With Drinking Water Kills 7 in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, Over 100 Remain Hospitalized

Speaking to The Indian Express, Indore Municipal Corporation Commissioner Dilip Kumar said, “We have found that in case of the construction of the toilet, no safety tank was constructed beneath it. We are also probing the other lapses.”

What Is E. Coli Bacteria?

Escherichia coli, commonly known as E. coli, refers to a group of bacteria that naturally live in the intestines of humans and animals. Most of these strains are harmless and even play a role in digestion. However, certain types can trigger illness when they enter parts of the body where they do not belong or release harmful toxins.

These disease-causing strains attach themselves to body cells and produce toxins, leading to infection and inflammation.

What Is Guillain-Barré syndrome?

Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare autoimmune condition in which your immune system attacks your peripheral nerves, leading to symptoms like numbness, tingling, and muscle weakness that progress to paralysis. However, with treatment, most people fully recover from the condition.

Doctors say GBS occurs at any age, but it most commonly affects people between 30 and 50 years of age.

Guillain-Barré syndrome is rare. About 100,000 people worldwide develop GBS every year. To put that into perspective, the world population is about 7.8 billion. That means healthcare providers diagnose GBS in about 1 in 78,000 people each year.