Smokers who make the decision to quit will experience immediate health benefits, including a rapid reduction in their risk of atrial fibrillation (A-Fib), according to new research published in JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology. The study, conducted by Dr. Gregory Marcus, a cardiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, offers compelling evidence for smokers to quit, showing that it’s never too late to avoid the damaging effects of smoking on heart health.

Dr. Marcus, the senior author of the study, emphasized that A-Fib can be prevented even in individuals who have smoked for years. "The findings provide a compelling new reason to show current smokers that it’s not too late to quit, and that having smoked in the past doesn’t mean you’re ‘destined’ to develop A-Fib," Marcus explained. "Even for the current and longtime smoker, A-Fib can still be avoided."

What is Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib)?

"There’s strong evidence that smoking increases the risk of A-Fib," Marcus said. "But the benefits of quitting smoking have been less certain." With this in mind, his team sought to determine whether quitting could significantly lower a person’s risk of developing A-Fib, or if the risk would remain the same.

The research team analyzed data from over 146,700 current and former smokers, tracking their smoking habits and health over a 12-year period using data from the UK Biobank database. The results were promising: former smokers had a 13% lower risk of developing A-Fib compared to current smokers, while those who quit during the study saw an 18% reduction in their risk.

"This is likely a testament to the potency of reducing atrial fibrillation risk pretty shortly after quitting," Marcus said in a statement from the American College of Cardiology.

The findings highlight the importance of quitting smoking, not only for general health but specifically for reducing the risk of serious heart conditions like A-Fib.

Tips for Quitting Smoking

Quitting smoking is one of the most effective ways to lower the risk of A-Fib and improve overall heart health. While it can be challenging, the benefits of quitting are clear and immediate. Here are some tips to help you quit smoking successfully:

1. Choose a specific date to quit smoking and stick to it. Prepare yourself mentally and physically for this change.

2. Reach out to family, friends, or a support group to help keep you accountable. Sharing your goals with others can provide encouragement.

3. Options like nicotine patches, gum, or lozenges can help ease withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings.

4. Identify situations that make you want to smoke, such as stress or social gatherings, and find healthy ways to cope with them.

5. Regular exercise can help distract you from cravings and improve your mood during the quitting process.

6. Drinking water can help flush nicotine out of your system faster, reducing cravings.

7. Activities like yoga, meditation, or deep breathing exercises can help manage stress, a common trigger for smoking.

Quitting smoking offers immediate and significant benefits, particularly in reducing the risk of atrial fibrillation. The latest research provides smokers with more motivation to quit, showing that it's never too late to take control of their heart health.

India is among 20 jurisdictions whose qualifying specialty pharmaceutical products and related ingredients can receive a zero per cent US tariff, according to a new notice from the US Commerce Department.

The exemption comes as the US begins applying a 100 per cent tariff on certain patented pharmaceutical products and associated ingredients from September 29.

The tariff measures stem from a presidential proclamation issued in April under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which sought to address US dependence on imported pharmaceuticals and encourage greater domestic production.

Which Medicines Are Covered By The Exemption?

The waiver applies to specific pharmaceutical categories rather than the wider drug trade.

Products covered by the notice include:

• Rare-disease medicines, including qualifying orphan drugs
• Fertility and infertility medicines
• Nuclear medicines
• Plasma-derived therapies
• Cell therapies
• Gene therapies
• Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs)
• Certain medical countermeasures for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats
• Animal health pharmaceuticals

The provision also covers qualifying ingredients associated with these products.

Why Are These Medicines Exempt?

The Commerce Department said products from the listed jurisdictions can receive the zero tariff because those jurisdictions have a current or forthcoming trade and security framework agreement with the US.

The exemption therefore applies based on both the type of pharmaceutical product and the applicable country-level conditions.

The move comes against the backdrop of the US administration's broader effort to increase domestic pharmaceutical production and reduce reliance on imported medicines and pharmaceutical ingredients.

The 100 per cent tariff on specified patented pharmaceutical products and ingredients began applying to companies identified in one category from July 31, while the measure extends to additional covered companies from September 29.

Generic Drugs Remain Outside Section 232 Tariffs

The Commerce Department notice also makes clear that generic pharmaceutical products, biosimilars and their associated ingredients are not currently subject to the Section 232 pharmaceutical tariffs.

This means the latest exemption should not be interpreted as a broad tariff concession covering India's entire pharmaceutical industry.

The guidance also makes technical changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule and clarifies the treatment and definitions of pharmaceutical articles and generic pharmaceutical products under the tariff framework.

Companies seeking an exemption on the basis of an urgent US health need can apply through a process established by the Commerce Department.

What Does This Mean For India?

India's inclusion in the zero-tariff category is relevant to pharmaceutical companies that export specialty medicines and their associated ingredients to the US.

However, the exemption is not a blanket waiver for medicines manufactured or exported from India.

Only products that fall within the specified categories and satisfy the applicable conditions are covered. Other pharmaceutical products remain subject to the tariff rules that apply to them.

For Indian drug makers, the distinction is important because the new provision specifically concerns specialty pharmaceutical categories, while generic medicines and biosimilars are already outside the current Section 232 pharmaceutical tariffs.

The impact on individual Indian pharmaceutical companies will therefore depend on the types of products they export to the US and whether those products meet the criteria set out under the new rules.

Which Countries Are Included?

Besides India, the zero-tariff category covers Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador, El Salvador, the European Union, Guatemala, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, North Macedonia, South Korea, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Taiwan, Thailand, the UK and Vietnam.

(With inputs from PTI)

Pennsylvania has recorded 903 measles cases, while the US national tally has climbed to 3,659.

Pennsylvania, which is among the worst-hit states in the ongoing outbreak, added 115 cases in the past week, according to the state Department of Health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also listed Pennsylvania among the states reporting the highest number of measles cases, followed by South Carolina and Utah.

Pennsylvania Reports 4 Measles Deaths

Pennsylvania has reported four deaths so far due to measles, although the CDC has acknowledged only two.

Two of the deaths were among unvaccinated adults — an 18-year-old and a 40-year-old. The other two deaths were among infants who were too young to have received the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine.

According to Pennsylvania’s health department, less than 1% of measles cases occurred in people who were fully vaccinated against the virus. A total of 176 people have been hospitalized, while about 31% of cases occurred in people under 18.

US Measles Cases Reach 3,659

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This year has been one of the worst for measles in the US in more than 30 years, with the highest number of annual cases reported since 1992.

The US eliminated measles in 2000, but that status is set to be reevaluated at an upcoming November meeting with the Pan American Health Organization. Canada lost its measles elimination status last year.

As per the CDC, 3,659 confirmed measles cases were reported in the US through September 24. In comparison, a total of 2,289 confirmed measles cases were reported in the US during the full year of 2025.

About 95% of cases were among people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown. Around 9% of cases resulted in hospitalization, while 14% occurred among children under five.

Measles Cases By Age

• Under 5 years: 656 cases
• 5–19 years: 1,577 cases
• 20+ years: 1,407 cases

Measles Cases Rise In Other US States

Other states have also reported increases in measles cases.

Ohio added nine new cases this week and now has 189 cases for the year. Kentucky added 10 new cases and has 67 for the year, while Wisconsin added four new cases and has reported 171 cases so far this year.

WHO Warns Measles Is Making A Comeback

Read More: Bill Gates Says Vaccine Hesitancy Could Make Ending Measles Impossible

Commenting on the measles resurgence, Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, Regional Director for the Western Pacific, said the world risks “bringing back a disease we have long known how to prevent”.

Piukala lamented the loss of years of progress in measles vaccination and attributed the resurgence to vaccination challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with mounting anti-vaccine misinformation.

“Behind every outbreak is a gap: a missed child, delayed action, weakened trust or communities not reached through regular vaccination programs. In the Western Pacific – home to 2.2 billion people, more than a quarter of the world’s population – an immunity gap in one country quickly becomes a regional risk,” he said.

“This should concern all of us because measles is not only about one disease. It is one of the clearest signals of whether health systems are strong, consistent and serving everyone.”

The US Is Not Alone

Measles cases are also being reported in Bangladesh and India. Bangladesh, Guatemala, India and Yemen currently have some of the highest reported case counts.

India has reported 26,627 measles cases in the first half of 2026, making it the world’s second-highest tally. Recently, the country also reported two measles deaths in Kerala's Malappuram.

Bangladesh has reported 189,255 suspected measles cases nationwide since March. Confirmed and suspected measles-related deaths in Bangladesh have reportedly reached 1,099 this year.

The Trump administration has asked the US Supreme Court to allow federal prisons to restrict gender-affirming medical care for transgender inmates. This has escalated a legal battle over what healthcare transgender inmates in federal custody are entitled to receive.

The Justice Department filed an emergency request on September 28, asking the court to lift a lower-court order that currently prevents the Bureau of Prisons from enforcing its restrictions.

The case concerns a policy introduced by the Bureau of Prisons in February 2026. Under the policy, federal prisons would stop providing surgeries and hormone therapy for transgender inmates and would also remove certain cosmetic accommodations like wigs and other clothing-related provisions. Mental health and psychiatric care would remain available.

Here's a wider look at its implications on prison healthcare for transgenders.

Why Is The Policy Being Challenged?

Also read: Why Is The Trump Administration Stopping Obamacare Health Plans For 760,000 Enrollees?

Three transgender inmates in federal prisons in New Jersey, Florida and Minnesota filed a class-action lawsuit challenging the restrictions.

A federal judge, Royce Lamberth, ordered the government to continue providing gender-affirming medical care like hormone therapy to affected inmates. He found that the Bureau of Prisons was likely to have acted unlawfully.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit declined to lift that order on September 18, leaving the restrictions blocked while the legal challenge continues.

The administration has now taken the dispute to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to allow the restrictions to be enforced while the wider case proceeds.

The administration argues that an executive order required the Bureau of Prisons to revise its medical care policies so that federal funds aren’t spent “for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex." It also argues that security and prison-management concerns support the policy.

The government is seeking permission to enforce the policy before the courts reach a final decision on whether the restrictions themselves are lawful. It says that the Bureau of Prisons had “determined that sex-trait-modification surgeries, hormone interventions in general, and social accommodations could no longer be justified as treatment for gender dysphoria.”

What Do The Inmates Say?

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Attorneys representing the transgender inmates argue that withholding medically necessary treatment because a person is transgender could violate their constitutional rights. They have also raised the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Their argument is that prison officials have a constitutional obligation to provide necessary medical care for serious health conditions and that gender dysphoria can require personalised treatment.

The legal dispute therefore involves two questions: whether the Bureau of Prisons can change its medical policy in this way, and whether denying gender-affirming treatment to transgender inmates can amount to unconstitutional refusal of medical care.

What Is Gender Dysphoria?

Gender dysphoria is a clinical diagnosis that identifies significant emotional distress that someone experiences when their gender identity and their sex assigned at birth do not match.

Treatment for gender dysphoria can vary from person to person. Depending on an individual's circumstances and clinical assessment, gender-affirming care may include mental health support, hormone therapy or surgery.

Having gender dysphoria does not automatically mean that every person diagnosed with it will receive every form of gender-affirming treatment.

How Does This Affect Healthcare For Transgender Inmates?

Inmates cannot simply choose another doctor if a certain kind of treatment is restricted. Medical treatments are largely controlled by the correctional authorities. The Bureau of Prisons previously allowed inmates with gender dysphoria to receive gender-affirming treatment when clinicians determined that it was medically appropriate. The new policy would make that approach invalid.

The Bureau said in 2025 that it was providing hormone therapy to more than 600 inmates, highlighting the number of people affected.

The case could ultimately affect other areas besides federal prisons, as it challenges medical necessity, prison healthcare and transgender rights directly before the nation's highest court.