San Francisco voted to ban e-cigarettes in the first legislation of its kind in the United States. Supervisors approved a measure banning the sale and distribution of e-cigarettes in an effort to curb the rise of youth vaping. The measure will now go for final approval to San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who said she will sign the legislation, and stores in the city will be required to remove e-cigarettes from their shelves after the change goes into effect in seven months.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker made Illinois the 11th state to legalize recreational marijuana on Tuesday, signing a bill into law allowing small amounts of cannabis. Residents can purchase and possess up to 30 grams of the drug, and non-residents can have 15 grams, the Associated Press reports. Sales will be limited to people ages 21 and up at approved dispensaries, which could potentially be up and running by Jan. 1, 2020.

Americans are increasingly stressed and outraged by the rising costs of prescription drugs in the United States – a problem Republicans and Democrats alike have promised to fix. Insulin is a big part of the challenge. More than 30 million Americans have diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. About 7.5 million, including 1.5 million with Type 1 diabetes, rely on insulin.

The findings from the Commonwealth Fund were released Wednesday and showed that, although the death rates are up nationally, some states have been hit far worse than others. “When we look at what’s going on in Mid-Atlantic states—West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania—those are the states that have the highest rates of drug-overdose deaths in the country,” said David Radley from the group.

Public health authorities on Monday reported 41 new cases of the highly contagious and sometimes deadly disease in the two states. The suspected outbreak in Northern Virginia doesn’t appear to be related to the nationwide epidemic that has surpassed 1,000 confirmed cases, while the cases in Idaho are the first instances of measles in the state since 2001.

California is set to become the first state to provide government-funded health care to people who are living in the U.S. illegally. State lawmakers agreed to a budget deal Sunday afternoon that will open up its Medicaid program to undocumented low-income adults between the ages of 19 and 25.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is reporting that more than 1,000 cases of the measles have been reported in the U.S. in 2019. Though the viral infection is extremely contagious, its vaccine is extremely effective.

The company’s rheumatoid arthritis drug appeared to reduce the risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease by 64 percent. Pfizer is now being accused of intentionally not pursuing this avenue of research because it would kill a major revenue stream for the company.

The states of California, Maine and Hawaii on Monday joined dozens of others in suing the pharmaceutical giant Purdue over the role the company’s prescription painkiller, OxyContin, has played in the deadly opioids crisis.

Authorities put out the fire and administered first aid to the man who was subsequently transported to the hospital. No political motive for the self-immolation is clear.

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin as an example of a well-known Republican who believes that vaccine mandates are “un-American.” And in Texas there’s Jonathan Stickland – a far-right Christian fundamentalist who serves in the Texas State Assembly and has described vaccines as “sorcery.”

A federal judge blocked a Mississippi law on Friday that forbids abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. In issuing a preliminary injunction, Judge Carlton Reeves said the law “threatens immediate harm to women’s rights, especially considering most women do not seek abortions services until after six weeks.” The law was set to take effect in July.

Senators approved the legislation 24-10 early Thursday with just hours left before lawmakers’ Friday deadline to pass bills. It needs at least another vote of approval in the GOP-led House before it can go to Republican Gov. Mike Parson, who supports it. The bill seems to be a part of a broader national push to restrict access to abortion.

The U.S. birth rate continues to fall, reaching another record low in 2018, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC says that one possible explanation for the continued drop in births could be economic uncertainty, along with the fact that people may still feel uneasy about their economic situation.

The Alabama Senate approved a measure on Tuesday that would outlaw almost all abortions in the state, setting up a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, the case that recognized a woman’s constitutional right to end a pregnancy.

A California jury has ordered Monsanto to pay more than $2bn to a couple that got cancer after using its weedkiller, marking the third and largest verdict against the company over Roundup. The victory for the Pilliods follows two consecutive trial wins for families taking on Monsanto over Roundup, the world’s most widely used weedkiller, which research has linked to NHL, a cancer that affects the immune system.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the death rates from pretty much every major cause — heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, suicide, sepsis, guns, infant mortality — remain highest in the South. A lot of the poor health outcomes there reflect longstanding poverty, fewer health care resources, and longstanding barriers to care.

Reports the FDA and other inspectors filed show they found numerous generic drugmakers falsifying records, covering up manufacturing problems and attempting to hide poor test results. Because of what the FDI said they found, it “would question the safety and efficacy of those drugs.”

Texas lawmaker Jonathan Stickland called vaccines “sorcery” Tuesday in a string of Twitter posts criticizing a vaccine expert. The US is currently struggling with a historic resurgence in measles cases, largely as a result of some parents rejecting immunizations because of erroneous information, often distributed through social media.

The bill now signed into law bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The law will certainly be legally challenged by opponents.

The Centers for Disease Control is reporting that over 700 cases of measles have been reported in the U.S. in 2019. This year’s measles outbreak is the worst in the U.S. in 25 years.