Health Highlights: Jan. 26, 2018

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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

!7 Universities Bar Funding From Anti-Smoking Group With Tobacco Ties

Research money from a tobacco industry-funded anti-smoking foundation will not be accepted by 17 public health schools at universities in the U.S. and Canada.

The deans of the public health schools at Harvard, Johns Hopkins and other universities said Thursday that the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World is too closely tied to the tobacco industry, the Associated Press reported.

The foundation was created in September with nearly $1 billion from the Philip Morris tobacco company.

“The idea of taking money that’s from the tobacco industry is just antithetical to everything we do,” said Karen Emmons, dean for academic affairs at Harvard’s public health school, the AP reported. “Philip Morris in particular has focused very hard to undermine the strategies that we know will reduce smoking rates.”

If Philip Morris wants to end smoking, it should stop selling and advertising cigarettes, according to a statement signed by the deans at the public health schools.

“Further, both the tobacco industry and Philip Morris International have a long history of funding ‘research’ in ways meant to purposely confuse the public and advance their own interests,” according to the statement.

Officials at Philip Morris declined to comment on the issue. Derek Yach, president of the foundation, said the deans’ stance is “disappointing, and a loss for smokers,” the AP reported.

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E. Coli Outbreak Tied to Leafy Greens is Over: CDC

An E. coli outbreak in 15 states that was likely caused by leafy greens appears to be over, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The leafy greens linked to the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak are no longer for sale due to their short shelf life. The final update on the investigation was released Thursday.

The most recent illness began more than six weeks ago, on Dec. 12, 2017.

The CDC was not able to identify a specific type of leafy greens as the source of the outbreak. Romaine lettuce was initially suspected, but the CDC says people who became ill were not more likely to have eaten the food than those who did not become sick.

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