A Health Canada expert panel has recommended a reduction of exposure to fluoride, especially among young Canadians. Cuts on fluoride levels in drinking water, toothpaste and infant formula were among the measures suggested.

While fluoride is known to be a cavity fighter, the chemical has been linked by some public health advocates to lower intelligence, a rare type of bone cancer and mottling of children's teeth

Infant deaths directly related to preterm births have increased, especially for non-Hispanic black women, according to the Centers for Disease Control's National Center for Health Statistics.

African-Americans are 2.4 times as likely to die as infants, compared with white newborns. Among white children, the infant-mortality rate rose to 5.73 per 1,000 live births in 2005, compared with 5.66 in the previous year. Overall, the U.S. infant-mortality rate rose to 6.86 per 1,000 in 2005, from 6.78 in 2004, according to the data

While there have been significant gains in preventing new HIV infections in different countries, the epidemic is far from over in any part of the world, according to a United Nations report.

The 2008 report on the global AIDS epidemic, produced by the Joint U.N .Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), released on Tuesday, is the most comprehensive review of the epidemic to date with 147 countries reporting data on HIV

The U.S. Congress agreed on Monday to a ban on a family of toxins found in children's products after research showed that the chemicals act as hormones and cause reproductive problems, especially in boys.

The partial ban on plastic-softening chemicals called phthalates is seen as a major victory to parents and health experts who have been urging the government to remove harmful chemicals from toys. Children ingest the toxins by acts as simple as chewing on tethers or other plastic toys

People exposed to passive smoking, also known as second hand smoking, are at a greater risk of stroke, a new study says. This is also true of a non-smoker married to a smoking partner, respiratory health experts say.

The study, carried out by a Harvard University team, looked at records of more than 16,000 people aged over 50 and their spouses over a period of, on average, slightly more than nine years. The results showed that non-smokers living in the same house as a smoker were at far greater risk of stroke