A weekly roundup of public health news
Lead paint, banned in U.S., widely sold in Mexico
Paint containing high levels of lead is illegal to sell to consumers in the U.S. because of its known health risks, particularly for children. But that has not stopped the leading U.S. manufacturer from selling it in Mexico, a new study finds.
More than half of paints sold and tested in Mexico contain dangerous levels of lead, according to the research, which was published April 13 in the Annals of Work Exposures and Health.
Researchers examined more than 200 paint products, finding that 55% exceeded 90 parts per million of lead, the limit used in the U.S. Some samples reached as high as 290,000 parts per million, or about 29% lead by weight.
Researchers tested paints used for homes, cars, metal surfaces and road markings that were purchased in retail stores and online in several Mexican cities. Among the samples with elevated lead levels, 91% had a chemical ratio consistent with lead chromate, a compound that contains both lead and hexavalent chromium, a known human carcinogen.
Lead chromate pigments were found across multiple uses, including coatings for homes and infrastructure. Road-marking paints stood out, with 90% of samples exceeding 90 parts per million and an average lead level of more than 56,000 parts per million. Automotive paints also showed high levels, with nearly half of samples above the threshold and some reaching 180,000 parts per million.
Among dozens of companies included in the sample, at least 46 were producing paints with lead. The researchers noted that Cleveland, Ohio-based Sherwin-Williams, the largest U.S.-based paint company, sold products in Mexico with lead concentrations above 90 parts per million and chemical signatures suggesting the use of lead chromate.
Lead exposure is linked to a range of serious health effects, including harm to child brain development, lower IQ and increased behavioral problems. In adults, exposure is associated with higher risks of heart disease and death. Workers involved in manufacturing, applying or removing paint are also at risk, as those tasks can release fine particles into the air.
Lead-based paint has been recognized as a hazard for more than a century. In the U.S., evidence of harm to children led to federal action, and the use of lead in residential paint was banned in 1978. A federal rule set a limit of 90 parts per million for consumer paints, which is still used as a benchmark in many countries.
Mexico does not have a regulatory limit on lead content in paint. Earlier testing has shown widespread use of lead in paints used on playgrounds, roadways and buildings.
U.S. children struggling with failing air quality
Millions of kids in the U.S. are regularly breathing unhealthy levels of air pollution, a new report finds.
Nearly half of all children — about 33.5 million — live in U.S. counties that received failing grades for at least one measure of air pollution, according to the American Lung Association’s 2026 “State of the Air” report. More than 7 million children live in areas that failed all three measures: ozone pollution, year-round particle pollution and short-term spikes in particle pollution.
Overall, 152 million people, or 44% of the U.S. population, lived in areas with unhealthy air. The report was based on air monitoring data from 2022 to 2024 on smog and fine-particle pollution, also known as PM2.5.
Some of the worst air pollution was concentrated in the West. California cities dominated national rankings, with Los Angeles again recording the worst ozone pollution and Bakersfield ranking worst for year-round particle pollution. Other California cities, including Visalia and Fresno, also appeared among the most polluted for multiple measures.
Air quality trends were mixed. While some particle pollution levels improved compared with recent years, more people were exposed to unhealthy ozone levels. Factors such as extreme heat and wildfire smoke have contributed to worsening conditions in parts of the country.
Children are especially vulnerable to air pollution because their lungs are still developing, and they breathe more air relative to their body size. Exposure can lead to reduced lung growth, new asthma cases and increased risk of respiratory illness. It is also linked to long-term effects, including impaired cognitive function later in life.
Harms from air pollution can begin even before birth, other new research finds. A study in the Journal of Physiology found that babies exposed to higher levels of pollution during early pregnancy scored lower on language development tests at 18 months than those with lower exposure.
Another study, presented at the recent Pediatric Academic Societies 2026 Meeting in Boston, linked higher exposure to common air pollutants in the first year of life to more respiratory infections and wheezing in infants.
U.S. can do more to lower drug costs, global comparison finds
The U.S. can do more to bring down prescription drug costs, lessons from other high-income nations show.
A new issue brief from the Commonwealth Fund finds that countries such as Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany and Sweden use coordinated policies to manage the price of and access to high-cost medicines, often to the benefit of patients.
Drug prices are typically higher in the U.S. than in peer nations, and rising costs are putting pressure on insurers and public programs while creating financial barriers for patients. High-cost therapies, including treatments for cancer and rare diseases, account for a small share of prescriptions but a large portion of overall drug spending. Growing prescriptions for GLP-1 drugs, which help treat obesity and reduce related health risks, also add to costs.
In Australia and the European countries studied, policymakers rely on systems that assess the value of new medicines and use that information to guide coverage and pricing decisions, researchers said. All six use formal health technology assessment processes to evaluate how well new treatments work compared with existing options. The reviews help determine whether a drug provides enough benefit to justify cost.
Another strategy is collective price negotiation. Countries often coordinate with drug manufacturers at the national level or through partnerships across regions, increasing their bargaining power and helping keep prices more predictable. Even in systems where care is delivered locally, governments or groups of payers work together to secure lower prices.
Policymakers in the U.S. began negotiating with manufacturers to lower drug prices for the first time in 2023, with lower prices for 10 drugs going into effect this January for Medicare users. Negotiated prices for 15 more drugs are set to go into effect next year.
Other recent public health news of note includes:
• Extreme heat can raise health care costs, a new study in Health Affairs says. Researchers found that even one extra day with a heat index of 100 degrees or higher led to more emergency room visits and higher costs for most people. The increase was seen across age groups and types of insurance but was especially strong among children covered by Medicaid. Extreme heat — which is worsening with climate change — was also linked to more hospital stays for some groups, including kids with private insurance, adults with Medicaid and Medicare Advantage users.
• Racism and socioeconomic stress may change how the body works during pregnancy, raising risks for Black women, a study in Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism says. Researchers found ongoing stress linked to inequality can increase inflammation and tighten blood vessels. The changes can make pregnancy more dangerous and raise the risk of problems such as high blood pressure and premature birth.
The Watch is written by Michele Late, who has more than two decades of experience as a public health journalist.