Warning issued by US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy on Tuesday spoke about an issue that has been worrying American parents for years: the negative impact of social media on the mental health of young people.

These public health tips don’t happen often, but sometimes they become turning points in American life.

cigarettes

It took the Surgeon General’s report in 1964 and the subsequent decades of effort to turn smoking in America from a glamorous habit to a habit with deadly consequences.

The annual per capita consumption of cigarettes in the United States increased from 54 cigarettes in 1900 to 54 cigarettes in 1900. to over 4,000 cigarettes in 1963. when the first study suggested a link between smoking and cancer.

This prompted Dr. Luther L. Terry, Surgeon General under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, will release historical record on the health hazards and consequences of smoking in 1964.

Dr. Terry called the crisis a “national problem”.

The drop was swift. In 1965, Congress required all cigarette packs distributed in the United States to carry a health warning. In 1970, cigarette advertising on television and radio was banned.

Tobacco continues to be a target for general surgeons, who in later years have raised concerns about passive smoking advertising of tobacco products aimed at children. And in 2016 Dr. Murthy has published a comprehensive report naming e-cigarettes and tobacco smoking as a “major health concern”.

AIDS

Dr. C. Everett Koop, Surgeon General under President Reagan, is credited with changing public discourse around the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. In 1986, hey released a generation-defining report on AIDS. In simple terms, the report discusses risk factors and ways people can protect themselves, including using condoms for safer sex.

But frank discussion of sexual topics later tripped up President Bill Clinton’s chief surgeon, Dr. Clinton. Joycelyn Elders. While some praised her efforts to expand access to health checks and sex education, she resigned under pressure in 1994 after she offered to distribute contraceptives in schools and connived at teaching children to masturbate as a way to prevent HIV transmission, among other things. views that provoked the ire of conservatives.

Violence in television and video games

In 1972, dr. Jesse L. Steinfeld, Surgeon General under President Richard Nixon, called for “appropriate and immediate remedial action” after report found “equally adverse effects” on children who watch violence on television.

Drunk driving

In the late 1980s, the numbers were astounding: about 25,000 people in the United States died each year in alcohol-related traffic accidents.

In one of his last acts as Chief Surgeon, Dr. Koop called for tough new blood-alcohol standards for drivers in 1989, as well as higher taxes on alcoholic beverages and restrictions on alcohol advertising. He also called for the abolition of happy hours and the immediate suspension of any licensed driver who exceeds the legal limit.

obesity

By the turn of this century, some 300,000 Americans were dying from diseases caused or exacerbated by obesity, prompting Dr. C. David Satcher, Surgeon General under President Clinton, in 2001 to call for big steps act on what he called an epidemic.

But the crisis only intensified. From 1999 to 2017, the prevalence of obesity in the US increased from 30 percent to 42 percent, and severe obesity increased from 5 percent to 9 percent, according to the CDC.

Gun violence and loneliness

Social networks are not the only concern of the current chief surgeon. Dr. Murthy also called for gun violence in America. public health problem and more recently epidemic.

He called for more research and government intervention. Former Surgeons General and researchers also called for policy change focused on addressing gun violence as a public health crisis. Nearly 50,000 Americans died from gun-related injuries in 2021, more than in any other year on record, according to the CDC. It is the leading cause of death among children in the United States.

And earlier this month, Dr. Murthy released general consulting surgeon and a new framework to address “the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation and disconnection in our country.” According to him, this trend has intensified due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The physical health consequences of a poor or insufficient connection include an increased risk of other diseases.

Here are his tips on how to feel less lonely.

Notably, the report on loneliness discourages social media as a form of connection and calls on Americans to ensure that digital engagement does not “detract from a meaningful and healing connection.”

The 19-year-old, who faces multiple charges after crashing a box truck into a security barrier outside the White House on Monday night, told authorities he would kill the president and expressed his personal admiration for Hitler.

According to an affidavit filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, a man named Sai Varshit Kandula of Chesterfield, Missouri, said he had been planning the operation for six months.

Mr. Kandula told investigators that his goal was to “infiltrate the White House, seize power and become in charge of the nation.” Asked how he was going to seize power, Mr. Kandula said he would “kill the president if that’s what I need to do,” adding that he would “hurt anyone in his path.”

No weapons or ammunition were found in the truck, officials said, and no one was injured in the incident.

The Secret Service accused Mr. Kandula of “stealing more than $1,000 worth of United States property,” according to a criminal case. Earlier on Tuesday This was reported by the US Parks Police. Mr. Kandula was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, reckless driving, threatening to kill or kidnap or harm the president, vice president or family member, destruction of federal property, and trespassing. The government is expected to file additional charges in the coming days.

According to the affidavit, Mr. Kandula bought a one-way ticket and flew from St. Louis to Dulles International Airport, arriving on Monday at 8:00 pm. He rented a U-Haul truck near the airport and drove straight to the White House. Around 9:35 p.m., according to the affidavit, Mr. Kandula drove onto the sidewalk near Lafayette Square, a green park in front of the White House, and crashed into metal security barriers. He then reversed the truck and drove back into the fence.

As smoke billowed from the car and liquid dripped underneath, Mr. Kandula got out of the truck, went to the back and took down the Nazi swastika flag. He later told authorities that he admired the “great history” of the Nazis, especially their “authoritarian nature, eugenics and their unified world order.” He said he respected Hitler “because he was a strong leader.” He said he bought the flag online.

Karine Jean-Pierre, a White House press secretary, said President Biden was briefed on the incident Tuesday morning.

“The President was working here yesterday, so of course he was here last night,” when the incident took place, she added.

Chesterfield, where Mr. Kandula is from, is a suburb west of St. Louis. According to the Rockwood School District, Mr. Kandula graduated from Marquette Senior High School in 2022. While there, he was on the student council in his sophomore year and on the boy’s tennis team in his sophomore and junior years, the school said. Mary LaPack County Press Secretary.

The Chesterfield Police Department said it had no records of contact with Mr Kandula, according to a local official.

Cops have fortified the White House in recent years response to instances people who violate the complex. The Secret Service began modernization White House perimeter fencing last year, doubling their height to about 13 feet. The kid broke that fence last month after squeeze through the bars on the north side of the complex.

There have been at least two deaths in the past two years when cars crashed into barricades near Capitol Hill. In 2021, almost three months after the bloody January 6 riots, a car crashed into two Capitol police officers, killing one and injuring another. The assailant, Noah R. Green, was shot dead after he charged the police with a knife.

In August, another man drove his car into a barricade near the Capitol. The man, Richard A. York III, then got out of the burning vehicle and fired several shots into the air before shooting himself as police approached him.

Chris Cameron another Aishwarya Kawi reporting provided, and Kitty Bennett contributed to research.