mortality rate

A rise in suicides plus an epidemic of overdoses from prescription painkillers and heroin are key factors that have undone a long-term improvement in death rates. A weak economy may have contributed.

Tobacco's link to lung cancer, stroke and heart attack is well-known. But smokers are also more likely to die from kidney failure, infections and breast cancer, a revised tally suggests.

Dr. Edward Benz likens chemotherapy to "carpet bombing," and says the new drugs are "much more like smart bombs."