The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning that more than five million children in the United States will die prematurely from diseases caused by smoking if the current upswing in youth smoking rates continue, the Chicago Tribune reports. Teen smoking rates began increasing in 1992, but even without considering this increase, the CDC says, at least 16.6 million of the nation's 68.7 million youth under age 18 would become smokers, the article continues.

CDC Office on Smoking and Health Director Michael Eriksen points out that 82 percent of smokers began smoking before the age of 18 and that smokers die an average of 12 years earlier than non-smokers, the Tribune states.

Another CDC study found that while teen smoking rates continue to rise, the number of smokers varies widely among states, the article says. Utah, where the Mormon Church has taken a stand against smoking, had a 13.2-percent smoking rate in 1995 -- the only state to achieve the government's goal of bringing smoking rates below 15 percent, the article states. California had only a 15.5-percent smoking rate, while Kentucky had the highest rate of smoking, at 27.8 percent, followed by Indiana with 27.2 percent, the Tribune reports.

This variation is encouraging, the CDC says, because it suggests that measures to curb smoking, such as higher cigarette taxes and anti-smoking media campaigns, can succeed, according to the Tribune. California and Massachusetts, for example, have seen an annual reduction in adult smoking rates of 2.7 and 2.2 percent, respectively, since instituting higher cigarette taxes and using the increased revenue to fund public anti-smoking campaigns, according to a report in The New York Times. Since Massachusetts nearly doubled its cigarette tax in 1992 and launched a statewide media campaign against smoking, the Chicago Tribune points out, cigarette consumption has fallen by 20 percent in that state.

In Spain, the average person uses a single toothbrush for ten years, and goes through a tube of toothpaste just every four years, according to Nando.net/Nando Times. The American Dental Association recommends that consumers change their toothbrush every three to four months or sooner if the bristles become worn, because worn-out toothbrushes cannot properly clean teeth and may even injure gums. (See How often should I replace my toothbrush?)

Nando.net says that Juan Antonio Lopez, head of Spain's dental association, described dental hygiene in Spain as chaotic and similar to that of a Third World country. One in three people in

Spain never visit the dentist, and 40 percent of those who do go only when they have a toothache, according to the article. Less than half of children under six (45 percent) have ever visited the dentist, the article continues.

BALTIMORE (AP) -- People who have suffered major bouts of depression may be as much as four times more likely than others to have a heart attack, researchers reported Monday.

The researchers said it's not clear why that's so, but an expert not involved with the study, Dr. Edmund Sonnenblick, chief of cardiology at Einstein Medical College in New York, noted that depression is a severe form of stress, and stress raises the risk of a heart attack.

The study, conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, was based on interviews over 13 years with about 2,000 Baltimore men and women of various ages with no history of heart disease before they suffered a heart attack.

Eight percent of those who had suffered severe depression and 6 percent of those who had experienced milder depression later had heart attacks. Among those with no history of depression, only 3 percent suffered heart attacks.

When the findings were adjusted for age, gender, smoking and medical histories, the gap widened -- those who had had major depression were four times more likely to have a heart attack than those who had never been depressed.

The study was published in the December issue of Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has established an Internet site for its Division of Oral Health, at http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/oh, according to the CDC. The new site provides information on oral health surveillance activities, fluoride and water fluoridation, dental sealants, oral cancer, amalgam, oral health infrastructure and recommendations for infection control in dental settings. Links to other government agencies and dental organizations also are available from the new site.