Press Releases

The percentage of North Carolina adults who reported smoking cigarettes in 2016 is the lowest ever recorded, 17.9 percent. Despite this milestone, North Carolina's smoking rate remains slightly higher than the national rate of 17.1 percent, and smoking continues to be the leading preventable cause of death in our state.

North Carolina First Lady Kristin Cooper joined State Health Director Betsey Tilson, M.D., on Tuesday at Wake County Human Services to encourage North Carolinians to get vaccinated against the flu.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is sending a mobile, five-bed emergency department, a six-bed in-patient ward and diagnostic equipment to Marathon, Fla. after Hurricane Irma heavily damaged a 25-bed hospital.

Multiple North Carolina counties have reported power outages related to the effects of Hurricane Irma. As people use alternative sources of power, North Carolina health officials are cautioning people about the risk of using gasoline-powered equipment in enclosed spaces.

As part of its ongoing investigation, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality this week urged Chemours to stop discharging two additional chemical compounds into the Cape Fear River. The compounds were identified in the company's waste stream by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency preliminary analysis shared with the state this week.

DHHS has established a Payers' Council to bring together health care payers across the state to partner on benefit design, member services and pharmacy policies to reduce opioid misuse and overdose.

A measuring tool with a radioactive component used to test density in soil compaction during construction was recovered Friday morning after the report it went missing Thursday night.

The device uses radioactive materials to test density in soil compaction during construction. It went missing from a private contractor at the McCuller's Walk Apartments jobsite, 500 Shady Summit Way in Garner, and the disappearance was reported to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services at 7:58 p.m.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is encouraging people who plan to view Monday's solar eclipse to use proper eye protection and take steps to reduce the risk of heat-related illness.

In recognition, DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, M.D., today visited the Advance Community Health Center in Raleigh and Gov. Roy Cooper signed a proclamation designating the third week of August as National Health Center Week in North Carolina.