Axios

Cigarette smoking among U.S. adults reached an all-time low in 2018 at nearly 14%, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Thursday, a decline of roughly 66% over the last 50 years.

Between the lines: Smoking cigarettes remains deadlier than vaping despite a spotlight on the 2,000-plus cases and dozens of deaths associated with e-cigarette lung injuries this year. More than 34 million adults continue to smoke, and millions more use other tobacco products, per the study.

In Germany, parents must vaccinate their children for measles or face fines of several thousands of euros, per a new law that will take effect in March 2020.

Why it matters: The disease has returned and spread throughout the European Union over the past three years after decades of decline, according to the European Center for Disease Control.

President Trump wants the U.S. to pay less than other countries for some prescription drugs covered by Medicare — a benchmark even lower than what congressional Democrats want.

Between the lines: The administration has moved the goalposts on its one major drug pricing policy left on the table, which could take a hatchet to the U.S. pharmaceutical system's business — if it's ever implemented.

Two cases of plague, the illness known for causing the Black Death, have been reported in China, CNN reports.

What we know: The two patients are from the Chinese province of inner Mongolia and were diagnosed by doctors in Beijing. Both individuals are receiving treatment in Beijing's Chaoyang District, where authorities say they've implemented control measures to prevent the infection's spread.

As of Wednesday, the legal age to purchase tobacco and electronic cigarettes in the state of New York has gone up from 18 to 21 years old, NBC 4 reports.

Background: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law this summer in an attempt to curtail health threats associated with the use of tobacco products. The Health Department and New York State Police will perform undercover retail checks to determine where vaping products are sold to underage youth, according to a press release cited by CNN.

Antibiotic-resistant (AR) bacteria and fungi cause more than 2.8 million infections and 35,000 deaths annually in the U.S., according to new estimates posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a long-awaited report. But, while the overall numbers are "higher than previously estimated," the number of people dying from AR infections appears to be dropping.

Consumer inflation rose 0.4% in October, which was higher than expected due in large part to rising health care prices, according to new federal figures. The monthly spikes in inflation were especially prominent for health insurance costs (2.2%), prescription drugs (1.8%) and hospital services (1.4%).

The bottom line: "Inflation remains well-contained almost everywhere, with the major exception of the health care sector," left-leaning economist Dean Baker wrote in an analysis.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said at an Axios event on Wednesday that President Trump wants drug prices to be lower in the U.S. than in other developed countries, discussing the idea of "most favored nation status" to reflect that.

"[Trump's] view — which he’s articulated publicly — is that America ought to be getting the best deal among developed countries. That is the terminology of most favored nation status."

Live from Washington, D.C., Mike Allen hosts a conversation on prescription drug pricing, featuring Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Sen. Ron Wyden, Sen. Mike Braun and Rep. Jan Schakowsky.

Small biotechs are worried that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's drug pricing bill would dry up the venture capital funding that they need to survive, STAT reports.

Why it matters: These companies turn basic research into new drugs, and conduct 70% of clinical trials, according to data from BIO.

Americans pay higher out-of-pocket costs than most other wealthy countries, a byproduct of having the most expensive health care system in the world, according to the OECD.

Why it matters: Health care costs are at the heart of today's most explosive health care debates, including Medicare for All, prescription drug prices and surprise medical bills.