How smoking divides America

Health

How smoking divides America

Ellen Meara.

Niles Singer/Harvard Staff Photographer

Alvin Powell

Harvard Staff Writer

February 2, 2026 5 min read

Mapping the midlife effects of a lethal habit

New research isolates an old foe — smoking — as the principal culprit behind U.S. midlife mortality gaps defined by place and education.

Working with colleagues from Dartmouth...