Admit it: you absolutely love the smell of your new car as you’re driving off the lot. Scientists haven’t figured out why everyone loves the smell of a new car so much—maybe it’s because people associate the smell with the luxury of having purchased a new set of wheels. But the smell that comes along with your new ride is actually really toxic and can be harmful to your health.
Robert Weitz, a certified microbial investigator and founder of RTK Environmental Group, says that the new car scent you’re smelling is actually made up of something called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. The new car smell occurs when the various materials that make up your car “outgas” and release VOCs.
The materials used in the interior of a new car include polyurethane or polyester and various paints, plastics, and sealants. The VOC molecules released from these materials do eventually evaporate, but in the beginning, they are very harmful to humans, especially in a confined space.

“There are many VOCs that cause cancer (carcinogens) and most will produce symptoms in many individuals including respiratory, headaches, and joint and muscle pain. We are all built differently and the VOCs have different effects on all of us,” says Weitz.
As the new car smell fades over time, so do the VOCs—but on warm days, the materials can start to “outgas” again. One way to combat the issue is to keep your windows open when you can and don’t inhale as deeply every time you get into your new car.
Next, don’t miss these 74 car maintenance tips that will extend the life of the new ride you just bought.

Obesity is costing the American healthcare system plenty, a new study finds.
Researchers report that the percentage of U.S. health spending on treatment of obesity-related illnesses in adults climbed from just over 6 percent in 2001 to almost 8 percent in 2015 -- an increase of 29 percent.

There were significant differences between states, according to study co-author John Cawley, a professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell University.
"In 2015, states such as Arizona, California, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania devoted 5 to 6 percent of their total medical expenditures to treating obesity-related illness, whereas North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin spent more than twice that -- over 12 percent of all health care dollars in those states were used to treat obesity-related illness," Cawley said in a university news release.
And while obesity rates have risen sharply in the United States, there has been little research into the economic impact of this trend on individual states, the researchers added.

The study, published recently in the journal Clinical Chemistry, also examined the effects of obesity on type of insurance, including Medicaid and Medicare.
"Once again, we find dramatic differences across states in the fraction of Medicaid spending that is devoted to obesity-related illness," Cawley said.
"For example, over 2001-2015, Kentucky and Wisconsin devoted over 20 percent of their Medicaid spending to obesity-related illness," he said. "In contrast, in New York, 10.9 percent of Medicaid spending was devoted to obesity-related illness, and the average for the U.S. as a whole was 8.23 percent during that period."

Such variations are driven by differences in obesity prevalence, health care access by obese individuals, how obesity is treated and prices of health care, Cawley explained.