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Harm Reduction
How to tackle South Africa's high suicide rate
Not only does South Africa have the third highest suicide rate in Africa, but Africa itself has higher rates of suicide than any other...
New smoking, vaping Bill proposes 20-year sentences
A stringent set of penalties in proposed new tobacco legislation for South Africa will include fines and/or imprisonment for people who smoke in public...
UK doctors’ union calls for curb on vapes
The British Medical Association is urging Ministers to introduce legislation to curb the “epidemic” of vaping in the UK, saying the devices should only...
Early death risk for regular drinkers over 60 – Spanish study
Findings from a recent large study have suggested that over-60s who regularly drink are risking early death, particularly from cancer or issues related to...
Parliament revives tobacco Bill
The Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill, first introduced in the National Assembly in 2022, has been dusted off by Parliament...
Clinicians urged to routinely ask teens if they use muscle-building supplements
Primary care, family medicine and mental health clinicians should ask every adolescent and young adult they care for if they take muscle-building supplements such...
WHO issues ‘quit tobacco’ guidelines
The World Health Organisation has issued its very first guidelines aimed at helping smokers to give up the habit, and encouraged member states to...
Draft codeine guideline now out for comment
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has released its new draft guideline it hopes will help stem the misuse of codeine, and...
Spike in smoking during lockdown, local analysis finds
South Africans puffed away frantically during lockdown, according to a recent local analysis, which also noted an associated increase in waterpipe/hubbly-bubbly use during 2021...
Alcohol is bad for you, despite conflicting research
Conflicting research over the years on alcohol and its supposed benefits – and non-benefits – has resulted in fluctuating messages to millions of drinkers...
FDA takes flak for green-lighting menthol vapes
The US Food & Drug Administration has drawn criticism from public health advocates after giving the go-ahead to the first menthol-flavoured vapes – and...
Australian pharmacists lash out at vape policy turnaround
Furious Australian pharmacists have hit back at a new Bill permitting consumers to buy plain-packaged nicotine vapes from pharmacies without a prescription, saying they...
Passing of Tobacco Bill urged for SA and its 12.7m smokers
Anti-tobacco groups in South Africa – where smokers on average puff on 8.5 cigarettes a day – urged the new government this week to...
Juul e-cig ban rescinded by FDA following court rulings
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had done an about-turn and reversed a ban on e-cigarette products made by Juul Labs, the company...
Council bans vape sales in pharmacies
Pharmacies are banned from selling vapes as aids to quit smoking, the SA Pharmacy Council registrar Vincent Tlale said, with the products now added...
Experts, FDA flag synthetic chemicals in new vapes
Independent researchers as well as the FDA have sounded the alarm over nicotine alternatives used in vapes being launched in the US and abroad,...
Big Tobacco deliberately targeting youth – WHO report
The WHO has accused tobacco companies of continuing to actively target young people via social media, sports and music festivals – and new flavoured...
Plant-based solution may help nicotine-vape addicts quit – US study
“Natural” help may be on the horizon for the 11m American adults who use e-cigarettes to vape nicotine, at least half of whom want...
HSPCA petitioned over big tobacco sponsorship of medical education
The National Council Against Smoking (NCAS) has lodged an objection, with more than 50 signatories, with the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) over...
SA linked to global scandal as PMI extends Big Tobacco reach
An ambitious deal between a leading global medical education provider and Philip Morris International (PMI) collapsed this week, with Medscape acknowledging its “misjudgment” and...
Toxic lead, uranium levels in teen vapers’ urine – US study
Teenage vapers are exposing their bodies to a host of toxic metals, say researchers, who found that regular vapers aged 13 to 17, and...
US delays ban on menthol cigarettes
In a decision that has been widely criticised, the US Government has put on hold its plan to ban menthol cigarettes, a move that...
No link between suicide and weight loss drugs – EMA
Evidence does not support a causal association between the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1) – dulaglutide, exenatide, liraglutide, lixisenatide and semaglutide – and suicidal...
Britain takes first step with vote to ban smoking
Britain is on course to ban smoking for an entire generation after a historic vote in the House of Commons this week, which is likely to see the UK...
Dentist pleads not guilty to patient’s murder in ‘detox’ clinic
The trial of a Durban dentist, charged with murder after a patient died in his detox centre seven years ago, started in the High...
France a step closer to disposable vape ban
France is inching closer to a ban on disposable e-cigarettes, with lawmakers last week reaching an agreement on a Bill proposing prohibition of sales...
NHS gender treatment model slammed in damning report
Children given NHS transgender treatment have been set on a path of irreversible change despite scant medical data, and based on “remarkably weak evidence” according to...
Vaping raises heart failure risk – US study
Vaping may cause a “substantial” increase in the risk of heart failure, research has suggested, with scientists saying that more studies are linking the...
Vapes not safer than tobacco, says expert
Vaping is not without risk, even though studies may show that it is less harmless than smoking and should be regulated the same way...
New Zealand to ban disposable vapes
New Zealand is to ban the sale of disposable e-cigarettes, increase fines on retailers that sell to under-18s, and improve retailer regulations – this...
Few women know of booze and breast cancer link – WHO
Only one in five women in Europe – just 21% – know that alcohol is a risk factor for developing breast cancer, the World...
Frequent cannabis use bumps up heart attack risk – US study
American researchers have suggested that people who frequently smoke weed have a greater risk of heart attack and stroke, after their analysis of several...
New Zealand dumps stringent world-first tobacco ban
New Zealand has repealed what would have been a world-first law banning tobacco sales for future generations, the government said, even while researchers and...
Czech Republic latest state to ban synthetic cannabinoid
Several countries already prohibit or regulate the sale of semi-synthetic hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), with the Czech Republic becoming the latest to restrict its sale after...
Smoking damage to immune system lasts for years – French study
Scientists say that smoking tobacco is so toxic for the body that it changes the immune system, leaving people vulnerable to more disease and...
Why science no longer supports drinking alcohol in moderation
In 1991, the host of the news programme 60 Minutes in the United States went to France in search of an answer: why were the French,...
Tobacco firms aggressively targeting youth – SAMRC
Tobacco companies are aggressively honing in on youngsters, with a recent report showing a quarter of the students interviewed at tertiary institutions used e-cigarettes,...
Call for 'watershed' Surgeon-General's report on vaping
Public health experts say a US Surgeon-General report – similar to one issued 60 years ago that settled a longstanding public debate about cigarettes...
Tobacco use slowly drops ‘despite industry efforts’
According to the latest estimates, 150 countries have recorded a continued decline in tobacco rates, with about one in five users worldwide compared with...
Smokers more likely to quit with natural cytisine: Argentinian review
A pill that dampens nicotine cravings could play a major role in helping people kick the smoking habit, say scientists, who found that potential...