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Mischievous responders misleading LGBQ researchers
Many research studies have reported on the elevated health risk and deviance of youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning (LGBQ). But...
It's time for Canada's government to stop withholding the truth from smokers
Good public health policy empowers people to make better, informed personal health decisions – rather than punishing them – write David T Sweanor, chair...
Troublesome issues in e-cigarette policy in America
The Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) and e-cigarette policy scene continues to evolve in a direction that will result in substantially more tobacco-related addiction, illness...
Investors pour money into addiction treatment, but quality questions remain
In the midst of a nationwide epidemic of drug addiction, the United States has a big shortage of high quality providers offering treatment to people...
Decrease in malaria deaths flatlining
Despite a few bright spots, the recently released World Malaria Report paints a gloomy picture of stagnating progress and increasing concentration of the burden...
Motsoaledi lashed for saying illegals are burdening health system
Amnesty International and the Public Protector’s Office have lashed Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi over his statement that illegal and undocumented immigrants are putting an...
Identifying potentially unsafe restaurants via patrons' search history
A new computer model links Google searches for terms like "stomach cramps" to smartphone location history data to determine which restaurants those people had...
Africa bears the brunt of the counterfeit medicine curse
Almost half the fake and low-quality medicines reported to the World Health Organisation between 2013 and 2017 were found to be in sub-Saharan Africa,...
As China's health system falters, the desperate smuggle drugs or make their own
Out of a desperation born of necessity, ordinary Chinese are buying drug ingredients online and making them up at home, reports The New York Times....
Containing the Ebola epidemic in the face of armed conflict
‘I have been responding to different disease outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for 18 years, yet I have never seen anything...
Big life expectancy gap between rich and poor contradicted by Danish study
Contrary to previous research, previous findings of huge differences in life expectancy between the rich and the poor have been contradicted by a Danish study...
Racial disparities in patient characteristics and survival after AMI
Characteristics of black patients and white patients in the US differed significantly at the time of admission for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and were...
Public Health England: Stopping smoking – What works?
Public Health England recently published Health Matters guidance focusing on the range of smoking quitting routes that are available and the evidence for their...
US FDA warns companies of ‘illegal’ e-cigarettes in crackdown on youth vaping
On 12 October the US Food and Drug Administration said it had sent letters to 21 e-cigarette companies questioning the legality of 41 of...
Less aggression among the young when corporal punishment banned
An international study shows that in countries where there is a complete ban on all corporal punishment of children there is less fighting among...
Summit: A fixit plan by December and a pledge on private healthcare
President Cyril Ramaphosa that there would be a plan by December to tackle SA's public health crisis, speaking at a two-day health summit to...
How healthy will people in South Africa be in 2040?
An international projection of life expectancy and major mortality risk paints two scenarios for South Africa by the year 2040: An increase in life expectancy...
Mboweni must urgently 'puncture the fantasy NHI balloon'
One of the tasks confronting the new finance minister, Tito Mboweni, will be to puncture the balloon of fantasy surrounding the national health insurance...
Vaccination and screening set to eliminate cervical cancer in Australia
Australia will become the first country to effectively eliminate cervical cancer if vaccination and screening rates are maintained, BBC News reports researchers say. The...
Daily drinking associated with increased mortality risk
The minimum risk of low-level drinking frequency for all-cause mortality appears to be approximately three occasions weekly, according to a US analysis of two...
Did Big Tobacco buy Twitter? Tobacco Institute responds
A Bhekisisa article claiming that the tobacco industry was buying ads and Twitter coverage to thwart tobacco control in South Africa, elicited an irritated response...
Expert opinion divided over health impacts as SA legalises dagga
Following the legalisation of cannabis for personal use in South Africa, the SA Society of Psychiatrists and the SA Medical Association warned of its...
Affordable vaping in developing countries is a ‘human rights issue'
Experts in Britain and Kenyan harm reduction advocate Joseph Magero have called for the cost of e-cigarettes to be cut to tackle harmful effects...
WHO launches new strategy to accelerate global tobacco control
The Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control closed its eighth session – COP8 – on 7 October after adopting...
Assuming e-cigarettes are equal to cigarettes could distort research – and policy
'Cigarette' might appear in the term 'e-cigarette' but that is as far as their similarities extend, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study. Assuming e-cigarettes...
‘White paper’ call to action on vapour products, harm reduction and taxation
The International Center for Law & Economics in the US has produced a white paper it describes as a call to action for economists and health...
New e-cigarette product puts anti-smoking campaigns in jeopardy
Adolescent use of electronic cigarettes initially took the US public health community by surprise, reports the New England Journal of Medicine. In 2011, less than 2%...
e-Cigarette explosions and burn injuries underestimated in US
The number of e-cigarette explosion and burn injuries have been underestimated by Federal Agencies in the US, according to a George Mason University study. These...
Shisha (hookah) addiction may be stronger than cigarette addiction
Smoking shishais very popular, particularly among young people. But despite what many people believe, it is highly addictive, writes Kamran Siddiqi, professor of global public health...
Most US colleges are not tobacco- and smoke-free, research reveals
Most US four-year colleges and universities as well as community colleges don’t have tobacco-free or smoke-free policies on campus, according to a study in the...
It's not just about the number of hospital beds…
SA Health Minister Dr Aaron Mostoaledi has cited overcrowding as a root cause of recent Klebsiella-related infant deaths. However, while the number of beds...
IRR report: Deficiencies in state health sector doom NHI to failure
An Institute of Race Relations report says that the proposed National Health Insurance is a 'noble goal' but will destroy private healthcare and medical...
Debunking claims about medical dagga use
Current international evidence does not support the hypothesis that SA legalising the use of dagga will cause more teens to use it, and will reduce...
Almost 40% of South Africans dangerously inactive — WHO study
A quarter of the world’s adults are doing too little exercise, putting them at risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and some...
Almost two decades later, 9/11 is still claiming victims
Tens of thousands of people who lived or worked in the neighbourhood of New York's World Trade Centre after the 9/11 terror attack found themselves...
Wider benefits of alcohol outweigh health benefits of teetotalism — a rebuttal
‘No safe level of alcohol’ screamed headlines last week. They were inspired by the publication of a massive study, part of the ‘Global Burden...
A properly implemented NHI could help bring together a divided society
Whatever the current failures of the proposed National Health Insurance scheme, it has the potential "to move the country towards socio-economic equality by prioritising a...
Cigarette market is soaring in Africa – UCT study
Tobacco companies are thriving in Africa due to weak anti-tobacco and tax laws. A study by the University of Cape Town’s Economics of Tobacco Control Project found...
Supporters of South Africa’s Tobacco Bill speak out
Following a cacophony of criticism of South Africa’s Tobacco Bill, supporters the legislation are having their say. An article in Daily Maverick outlines a...
Urgent strategies needed to tackle US opioid crisis – Doctors have a role
There are many ways to tackle America’s growing opioid addiction crisis. In articles in USA Today, a behavioural economist and a chief medical examiner...