Jo Adetunji, The Conversation e Andrew Naughtie, The Conversation
High levels of tungsten, a metal found in mobile phones and a variety of industrial uses, could double the risk of stroke according to researchers from Exeter University who believe exposure to tungsten…
A 20% tax on sugar drinks could change the habits of young Australians, which would benefit future generations.
Shutterstock / Creativa
A study published in the journal of the British Medical Association, BMJ, today says a tax on sugary drinks could cut the number of obese adults in the United Kingdom by 180,000. Similar Australian projections…
Fructose is associated with US obesity rise but Europe allows health claims.
Macz_out
An EU decision to allow health claims to be made about fructose has angered obesity experts who blame the fruit sugar for rising obesity levels in the US. The decision allows food and drink manufacturers…
The writing was on the wall for some in city licensing review.
Andy Bell
Scottish police were forced to issue a statement that they did “not advocate the banning of condoms” after a BBC report, which ran under the headline “Police ask for condom ban in Edinburgh saunas”, said…
Revolving door means you can advise government then advise industry.
Zeeweez
The appointment of senior civil servant David Frost as Chief Executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, one of the alcohol industry’s most aggressive lobby groups, is just the latest high profile case…
Consumption of fruits and vegetables can be expected to fall if their price goes up.
shaun/Flickr
A simmering discussion about Australia’s goods and services tax (GST) flared up again straight after the election, with WA Premier Colin Barnett arguing for an increase in the GST rate and a broadening…
Tobacco use causes more than five million deaths every year across the world.
MilitaryHealth/Flickr
Reema Rattan, The Conversation e Isabelle Knight, The Conversation
Editors of journals published by the BMJ Group will no longer consider publishing research that is partly or wholly funded by the tobacco industry, the journals have said in an editorial published this…
Obesity is commonly regarded as one of the most significant threats to health in the developed world. It is strongly linked with cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and impaired mobility. Governments…
Dung beetles love the Milky Way because they use it for navigation. No, seriously they do.
mattvisser
This year’s Ig Nobel prizes were awarded on September 12 at a meeting of nerds at Harvard University. The prizes are given for genuine scientific research that “first makes people laugh and then makes…
Mind the gap: health services in trouble if we continue to expect too much.
PA/Carl Court
Health services are under constant scrutiny and rarely out of the news. But discussions about how and even whether they can continue are likely to exercise the whole developed world in the near future…
The recent tobacco tax rise showed the usual entrenched positions of public health advocates and libertarians.
Nick|Allen/Flickr
Predictable positions followed the recent announcement of an increase in tobacco tax by 12.5% a year for four years. Public health advocates praised the tax, labelling those questioning it as “tobacco…
If you treat smoking as a purely personal choice you’re not giving enough weight to the impact of dying young.
stolenscript/Flickr
A few years ago I saw a poster stuck to the wall of a train station in Copenhagen. The poster was a protest paid for by a prominent Danish musician against new regulations against smoking in public. At…
The increase in medical graduates means there’s not enough internships to allow them to practice. So who is given priority and why?
Doctor image from www.shutterstock.com
“At the moment, we’ve got international graduates who are getting preference over Australian doctors in some states.” - Australian Medical Association president Steve Hambleton, National Press Club Address…
Plain packaging isn’t really plain - it has warnings not branding.
PA/Niall Carson
The government’s disappointing U-turn over plain packaging of tobacco has dealt a blow to campaigners and shows a government attempting to subvert its own consultation process. The Conservative party’s…
Chuffing away while drinking heavily slows your brain down.
PA/Jonathan Brady
The combination of both heavy drinking and smoking in midlife can accelerate cognitive decline. Problems with cognitive function affects mental abilities such as thinking, knowing, judging and remembering…
When daily stressors intensify and prevent good quality sleep, they can set off a downward spiral to poor mental health.
Shutterstock
A poll by Lifeline released earlier this week shows almost two-thirds of Australians reported sleep loss because of stress relating to work or their finances. The findings went largely unremarked, even…
Pollution face masks are not just for China.
Dave Thompson/PA
It may seem odd for the European Commission to declare 2013 the “Year of the Air” in order to focus on improving air quality standards. Most would feel air pollution is a problem that has been more or…
Ready, steady, go - but not not everyone likes traffic systems.
Last Wednesday was a good day for those of us who have been campaigning for years for more understandable food labelling. The UK Government announced their final recommendation for front-of-pack nutrition…
Recent research finds new potential treatments for Tuberculosis, a disease that affects over eight million people worldwide each year.
shin
Australian researchers have uncovered a link between low levels of the gas nitric oxide in the lungs of tuberculosis patients and the body’s ability to fight the deadly disease, opening the door to potential…
A Trans Pacific Partnership meeting hosted by US President Barack Obama with the Sultan of Brunei and prime ministers from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia , Singapore and Vietnam, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on November 20, 2012.
AAP Image/Auspic, David Foote
International trade agreements bring new transnational food companies into countries, along with new food advertising and promotion. This has often led to an increase in unhealthy foods entering the domestic…
Dean Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Vaccinology at University of the Witwatersrand; and Director of the SAMRC Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand
Principal Medical Scientist and Head of Laboratory for Antimalarial Resistance Monitoring and Malaria Operational Research, National Institute for Communicable Diseases
Professor and Programme Director, SA MRC Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science - PRICELESS SA (Priority Cost Effective Lessons in Systems Strengthening South Africa), University of the Witwatersrand