If South Africa’s argument in court is that marijuana causes harm, it deserves to lose. The real question it should ask is whether criminal prohibition is the effective way forward.
Scientists estimate that by 2020, non-communicable disease will account for almost 70% of the total disease burden.
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The increase in cases of non-communicable diseases in developing countries has led to an emerging pattern of high levels of multimorbidity.
Residents of high-density housing might value features such as balconies, but when roads get busy this increases exposure to pollution.
Adam J.W.C./Wikipedia
Many new housing developments are being built along busy roads and rail lines, but lack design features that would reduce occupants’ exposure to harmful traffic pollution.
Drug resistance to cholera causing bacteria affects treatment especially in developing countries.
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Cholera is caused by a lack of access to clean drinking water and unhygienic conditions. Misuse of antibiotics makes it difficult and expensive to treat outbreaks.
The health benefits of being close to nature are well established.
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The best cure against a snakebite is to avoid being bitten at all. Here is what you need to know about snakebites, antivenom, and what you need to do if bitten.
The evidence that living near exhaust stacks from busy tunnels harms your lungs is far from settled.
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As the latest controversy about tunnel exhaust stacks and respiratory health plays out in the media, some community members are proposing solutions that just don’t make sense.
A malaria vaccine will be piloted in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi to assess its suitability.
Siegfried Modola/Reuters.
When an Ebola outbreak is detected, surveillance, community engagement , laboratory services and tracing infected persons should be activated to prevent rapid spread of the disease.
Like a mound of termites, tobacco control policies are eating away at smoking in ways we’re not always conscious of.
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Tobacco control policies, like advertising bans, are not top of people’s minds as a reason for quitting smoking. But they create a climate where fewer people want to smoke, with great success.
Adding fluoride to tap water to prevent tooth decay is one of our greatest public health achievements. Yet, myths persist about whether it’s safe and works.
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In an era when opinion often trumps evidence in public health issues, it’s time to support and invest in evidence-based medicine to protect the public from dangerous, poorly informed beliefs.
Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended up to 6 months of age.
Alissa Everett/Reuters
Breastfeeding has many health benefits for both baby and mother. But it can also can be difficult to sustain exclusively without support.
Increasing access to health data and more readily available analytical tools offer some opportunities to tackle the ever-growing rates of obesity.
AAP/Dave Hunt
Enshrining the need for planning healthy built environments in legislation will help ensure the fundamental role planners have to play in facilitating healthy lifestyles.
Fat stigma harms the health and wellbeing of fat people.
Stocky Bodies
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
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne