war on drugs has been declared, commencing in Shanghai and the same getting reinforced in April 2016 in the United Nations. Every year a new theme is given and this year it is ‘Health for Justice, Justice for Health’. The question is, how far have we succeeded, in case we have?

San Francisco becomes the first major US city to effectively ban the sale and manufacture of electronic cigarettes, as concerns grow over a sharp rise in vaping among youths.

People in Thailand will no longer be allowed to smoke at home if their habit has a negative effect on other family members due to exposure to second-hand smoke, says the Act on Promotion of the Family Institute Development and Protection, which will go into effect from August 20.

A large observational study suggests exposure to artificial light at night while sleeping raises risk for obesity.

A systematic review and meta-analysis identified significantly increased odds of child obesity when mothers have obesity before conception, according to a study published recently in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Nicola Heslehurst of Newcastle University in the UK, and colleagues.

Maternal deaths associated with preeclampsia and subsequent stroke can be averted with rapid administration of antihypertensives.

Tobacco consumption is one of the common guilty pleasures for general people although it does more harm than good. The death risk from smoking is increasing at a rapid speed. According to Global Adult Tobacco (GAT), around 161,000 people are dying every year in Bangladesh for tobacco usage.

Bangladesh is facing a massive boom in the number of medically unnecessary Caesarean section, commonly known as C-sections — between 2016 and 2018 the number of operations increased by 51 percent, new figures released by Save the Children reveal. The country saw an estimated 860,000 of these unnecessary operations last year, while up to 300,000 women who need a C-section are unable to afford or access it.

The American Heart Association (AHA) offers new guidance in preventing and managing cardiovascular disease in patients with HIV. Here are some of the group’s recommendations, published in Circulation:

Walking at least 4400 steps daily might help improve survival in older women, a JAMA Internal Medicine study suggests — welcome news for people who do not hit the much-promoted goal of 10000 steps daily.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has updated its diabetes standards of care to incorporate results from the CREDENCE trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

World blood donor day (June 14) is an annual event, usually on the same date each year, to thank voluntary blood donors, acknowledge them and encourage blood donation, especially by representing how blood donations have saved and changed lives. The Day has the slogan ‘Safe blood for all’ to raise awareness of the universal need for safe blood in the delivery of health care and the crucial roles that voluntary donations play in achieving the goal of universal health coverage.

Every day, there are more than 1 million new cases of curable sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among people aged 15-49 years, according to data released by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This amounts to more than 376 million new cases annually of four infections - chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis, and syphilis.

HIV symptoms in newborns and insufficient prenatal care, limited antiretroviral therapy, and high viral load in mothers increased likelihood of in utero infection.

A new analysis, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, adds to the evidence that nonfasting lipid measurements are as clinically useful as fasting measurements.

Two new trials could lead to changes in the way mild asthma is managed. The findings were presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference and published in the New England Journal of Medicine recently.

An allergic reaction can be severe or life-threatening. Allergy usually shows up as itching, pain, skin rash, sun sensitivity, hives, watery eyes, swelling of the eyes, breathing difficulties, runny nose, vomiting and sneezing etc.

Results for 129 countries measured by a new Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Gender Index released by Equal Measures 2030 show that the world is far from achieving gender equality, with 1.4 billion girls and women living in countries that get a “very poor” failing grade on gender equality.

With some simple precautions and sensible eating habits, we can manage to not let the heat get to us! This summer, get ahead on hydration with these smart tips.

If you are told to judge yourself, will you call yourself an optimist or a pessimist? If your thoughts circle around negative outcomes, you automatically focus on the negative aspects of life and anticipate something worst is going to be happen, then most likely you are a pessimist!