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Australian doctors must be involved in planning medical response to possible local terror attacks

Australian Medical Association (AMA) President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, said this week it is vitally important that the AMA takes a key coordinating role in planning the medical response to any disasters including terror attacks on Australian soil.

14 Jul 2005

Consumer group wants health warnings on soft drinks

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a U.S. consumer group, are petitioning the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for warnings to be placed on soft drinks in order to alert consumers of the dangers of too much sugar.

14 Jul 2005

Sisters hurt in London blast return to the U.S. for surgery

According to one of the surgeons involved in their treatment, Emily and Katie Benton, two Tennessee sisters who were injured in Thursday's terrorist attacks in London, underwent reconstructive surgery on Monday at Duke University's North Carolina Hospital.

13 Jul 2005

New ruling on EU Food supplements directive eagerly awaited

The European Court of Justice is about to rule on whether the EU Food supplements directive, due to come into effect in August, unlawfully infringes trade.

12 Jul 2005

EU upholds food supplement ban - rejects appeal by health groups

The European Court of Justice has upheld a controversial law which could ban hundreds of vitamin and mineral supplements from being sold in Britain.

12 Jul 2005

Current scientific understanding does not justify the reduction of the daily salt intake for healthy people

In a reaction to the European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) announcement at the end of June, the European Salt Producers' Association, in brief EuSalt, maintains its position that the current scientific understanding does not justify the reduction of the daily salt intake for healthy people.

12 Jul 2005

Meth abuse biggest drug problem in country USA

In a recent crime survey of 45 states and 500 county law enforcement agencies in the U.S., it has been found that as far as rural and small town America is concerned, methamphetamine has overtaken cocaine as the biggest drug problem.

11 Jul 2005

California's medical marijuana program put on hold

As a direct result of a Supreme Court ruling last month that said the U.S. government could prosecute medical marijuana use, California officials say they will stop issuing identification cards to state residents who smoke marijuana to treat medical conditions.

11 Jul 2005

Thousands to be screened for affects from Teflon

After a federal scientific review panel said the chemical used to make teflon is "likely" to be carcinogenic to humans, tens of thousands of Ohio and West Virginia residents could be tested over the next year, to determine if their health has been affected by drinking water containing a chemical used to make the nonstick substance.

11 Jul 2005

Northern Ireland must not be left behind on smoking ban

Commenting on the confirmation that Wales will press ahead with a total ban on smoking in public places, BMA(NI) Public Health Committee Vice-Chairman, Dr Colin Hamilton, raised his concerns that Northern Ireland is in significant danger of being left behind.

6 Jul 2005

Anti-cancer claims for green tea 'unlikely', says FDA

In what will come as a surprise, and a disappointment to many advcates, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said last week that drinking green tea is highly unlikely to help prevent breast, prostate or any other type of cancer.

5 Jul 2005

General Medical Council wrong place to deal with medicine and the law

According to an article in the current edition of the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, Professor Roy Meadow should not be found guilty of serious professional misconduct.

4 Jul 2005

Progress on prison health prevented by political prejudice

An article in the Lancet says that measures to improve the health of prisoners should be based on evidence and not on political prejudice.

4 Jul 2005

British surgeon challenges Tony Blair on Africa's health needs

As world leaders at the G8 summit discussed Africa, Professor Chris Lavy, a British surgeon working in Malawi, has written an open letter, published in this week’s BMJ, to the British Prime Minister.

4 Jul 2005

Sense and science has prevailed, claim BMA

Sense and science has prevailed, claimed the BMA today as MSPs passed legislation that will bring an end to smoking in enclosed public places by spring next year.

30 Jun 2005

Teflon likely to cause cancer

In a new report scientists say that a chemical compound used to make Teflon, possibly causes cancer.

30 Jun 2005

British doctors debate abortion laws

In Britain doctors at the British Medical Association (BMA) conference in Manchester, are debating whether the legal time limit for abortion should be reduced from 24 to 20 weeks.

30 Jun 2005

Twenty-seven per cent of accidental deaths in Britain were due to transport accidents in 2003

For males, transport accidents were the most common form of accidental death (37 per cent). For females, transport accidents comprised 15 per cent of accidental deaths. Where the cause of the accident was known, falls were the most common cause of accidental death for females (28 per cent).

30 Jun 2005

Raising the dead no longer just a fright movie!

It is almost unbelievable, but scientists have apparently say they have discovered a way to bring dead dogs back to life.

29 Jun 2005

It's fright time again! - how to poison the country's milk

Despite fierce opposition, the National Academy of Sciences has published a report which says the U.S. milk supply is vulnerable to being poisoned with botulinum toxin.

29 Jun 2005