Tobacco companies have helped to engineer ultra-processed food (UPF) and scale up the industry, developing and distributing addictive products that are driving obesity, cancer, dementia and chronic diseases like diabetes.  This is according to one of the most comprehensive reviews of the drivers and impact of UFP, published in the American Journal of Public Health […] Continue reading ->
Steatotic liver disease (SLD) was recognized as a “missing piece” of the global noncommunicable disease response in a milestone World Health Assembly resolution last week. With countries making extraordinary progress in combating viral hepatitis, SLD, formerly known as fatty liver disease, is now the fastest-growing chronic liver disease – but far less recognized. Experts and […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on governments to strictly regulate nicotine pouches to prevent an imminent epidemic among vulnerable adolescents. These highly addictive products threaten to dismantle decades of global progress in tobacco control if left completely unchecked, health officials warn. Faced with declining cigarette sales, tobacco companies continuously release new product lines, […] Continue reading ->
Bangladesh’s new government has approved a wide-ranging anti-tobacco law that bans advertising, promotion and display across print, electronic, digital and social media, entertainment platforms and points of sale. The Smoking and Tobacco Usage (Control) (Amendment) Law, 2025 also prohibits corporate social responsibility initiatives from using tobacco brand names, logos or trademarks. Cigarette packs have to […] Continue reading ->
Governments should “significantly strengthen” taxes on alcoholic and sugary drinks as these products are getting cheaper, fueling obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancers and injuries. This is according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which issued two reports on taxing sugary drinks and alcohol on Tuesday, including how countries are implementing these. “In most countries, these […] Continue reading ->
The Eleventh Conference of the Parties (COP) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) concluded in Geneva on Saturday with calls to member states to take stronger action on reducing the environmental harm of tobacco use and increasing corporate liability. But political stand-offs between countries, along with industry interference, hindered major breakthroughs on […] Continue reading ->
Armenia’s first deputy health minister, Lena Nanushyan, says the country’s tougher tobacco controls, and a coming universal health insurance reform, are designed to reinforce each other by cutting disease and protecting households from catastrophic medical bills. “Public health and universal health coverage are inseparable,” Nanushyan told Garry Aslanyan in an interview for his Trailblazers series […] Continue reading ->