• Tobacco industry lobbying undermines public health in Asia Martin McKee, Nichola Hopkinson, and K Srinath Reddy discuss the “fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between the tobacco industry’s interests and public health policy interests.” Whilst they acknowledge that “many Asian countries have a history of progressive tobacco control policies” such as the longstanding ban on tobacco […]
Category: The BMJ today
The BMJ Today: Should medical journals avoid discussing political issues that have a bearing on health?
• Politics, medical journals, the medical profession, and the Israel lobby–In July 2014, The Lancet published an “Open letter for the people in Gaza” from a group of doctors and scientists, decrying what was in their view Israeli military aggression against civilians in Gaza. Earlier this year, Reed Elsevier, publishers of The Lancet received a […]
The BMJ Today: Elections, pathogen genomics, and prescription supply problems
• In the wake of the UK general election, Chris Ham, chief executive at the Kings Fund, writes about the challenges facing the newly elected Conservative government. He asks what route politicians will take to balance savings in the NHS without compromising patient safety? He cautions politicians to be realistic in the timescale needed to […]
The BMJ Today: The NHS in the aftermath of the UK’s general election
• Gareth Iacobucci reports that the National Health Action Party secured just over 20 000 votes across 12 constituencies in the UK general election. In three constituencies, it achieved fourth place finishes. The National Health Action Party was formed by doctors and health campaigners in 2012 in protest against government policies for the NHS. • BMJ editors […]
The BMJ Today: Assessing eyes in infants, latest on open data, and new EMA rules on pharma’s revolving door
Here’s what is new in The BMJ today. • Practice Many GPs may find the challenge of assessing eyes and vision in infants and preschool children intimidating. Andrew Blaikie and Gordon Dutton offer advice—with multiple video demonstrations and tutorials. • Clinical review How confident are you in diagnosing interstitial lung diseases? How many of this heterogeneous set […]
The BMJ Today: The Ebola legacy and the social determinants of health
• In a week in which the World Health Organization announces a drop in new cases of Ebola virus infection, Sophie Arie looks at lessons learnt during the recent epidemic and asks whether Ebola will be a game changer for vaccines—or a scare that will soon be forgotten. It was during the Ebola epidemic that WHO […]
The BMJ Today: Private practice—“so venal, it bordered on criminal”
• Private practice is unethical—and doctors should give it up Consultant cardiologist John Dean talks frankly about why he could not go on with his private medical practice. “No matter how high I set my own moral and ethical standards, I could not escape the fact that I was involved in a business where the conduct […]
Nepal’s earthquake, depression in EastEnders, running away from rugby balls, and bad language
• “We were on the fifth floor of the Yellow Pagoda Hotel discussing radiotherapy for lung cancer at about noon on Saturday 25 April when suddenly the floor lurched and we were thrown to the ground with chairs falling. A second later the electricity failed. For what seemed an age, but seemingly was only 40 seconds, the […]
The BMJ Today: A bullet in the heart and other stories…..
• According to this study of 900,000 patients, commercial providers of out of hours GP care in England are associated with poorer experience of care compared with NHS or not for profit providers. The authors also found that some ethnic minorities, particularly Asian patients, reported a poorer experience than white patients, especially when asked about timeliness […]
The BMJ Today: A healthy NHS, preventing SIDS, and more on Nepal
• A letter to the next secretary of state for health In an open letter to the politician who will become secretary of health after the UK general election on 7 May, The BMJ provides a checklist for a healthy NHS, with funding the key issue. “History will not forgive another health secretary whose actions […]