• Is it time for calorie labels on alcohol? How much do you know about the calorie content of your favourite tipple? Probably not much, if you follow the trend of most people previously surveyed on this topic. In this personal view, Fiona Sim says we need to tackle the number of “invisible” calories we consume in […]
Category: The BMJ today
The BMJ Today: Growth charts, depression screening, and a second pair of eyes
• Growth charts reflect a growth in children within India The growth charts committee of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) has recently published new growth charts for children aged 5-18, designed to measure height, weight, and body mass index. The charts, previously revised in 2007 using data collected as long ago as 1989, found that […]
The BMJ Today: Watch, read, listen, do
If you watch one thing today . . . See the two video clips embedded in the “Comptetent Novice” paper “A quick ward assessment of older patients by junior doctors,” and see if you agree with the weekend response posted by Birmingham doctor Yousuf Ansari. If you listen to one thing today . . . The […]
The BMJ Today: Cancer drugs, BMJ awards, and challenges for the NHS
• Donald Light and Joel Lexchin write about the easy ride cancer drugs get in the approval process. They point to three weaknesses: trials on cancer drugs are more often unblinded and non-randomised; these drugs are more often approved through accelerated pathways; and, finally, they often use surrogate endpoints. The result is very expensive medicines […]
The BMJ Today: Elders, teens, and tobacco in the modern era
• Jonathan Gornall writes about the tobacco industry’s likely opposition to new UK plain cigarette packaging laws in the powerful feature, “Slaying the dragon: how the tobacco industry refuses to die.” In the article, he provides powerful insight into the industry’s methods for staying alive. These include development of new products, such as e-cigarettes, and working […]
The BMJ Today: What are doctors around the world up to?
The BMJ has reported a number of medical fraud cases in the US lately. An ophthalmologist in Florida who used to see 100 patients per day has been accused of making false diagnoses of serious eye disease and providing unnecessary treatments which he would then bill Medicare for. He is considered the top Medicare biller in […]
The BMJ Today: What is happening in US medicine?
Even though I was far away from New York City, I will always remember the 11 September 2001, as I was in medical school taking an exam that day. An article in research news reports that the emergency medical workers who arrived in the immediate aftermath of the World Trade Centre attacks were at greater […]
The BMJ Today: Candy Crush as pain relief, and doctors as carers and scientists
• A news story reports on the intriguing case of a man who lost the use of his left thumb after playing the smartphone game Candy Crush all day for more than six weeks. The authors of the case report suggest that the stimulation of playing the game may explain why the man did not […]
The BMJ Today: Promises, promises
• It’s political parties’ manifestoes week, and The BMJ‘s reporter Gareth Iacobucci has summarised the promises made on the NHS, health, and social care of those that have been published, and outlined the public pledges made by the parties yet to officially announce their plans. There is much to take in, and useful headings allow for […]
The BMJ Today: Let’s ditch the posh sandwiches
– In her latest column, Margaret McCartney looks at the relationship between big pharma and doctors’ postgraduate education. McCartney argues that it is better for doctors to ditch the free sandwiches and the swanky locations and pay for their own education. “Doctors all want to advocate for patients, to be trusted and relied on. But […]