In 2016, 5.5 trillion cigarettes were consumed worldwide — enough for each man, woman and child to smoke two cigarettes every day. The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing more than 7 million people a year. With this important health issue in mind, the SawRead more
Challenges to Current and Future Tobacco Control Read More »
8 March marks #InternationalWomensDay, and we couldn’t think of anyone more fitting than Associate Professor Wong Mee Lian to feature in the very first conversation of our series “Let’s Talk Public Health”. She has spent much of her career researching marginalised and vulnerable women in our society, and has been teaching health education and promotion to postgraduate
Let’s Talk Public Health with A/Prof Wong Mee Lian Read More »
Current and future cohorts of Secondary 1 female students can opt in to receive free Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to protect them against cervical cancer, announced Senior Minister of State for Health, Dr Amy Khor at her Committee of Supply debate speech on 6 March. About 70 women die of cervical cancer every year. From
Sec 1 female students to get HPV vaccination against cervical cancer Read More »
Debates on e-cigarettes often focus on the potential harms or benefits of vaping versus smoking. Dr Yvette van der Eijk, Senior Research Fellow, and Assistant Professor Lee Jeong Kyu are more concerned about the industry’s preying on youth. As e-cigarettes are newly developed products, it is hard to assess their harms and make fair conclusions about their
Youth smoking is a problem, so is youth vaping Read More »
The government recently passed the bill for standardised packaging for all tobacco products sold in Singapore. From next year, all tobacco packs will be a drab brown colour, with all logos, colours and branding elements removed, and graphic health warnings covering 70 per cent of the pack surface. Packaging is an important marketing tool, especially in
Plain packaging to counter youth-targeted marketing of tobacco products Read More »
In response to the recent HIV registry data leak, Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, Programme Leader (Infectious Diseases), and Mr Rayner Tan, PhD student and researcher on HIV, address the dated views that many Singaporeans have of the disease. While there has been significant advances in medical science and treatment of HIV, the same cannot be
Tackling HIV: we need to move beyond fear and prejudice Read More »
Cutting down on white rice may not in itself lower one’s risk of getting diabetes. What matters more is what the rice is substituted with and the overall quality of a person’s diet. These were presented in two new studies that used data from the Singapore Chinese Health Study (SCHS) and were co-authored by Professor Rob
Less Meat, More Greens and Grains Read More »
What is the importance of health technology assessment (HTA) in health decision making? What are the processes and methods adopted by the various HTA entities in Singapore and the region? How has the role of HTA evolved in the context of universal health coverage (UHC)? These were some of the questions covered at the ‘Health
Using evidence to empower decisions: HTA Training and Symposium Read More »
Malnutrition is a problem often perceived to be linked to food shortages, but many people do not realise that it can also be caused by excessive consumption of empty calories, such as from sugar. Singapore has already adopted a range of measures when it comes to managing sugar consumption, including prohibiting the sale of beverages
Informed public is best weapon against diabetes Read More »
Based on last year’s National Nutrition Survey by the Health Promotion Board, Singaporeans take an average of 60g of sugar a day, which is higher than the 50g limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). High-sugar food and drinks are getting cheaper and becoming more easily available, while portion sizes are getting bigger and
Dialogue session participants suggest alternative measures to cut sugar intake Read More »