News

In recent years, Singapore has ramped up its measures to drive down the smoking rate, including banning point-of-sale display, increasing excise taxes and prices, banning alternative tobacco products, and proposing standardised packaging for all tobacco products. Joining this slew of measures with effect from 1 January 2019 are the country’s first precinct-wide smoking ban alongRead more

Today’s academic institutions are far from maximising their potential for catalysing social change, opined Assistant Professor Clarence Tam and Dr Vittoria Offeddu from SSHSPH, Assistant Professor Voo Teck Chuan, NUS Centre for Biomedical Ethics, and Assistant Professor Neisha Sundaram, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. In terms of social value, current assessments appear tokenistic and irrelevant. For example,

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), disorders of the heart and blood vessels, are the leading global cause of death annually, and they are reaching epidemic levels in many Asian countries including Singapore, according to a study released by the Economist Intelligence Unit this month. CVDs contribute to approximately one in three deaths in Singapore, and they levy US$8.1

The Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health has joined the international Decision Support Initiative (iDSI), a global consortium working with low- and middle-income countries as they aim to make healthcare investment decisions that reflect the best value for money. Led by the Center for Global Development, iDSI received a $14.5 million grant from the

On Tuesday (4 December), the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) proposed new measures to reduce sugar intake from pre-packaged, sugar-sweetened beverages, as part of Singapore’s War on Diabetes. From 4 December 2018 to 25 January 2019, MOH and HPB will be conducting a public consultation to seek feedback on four

Preliminary investigations by the Ministry of Health (MOH) have not established a definitive link among the three recent cases of food poisoning. However, the number of such incidences in Singapore has jumped by 40 per cent on a year-on-year basis from January to October this year, compared to the corresponding period last year. Severe food

A study on nearly 2,000 children found that 28 per cent of seven-year olds, 50 per cent of 10-year-olds, 62 per cent of 12-year-olds and 73 per cent of 15-year olds are myopic. The study is part of the Singapore Cohort Study of the Risk Factors for Myopia (SCORM) that is led by Professor Saw Seang

The School is pleased to announce that Professor Teo Yik Ying, Dean, has been appointed to the Council of Scientists for the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization (HFSPO). The organisation runs the Human Frontier Science Program, a funding programme for frontier research in life sciences. With its offering of long- and short-term fellowships, cross-disciplinary fellowships, career

Every November since 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) and member states have commemorated World Antibiotic Awareness Week, an annual observance to improve antibiotic usage and to increase public awareness of the health risks posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR). While the threat of a ‘doomsday scenario’ of a post-antibiotic era — where common infections or

The recent proposal to introduce standardised tobacco packaging has elicited strong responses from diverse sectors. Many have lauded the move, including Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, who tweeted a congratulatory message to Singapore. However, some have derided the move as superficial and naive, and one which is unlikely to change the behaviour of smokers. But