Health & Medicine

Relax, inhale, and think of Horace Wells

By Andrew Brodsky

Many students, when asked by a teacher or professor to volunteer in front of the class, shy away, avoid eye contact, and try to seem as plain and unremarkable as possible. The same is true in dental school – unless it comes to laughing gas. As a fourth year dental student, I’ve had times where I’ve tried to avoid professors’ questions about anatomical variants of nerves, or the correct way to drill a cavity, or what type of tooth infection has symptoms of hot and cold sensitivity.

Laying to rest a 224 year-old controversy

By Philip A. Mackowiak

The disease that carried Mozart off 224 years ago today was as sudden as it was mysterious. It struck during a year in which he was uncommonly healthy and also spectacularly productive.

World AIDS Day reading list

By Simon Turley

World AIDS Day is a global campaign that raises awareness and funds for the estimated 34 million people living with HIV, and also commemorates the 35 million people who have died of the virus. The first one was held in 1988 and, as such, it is the longest running health day. Despite many medical advances, HIV remains one of the most devastating epidemics in human history.

Leonard Cohen and smoking in old age

By Jimmie Holland

Leonard Cohen’s decision to take up cigarettes again at 80 reveals a well kept secret about older age: you can finally live it up and stop worrying about the consequences shortening your life by much.

A brief history of the e-cigarette

By Catherine Fehre

Electronic cigarettes are growing in popularity around the world. With the announcement of vape as our Word of the Year, we have put together a timeline of the history of e-cigarettes.

Does workplace stress play a role in retirement drinking?

By Kathleen Briggs and Peter A. Bamberger

Alcohol misuse among the retired population is a phenomenon that has been long recognized by scholars and practitioners. The retirement process is complex, and researchers posit that the pre-retirement workplace can either protect against—or contribute to—alcohol misuse among retirees.

Vaping and the data on e-cigarettes

By Robert West

Vaping is the term for using an electronic cigarette (e-cigarette). Since e-cigarettes involve inhaling vapour rather than smoke, it is distinct from smoking. The vapour looks a somewhat like cigarette smoke but dissipates much more quickly and has very little odour since it mostly consist of water droplets.

Vaping in the old tobacco and new marijuana industries

By Jonathan P. Caulkins

The fascinating thing about vape being word of the year is that not only is the word new and important, but so is the actual activity; this is not merely the coining a bon mot for a longstanding practice.

The rise of electronic cigarettes and their impact on public health

By Nicholas Freudenberg

A new report from the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention shows that use of e-cigarettes among high schools students has tripled in two years. The finding raises the question is vaping—the use of tobacco-free electronic cigarettes—an important tool for helping smokers quit or a ploy by Big Tobacco to addict another generation of young people to nicotine?

Scholarly reflections on ‘vape’

Electronic cigarettes are growing in popularity around the world. With the announcement of vape as our Word of the Year, we asked a number of scholars for their thoughts on this new word and emerging phenomenon.

A reading list for European Antibiotic Awareness Day

By Alan P. Johnson

Held every 18 November, European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD) is a European public health initiative that promotes responsible use of antibiotics. The day raises awareness of the threat to public health of antibiotic resistance and encourages prudent antibiotic use.

Global solidarity and Cuba’s response to the Ebola outbreak

By Robert Huish

How did the international community get the response to the Ebola outbreak so wrong? We closed borders. We created panic. We left the moribund without access to health care. When governments in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Guinea, Mali and Nigeria called out to the world for help, the global response went to mostly protect the citizens of wealthy nations before strengthening health systems on the ground.

On World Diabetes Day, a guide to managing diabetes during the holidays

By Joe Hitchcock

Christmas and all the accompanying celebrations can prove a big disruption to the task of keeping diabetes firmly in the background. Take a look at this list of tips, facts and advice to help you stay in control and happy throughout the festive months.

Immigration and emigration: taking the long-term perspective for our better health

By Raj S. Bhopal

Immigration is an inflammatory matter and probably always has been. Immigrant groups, with few exceptions, have to endure the brickbats of prejudice of the recipient population. Emigration, by contrast, hardly troubles people — but the departure of one’s people is not a trifling matter. I wonder why these differential responses occur.

Bioethics and the hidden curriculum

By Jason Adam Wasserman

The inherent significance of bioethics and social science in medicine is now widely accepted… at least on the surface. Despite an assortment of practical problems—limited curricular time compounded by increased concern for “whitespace”—few today deny outright that ethical practice and humanistic patient engagement are important and need to be taught.

Evidence-based interventions in pediatric psychology

By Bryan D. Carter and Tonya M. Palermo

The field of pediatric psychology has been changing rapidly over the last decade with both researchers and practitioners working to keep up with the latest innovations. To address the latest evidence-based interventions and methodological improvements, the editors of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology and Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology decided to join efforts.