Health

WELLINGTON: New Zealand will repeal on Tuesday a world-first law banning tobacco sales for future generations, the government said, even while researchers and campaigners warned of the risk that people could die as a result. Set to take effect from July, the toughest anti-tobacco rules in the world would have banned sales to those born after Jan 1, 2009, cut nicotine content …

South Korea’s government on Monday told young doctors they had until the end of February to return to work or risk being punished for staging a week-long protest that has disrupted services for patients at several major hospitals. Two-thirds of the nation’s residents and intern doctors had walked off the job to protest a government plan to increase the number …

Smartwatches may not only help count steps and sleep but can also offer mental health clinicians valuable information about depression symptoms, according to a new study. Wearable technology is part of a focus on precision medicine that will allow clinicians to better tailor treatment for individual patients, said Joshua Curtiss, Assistant Professor of applied psychology at Northeastern University, US. “The …

TASHKENT: A court in Uzbekistan sentenced 23 people to prison terms on Monday over the deaths of 68 children linked to contaminated cough syrups produced by India’s Marion Biotech, following a six-month-long trial. The Central Asian nation had previously reported 65 deaths linked to the medicines, but last month the prosecutors at the Tashkent city court updated the death toll and said …

SHAMBHU: Farmers in East Punjab state demanding higher prices for their crops from the national government are relying on young students to ensure the agitation’s momentum does not fizzle out. Eighteen-year-old Simranjeet Singh Mathada is one of thousands of college students who have been waking up at 3am for almost two weeks to help cook meals at community kitchens, fill …

ISLAMABAD: Reaffir­ming Pakistan’s resolve to protect all children from the disability-causing poliovirus, the health ministry on Sunday launched the second nationwide polio vaccination campaign of the year. The campaign will formally start from today (Monday), aiming to vaccinate over 45.8 million children under the age of five. The campaign, starting from today, will end on March 3 in most of …

Smartwatches may not only help count steps and sleep but can also offer mental health clinicians valuable information about depression symptoms, according to a new study. Wearable technology is part of a focus on precision medicine that will allow clinicians to better tailor treatment for individual patients, said Joshua Curtiss, Assistant Professor of applied psychology at Northeastern University, US. “The …

ISLAMABAD: Health authorities have directed five pharmaceutical companies to recall medicines/over-the-counter (OTC) products that have been found to be spurious. According to a document available with , the medicines were tested at the Punjab Drug Testing Laboratory in Faisalabad and were found to be spurious. The medicines include immune stimulant “Liquid Amco E Sel 1,000ml” manufactured by M/s Amcon Vets …

ISLAMABAD: Climate hazards are increasing and projected to become more severe and frequent with impacts leading to reduced agricultural and labour productivity, loss of livelihoods, and human displacement, says a new report jointly released by the United Nations and Asian Development Bank. These hazards strain socio-economic and environmental systems, and hinder efforts to promote food security and alleviate poverty, says …

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Secretary Shakeel Qadir Khan has warned that action will be taken against officers concerned if vaccination coverage during the seven-day anti polio campaign, starting on Monday, is found to be low in any district. The warning was given at a meeting of the provincial task force for polio eradication on Friday. The meeting, presided over by the …