Smoking continues to be a major challenge to public health despite efforts by government and civil society to limit the use of harmful tobacco products.

Cancer cases worldwide are likely to rise by nearly three-quarters by 2030, partly because other diseases are being stamped out and more developing countries are adopting Western lifestyles linked to cancer.

Researchers have taken another step towards greater understanding of malaria after figuring out how the mosquito manages to fight off infection from the parasite.

The World Health Organisation has released a technical document focusing on the issues associated with skin-lightening creams thatcontain mercury. One in three woman in South Africa are reported to be using these products on a regular basis despite the fact that it could cause kidney damage among other side-effects.

Radiation exposure received from two to three computed tomography (CT) scans of the head in childhood (aged under 15 years) can triple the risk of later developing brain cancer, while around five to 10 such scans could triple the risk of developing leukaemia.

New research suggests that male pattern baldness may be a risk factor for prostate cancer.

The World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has approved a resolution calling for a 25% reduction in premature mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by 2025.

A recent study revealed that some cancer doctors experience grief, self-doubt and despair when patients die, while others build up emotional walls and distance themselves from patients they can’€™t save.

Smokers lucky enough to have inherited a ‘€œsuper-detox gene’€ could answer the age-old question of why some will develop smoking-related illnesses within the first five years of lighting up while others happily puff away for 50 years before dying of old age.