Health issues in India
Haryana is now home to a state-of-the-art National Cancer Institute (NCI), following an unveiling by the Prime Minister on Tuesday. The Institute was one of six health-related development projects Prime Minister Modi inaugurated while attending ‘Swachh Shakti 2019’ events in the state. Swachh Shakti commemorates the role of women working in rural areas of the […]
World Cancer Day 2019 this year provided an opportunity to assess India’s cancer burden. Unfortunately, it’s not good news. India ranks third in the world for overall number of cancer cases, placing behind China and the US. This follows a long-standing trend in India, in which cancer figures have been steadily rising for years. Cancer […]
The price of smoking bidis doesn’t stop at the cost of the cigarette itself. Thanks to its effect on health, India loses Rs 800 billion ($11.4 billion) to the poor man’s cigarette every year. Bidis are more commonly smoked in India than conventional cigarettes and other tobacco products. Of the more than 104 million Indians […]
An ayurveda institute at one of India’s foremost oncology institute risks closure after failing to produce results about ayurveda’s ability to cure cancer – putting its credibility at stake. The medical education department of the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology in Karnataka signed a memorandum of understanding in March 2017 with the Union Ministry of […]
India has made global headlines with its anti-tobacco initiatives in recent years. Graphic health warnings on tobacco product packaging, bans on smoking in most public places, a toll-free quitline and Centre-run anti-tobacco campaigns have all contributed to a noticeable decline in the number of India’s smokers. India’s progress is all the more impressive considering the […]
Diabetes cases in India are rising. Some studies suggest that it is India’s fastest growing disease. India housed an estimated 72 million cases of diabetes in 2017. This figure is expected to increase considerably to 134 million by 2025. A victim of its own success? The reasons for this rapid increase in diabetes cases are […]
There is yet another reason to be worried about the spread of obesity among India’s children. New research suggests that being overweight in adolescence increases the risk of developing pancreatic cancer in later life fourfold. Even being overweight or the heavier end of the normal weight range could elevate pancreatic cancer risk in men, the […]
Healthcare expenditure for NCDs is overwhelmingly paid for out of pocket, driving many into poverty. With NCD rates and risk factors such as obesity rising considerably in India, a considerable bill is being footed by the public. A recent study published in The Lancet estimates a total expenditure on diabetes healthcare of $31 billion in […]
More than half the world’s nations are not on track to reach the UN target to reduce premature deaths from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes by 2030, according to a new analysis published in The Lancet. India is one of them. NCDs have long since reached epidemic […]
The gutkha scam has been making headlines in Tamil Nadu, where senior officials including the health minister have been implicated in a multi-crore corruption scandal involving bribes paid by chewing tobacco companies. Officials stand accused of accepting bribes paid by manufacturers of gutkha, a chewing tobacco mixture which has been banned in Tamil Nadu since […]
