Health issues in India
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 […]
In a controversial move, the Union Health Ministry has moved to ban e-cigarettes and similar devices in India. The Centre claims e-cigarettes pose “a great health risk to public at large, especially to children, adolescents, pregnant women and women of reproductive age”. To this end, it has moved state governments to stop e-cigarettes from being […]
Blocking a digestive hormone may help in preventing the spread of pancreatic cancer according to research conducted at from Georgetown University, US. India has traditionally had low rates of pancreatic cancer, but the disease has been increasing in prevalence in the last decade. This may be related to an uptake of westernised diets high in […]
The gastrointestinal (GI) tract – the system of the body that deals with digestion – is a breeding ground for cancers. In fact, it is responsible for more cancer cases and deaths than any other of the body’s systems. It is concerning news as thirty percent of GI cancer cases in India are not diagnosed […]
Cause for concern in Delhi Worldwide, gallbladder cancer is relatively uncommon. In Delhi, however, it’s on the rise. There are eleven cases of gallbladder cancer for every one lakh Delhiites, researchers from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) estimate. This incidence may seem low. However, when one considers that the National Capital Region […]
