President Vladimir Putin has signed a law banning smoking in public places in Russia from June, a cornerstone of the government’s bid to improve public health in the nicotine-addicted country, the Kremlin said. The law makes smoking illegal in restaurants, cafes, hotels, trains and a host of other places and will take effect in two [...]

On any given day in the United States, 18 percent of men and 11 percent of women drink more alcohol than federal guidelines recommend, according to a study that also found that 8 percent of men and 3 percent of women are full-fledged “heavy drinkers.” That means the great majority of Americans stay within the [...]

A nutritious diet that includes lots of fruits and vegetables might not be the greenest in its environmental impact, according to a new study from France. After analyzing the eating habits of about 2,000 French adults, and the greenhouse gas emissions generated by producing the plants, fish, meat, fowl and other ingredients, researchers concluded that [...]

Multinational food, drink and alcohol companies are using strategies similar to those employed by the tobacco industry to undermine public health policies, health experts said. In an international analysis of involvement by so-called “unhealthy commodity” companies in health policy-making, researchers from Australia, Britain, Brazil and elsewhere said self-regulation was failing and it was time the [...]

A new virus from the same family as SARS that sparked a global alert last September has been found in a further patient in Britain, health officials said. This latest case of infection with the new virus known as a coronavirus brings the total number of confirmed cases globally to 10, of which five have [...]

Snacks sold in U.S. schools would need to be lower in fat, salt and sugar and include more nutritious items like fruits, vegetables and whole grains, under standards proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The proposal, more than a year overdue, also calls for a limit of 200 calories on items sold during the [...]

The U.S. Army, grappling with a spike in military suicides, plans to take steps to improve soldiers’ resilience to mental health problems to combat such deaths as well as depression, substance abuse, and violent behavior, Army Secretary John McHugh said. McHugh ordered Army officials to lay out detailed plans by February 15 to boost soldiers’ [...]

Weather has long been considered one of many potential migraine triggers, but a U.S. study now links lightning, specifically, to the onset of the severe headaches that plague millions. Researchers. whose work appeared in the journal Cephalalgia.  found that, based on headache logs and weather data for the two U.S. states of Ohio and Missouri, [...]