Health

Fewer people are smoking worldwide, especially women, but only one country in eight is on track to meet a target of reducing tobacco use significantly by 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

Three million people die prematurely each year due to tobacco use that causes cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and stroke, the world’s leading killers, it said, marking World No Tobacco Day. They include 890,000 deaths through second-hand smoke exposure.

The WHO clinched a landmark treaty in 2005, now ratified by 180 countries, that calls for a ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorship, and taxes to discourage use.

American and Chinese scientists have found that an antimicrobial ingredient commonly used in hand soaps and toothpastes could have adverse effects on colonic inflammation and colon cancer by altering gut microbiota, the microbes found in people’s intestines.

A study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine revealed that short-time treatment with low-dose triclosan led to low-grade colonic inflammation, and exaggerated disease development of colitis and colitis-associated colon cancer in mice.

The first human corneas have been 3D printed by scientists at Newcastle University in the UK. The scientists say they've created the first 3D-printed human corneas using a combination of their unique "bio-ink" and cornea stem cells, they can print the corneas in under ten minutes.

The Association of Positive Youths Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (APYIN) has lamented over the high prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS among youths despite several preventive measures and public awareness created for ages. Mr Edward Ogiji, the Monitoring and Evaluation (M and E) Officer of the association, made the disclosure at a media roundtable on Monday in Makurdi.

A medical practitioner, Dr Ayopo Adeyemi, has warned women against the use of artificial eyelashes, commonly used to enhance beauty, in view of its grievous consequences. Dr Adeyemi stated this in Lagos that the health implications of fixing false eyelashes included corneal abrasions or ulcers, damage of the natural eyelashes, eye sensitivity, amongst others.

Research from Monash University has found almost three-quarters of men with small or slow-growing prostate cancers are not being properly monitored or followed up by their clinicians.

The research, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, observed over 1,600 men over six years diagnosed with prostate cancer that only required an "active surveillance" program to monitor whether the cancer became more aggressive.

It found only 433 were properly monitored using the minimum requirement of a follow-up biopsy and three PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood tests within two years.