China plans to ban smoking in indoor public places

Yesterday the Health Ministry claimed that China issued a national ban on smoking in all indoor public spaces. The ban is included in the government’s 12th Five-Year Plan. Also banned is smoking in outdoor public areas where pedestrians pass. The ban will begin May 1. China, with a third of the world’s smoking population at […]

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Vending water not up to standards: Thai Health Dept

Only 70 per cent of bottled water and drinking water from vending machines has passed quality standards set by the Department of Health, director general Dr Somyos Deerasamee said yesterday. “The problem lies with contamination. Contaminants include heavy metals and bacteria,” he said. Contaminated water causes various diseases including diarrhea and typhoid, he said. Only […]

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Thai Cancer Agency issues travel advisory for Japan

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) yesterday warned people against travelling to Japan in the wake of nuclear-plant explosions. “Exposure to radiation over a long time or in large amounts can cause cancer,” NCI director Dr Thiravud Khuhaprema said. Meanwhile Dr Piboon Issaraphan, a senior official at the Public Health Ministry’s Bureau of Occupational and Environmental […]

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Lepers find hope in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Far from where Samnieng Srichai sat knitting a waistcoat, the 83-year-old woman looked no different from other elderly people. Coming closer to her brought a surprise: her fingers, gnarled by leprosy, knitted fluidly and skilfully. Samnieng suffered from leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, about 50 years ago. It made her fingers crooked. She also lost her […]

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Plastic bags not a wise substitute for condoms: Thai Healt Ministry

Using plastic bags instead of condoms during sex would put teenagers at risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and severe vaginal lacerations, the Public Health Ministry warned yesterday. A study has shown that some Mathayom 1 students in the Northeast had used plastic bags to prevent pregnancies and STDs. Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said […]

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