• Ontario Government bans smoking medicinal cannabis in public places

    Health Headlines Commentary for March 11, 2016 Source: Medical marijuana users steamed by ban after Liberal U-turn

  • What is the evidence for fluoridation?

    Madely Health Headlines Commentary for January 11, 2011 [display_podcast] Reference: Community Water Fluoridation: Questions and Answers Preventing Dental Caries: Community Water Fluoridation

  • The New Coke! Now with added vitamins and minerals

    Dr. Yoni Freedhoff outlines in an article written in this month’s CMAJ how Health Canada is pushing a policy that will allow fortification of foods with vitamins and minerals without any evidence that it will improve public health. Moreover, there is a real risk of overconsumption of said additions to our food supply that can…

  • I need a Big Mac before my Olympic time trial

    Ottawa Citizen journalist Dan Gardner castigates, and rightly so, how Olympic athletes sell out to corporations for oodles of cash without any consideration for the potential harm to public health outcomes. His column can be read here.

  • H1N1 pandemic severity update and the effectiveness of antivirals in otherwise healthy adults

    Madely Health Headlines Commentary for December 9, 2009 Sources: British researchers say little evidence Tamiflu works, but WHO says the drug is useful Swine Flu Pandemic May Be Less Severe Than Expected

  • A headline's tale of two flu stories: Reality vs deliberate misrepresentation of risk

    I am not a fan of how newspapers use headlines to misrepresent stories to provke unwarranted fear, and heightened risk perception. Today, the Ottawa Citizen published two stories about seasonal and H1N1 vaccine. The first story, For Guillain-Barre survivors, flu shot stirs up unwelcome memories, emblazoned on the front page has all the elements of…

  • Science Fiction is Becoming Science Fact

    If your doctor offered the option of a blood test to determine what diseases your child will develop in their lifetime, what would you do? This option is soon to be a reality.

  • The Unofficial Top Medical Stories of 2004

    I thought it might be fun and interesting to present some of the medical stories of 2004 that did not make the front page, yet illustrate an undercurrent of fantastic potential.

  • The betterment of the family

    Deborah decided she had had enough of smoking marijuana. Last week’s column reviewed how her addiction affected her psychosocial development. Deborah was pondering why she continued to smoke four to 10 joints a day to the detriment of her health, desires and life goals.