‘Skin-crawling’ campaign aims to end smoking
Heart Foundation's ads set out to scare with Sinatra's help.
eBay draws ire for sales of lenses
The online marketplace eBay is facing charges from the General Optical Council for allegedly allowing contact lenses to be illegally bought and sold without input from a doctor or qualified optician. By Sarah Boseley.
Doctors condemn cosmetic surgery firms’ hard sell
People are being lured into having cosmetic surgery, the British Association for Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons warned yesterday, condemning clinics and healthcare groups for 'hard-selling' the operations. By Alok Jha.
Thinking outside the box to beat obesity
It may not be the chips that make a couch potato, nor even the couch. It may be the box in the corner of the room. New Zealand scientists report today that children who watch more television are more likely to become obese. By Tim Radford.
Take with a pinch of sodium chloride
Our adverts now come laden with a dazzling array of scientific claims - from 'unique amino complexes' to 'revolutionary moisture formulas', it seems we can't buy anything unless it has the approval of boffins. But what does any of it mean? Margaret McCartney examines the suspect science that we swallow, apply and absorb every day.
Smoking ruins your sex life, new ads warn young
The government is attempting to shock young people into giving up smoking through a major advertising campaign that tells them smoking can ruin their sex lives. By Ben Bold.
Risky business
Ben Goldacre: Health-scare stories often arise because their authors simply don't understand numbers.
Big Mother: meet the new reality TV line-up
A new reality TV show which is to show expectant couples moving in to a Big Brother-style house just days before their babies are born has been condemned as a 'circus act' by health experts.
Blair attacks ‘compensation culture’
· PM says red tape threatens competitiveness · Promises to fight EU regulations· Calls for end to media scare stories
Hospital rumbles undercover BBC reporter
12.15pm: The BBC was today accused of wasting NHS time after a Panorama reporter was discovered working undercover in a Suffolk hospital. By John Plunkett.