Until law, GLP-1 drugs were used to treat diabetes, obesity and even the recent evidences suggest that it could as well be used to treat chronic kidney problems. There is yet another research, published in JAMA Psychiatry on February 25, titled Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults With Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial that explores if GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide reduce alcohol consumption and cravings in adults with alcohol use disorder.

What Do Studies Say?

The research was conducted over a period of 9 weeks, where in the randomized clinical trial, the participants who were administered semaglutide, it led to reductions in some but not all measures of weekly consumptions. It also reduced weekly alcohol and craving related to placebo, and also led to a greater relative reduction in cigarettes per day.

The research also found that weekly injections of semaglutide, which is the active ingredient in weight loss drugs like Wegovy also helped reduce cravings in people with alcohol use disorder.

The lead author Christian Hendershot said that these findings will help in developing new approaches to treat alcoholism. "Two drugs currently approved to reduce alcohol consumption aren't widely used. The popularity of Ozempic and other GLP-1 receptor agonists increases the chances of broad adoption of these treatments for alcohol use disorder," said Hendershot in news release by the University of Southern California's Institute for Addiction Research, where he is the director.

The study is government-funded research and was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National Institutes of Health.

How Was The Study Conducted?

The study was small, and took in account for only 48 adults over two months, thus experts say that it is not yet clear how safe these drugs are for people who do not need to lose weight. Though the results do add up with the evidence form animal studies on drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy on how it helps manage cravings, not just for food, but also for tobacco and alcohol. Scientists are also studying these drugs on smokers, people with opioid addiction and cocaine users.

Co-author Dr Klara Klein of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who treats people with obesity and diabetes said, "This is such promising data. And we need more of it. We frequently will hear that once people start these medications that their desire to drink is very reduced, if not completely abolished."

Why Does It Work So Well Against Alcoholism?

The GLP-1 receptor agonists work by mimicking hormones GLP-1 in the gut and brain that regulates appetite and feelings of fullness. This response is what helps one lose weight, and what helps one curb their craving for alcohol. These drugs that mimic the functioning of your brain, which is responsible to tell your body when to stop consuming, are the same hormones that tell your body about other kinds of consumptions, including alcohol. Therefore by consuming the weight loss drugs one can treat alcohol use disorder.

However, the researchers have pointed out on the limited data on the research and have suggested to continue using the three approved drugs by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, namely, Disulfiram, Naltrexone, and Acamprosate to treat alcohol use disorder until large studies confirm these findings.

An estimated 2.71 billion people globally were exposed to second-hand smoke (SHS) in 2023, accounting for nearly one-third of the world's population, according to a new study published in The Lancet.

About 767 million children aged up to 14 years were exposed to SHS, potentially putting them at risk of long-term health effects, including respiratory problems and asthma.

Overall, exposure to SHS contributed to nearly 1.7 million deaths and the loss of about 45 million years of potentially healthy life worldwide.

Study Spans 204 Countries And Territories

The analysis, based on data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023 study, examined SHS exposure and its health impact across 204 countries and territories between 1990 and 2023.

Although the proportion of people exposed to SHS fell by 22% worldwide over this period, the estimated number of people exposed remained nearly unchanged.

Exposure rose sharply in sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa and the Middle East, driven largely by population growth.

Women and children experienced some of the greatest impacts. In Southeast Asia, East Asia and Oceania, women were 59% more likely to be exposed to SHS than men.

Also read: Alcohol-Linked Cancer Deaths Doubled In US: Colorectal Leads In Men, Breast Leads In Women

Second-Hand Smoke Takes A Heavy Health Toll

SHS remains a major source of illness and death among non-smokers. Across all ages, ischemic heart disease was the leading cause of SHS-attributable deaths in 2023, accounting for approximately 537,000 deaths.

It was followed by:

• COPD: 354,000 deaths
• Stroke: 278,000
• Lower respiratory disease: 185,000
• Tracheal, bronchus and lung cancer: 161,000

In 2023, ischemic heart disease also had the highest age-standardized DALY rate among the nine health outcomes assessed, at 132.5 per 100,000, representing about 12 million DALYs globally. More than 10% of global COPD DALYs and more than 8% of tracheal, bronchus and lung cancer DALYs were attributable to SHS in 2023.

Children Face Respiratory Health Risks

Read More: This Common Heart Attack Risk Starts Silently In Healthy People In Their 20s

Children are particularly vulnerable because their respiratory and immune systems are still developing.

Among children and adolescents, lower respiratory infections had the largest SHS-attributable burden at 254.6 per 100,000, followed by asthma at 17.3 per 100,000 and otitis media at 2.1 per 100,000.

Asthma accounted for 3.4% of total SHS-attributable DALYs globally, rising to 6.3% among children and adolescents.

The health burden also varied by region. In South Asia, COPD was the leading cause of SHS-attributable DALYs at 226.2 per 100,000, while lower respiratory infections accounted for the largest burden in sub-Saharan Africa.

China, India And Indonesia Among Most Exposed

There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Under Article 8 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, countries are called on to protect people from tobacco smoke in workplaces, public transport and indoor public places.

Yet approximately 70% of the world's population is not protected by comprehensive smoke-free laws. Domestic settings, where exposure can be prolonged, also remain largely unregulated.

Further, the study showed China, India and Indonesia together account for almost half of the global population exposed to SHS. These countries also have some of the highest smoking prevalences globally.

The researchers say smoke-free policies can directly reduce exposure and may also encourage smoking cessation by changing social norms.

They recommend combining smoke-free measures with tobacco taxation, marketing bans, plain packaging and smoking-cessation programs to reduce smoking prevalence and discourage people from taking up tobacco.

Thailand has become the seventh country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to achieve rubella elimination, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

It joins Bhutan, DPR Korea, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste.

“The World Health Organization announced that Thailand has been verified for eliminating rubella as a public health problem, marking a major milestone in the country’s efforts to protect children, women and families from vaccine-preventable diseases,” WHO said.

Thailand’s Long Road To Rubella Elimination

Thailand launched its Expanded Program on Immunization in 1977 and introduced a rubella-containing vaccine for girls aged six in 1986. The program expanded to all one-year-old children in 1993.

Since then, Thailand has strengthened routine immunization, outbreak response and surveillance, with a focus on underserved and mobile populations.

The program focused on reaching underserved and mobile populations, rapidly investigating suspected measles and rubella cases through fever-and-rash surveillance, and maintaining laboratory-supported surveillance to detect and respond to virus transmission.

Also read: Donald Trump Signs Order To Split MMR Vaccine: Is It Safe For Children?

The South-East Asia Regional Verification Commission (SEA-RVC) reviewed Thailand’s surveillance, immunization, outbreak response and program data in June 2026, followed by a verification visit in July.

The Commission recommended Thailand for rubella elimination verification. Elimination means no endemic transmission for at least 12 months, supported by a high-performing surveillance system.

The WHO verification also confirmed that Thailand has systems in place to sustain this achievement.

“This verification is a proud moment for Thailand and a tribute to decades of commitment by our health workers, volunteers, partners and communities. By eliminating rubella, Thailand has protected newborns from preventable lifelong disabilities and reaffirmed its commitment to equitable health services for every child and family. We will sustain this gain and intensify efforts towards measles elimination,” said Pattana Promphat, Minister of Public Health, Thailand.

What Is Rubella And Why Is It Dangerous During Pregnancy?

Rubella, also known as German measles, is a contagious viral infection spread through droplets from coughs and sneezes. Symptoms are usually mild and may include fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes.

However, infection during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth or congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), which can lead to lifelong birth defects. The risk is greatest when infection occurs early in pregnancy, particularly during the first trimester.

Read More: RFK Jr. Accepts Pennsylvania Child’s Measles Death After Questioning It: Here's Why

“Rubella is a terrible disease. It looks like measles, but in pregnant moms it causes spontaneous abortion and stillbirth. Babies born with congenital rubella syndrome have profound disabilities. Rubella elimination everywhere is a huge public health win,” said Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) at the University of Saskatchewan, in a post on social media platform X.

CRS can cause lifelong hearing and vision impairment, heart defects and developmental delays. Before widespread vaccination, rubella was a leading cause of preventable congenital disabilities worldwide, according to WHO.

How Does The Rubella Vaccine Prevent It?

Rubella can be prevented with safe, effective and affordable vaccines.

WHO estimates that rubella causes around 100,000 infants to be born with CRS each year worldwide. Despite vaccine availability, an estimated 17,865 rubella cases were reported in 78 countries in 2022.

The rubella vaccine contains a live attenuated strain, and a single dose provides more than 95% long-lasting immunity, similar to the immunity induced by natural infection. It is available alone or, more commonly, in combination vaccines such as MR, MMR and MMRV.

Actress Pamela Anderson has opened up about her hepatitis C diagnosis that once made her fear she had only a few years to live, highlighting how dramatically treatment for the viral infection has changed.

Speaking at the 2026 amfAR Gala Venezia during the Venice Film Festival, Anderson recalled being diagnosed with hepatitis C in 2002. She said doctors had told her she had around 10 years to live, describing the diagnosis as a “death sentence”.

Anderson has previously said she contracted hepatitis C after sharing a tattoo needle with her then-husband Tommy Lee. At the time, the diagnosis carried significant uncertainty because effective curative treatments were not yet available. But more than a decade later, Anderson announced that she had been cured of hepatitis C following antiviral treatment.

What Is Hepatitis C?

While some people clear the virus on their own, most people with hepatitis C who do not clear it develop chronic infection. Over time, chronic hepatitis C can cause liver cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 47 million people were living with chronic hepatitis C globally, with about 0.9 million new infections occurring each year.

In 2024, approximately 239,000 people died from hepatitis C, mainly due to cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Also read: The Silent Killer: Why More Indians Need To Pay Attention To Liver Cancer

How Did Hepatitis C Become Curable?

The major breakthrough came with the development of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). Before these medicines became available, hepatitis C treatment relied heavily on interferon-based therapies, which could involve prolonged treatment and significant side effects and did not cure everyone.

The first interferon-free DAA treatments were approved in 2013 and 2014, marking a major turning point in hepatitis C treatment. WHO says these medicines can cure the infection in more than 95% of people, generally within a short course of treatment.

Unlike older treatments, DAAs directly target the hepatitis C virus and prevent it from multiplying. Treatment is now usually oral, much better tolerated and considerably shorter than earlier regimens.

WHO recommends pan-genotypic DAAs for people with chronic hepatitis C, with treatment generally lasting around 12 to 24 weeks depending on the person's condition.

Also read: RFK Jr. Accepts Pennsylvania Child’s Measles Death After Questioning It: Here's Why

Access Remains A Challenge

The transformation in treatment does not mean hepatitis C has disappeared. There is currently no vaccine against hepatitis C, and millions of people remain undiagnosed.

WHO estimates that by the end of 2024, only around 36% of people who had ever been infected knew their diagnosis, while only about 20% of those diagnosed with chronic infection had received DAA treatment. This makes early testing and access to treatment critical.

Anderson's experience also reflects how quickly medicine can change the outlook of a disease. “I’m not a victim, I’m a victor,” Anderson said while accepting the amfAR Award of Courage in Venice.