Focus

A 2015 study by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) surveyed 60 cities of India and estimated that in 2011-12 India generated approx. 26.000 tons of plastic waste daily. This is why India, the second most populous country in the world, will ban single-use plastic from 2 October, 2019. Single-use plastics (SUPs) are those that […] Read on...

With 450 young adults hospitalised in only a few weeks across the United States because of severe lung infections caused by vaping, regulators are now moving against the vaping industry. It is widely recognised that electronic cigarettes such as Juul are attractive to teenagers wherever they are sold. These products look like high tech and […] Read on...

The American health agency, the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) as well as the FDA and local health authorities, have warned against e-cigarette use as 215 cases of severe pulmonary disease are reported across the United States. Notably, the CDC reports that many people affected stated they used e-cigarette products with liquids that contain cannabinoid […] Read on...

Plastic waste is now so ubiquitous that not only are our oceans filled with it, but plastic particles have now been detected in the air high up on the Rocky Mountains of the United States, falling with the rain. How did it get there? Plastic micro-particles are so small they can be carried in water […] Read on...

Electronic cigarettes are very popular among the younger generation and have been promoted by producers and some governments as safer than tobacco. Indeed, some governments claim e-cigarettes are almost harmless. However, the weight of evidence is now stacked up showing this is not true. Study after study continue to show that e-cigarette vapour is harmful […] Read on...

Trees are incredible! They provide us with air to breathe and absorb carbon dioxide in return. A new study from ETH Zurich shows that if there are one trillion trees planted globally on land that is already available for this, then the so-called global climate crisis could be averted. Planting trees is cheaper and much […] Read on...

The pesticide glyphosate has been banned in Austria as of July 2nd 2019. Austria’s parliament passed a bill banning all uses of the weedkiller. In 2015, glyphosate, most recognised as part of Monsanto’s weedkiller RoundUp, but also found in many different pesticides, was rated as a probable carcinogen (class 2A) by the World Health Organisation. […] Read on...

The city of San Francisco is to ban electronic cigarettes from sale in stores and online sales to addresses within San Francisco. The ban also prevents the manufacture, distribution and sale of e-cigarettes on San Francisco property. The ban has been put in place because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not done its […] Read on...

On the 8th of June, World Oceans Day proclaimed by the United Nations will be celebrated for the tenth time. The day reminds us how important the oceans are for life on this planet, for example in terms of food security, climate and health. In many places in the world different activities will take place […] Read on...

More than seven million people in the world still die from smoking each year. Even the tobacco industry no longer deny that it is their products that kill people. Now the industry claims to have created solutions that would improve the lives of smokers. “Anyone who denies that technology can help diminish the harmfulness of […] Read on...