LIFE&STYLE
Dec 9, 2019
‘Time is ticking for action on antimicrobial resistance’
PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- Korea is hosting an international meeting to fight the rising public health threat of drug resistance.The seventh session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission task force on antimicrobial resistance kicked off Monday in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, to be held for five days through Friday.In 2015, the World Health Assembly adopted a global action plan to tackle the trend of antimicrobial resistance. The international food standards body Codex launched the task fo
[Graphic News] S. Korea ranks among top OECD member countries in treatment of cancer: data
South Korea ranks as one of the leading members among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in the treatment of cancer, medical data showed. The 2019 Health at a Glance report released by the Paris-based organization said Asia’s fourth-largest economy had the highest five-year survival rate for colorectal, rectal and stomach cancers among the 32 member states checked, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which examined the data, said. The cancer survival rate, which is
Nov 21, 2019
Too much time on smartphone poses health threat
Overusing your smartphone may wreck your health, experts say
Nov 18, 2019
[Newsmaker] Government mulls banning photos of celebrities on alcohol bottles
Korean liquor manufacturers may no longer be allowed to use photos of celebrities on their beverage packaging.The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Monday it would come up with measures banning the images of celebrities on alcohol bottles to discourage the drinking culture.The move follows Rep. Nam In-soon’s exhortation during a parliamentary audit of the ministry last month that featuring celebrities on alcohol beverages may induce more consumption, especially among teenagers, and shoul
Nov 4, 2019
[Graphic News] Third of S. Koreans prescribed narcotics in past year: data
A third of South Koreans were given prescription narcotics in the past year, as more people received comprehensive medical checkups, government data showed. More than 17.8 million people received drugs like propofol and zolpidem, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said, citing some 107 million pieces of data collected from July 2018 through June this year. The drug safety agency said pain killers, sedatives and anti-anxiety drugs were the most common types prescribed by doctors, with women ma
Nov 3, 2019
[Graphic News] Health insurance costs for smoking, drinking hit W13tr
Health insurance spending to cover smoking and drinking-related treatments reached 13 trillion won ($11 billion) from 2016 through 2018, data showed. According to a report submitted to Rep. Jung Choun-sook by the National Health Insurance Service for the ongoing parliamentary audit, annual expenditures, including insurance coverage and costs paid by individuals, exceeded 4.6 trillion won last year, up 16 percent from 2016. Costs to deal with treatment for smoking and drinking made up some 8 per
Oct 24, 2019
[Newsmaker] Government issues ‘grave warning’ against liquid e-cigarettes
The government on Wednesday warned against using liquid e-cigarettes, or e-liquids, until health perils associated with them are better understood.“The Health and Welfare Ministry strongly recommends discontinuing the use of liquid e-cigarettes until the link between lung injuries and liquid e-cigarettes is clearly identified,” said Health Minister Park Neung-hoo in a press briefing Wednesday morning.“Teenagers and those with respiratory diseases, in particular, should stop usi
Oct 23, 2019
[Video] Using robotics in dementia prevention, care
An orb with a set of ears, blinky eyes and the voice and speech manners of a chatty child is making advances in dementia therapy at a hospital in Seoul. Named Bomy, the robot assists cognitive training for patients in the early stages, or at the risk of developing dementia.Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital’s Robot-assisted Cognitive Training Center opened its doors in April, and is headed by Dr. Kim Geon-ha, a neurologist who has been researching related technologies since 2009. The
Oct 20, 2019
[Graphic News] No. of seniors suffering mental disorders rising rapidly
The number of elderly South Koreans with mental health issues has risen sharply in recent years, as the country scrambles to provide better health care for its people, a report showed. In the report to the National Assembly, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service said that in the 2010-2018 period, the number of people over 80 afflicted with major depression surged 176.5 percent, with the figure for those in their 70s increasing 59.4 percent. As of last year, roughly 40 percent of th
Oct 15, 2019
[Graphic News] Foreign patient arrivals up 18% in 2018
The number of foreigners visiting South Korea for medical treatment shot up 18 percent last year, government data showed. In a report to the National Assembly, the Korea Health Industry Development Institute said over 378,900 foreign nationals arrived here for treatment last year, up from around 321,500 in 2017. The institute said that of them, the number of Japanese who visted for medical purposes surged 56 percent to 42,500 in 2018 from just under 27,300 the previous year. (Yonhap)
Oct 9, 2019
[Graphic News] Dementia cost Koreans more than W2tr last year
As the population ages, the number of South Koreans with dementia has soared in recent years and so have associated costs, data showed. In 2018, dementia-related medical spending exceeded the 2 trillion won ($1.67 billion) threshold for the first time. According to the data provided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to Rep. Kim Kwang-soo, the number of people diagnosed with various forms of neurodegenerative disease rose from 416,309 in 2014 to 547,700 in 2016 and hit 712,386 last year. Du
Oct 6, 2019
Younger smokers face new challenges in going smoke-free
Smokers of the younger generations face challenges disparate from those troubling previous generations, giving rise to the need for renewed countermeasures suited to the contemporary smoking scene, according to health experts. The smoking rate has been on the decline in Korea, with the percentage of male adult smokers – who account for the majority of smoking demographics – hitting a record low of 38.1 percent in 2017. In July, government efforts to promote smoking cessation were app
Aug 28, 2019
79-year-old with artificial heart reaches 1,000-day milestone
A woman, 79, who received a partial artificial heart transplant has lived for over 1,000 days since surgery, Samsung Medical Center said Wednesday.The patient was fitted with the then-latest third-generation left ventricular assist device in September 2016. This is the longest a patient has lived with a third-generation heart assist device in South Korea, according to the hospital.The hospital’s heart failure/transplantation team, which performed the surgery, said the patient was healthy a
Aug 7, 2019
[Graphic News] Cigarette sales down 0.6% in H1
Sales of cigarettes in South Korea edged down 0.6 percent in the first half of 2019 from a year prior, data showed, amid an anti-smoking campaign and higher prices. South Korean smokers purchased 1.67 billion 20-cigarette packs in the January-June period, compared to 1.68 billion packs in the same period last year, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The figures represent a 17.8 percent drop from the first half of 2014. (Yonhap)
Aug 6, 2019
[Herald Interview] Why correct information on clean air matters
Facebook group allows expats to share tips on air quality, how to protect themselves
May 15, 2019