The UK could raise up to £4.9 billion over five years and significantly improve public health by capping tobacco prices and increasing taxes. 

Research published by the University of Bath Tobacco Control Research Group and the University of Sheffield’s Addictions Research Group, provides the first real-world modelling of a proposed ‘polluter pays’ tobacco levy scheme. 

The study found that the proposed policy, aimed at stopping the tobacco industry from using pricing as a marketing tool, could raise between £1 billion and £4.9 billion over five years, depending on the level of price cap and how quickly it is introduced.  It could also prevent up to 10,000 hospital admissions and save almost 44,000 years of life over a 20-year period.

A new study published in The Lancet Public Health found that Rx Kids, the nation’s first community-wide prenatal and infant cash prescription program, led to significant improvements in birth outcomes for infants born in Flint, Michigan. The program reduced low birthweight and preterm birth rates and prevented admissions to the neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU.

https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.15212/bioi-2026-0009

Announcing a new article publication in BIO Integration.   

https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.15212/AMM-2026-0413

Announcing a new publication for Acta Materia Medica journal.

About The Study: Among pregnant individuals, sitting less with greater light-intensity movement and steps was associated with significantly lower risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Optimizing lighter-intensity activity patterns should be rigorously tested as a strategy to improve pregnancy health. Adverse pregnancy outcomes affect 1 in 5 pregnancies and include hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes, preterm birth, and small for gestational age.

The results from the study, led by VCU Health and Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU neurosurgeon David Limbrick, will inform providers on the safest and most effective approaches for treating these conditions.

Research from George Mason University reviews the effects of prenatal nutrition, physical activity, and education programs on pregnancy weight gain among women in low- and middle-income countries.