Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Doug West @dougwest.bsky.social · 10h

An extraordinary and dangerous approach to public health- making the data fit your preconceptions. Paracetamol is safe.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 11h

RFK Jr on Tylenol and autism: "It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof."

Doug West @dougwest.bsky.social · 22d

Delighted that the SCTS/GIRFT pathway for pleural sepsis surgery is now online www.linkedin.com/posts/dougla...

Delighted that the GIRFT/SCTS joint pathway on surgery for pleural sepsis is now online. Many thanks to Rory Beattie, Guillermo Martinez, Syed Qadri, Jee Soo Choi and the GIRFT team for highlighting…...

Delighted that the GIRFT/SCTS joint pathway on surgery for pleural sepsis is now online. Many thanks to Rory Beattie, Guillermo Martinez, Syed Qadri, Jee Soo Choi and the GIRFT team for highlighting ...

www.linkedin.com

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Reposted by Doug West

John Appleby @jappleby123.bsky.social · Sep 9

Those confidence intervals in full!

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Reposted by Doug West

Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · Sep 3

Gun murders last year:
US: 17,927
England & Wales: 22

Here's the data, per capita, in the chart below.

It's the guns. I wrote about the evidence, with lots of data, along with a more personal response to the Annunciation Church shooting (where I was baptized): www.forkingpaths.co/p/guns-at-an...

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Reposted by Doug West

Nick Hopkinson @copddoc.bsky.social · Nov 19

Lung disease and social justice - COPD as a manifestation of structural violence.
#WorldCOPDday www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1164/... @atscommunity.bsky.social @ats-assemblies.bsky.social

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Reposted by Doug West

LSE Inequalities @lseinequalities.bsky.social · Aug 9

“We found that countries with higher levels of income inequality are associated with higher rates of obesity, diabetes, mental illness, asthma, drug use and infant mortality” – @profkepickett.bsky.social of @equalitytrust.bsky.social in our latest blog post #LSEInequalitiesBlog

🔗

The wealth gap – and the health trap

What drives the differences in population health among rich nations? Kate Pickett on the lower “wellbeing-adjusted” life expectancy of more unequal countries

buff.ly

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Reposted by Doug West

David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · Jul 26

Helsinki (pop 657,000) has not had a single traffic death during the last twelve months.

poliisi.fi/-/helsingin-...

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Reposted by Doug West

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · Jul 16

1. We interrupt this programming for some LEGITIMATELY GOOD NEWS

Violent crime in Baltimore has PLUMMETED to historic lows

How did the city do it?

Baltimore adopted a comprehensive set of "woke" policies, treating violence as a public health issue

The secret to Baltimore's extraordinary year

This April, Baltimore saw five homicides.

popular.info

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Reposted by Doug West

Nicotine & Tobacco Research Journal @ntrjournal.bsky.social · Jul 16

A mandated reduction in cigarette nicotine content is likely to reduce the reinforcement value of cigarettes in a marketplace where noncombusted products are available, find Tracy Smith et al.

academic.oup.com/ntr/advance-...

The impact of nicotine reduction on cigarette reinforcement value within a marketplace containing alternative nicotine delivery products: A secondary analysis of a multi-site trial

AbstractIntroduction. A mandated reduction in the nicotine content of cigarettes would likely improve public health. Prior research has shown that assignme

academic.oup.com

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Reposted by Doug West

Prof Devi Sridhar @profdevisridhar.bsky.social · Jul 2

"You’ve been sold a giant myth when it comes to improving your health" www.newscientist.com/article/2485...

You’ve been sold a giant myth when it comes to improving your health

Diet and exercise will only get you so far, but there is a magic bullet that could make us all live longer, says professor of global public health Devi Sridhar

www.newscientist.com

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Reposted by Doug West

The King's Fund @thekingsfund.bsky.social · Jul 2

Lots of us end up as 'accidental managers', thrown in at the deep end without any formal preparation for leading a team. If this sounds familiar to you, ShiftWorks can help you to with an introduction and induction to management.

Find out more: buff.ly/7fBXaq0

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Reposted by Doug West

Community Bikeways - TCBC @bikewaysto.bsky.social · Jun 25

“Our 24hr study showed more than 9,130 cyclists moved along Bloor St. at the count point. That's over 9,130 people ... enjoying an affordable, healthy, noiseless, and climate-friendly way to get around.” - Bilal Khan, Community Bikeways #bikesky

lloydalter.substack.com/p/threatened...

Threatened Toronto bike lane gets more rush hour traffic than the car lane

Bike lanes are under threat in many cities, even when they work.

lloydalter.substack.com

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Doug West @dougwest.bsky.social · Jun 20

Great day at the Society For Cardiothoracic Surgery today. Lots of new work on education, minimal access cardiac surgery and quality improvement in the pipeline.

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Doug West @dougwest.bsky.social · Jun 19

This is a genuinely terrible idea if true

Hillary Rodham Clinton @hillaryclinton.bsky.social · Jun 19

What is this—Make Asbestos Great Again? www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/u...

New York Times headline: EPA Plans to Reconsider a Ban on Cancer-Causing Asbestos

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Reposted by Doug West

Hazel Cheeseman @hazelcheeseman.bsky.social · Jun 19

Smoking rates in pregnant women have fallen 40% in 5 years. It is a stellar achievement that could be at risk if the services delivering this change are cut

Action on Smoking Health (UK) @ashorguk.bsky.social · Jun 19

🚨NEW data shows record low numbers of women smoking during pregnancy - finally achieving the target of 6%.
We need continued investment in quit support services in maternity & NHS settings to ensure continued progress, helping parents and babies to be smokefree.

👇Links below

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Reposted by Doug West

National Lung Cancer Audit @nlca-natcan.bsky.social · May 19

📢 New blog: State of the Nation 2025 – Progress, Pressures and Priorities in Lung Cancer Care
By Dr Lauren Dixon, NLCA Clinical Fellow

📑 More early diagnoses
📑 Treatment delays & capacity pressures

Read the blog 👉 tinyurl.com/25jhf2up

@hqip.bsky.social
@btog.bsky.social
#LungCancer

Blog: State of the Nation 2025 -Progress, Pressures and Priorities in Lung Cancer Care - National Lung Cancer Audit

By Dr Lauren Dixon, NLCA Clinical Fellow, on behalf of the NLCA Project Team The National Lung Cancer Audit (NLCA) State of the Nation 2025 report has just been published, offering a detailed…

www.lungcanceraudit.org.uk

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Doug West @dougwest.bsky.social · Jun 19

Great news. 2 more years of funding secured for the National Lung Cancer Audit in England and Wales

National Lung Cancer Audit @nlca-natcan.bsky.social · Jun 10

👏 Great news for the National Lung Cancer Audit and the other NATCAN audits!

National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre (NATCAN) @natcan-news.bsky.social · Jun 6

🎉Exciting news🎉

We’ve secured a 2-year contract extension, taking us to Sept 2027.

Coming soon:
🔹QI interventions
🔹New website
🔹Revamped data dashboards
🔹Centre-level PPI forum

For more info: buff.ly/Dh2zgEX

Reposted by Doug West

Our World in Data @ourworldindata.org · Jun 19

Tuberculosis (TB), an infectious disease caused by bacteria, was responsible for as many as one-quarter of all deaths in the US and Europe during parts of the 18th and 19th centuries.

However, as we see in the chart for England and Wales, deaths from TB have declined dramatically in rich countries.

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Reposted by Doug West

JAMA @jama.com · Jun 7

Caring for surgical patients requires skill both in and out of the operating room.

Attention to 3 core communication skills offers a way for surgeons to collaborate with patients and families to make patient-centered decisions about surgery.

ja.ma/4mI48TQ

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Reposted by Doug West

BTOG @btog.bsky.social · May 21

New Podcast: BTOG does … Tobacco Dependency in Lung Cancer.

Dr Emma O’Dowd talks to Professor Sanjay Agrawal.

Wherever you get your podcasts or listen online
btog.org/btog-podcasts/

#LCSM #LungCancer

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Doug West @dougwest.bsky.social · May 16

Great @btog.bsky.social @nlca-natcan.bsky.social joint webinar last night. Latest data from the state of the nation report, updates on early signal reporting and other national lung cancer QI initiatives

BTOG @btog.bsky.social · May 15

Thank you to our panel from @nlca-natcan.bsky.social

The webinar recording and podcast plus a copy of the slides will be available to members within a few days.
The CPD applies if you watch the webinar within 4 weeks of the original live date.

www.btog.org
#LCSM #LungCancer

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Reposted by Doug West

BTOG @btog.bsky.social · May 15

Thank you to our panel from @nlca-natcan.bsky.social

The webinar recording and podcast plus a copy of the slides will be available to members within a few days.
The CPD applies if you watch the webinar within 4 weeks of the original live date.

www.btog.org
#LCSM #LungCancer

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Doug West @dougwest.bsky.social · May 16

Hooray for oncology BlueSky! Great to see @btog.bsky.social on here

BTOG @btog.bsky.social · May 15

As we count down the minutes, @nlca-natcan.bsky.social is anyone else from the NLCA project team on Bluesky? We found @dougwest.bsky.social and @fainec.bsky.social ...

Join the webinar now (members only!)
www.btog.org/courses/btog...

BTOG-NLCA Webinar: State of the Nation 2025 | BTOG | British Thoracic Oncology Group

www.btog.org

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Reposted by Doug West

Saganism @sagan.bsky.social · May 2

Dr. Anthony Fauci urges Americans not to accept "Normalization of Untruths".

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Doug West @dougwest.bsky.social · May 2

If enacted, would likely end vaccine trials in the US