Is pot smoking good for the lungs? Why no, it isn’t, not least because in order to smoke cannabis you also inhale the smoke of burning tobacco and Rizla paper. more…

Since few people frequent nurseries and garden centres in February, this plant remains rare despite being tough and easy to propagate. Seen and above all smelt at this time of year, it is irresistible. more…

When the check in clerk told me my excess baggage would cost £1700, I thought she was joking. She wasn’t.   more…

“Never with animals or children

Polycystic ovary syndrome is a frustrating diagnosis for doctors and patients, as a case discussion in this week’s JAMA illustrates: if you don’t want a pregnancy, go on the pill and try to lose some weight. But if you do want a baby, should you take metformin, clomifene or both? more…

This article describes how assisted suicide is actually carried out in two places where it is legal – Switzerland and Oregon. It will no doubt provoke a deluge of correspondence in the Rapid Responses from those who believe that God disapproves of such practices. more…

The cyclo-oxygenase 2 inhibitors came out amidst a fanfare of publicity about their gastrointestinal safety, though from the start, a few discordant notes were sounded by cost/benefit analysts. more…

I write from a part of England where an academic department managed to get funds to investigate obstructive sleep apnoea long before it became a fashionable diagnosis, so lots of our patients have had polysomnography and enjoy the nocturnal pleasures of continuous positive airway pressure. more…

The humble snowdrop is loved by every gardener. It heralds the end of winter, and grows in places which are hidden later in the growing season. more…

The petrol-fuelled motor car gives us comfortable mobility and independence, but at the cost of denaturing the entire landscape of the developed world, the future of our climate, the very air we breathe. more…