In an inspiring speech to students at the London School of Economics (LSE), John Kerry, United States special presidential envoy for climate, spelt out the urgency of tackling climate change—“the […]
Richard Smith
Richard Smith was the editor of The BMJ until 2004.
Richard Smith: An old man attempts day one of the Ride for Their Lives
When I leave Clapham soon after dawn to join the Ride For Their Lives, I’m not entirely sure where I’m going, although I know it’s “at the back of King’s […]
Academic medicine and publishing from developing countries
Samiran Nundy, Atul Kakar, and Zulfi Bhutta have published a book titled How to Practice Academic Medicine and Publish from Developing Countries? A Practical Guide. It’s a book that will […]
Richard Smith: What’s it like to have dementia?
Having watched our mother lose her memory over a dozen years to the point where she doesn’t know who we are, my brothers and I wonder what goes on in […]
Richard Smith: COP26 needs to happen in-person but must be as safe as possible
Holding a global in-person meeting like COP26, the annual UN meeting on climate change due to be held in Glasgow in November, is a major challenge in the middle of […]
Richard Smith: What is a life worth?
“What is a life worth?” is a question that nobody can answer and should perhaps remain unanswered. But there are circumstances in which it is in everybody’s interest to give […]
Richard Smith: The role of digital health in keeping health systems financially, socially, and environmentally sustainable
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The opioid crisis, the Sacklers, and the role played by doctors
Richard Smith reviews Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty and concludes that the US opioid epidemic could not have happened without doctors and the whole medical […]
Time to assume that health research is fraudulent until proven otherwise?
Health research is based on trust. Health professionals and journal editors reading the results of a clinical trial assume that the trial happened and that the results were honestly reported. […]
Richard Smith: Hope is hazardous
None of us knows how we will respond when we are given the diagnosis of a life-limiting illness, just as young men in the First World War did not know […]