Drug policy campaigners often call for policy to be re-oriented towards public health, as a more progressive and constructive approach than the criminalising strategy of prohibition. The broad thrust of this type of call is that we should be more concerned about helping sick people, preventing the spread of disease and enhancing well-being, rather than punishing individuals for supposed moral transgressions. On the face of it, who could argue against that?

Washington state is in the midst of a whooping cough outbreak. The state has more than 1,100 confirmed cases so far this year — that's 10 times as many as this time last year, and health officials fear the number may rise.

A roly-poly toddler strikes many mothers as the picture of health. But the road to obesity can start early in life, so it's important to know whether the baby fat that lingers on a toddling child is a healthy cushion or a sign of too much food too soon.

Since first lady Michelle Obama made childhood obesity her signature project almost two years ago, the issue has had the kind of highly visible national leadership that it previously lacked.

A former employee of the South Carolina Dept. of Health and Human Services was arrested after allegedly transferring the personal information of more than 228,000 Medicaid beneficiaries to his personal email and at least one other party. Meanwhile, in Georgia, computer disks containing 315,000 patients’ medical records that were stored improperly have gone missing.