"Burnham is rightly focused on the cost of living crisis, but the evidence for a “health first, health in all policies” approach continues to mount." In this Editor's Choice, @kamranabbasi.bsky.social explains why Andy Burnham must take “health first” mainstream www.bmj.com/content/394/...

In this Editor's Choice @kamranabbasi.bsky.social offers a seven point health plan for Prime Minister Andy Burnham to restore public and professional trust www.bmj.com/content/394/...

A new BMJ Analysis finds a UK-US trade deal could cost the NHS a potential £45bn in drug spending and nearly 300 000 excess deaths in 10 years. The deal sacrifices UK health and wealth, contrary to the rhetoric of government ministers, says @kamranabbasi.bsky.social

£45bn and 300 000 deaths: the UK’s anniversary gift to the US

Two hundred and fifty years after liberation from British colonialism, the United States is co-hosting the football World Cup. The US might even win it for the first time—although France, its former a...

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Around £45bn in NHS funding will be diverted from other NHS care by 2036 to pay more for new medicines under the UK-US trade deal agreed last December unless more funding is made available to cover the additional costs, suggests new Analaysis in The BMJ

Health costs of the UK-US trade deal on pharmaceuticals

Samuel Cross, Karl Claxton, and Andrew Hill argue that diversion of billions of NHS funding to pay more for new drugs under the UK-US trade deal will harm public health and result in thousands of exce...

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Given recent events at the ADA meeting, Kamran Abbasi, editor-in-chief of The British Medical Journal, speaks out on freedom of the press, politics, and science. Why do US editors not do likewise? Where are the medical associations? Muzzled? Do you want to be counted amongst those who stayed silent?

New @bmj.com piece by me & @martinmckee.bsky.social on the need for the UK's public health institutions to prepare to speak up in the event of a populist government set on undermining our population's health protections. The tea leaves aren't that mysterious. www.bmj.com/content/393/...

Since 2015, the rate of decline in mortality rates in newborn babies, children under 5 years old, older children, and adolescents has slowed substantially, finds a new linked series of papers published in The BMJ https://bit.ly/4ueenSo @unicef.org @who.int @jhu.edu

"A rational and independent examination of the facts tells us that, with alternatives available—even UK ones—the case to terminate the Palantir contract is resounding," writes @kamranabbasi.bsky.social in this Editor's Choice www.bmj.com/content/393/...

"Streeting has dug a large, self-inflicted hole." By seeking to punish doctors, Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting are punishing the NHS and patients, writes @kamranabbasi.bsky.social in this Editor's Choice www.bmj.com/content/393/...

PUNITIVE SCRUTINY: when complaint pressure—not evidence—drives regulatory action against doctors. The process is the penalty. The GMC & NHS employers must apply transparent, evidence-based thresholds. New BMJ paper here: www.bmj.com/content/392/... @abierkhatib.bsky.socia @copddoc.bsky.social

Doctors’ freedom of speech must be protected from punitive scrutiny

Public confidence in regulation demands that complaints are handled transparently and judged on evidence alone, write Rubin Minhas , Nick Maynard , Iain Chalmers , and Gene Feder The United Nations ...

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In the depths of a forever political crisis, a culture war, and global conflict imbued with extremist religious rhetoric, it can be easy to forget the power of religion as a social force for good—and as a determinant of health, writes @kamranabbasi.bsky.social https://bit.ly/4bCJ65K

Religious determinants of health and foreign aid cuts: no thank you for your inattention

The world’s most powerful American, by some estimates, made two important statements this week. First, he urged a de-escalation of the Middle East war.1 Second, he argued that “health cannot be a luxu...

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Obama: "We are living in a time where it can be hard to hope. Each day we wake up to some new assault on our democratic institutions. Another setback to the idea of the rule of law ... but this man - Rev. Jesse Jackson - inspires us to take a harder path ... bc if we don't step up, nobody else will"

"About a third of children are now growing up in poverty." Michael Marmot, the UK’s leading expert on health equity, urges Prime Minister Keir Starmer to take bold action to tackle child poverty in this interview with The BMJ https://bit.ly/40rQ5Ip

Michael Marmot: Labour has reneged on its child poverty promises

Lifting the two child benefit cap is an important step but will still leave 4.15 million children in poverty, Marmot tells Elisabeth Mahase Michael Marmot, the UK’s leading expert on health equity, ...

bmj.com

"The notion that medical research is a 'geopolitical football' is much more than a hypothesis. It is a stark, complex, and miserable reality." @kamranabbasi.bsky.social in Editor's Choice https://bit.ly/3MBGY4y

From the US to China and India: the power shift in clinical trials

If you’re seeking to keep politics out of medicine, good luck with that. It isn’t possible. We’ve previously described the political determinants of health (doi:10.1136/bmj.h81),1 and next we’ll focus...

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Yes. It’s because of bots. We had to decline something like half a billion requests from bot scraping on BMJ sites in the last 30 days.

Celebrating 10 years of partnership between #MAGICevidence & @bmj.com BMJ Rapid Recs have grown from rapid translation of evidence into 🌏 rigorous, transparent patient-informed guidance, while also serving as a laboratory for innovation. Meeting in London was about celebration & renewed commitment

"The goodwill of staff, which translates into assumptions about people working unpaid hours, must not be normalised by workforce planners." In this Editor's Choice @kamranabbasi.bsky.social asks: how long can the NHS run on unpaid overtime? www.bmj.com/content/392/...

"One conclusion is clear, and it is this: a population’s health is primarily in the hands of the government, and it is a responsibility that politicians must embrace fully." @kamranabbasi.bsky.social in Editor's Choice https://bit.ly/40cMzRJ

Ultraprocessed foods, Palantir, and political donations: how governments enable health system exploitation

The Epstein scandal tells us much about how power is acquired, leveraged, and abused. One of the more sobering lessons is the mechanism by which governments are influenced and corrupted. We trust gove...

bmj.com

In this conversation with @bmj.com Editor, @kamranabbasi.bsky.social , we discuss the ways in which online information can both empower and mislead, the role of big tech in shaping our wellbeing and the complex and disturbing ways wellness influencers are becoming more trusted than the NHS.

The BMJ is seeking UK and international clinical editorial advisors to join our weekly manuscript meeting for research papers. You will attend 4-6 virtual meetings a year. If you are interested, please apply by 27 February 2026 https://bit.ly/4r0L7Op

Freelance Research Editorial Advisor | 27 February, 2026 | Jobs and careers with BMJ Group

Jobs and careers with BMJ Group -

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The BMJ is seeking UK and international clinical editorial advisors to join our weekly manuscript meeting for research papers. You will attend 4-6 virtual meetings a year. If you are interested, please apply by 27 February 2026 https://bit.ly/4r0L7Op

Freelance Research Editorial Advisor | 27 February, 2026 | Jobs and careers with BMJ Group

Jobs and careers with BMJ Group -

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Which ideological approach is best to govern a health system? "A successful health system is, it seems, most probably a triumph of evidence informed political wisdom over politically driven ideology." @kamranabbasi.bsky.social in Editor's Choice www.bmj.com/content/392/...

📢 The BMJ's Medics’ Revue is back 📢 Got a sketch, song, poem, or skit about medicine? Submit your entry by 28 February 2026. Email jburrell@bmj.com with your script, recording, or idea. 🎭 🎤🕺Perform in London’s West End on 15 May 2026 More details: bit.ly/4pO188H

"We saw consistently faster weight regain with medication, regardless of how much weight was lost." Sam West explains his new paper on weight regain after stopping GLP-1 weight loss drugs www.bmj.com/content/392/... Listen on the BMJ podcast www.bmj.com/podcasts

"For science and medicine to prosper and deliver on their potential, medical leaders must not become creatures of the state." @kamranabbasi.bsky.social in our latest Editor's Choice www.bmj.com/content/392/...

Great collaboration between @healthfoundation.bsky.social and @thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk And good for @bmj.com @kamranabbasi.bsky.social publishing some qual!

🔥 @markruffalo.bsky.social : “I gotta be honest, I’m not feeling so great. Renee Good was murdered... stormtroopers running around terrorizing. As much as I love all this, I can’t pretend all this crazy stuff isn’t happening. We have a president who says laws don’t apply to him- this is crazy.”

Honored to be part of @bmj.com New Year’s Resolutions for the #climateemergency issue, kicking off 2026 with an exploration of Kim Stanley Robinson's Ministry for the Future See @kamranabbasi.bsky.social's editorial & my piece below: tinyurl.com/4b2efbjj www.bmj.com/content/392/...

New Year’s resolutions for the climate emergency

How do we resolve the great challenges to health and wellbeing? Welcome to a BMJ special issue of resolutions. Our aim is to begin each year with a range of short essays on one of these great challeng...

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Physicians in the Trump administration are aligning themselves with anti-public health interests and policies. High profile physicians should be resisting Trump and RFK Jr’s damaging policies, not collaborating with them, @gavinyamey.bsky.social @jonshaffer.bsky.social www.bmj.com/content/392/...

I’ve long argued that we medics need better ways to communicate -see my podcasts. open.spotify.com/show/0I1q3cs... Kudos to @bmj.com for enlisting the outstanding @michaelspicer.bsky.social

The Doctor Podcast | Trailer

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The BMJ@bmj.com · 10mo ago

Comedian @michaelspicer.bsky.social responds to the feature "Reclaiming human care from surveillance capitalism" from our #BMJChristmas Issue. Read the feature by @vmontori.bsky.social here: www.bmj.com/content/391/...