Governments which impose lower taxes on heated tobacco products in the hope of encouraging smokers away from conventional cigarettes are effectively subsidising the tobacco industry, missing out on much-needed tax revenues and hampering their own public health initiatives, new research from the University of Bath shows.

Being appreciated by colleagues can help employees cope with negative experiences at work, according to a new study involving the University of East Anglia (UEA).

Researchers found that employees experience ‘embitterment’ - an emotional response to perceived workplace injustice - on days when they are assigned more unreasonable tasks than usual.

This negative emotion not only affects their work but also spills over into their personal lives, leading to an increase in rumination, the repetitive dwelling on negative feelings and their causes. This can result in difficulty detaching from work, ultimately preventing recovery from job-related stress.

Long working hours may alter the structure of the brain, particularly the areas associated with emotional regulation and executive function, such as working memory and problem solving, suggest the findings of preliminary research, published online in Occupational & Environmental Medicine. Ultimately, overwork may induce neuroadaptive changes that might affect cognitive and emotional health, say the researchers.

Physical activity in early childhood, especially taking part in organised sports,may ward off several mental health disorders in later childhood and adolescence, suggests research published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. But there seem to be clear sex differences in the observed protective effects, depending on the condition, the findings indicate.

New animal research being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Malaga, Spain (11-14 May), reveals distinct metabolic adjustments to tirzepatide and semaglutide treatment, with tirzepatide temporarily increasing energy expenditure and semaglutide initially reducing energy expenditure. Importantly, the biggest metabolic changes happen directly after treatment and disappear quickly after treatment is stopped.