The Department of Health (DOH) announced plans to ban cosmetic surgeries for minors, including rhinoplasty, suction-assisted lipectomy and breast implant, perhaps in the next six months.

A draft amendment was passed by the Cabinet yesterday that would hike the tobacco tax and the Health and Welfare Surcharge, raising the price of a pack of cigarettes by NT$25.

A new genetic test to gauge the aggressiveness of prostate cancer may help tens of thousands of men each year decide whether they need to treat their cancer right away or can safely monitor it.

Stepping into the debate over who should be screened for lung cancer, a leading medical specialty group issued new guidelines on Tuesday recommending that doctors offer annual low-dose CT (computed tomography) scanning to people whose age and smoking history puts them at significant risk of lung cancer.

Pfizer Inc., in a first for the drug industry, told The Associated Press that the drugmaker will begin selling its popular erectile dysfunction pill Viagra directly to patients on its website.

To further raise cancer awareness and promote preventative screening among women, Procter & Gamble (P&G) announced at a press event yesterday that its “6 Minutes Protect A Life” campaign will take place throughout the month.

As many as 20.85 percent of first-graders in Taipei were diagnosed as suffering from asthma in 2011, up from 20.34 percent in 2007, the city's Department of Health said yesterday.

The U.S. food and drug regulator on Friday called the addition of caffeine to children's foods like chewing gum and jelly beans “dangerous” and warned of a possible crackdown.

Some of the most devastating forms of cancer have genetic similarities even though they strike different body parts, according to new studies out Thursday.

The death toll from the H7N9 bird flu virus has risen to 27, state media said Thursday after a man died in central China's Hunan Province.