Pharmaceuticals are essential for human health, but they become an environmental concern when entering the environment which occurs when residues are excreted after consumption or when unused pharmaceuticals are discarded improperly. Although there are no developed detection methods for all pharmaceuticals that reach the ecosystem, certain groups have been proven to cause adverse effects on ecosystems, including increased mortality in aquatic species and changes in physiology, behavior, or reproduction. Particular attention is devoted to these groups of pharmaceuticals and their environmental impact. In this review, the authors suggest measures for the reduction of unused pharmaceuticals in the environment, with a strong emphasis on prevention. Various policy interventions are recommended across the lifecycle including source-directed, user-orientated, and waste management measures, to prevent the creation of household pharmaceutical waste and to ensure environmentally friendly ways of pharmaceutical household waste disposal. Preventive measures include rational pharmaceutical consumption, prescribing greener drugs, or designing pharmaceuticals that are benign and easily biodegradable, improved disease prevention, personalized medicine, enhanced dimensioning of pack sizes, and marketplaces for redistribution of unused pharmaceuticals. The next step is to prevent unavoidable waste to reach the environment, so proper collection and disposal of unused pharmaceuticals is of utmost importance. Finally, educating health professionals and the public and partnership between environmental and healthcare scientists are of vital significance in all stages of the pharmaceuticals’ lifecycle. Minimalization of the level of pharmaceuticals in the environment will benefit human life.

Background. Attitudes towards conventional and complementary medicine among future healthcare professionals can impact their future pharmacotherapy practice. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and predisposing factors related to self-medication among medical and pharmacy students. Methods. This cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was performed at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Serbia, on first- and final-year students of medicine and pharmacy. The multivariate Poisson regression model with robust variance was used to identify the main predictors of self-medication. Results. The overall self-medication prevalence in the past year was 81.3%. Independent risk factors for self-medication identified in the regression analysis were the final study year, housing condition, i.e., living in a leased apartment or in a student dormitory in comparison to living with parents, and cigarette consumption. The conventional drugs were the most frequently used, mostly for the symptoms of cold and pain. Final-year students had more confidence in conventional medicines than in herbal drugs and were more aware of the risks of their concomitant use. Conclusion. Self-medication is highly prevalent among students of medical sciences, especially among final-year students. Increased medical knowledge led to the higher awareness of the drug interaction risks.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a renewed interest in urban environment and healthy living and the changes in urban environments which can make for a healthier living. Today, more than 50% of the global population lives in urban areas, and in Europe the number is 75%. We present a narrative review to explore considerations and necessary requirements to achieve health and well-being within strategies for healthy design and urban planning whilst rethinking urban spaces for a post-COVID-19 and carbon-neutral future. The achievement of health and well-being demands healthy design strategies, namely, (1) moving from the concept of infrastructure for processes to the infrastructure for healthy living—requirements for healthy places, cycling, walking, disintegrating the role of polluting traffic from the urban environments, social vulnerability and equality; (2) physical space that will achieve standards of ‘liveable communities’—open, green space requirements and standards for any built environment; (3) mainstreaming ‘in-the-walking distance’ cities and neighbourhoods for healthy physical activities for daily living; (4) exploring any of the new concepts that connect the nexus of urban spaces and public health and improving of the population’s well-being. Public health needs to be prioritised systematically in planning of built environments, energy generations, sustainable food production, and nutrition.