The EMHJ was launched in 1995 as a peer-reviewed medical journal. Starting January 2010 the Journal has been given a new format and is now published monthly. The EMHJ serves as a forum for the dissemination of biomedical information through the publication of scientific research papers on a range of topics related to public health with particular relevance to the Eastern Mediterranean Region. In this month's issue: Editorial: Benefits and pitfalls of social health insurance in pursuit of universal health coverage: lessons for the Eastern Mediterranean; Pattern of cigarette and waterpipe smoking in the adult population of Jordan; Quitting smoking and utilization of smoking cessation services in Jordan: a population-based survey; Household storage of medicines and self-medication practices in south-east Islamic Republic of Iran; Use of complementary and alternative medicine among midlife Arab women living in Qatar; Knowledge of periconceptional folic acid use among pregnant women at Ain Shams University Hospital Cairo Egypt; Factors affecting the process of obtaining informed consent to surgery among patients and relatives in a developing country: results from Pakistan; Interobserver variations in reporting of prostatic adenocarcinoma using core biopsy specimens: a retrospective study from a tertiary referral hospital in Saudi Arabia.