Life Skills Education

Posts Tagged ‘Smoking’

Gordon Brown’s refusal to ban cheap booze is biggest health failing, claims chief doctor

Gordon Brown’s refusal to clamp down on cheap alcohol is the biggest public health failing of the last decade, England’s chief medical officer has said.

By Laura Donnelly, Health Correspondent

Sir Liam Donaldson, who is about to retire as Whitehall’s most senior doctor, said the Government’s rejection last year of his proposal for minimum prices constituted his biggest disappointment in the role.

He spoke out in an interview ahead of his final annual report, to be published on Mar 15, in which he will say that grandparents are often the best people to instill healthy habits into a younger generation, giving advice to their grandchildren on diet, exercise and the dangers of smoking and drugs.

Last year Sir Liam, 60, said that supermarkets and shops should not be allowed to sell alcohol for less than 50 pence per unit. His recommendation would have doubled the price of many beers and placed a minimum price of £4.50 on a bottle of wine.

Gordon Brown rejected the proposal instantly, saying the “sensible majority” of moderate drinkers should not be punished for the excesses of binge drinkers. The Conservatives also ruled out the idea.

Sir Liam’s proposal had the backing of many senior doctors, including the British Medical Association.

In January the Commons health select committee criticised Mr Brown’s decision, saying: “It is time the Government listened more to the Chief Medical Officer and the President of the Royal College of Physicians and less to the drinks and retail industry.”

The medical adviser said the rejection of his proposal had been his greatest disappointment during his 12 years in post, all with Labour in power.

The majority of his most significant recommendations – including a ban on smoking in workplaces, allowing embryonic stem cell research, and changes to the way doctors are regulated – have been introduced, though some involved major battles.

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Using cannabis for the first time under the age of 15 is linked to an increased risk of hallucinations or delusions, a new study has found. However, the findings are still not definite.

What do we know already?

Previous studies have found that using cannabis at a young age is linked to psychosis, a condition where someone loses touch with reality. Someone with psychosis might hallucinate or have false beliefs called delusions. Schizophrenia is one cause of psychosis.

Although cannabis use seems to have a link with psychosis, it’s harder to find out whether it’s the cause of the problem. The sheer number of things that could influence someone’s mental health makes it difficult for researchers to investigate whether cannabis really has an effect. Some doctors think people at risk of psychosis may be more likely to use cannabis because of problems in their lives, or to help them cope with their mental illness.

A new study solves some of the research problems by looking at siblings. Siblings usually grow up in a similar environment, and they also share many of the same genes. So, if siblings have a different pattern of cannabis use, researchers can be more confident that it caused other differences between them, such as differences in their mental health.

What does the new study say?

The study looked at nearly 4,000 Australian people born in the early 1980s. At 21 years of age they were asked about whether they’d used cannabis, and also completed questionnaires asking if they’d ever had symptoms like hallucinations or delusions.

People who’d started using cannabis before age 15 were more likely to have had symptoms of psychosis by the age of 21. Of the people who’d used cannabis at an early age, 3.9 percent had developed a psychotic illness. This compared with about 3 percent of people who’d started using cannabis after age 15, and 2.1 percent of people who’d never used cannabis.

The study included 10 pairs of siblings among whom one had developed a psychotic illness but not the other. Within these pairs, there wasn’t a big difference in cannabis use. However, among the 218 pairs of siblings where neither had developed a psychotic illness, siblings who’d used cannabis at a younger age tended to score higher on a questionnaire measuring “delusional-like experiences”.

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McGrath J, Welham J, Scott J, et al. Association between cannabis use and psychosis-related outcomes using sibling pair analysis in a cohort of young adults. Archives of General Psychiatry. Published online 1 March 2010.

Dead smoker has ‘Smoking Killed Me’ signs placed on hearse

A life-long smoker had his dying wish honoured today when he had the words ”Smoking Killed Me” placed on signs in his hearse.

Albert Whittamore, known as Dick, died last month aged 85 after suffering for years from emphysema, a progressive lung condition he blamed on his habit.

He wanted the ill-effects of his smoking to act as a warning to others and dictated in his will that the signs be placed inside his hearse as it passed through his home town of Dover in Kent.

One of the signs was also placed at Mr Whittamore’s graveside, according to his wishes.

Paul Sullivan, of Sullivan & Son funeral directors, said: ”Although he had reached the age of 85, he had been suffering for a while and wanted to do his bit to warn others about smoking.

”He specified that that’s what he wanted in his will. We gave it some thought but after a while we decided that that’s what he had requested.”

Mr Whittamore, who ran a small printing business in a shop below his home, was forced to use a motorised wheelchair in his later years as his health faltered.

A spokesman for the stop smoking charity Quit said: ”We understand Dick had emphysema, which is a lung condition caused by smoking which results in people struggling for breath.

”Dick is sending out a strong message to smokers as he doesn’t want others to suffer.”

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Lessons about tobacco should be in a range of school subjects and take in more than the physical impact of smoking, say public health advisers.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) wants to stop youngsters from starting to smoke.

It wants information about tobacco to be taught more broadly and to include the legal, economic and social issues.

But Simon Clark of the smokers’ lobby group, Forest, warned “no-one likes to be nagged, least of all teenagers”.

The guidance from Nice is intended to encourage intervention before young people start to experiment with smoking.

By the age of 15, more than one in six young people are regular smokers, according to Nice.

Smoking advice

The guidance calls for a concerted range of approaches – with advice on stopping smoking being given a higher profile in the curriculum.

Information about tobacco should be integrated into subjects such as biology, chemistry, citizenship and media studies, suggests the guidance – looking beyond the health advice about the physical consequences of smoking.

There are also calls for “whole school” smoke-free policies, for anyone visiting or using school premises and support for anyone associated with the school who wants to break the habit.

And anti-smoking efforts in schools and colleges should be led by both adults and young people, the advisers say.

“The earlier children become regular smokers, the greater their risk of developing life-threatening conditions, such as lung cancer and heart disease, if they continue smoking into adulthood,” said Mike Kelly, director of the Nice Centre for Public Health Excellence.

Mr Clark, director of Forest, said: “It’s important that young people are well educated about the risks of smoking, but if tobacco is featured across a range of subjects there is a real danger of warning fatigue.

“If they include tobacco in subjects such as citizenship and media studies, I sincerely hope that they discuss issues such as freedom of choice, personal responsibility and the role of government in changing people’s behaviour. There are strong arguments on both sides of the debate.”

Earlier this month health ministers announced a target of halving the number of smokers in England in the next decade.

The number of people smoking has fallen by a quarter in the past decade to 21%, and the proposed target is for this to be 10% by 2020.

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 A plan to halve the number of smokers in England over the next 10 years has been unveiled by ministers.

 The number of people smoking has fallen by a quarter in the past decade to 21%, and the proposed target is 10% by 2020.

Measures being considered include removing branding from packets and banning cigarette vending machines, as will happen in Scotland next year.

Smokers’ lobby group Forest criticised the proposals for eroding people’s ability to make lifestyle choices.

Health charity Ash said that while it supported the plans in principle, there was a need for more detail and stronger pledges.

The government strategy includes a commitment to try to stop young people taking up smoking by cracking down on illegally imported cheap cigarettes.

Every smoker will be able to get help from the NHS to suit them if they want to give up.

And there will be a review of smoking legislation, which could see public bans extended to places such as the entrances of buildings.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham said: “We’ve come so far and now we’ll go even further, to push forward and save even more lives.

“This strategy renews our commitment to virtually eradicate the health harms caused by smoking, and I firmly believe we can halve smoking by 2020. In 10 years’ time, only one-in-10 people will smoke.”

He added: “We will always help people to quit, and smokers should never stop trying. That’s the beauty of the NHS – it’s there to help everyone.

“One day, in the not too distant future, we’ll look back and find it hard to remember why anyone ever smoked in the first place.”

‘Devastating impact’

The government said each year smoking caused 80,000 deaths and cost the NHS £2.7bn.

Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson said the strategy would “discourage children from taking up smoking and prevent a great number of unnecessary and early deaths”.

The smoking ban in enclosed public places was introduced in Scotland in 2006, and in England, Wales and Northern Ireland separately in 2007.

Forest said the ban had had a “devastating impact” on community pubs and further restrictions would accelerate that trend.

Simon Clark, director of the lobby group, said adults should be allowed to make an “informed choice”.

He said: “When the government starts setting targets it is rather dangerous because the only way they can reach targets is to introduce very illiberal, very draconian legislation.

“What we are seeing is a campaign of de-normalisation – I think it is creating a very intolerant, very divisive society.”

Professor Alan Maryon-Davis, president of the UK Faculty of Public Health, said: “It’s good the government intends to keep up the pressure on smoking, the biggest single cause of ill-health and inequalities in health.

“But we do need to see these good intentions backed up by sustained investment in effective strategies.”

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Children as young as 11 are drinking two bottles of wine a week – more than the recommended limit for an adult woman – official figures reveal.

By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor

Children in the north of the country drink and smoke more than those in the south, data from the NHS Information Centre has found.

In particular, girls aged between 11 and 15 in the Midlands and the North are drinking more than the recommended limits for adult women.

They are consuming around a bottle and a half of wine a week.

Adult women are advised not to drink more than two to three units a day (or up to 14 units a week) and men not more than three to four (or up to 21 units a week) with two alcohol free days a week.

Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer, said last year that parents should not let their children drink alcohol at all.

More than one in four girls in the North East had a drink in the past week and on average consumed 15.5 units. Girls in the East Midlands, North West and Yorkshire and Humber drank similar amounts.

The pattern was less clear for boys but in general those in the Midlands and the North were more likely to have drunk in the last week than those in the south and to have consumed more.

More than one in four boys in the North East had a drink in the last week and on average drank 20.2 units, the equivalent of eight and a half pints of strong lager or more than two bottles of wine.

Boys and girls in London were the least likely to drink and average consumption of those who did was also lower.

The data, based on surveys of over 23,000 children in England, showed boys drank more than girls in almost all regions.

It is the first time that alcohol consumption for children aged 11 to 15 has been calculated by region.

Previous studies have shown that fewer children are drinking alcohol but those who do consume large amounts.

On smoking children in the north of the country were more likely to have smoked a cigarette in the last year than those in the south and were more likely to smoke regularly.

Children in all of the regions were less likely to have tried drugs than cigarettes or alcohol.

A fifth of 11 to 15 year olds in the North West had taken drugs in the last year compared with around one in seven in the South West.

One in eight children in the North West said they had taken cannabis in the last year compared with one in 12 in the North East.

Tim Straughan, Chief executive of The NHS Information Centre, said: “The report shows there are significant regional differences in the percentages of young people who smoke, drink or use drugs.

“It is interesting to note that London has such comparatively low levels of drink, drug and alcohol use among its 11 to 15-year-olds.

“In contrast, youngsters in the North East are more likely than their peers anywhere else in the country to smoke and drink alcohol. However, they are the least likely to take cannabis.”

Don Shenker, Chief Executive of Alcohol Concern, said: “Today’s figures are very worrying. We’ve seeing a slight decline in the number of children who drink, but those who do drink are drinking much more.

“Too many young people are now drinking at or above safe adult levels, yet their bodies are less able to cope with the harm alcohol can cause.

“We’ve already seen an almost one thousand per cent increase in liver cirrhosis deaths in the 25-44 age group. This is impacting our health services and the lives of families across the UK.”

He said the government must heed advice and opt for minimum pricing of alcohol which would mean it could not be bought at pocket money prices.

Professor Ian Gilmore, President of the Royal College of Physicians and Chairman of the UK Alcohol Health Alliance said: “These figures indicate that for many young teenagers drinking has moved beyond experimentation and into far more dangerous territory.

“Regular consumption at these levels, especially when compressed into heavy sessions at the weekend puts boys and girls at considerable risk.

“At this age the adolescent mind is still developing, and for an unlucky minority heavy drinking so early will have profound and long lasting implications for their learning and problem solving skills. Tougher penalties for those found to be selling alcohol to youngsters are welcome, but parents and families also have a responsibility to help their offspring make healthy choices.”

Children’s Minister Dawn Primarolo said: “I am pleased that these statistics show a decline in the number of young people smoking, drinking alcohol and taking drugs.

“The Government has been committed to providing young people with the right advice and support they need to make safe and sensible decisions. Importantly we have given parents, carers and schools additional guidance and expert advice so that young people can turn to a trusted adult to discuss their concerns about smoking, drinking and drugs.”

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The genetic code of two of the most deadly cancers has been cracked by British scientists in a world first that opens up a whole new era in the treatment for the disease.

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent

 
All the mutations that turn healthy cells cancerous in both lung and skin tumours have been identified in what researchers described as a “transforming moment” in the search for preventions, treatments and cures for both terminal illnesses.

Such a detailed picture of the fundamental causes of the disease will lead to earlier detection, new breeds of drugs and better understanding of what causes the disease, they claim.

Eventually a simple blood test will lead to accurate “made to measure” treatments that can identify, attack and kill the causes of each patient’s own individual cancer, they claim.

Professor Mike Stratton, of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, a world leading research centre in Cambridge who carried the studies, said: “What you are seeing today is going to transform the way that we see cancer.

“This is a really fundamental moment in the history of cancer research.”

All cancers are caused by damage or mutations to the DNA of formerly healthy cells acquired during a person’s lifetime.

This damage causes them to grow into abnormal lumps or tumours and spread around the body disrupting its normal processes and eventually – if unchecked – causing death.

In lung cancer the damage is almost entirely caused by smoking and in skin cancer or malignant melanoma by ultra violent sunlight…

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