Stoptober begins as thousands try to stop smoking for 28 days

You may not be aware but today is the first day of the Stoptober challenge, a 28-day challenge aimed at getting as many of the 10 million adults who smoke in Britain to stop smoking for this time period as health experts believe you are five times more likely to stay smokefree if you have successfully managed to stop for 28 days.

One way or another, smoking can and usually does impact all of us. There is a good chance that one or more of your family members smoke, and you are friends with people who smoke. Even if you yourself do not smoke, you could still be impacted by passive smoking. What smokers may not realise is that for each 28 days abstaining from cigarettes for the rest of your life, you can actually save a whole week in life.

Of course, some benefits you may notice in the short-term. Following 48 hours of not smoking, your body will now be free of nicotine and this will boost your sense of taste and smell. After 72 hours, your breathing will be improved and within 9 months of quitting you will probably notice a dramatic reduction in coughing, wheezing and breathing problems.

Last year’s Stoptober challenge saw an incredible 160,000 smokers complete the 28-day challenge and it is hoped that even more will get involved this year. Helping them along the way will be a free Stoptober pack containing support tools to help get through the 28 days, a mobile app available on iPhone and Android smartphones, as well as regular text and email support which will offer tips and advice to keep you focused in reaching your goal.

Stopping smoking can be an incredibly difficult challenge however and unless you have experienced it yourself, it can be hard to understand what it is like to try and give up cigarettes. If you think you may struggle to complete Stoptober, or even completely stop smoking after completing Stoptober, here are some tips to help you through the next month and hopefully beyond:

. Understand your reasons for quitting

Writing down a list of the reasons why you want to quit smoking may provide the necessary motivation to power through when things get difficult and you find the temptation to smoke is increasing. Who will benefit from you stopping? How much money each week/month will you save? How will your health and appearance benefit? Write down all these positives and know your reasons for quitting smoking – it will drive you on to persevere.

. Social media can connect you to fellow quitters

Facebook and Twitter can provide a useful outlet for describing your trials and tribulations during the next 28 days and reaching out to friends, family and fellow quitters you may not even know, could prove a huge morale-boosting motivation to quit. During last year’s Stoptober challenge, 50,000 people joined the Facebook Stoptober page. That’s like a football stadium full of people all cheering you on to the finish line!

. Stay active

Exercise may not be the first thing you feel like doing whilst trying not to smoke, but there is research to suggest that exercise actually helps to reduce cravings. It is thought that exercise helps the brain to produce chemicals which can suppress cravings. Even if you don’t fancy joining a gym just yet, try walking the dog or going for a brisk walk around the block, or just playing badminton perhaps with a friend.

. Get rid of cigarettes and other tobacco products from your home, car and work place.

If you don’t want the temptation there to smoke and want a feeling of liberation, then throw away all your packets of cigarettes. This means keeping absolutely no ‘emergency’ packs on standby! Next, bin any lighters, ashtrays, and matches you have cluttering up your house, car, or at work as you don’t need reminding of the habit you are benefitting from stopping. Then vigorously wash anything that still has the disgusting odour of cigarettes on it, whether this be clothes, curtains, furniture, bedding, etc.

. Reward yourself

Keep a jar handy and all the money you would usually spend (waste) on cigarettes can be put into the jar. Then at the end of the month you can treat yourself to something nice such as clothes, new shoes, or even more…depending on how many cigarettes you were previously buying!

Self-injectable cholesterol drug alirocumab is in the pipeline

Pharmaceutical giants Sanofi and Regeneron have developed a potentially ground-breaking new cholesterol drug – currently named ‘alirocumab’ – which analysts are predicting could be a massive sensation and bring in billions of dollars for its creators if the late-stage trials prove successful.

The new cholesterol-lowering drug is self-injectable and belongs to a class of biotech medicines named PCSK9 inhibitors, providing a different method of clearing the fatty deposits that can cause clogging within the arterial walls leading the way to a high risk of poor health, heart disease, strokes and other health complications.

Bad cholesterol, commonly referred to as “low density lipoprotein,” is one of the primary factors behind clogged arteries. If your body is generating sufficient amounts of good cholesterol, or “high density lipoprotein,” this helps the bad cholesterol to be cleared from the arterial walls and subsequently removed from the bloodstream via the liver. However, if you are low on good cholesterol, levels of bad cholesterol will rise and result in clogging in the arterial walls.

Health experts believe that PCSK9 inhibitors could be the biggest breakthrough in the fight against heart disease in two decades, since statins such as Lipitor, Crestor and Zocor have emerged.

Alirocumab contains man-made antibodies that target a particular protein which stops the body from getting rid of the bad LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream. They differ from the statins as statins actually prevent the liver’s production of LDL cholesterol.

Results from the new drug tested in a 100-patient trial are imminent and Sanofi are hopeful it may reach the market in two years’ time. Unfortunately, success will probably hinder on the results of more long-term clinical studies comprising on thousands of patients – and more reliable and trusted results will probably not be available for another five years from such studies.

Following tests in the initial Phase III study, alirocumab was found to reduce levels of LDL cholesterol by up to an incredible 72% and it is now being pitted against Merck’s Zetia, which has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol levels by around 19-24%.

Alirocumab is likely be prescribed to those with genetically-high cholesterol levels, patients deemed ‘high risk’ and who are not reaching cholesterol targets on whichever statin they are taking, and patients who could have a low tolerance to statins.

Speaking at a conference earlier this month, Sanofi’s CEO Chris Viehbacher said the French drugmaker may consider doubling its stake in Regeneron, clearing having faith in the ability and success of alirocumab.

He commented: “When you look at the number of patients who are willing to inject themselves daily for diabetes, and you know a lot of those patients are also going to be in your patient population for PCSK9, I actually think that the injectable part is not going to be as big a barrier as people think. I think it is going to be a paradigm shift for healthcare and a potentially huge opportunity for us.”

Unfortunately, the need for alirocumab to be injected and the high costs involved will deter many and pricing will be a major issue in the UK as the NHS already facing numerous deficit-cutting measures. Certainly the new drug, if and when it eventually hits the market, will be substantially more expensive than statins – currently prescribed to around 7 million people in the UK.

Regular exercise could lead to weight gain

Are you attending the gym for what you assume are sufficient workouts for keeping weight gain at bay – only  to find that the lbs. are actually creeping on you?

If so, you are not alone and a new survey has actually surprisingly discovered that over a quarter of recently enlisted gym-goers actually gain weight soon after starting to attend regular sessions at the gym. The primary reason for the weight gain is because soon after beginning to exercise at the gym, people to tend to reward themselves with ‘treats’ after working out, negating the main reasons for exercising in the first place!

Diet company Forza Supplements quizzed 1,000 gym users on their diet and exercise habits, finding that a staggering 39% merely burn around 300 calories during each visit to the gym.

To put this into perspective, that amount of exercise would not even be enough to burn off the calories in a bar (62.5g) of Snickers, which has 319 calories, and is only just sufficient enough to burn off the calories in a twin bar of Twix (58g), which has a total of 284 calories.

If people are not aware of the calories in such treats, in addition to those in other ‘reward’ foods such as crisps, or even a glass of wine (about 109 calories), it can mean gym goers are liable to put on weight over time. Interestingly, 42% believed that regular exercise meant they should be able to deviate from their diet plans.

The poll discovered that people attending regular gym sessions gave them a ‘feeling of complacency’ which impacted their ability at adhering to a recommended calorie intake per day.

It was found that 26% actually put gain weight following regular exercise, whilst almost a half (49%) reported no changes in their weight, whilst only 25% actually said they managed to lose weight.

Also found in the survey was the fact that the majority of exercise enthusiasts usually go to the gym on average between three and four times a week, and whilst there they then exercise for between 40 minutes and an hour on average.

For every ten gym users, four will burn between 300 and 500 calories in a gym session. Only a quarter however only burn off between 200 to 300 calories, whilst 10% burn just 100 to 200 calories and 4% less than 100 calories. Perhaps the last two groups should ask themselves why they bother to attend the gym!

A reason why going to the gym could cause people to put weight on is that exercising is causing an increase in metabolism and increasing people’s appetites. In fact, over half surveyed (53%) claimed their gym sessions had managed to significantly boost their appetites.

Nearly half also admitted they exercise prior to a night out on the town to ‘compensate’  for the huge amount of calories they are inevitably going to consume during the course of the night through alcohol. Many party-goers also tend to finish their night in the nearest takeaway and burgers, pizzas and kebabs can then add hundreds of calories on top of the calories within the alcohol.

Luisa Zissman, runner-up in The Apprentice, commented: “Who hasn’t had a guilt inspired exercise session? We all do it – work out furiously in the gym to get brownie points ahead of a night on the town. You know you are going to consume a stack of calories by boozing and drinking – so why not burn off a load beforehand.”

UK pledge £1 billion in the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria

The UK will give £1 billion to the Geneva-based Global Fund over the next three years in the help to combat AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria, International Development Secretary Justine Greening has announced at the United Nations in New York. Ms Greening said fighting preventable diseases was “in all of our interests.”

The Global Fund was founded in 2002 and is the world’s largest donor of funds to fight the three deadly and infectious diseases, proving prevention, treatment and care programmes.

The initiative is believed to have helped to save 8.7 million lives and 5.3 million people with HIV are now benefiting from antiretroviral therapy, 11 million new TB cases have been detected and treated and 340 million insecticide treated nets have been given to families to provide protection from malaria.

Britain’s staggering £1 billion pledge will save “a life every three minutes” and now doubles the current amount of money being donated and leaves the UK only second to the United States as the biggest donor of funds.

Throughout the next three years the UK will be involved in the delivery of vital antiretroviral treatment to an additional 750,000 people who have HIV, in addition to an extra 32 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets and over a million people will receive treatment for TB.

The Department for International Development has predicted that the generous funding provided by the UK will save the lives of 590,400 people between 2014 and 2016. This equates to one life saved every three minutes.

“AIDS, TB and malaria are among the world’s biggest killers despite being entirely preventable and treatable,” Ms Greening said at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York on Monday, where spoke on the new funding.

She continued: “The Global Fund has already helped save millions of lives but we must keep up the momentum if we are to beat these diseases for good. It is in all our interests to help people live longer, healthier, more productive lives so we all need to play our part in working towards a world free of HIV/Aids, malaria and TB.”

Bono, frontman for rock band U2 co-founder of the One foundation, said: “The UK’s pledge of up to a billion pounds for the fight against Aids, TB and malaria means what once seemed impossible could now be within our grasp. Through this smart investment in one of the most effective disease-fighting funds in history, we could witness the defeat of these global killers in our lifetime. David Cameron and Justine Greening have given us a billion reasons to believe we can do it, but Britain’s pledge will only be delivered if others step up too. Australia, Canada, Germany: your move.”

Prevention of malaria has improved significantly in recent times. The World Health Organisation’s World Malaria Report for 2012 stated that 50 countries were on target for lowering malaria incidence by 75% between 2000 and 2015. Moreover, 30 million insecticide-treated nets were given out during January and July of 2013 through Global Fund-supported programmes.

TB, the world’s second biggest infectious killer after HIV/AIDS, is slowly declining, albeit slowly. Funding from the Global Fund has resulted in detection and treatment of 11 million smear-positive cases of TB, up from 9.7 million at the end of 2012.

It was calculated that as of 1 July the Global Fund had helped to pioneer programmes resulting in 5.3 million people with HIV to receive antiretroviral therapy, up from 4.2 million at the end of 2012.
If you are travelling abroad and require malaria medication for prevention and treatment, Doxycycline, Malarone, Paludrine, and Jungle Formula Maximum Pump Spray are options worth considering.  In addition, don’t forget to check the NHS Fit For Travel website where you will find the recommended malaria medication for your destination.

More men fear hair loss than impotence

Hair loss and suffering with impotence are probably amongst men’s biggest worries and the cause for a great deal of anxiety.

However, a new study suggests that hair loss could actually surprisingly be a bigger concern to men than their performance in the bedroom. It could be that hair loss degrades confidence to the extent that many men feel this will affect their ability to find a partner in the first place.

The survey of 2,000 males found that an incredible 94% feared going bald, compared to 89% who feared about experiencing erectile dysfunction and losing their ability to perform in the bedroom.
Other things that caused fear for the men survey included going grey, feared by 75% of the men (although becoming a ‘silver fox’ never did George Clooney any harm!), whilst 64% were concerned about putting weight on. This is perhaps unsurprising when health experts have stated that by 2050 obesity is predicted to affect 60% of adult men, 50% of adult women and 25% of children.

In addition, 61% were terrified of losing their teeth, 45% had a fear of needing to wear glasses at some point, 31% were worried about losing their hearing and suffering with bad breath was feared by 24% – although the revolutionary and massively popular CB12 mouthwash has now helped with this problem for both men and women.

None of these fears compared to hair loss however. Psychotherapist Toni Mackenzie was not shocked by the survey’s findings.

She said: “Hair loss can be genuinely distressing for men. It can’t be easily disguised and people think its fair game for jokes, unlike things like putting on weight or going grey. Men who lose their hair are expected to take insults with good humour. The pressure this causes can have a huge effect on men’s self-confidence, which has knock-on effects on their physical and mental wellbeing.”

Ian Watson, of HIS Hair Clinics, commented: “Going bald is just too personal to be funny. I lost my hair in my 20s. I’ve had countless people rub my head like a lucky Buddha and been called everything from baldilocks to Fester. It soon becomes downright upsetting.”

The findings back up other surveys carried out this year, such as one recently commissioned by pharmaceutical and cosmetics company Alpecin, producers of the hugely popular Alpecin caffeine shampoo for hair loss. Their survey discovered that losing hair is an increasingly bigger concern for 21-30 year old men. There are countless studies, articles, and media stories that portray attractiveness as being a key factor in success and for many people hair is associated with attractiveness.

The fact that there are an estimated 6 million men in the UK suffering from hair loss, this equates to a huge amount of stress and fear. However, Medical Specialists Pharmacy are able to offer the prescription-only medication Propecia (finasteride), which is commonly used to treat male pattern baldness and works by blocking the conversion of testosterone to DHT, which thought to cause hair loss.  It is obtainable following a quick and easy 4 step process which includes an online consultation with one of our in-house doctors. Propecia is priced from as little as £47.58 per month.

Other options in addition to Propecia include Regaine Foam and Regaine Lotion, as featured in numerous television adverts. Obtainable from Medical Specialists Pharmacy from as little as £49.95 and £59.95 respectively, Regaine products contain the active ingredient Minoxidil which is clinically proven to help prevent further hereditary hair loss, showing success in 4 out of 5 men. It works by increasing the blood supply to the hair follicles which helps to strengthen existing hair and stimulate secondary hair growth.

Gastroenteritis spreads amongst 130 passengers on luxury cruise ship

It has been confirmed that a sickness and diarrhoea bug has been transmitted to dozens of passengers during a 12-night luxury cruise.

An estimated 130 people on board The Black Watch – a Fred Olsen cruise ship – have contracted gastroenteritis; an inflammatory condition of the stomach and bowel (large intestine) that is usually caused by infection.

The ship had departed on 8 September with 778 guests on board, sailing from Fife to Scandinavia, and then to the Russian city of St Petersburg.

After the ship returned to Rosyth on Friday, 29 people were said to be still unwell with gastroenteritis. Specialist cleaners and health inspectors have now been drafted in to clean and fumigate the ship.

A Fred Olsen spokeswoman said: “Fred Olsen Cruise Lines can confirm, during Black Watch’s 12-night Scandinavia and St Petersburg cruise, there was an outbreak of a gastroenteritis-type illness, and every effort was made to contain the illness, in accordance with Fred Olsen Cruise Lines onboard medical protocols. Black Watch returned to Rosyth on Friday, where she is currently undergoing an intensive cleaning and sanitisation programme, which includes a complete ship fumigation by professional external contractors. Representatives from the local health authorities and Rosyth Port Health have been on board the ship this morning, and have confirmed that they are satisfied with the containment and preventative measures being undertaken by the ship It is frustrating that, even with the extra preventative and containment measures that were put in place, a number of guests on board suffered from this illness, which is common in hospitals, schools, hotels, cruise ships and other areas where people are in close proximity.”

In the UK around one in five people catch an infection causing gastroenteritis each year, with the most common causes in adults being the norovirus and from food poisoning. The infection is highly contagious through virus, bacteria or parasites and can be picked up through poor hygiene, and then transmitted to others if the person affected does not wash their hands after going to the toilet and then touches objects, contaminating them.

The time between catching an infection and an onset of the symptoms can vary according to what type of infection you have. It may be anything from one hour to a few weeks, but normally it is between one and three days.

The common symptoms are:

. Nausea.
. Repeated episodes of diarrhoea (3 or more times in 24 hours). Loose, watery stools may contain blood and mucus.
. Fever – With a temperature of 38–39C (100.4–102.2F).
. Headaches.

Dehydration is a major problem associated with gastroenteritis because your body is losing so much water through vomiting and diarrhoea. It is recommended to drink at the very minimum 2 litres (3.5 pints) of water each day, plus 200ml (a third of a pint) of water each time you pass diarrhoea.

In addition, antidiarrhoeal medications are used to ease symptoms of diarrhoea. Loperamide hydrochloride – contained in the popular Imodium Plus caplets – is a commonly used antidiarrhoeal medication to treat gastroenteritis. Loperamide hydrochloride helps to reduce diarrhoea by slowing down an overactive bowel. This helps your digestive system get back to normal, leading to firmer stools. By restoring this delicate balance, you can feel better sooner and have the confidence to get on with your day.

Plans to ban smoking in prisons – riots predicted

Smoking looks set to be banned in all prisons across England and Wales following the ministry of justice confirming a pilot scheme will be rolled out next year that will forbid smoking in every part of a prison, including cells and exercise yards.

Instead, inmates will be offered nicotine patches in an attempt to help them beat any cravings. The pilot scheme will commence in the spring of 2014, starting in Exeter and Eastwood Park Women’s Prison, before gradually introduced in more prisons over the course of a 12-month period.

The plans have been formulated out of fear that those inmates and prison officers who do not smoke may decide to launch compensation claims against the Prison Service because of the secondhand/passive smoking they are being subjected to. The dangers of secondhand smoking  is a topic that Medical Specialists Pharmacy have previously highlighted.

However, the issue of forbidding prison inmates from smoking could be viewed as a human rights issue and cause a string of legal challenges. Some even fear there is a very real prospect of inmates rioting in prisons all across England in Wales. If some criminals have a violent nature to begin with, denying them a highly addictive substance such as nicotine could cause total pandemonium.

Not only are cigarettes addictive – and about 80% of the 84,300 prison inmates smoke – but it is also seen as a valuable prison currency that is regularly traded on the prison wings. Not being able to light up as they see fit, will probably not go down too well.

Prisoners are currently given the freedom to smoke outside in the exercise yards and within their cells due to the fact it is deemed to be their “permanent or temporary home”. Bad behaviour can already result in a temporary smoking ban but the universal ban will anger the more exemplary, well-behaved inmates who look forward to cigarette breaks as an escape from the tedium of prison life.

Steve Gillan, general secretary of the Prison Officers’ Association, agrees with the proposed smoking ban but told The Times it would be difficult to implement.

He said: “There is no pretending otherwise. It could cause disturbances but they have done it successfully in Canada and in young offender institutions in England and Wales. We welcome this move. It is our policy to have smoke-free prisons for our members. We will work with the ministry to make sure it works effectively.”

In addition, there are those who say that prisoners already have a cushy life. It seems it is a weekly occurrence for stories to emerge of inmates posting pictures to their Facebook accounts showing just how cushy their life actually it.

Dee Edwards, of the R and K Foundation, a crime victims’ group, said: “Prisoners are already better fed and cared for than pensioners so why should they be treated any different to the rest of society? It’s getting to point where you can’t even smoke outside a building now so I don’t see why prisoners shouldn’t be banned. If you have a low level criminal who smoke 20 a day may be it will even act as a deterrent if they think they could do to jail and not be able to smoke.”

However, Mark Johnson, chief executive of the prisoner charity User Voice, says that smoking is a “human right” and believes that prisoners who smoke may decide to take legal action if it is banned.