Ireland to join Australia in having plain cigarette packets

‘Ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship’ is the theme of this year’s World No Tobacco Day according to the World Health Organization (WHO) – a specialised United Nations agency responsible for monitoring public health and also the pioneers of other world health awareness days such as World AIDS Day and Blood Donor Day.

Therefore, ahead of tomorrow’s World No Tobacco Day, Ireland Health Minister James Reilly has announced plans for the Republic of Ireland to follow Australia’s lead and become only the second country to adopt plain-packaging for cigarettes.

Australia became the world’s first country to implement this innovative anti-smoking agenda back in December 2012. The legislation forced all tobacco company logos to be banned from packages and instead replaced by bland, dreary green/brown-coloured packaging with unpleasant warning text and an accompanying image designed to shock smokers into quitting smoking.

Dr Reilly spoke on Tuesday saying there had been government approval for the go-ahead to abolish what he describes as a ‘mobile advertisement’ for tobacco companies who he says use intelligent marketing, with packet sizes, colour and style aimed at luring in younger smokers, particularly girls.

“The introduction of standardised packaging will remove the final way for tobacco companies to promote their deadly product in Ireland. Cigarette packets will no longer be a mobile advertisement for the tobacco industry”, he commented.

For Dr Reilly, the issue of smoking and what tragic health impacts it can have is a subject close to home. The Health Minister revealed he had witnessed first-hand the effects of tobacco after his brother died of lung cancer and his father lost his sight following a stroke. Both were smokers.

Dr Reilly also says that 5,200 people die in Ireland each year from tobacco-related diseases. He said: “One in two of all smokers will die from their addiction. I lost a brother who was a doctor, who understood fully what the cigarettes did, who was so addicted he couldn’t give them up. And my father was prematurely blind because of a stroke and spent the last 14 years of his life without being able to see.”

The decision to press ahead with plain packaging was agreed by a massive majority of the Cabinet on Tuesday and the aim is to make the products look less appealing and health warnings more obvious and alarming to smokers.

Minister Reilly says he is fully aware that tobacco companies will try every trick in the book in an attempt to thwart a plan that could potentially lose them a lot of money.

Unfortunately, not everyone thinks the idea of plain packaging is a good move and some believe it will have little effect on its apparent purpose – to reduce smoking rates.

The National Federation of Retail Newsagents Ireland President Joe Sweeney says the only groups who will benefit from the Minister’s announcement will be smugglers and criminals.

Mr Sweeney warned: “I support the government in its efforts to curtail the use of tobacco and alcohol. In doing this though, it must seek to find a balance between regulating harmful but legal, taxed behaviour and driving consumers into the black market to buy illicit products from criminals and subversives whose activities pose an even greater threat to society. The Minister for Health is sticking his head in the sand on policies towards the tobacco black market in Ireland which are putting retailers out of business. At a time when at least one in four cigarettes smoked in Ireland is illegal, the Minister’s failure to address the growing criminal fuelled trade in tobacco products shows a breath-taking lack of joined-up thinking.”

However, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, Faculty of Public Health Medicine spokesman Dr Fenton Howell welcomed the news, saying: “Plain packaging will stop the tobacco industry from using the pack as a marketing tool to mislead another generation of young people into thinking that smoking is cool and fashionable, when in reality cigarettes makes addicts of our children and condemns them to a life of unnecessary illness and death 10-15 years ahead of time.”

Australia’s obesity rates are on the rise

The UK and U.S. are two of the most obvious nations that spring to mind associated with the words: ‘obesity crisis’. However, there are numerous other countries in the developed world that are also apparently fighting a battle against the bulge.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Reform Council has today released its fourth report on the National Healthcare Agreement, showing that although smoking rates appear to be slightly improving, there are a ‘staggering’ number of Australians who are now overweight or obese.

According to statistics within the report, during the period 2011-12, a shocking 63% of Australians were either overweight or obese. This figure had risen by 2% from the four years prior to this. In total, it was determined 35% of the population were overweight and 28% were obese. Moreover, 7.6% of children in Australia were deemed obese, with an extra 17.7% being overweight.

According to NHS definitions, you are overweight if you have a body mass index (BMI) that is between 25 and 29. A BMI of between 30 and 40, results in an ‘obese’ classification.  Obesity levels for the whole of the UK could be comparable after a survey published in 2012 discovered that approximately just over a quarter of all adults (26%) in England are classified as obese. In addition, around 61.3% of adults in England either overweight or obese and 30% of children aged between 2 and 15. All statistics for England appear to roughly match those found in the new Australian report.

The COAG chairman John Brumby, was dismayed by Australia’s weight problem, saying: “It’s concerning to see that so many Australians are overweight or obese.”

The report has also urged the government to start taking the issue of obesity more seriously and take steps to tackle the problem, “but the fact that the situation is getting worse suggests that it needs urgent attention from our governments to prevent flow-on effects across the system. The news here is something that should be of concern to us all and concern to policy makers across Australia. We all know that obesity is contributing to the burden of chronic disease in Australia. It affects individuals, it affects workplaces, it affects productivity,” says Brumby.

The findings were not all doom and gloom however, and Brumby was clearly delighted with what he described as the ‘stand out result’ – a sustained decline in Australia’s national daily smoking rate in 2011-12 to 16.5%.

In 2007-08 this figure stood at 19.1% and in 1989-90 it was 28.4%, so progress is gradually being made and the number is slowly moving towards COAG’s aim of just 10% by the year 2018.

Work-related stress could be dangerous for our cholesterol

If you are sitting down to read this whilst in a job you hate – now may be the time to reach for that stress ball.

According to Spanish researchers, stress at the workplace cam change the way our body processes fat, increase ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol levels, which then raises the risk of cardiovascular problems such as heart attack or stroke.  This disorder that causes the levels of fats and lipoproteins in the blood to be altered is known as ‘dyslipidemia’.

Published in the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, the study was conducted by researchers from Ibermutuamur – a mutual insurance company specialising in work-related accidents and occupational illnesses – working with experts from the Virgen de la Victoria Hospital at Malaga and the Santiago de Compostela University.

There has long been an established connection between stressful jobs and an increased risk of coronary disease. Reasons for this are believed to be that stress makes us more likely to eat more unhealthy foods, smoke and drink alcohol.

In addition, data emanating from previous studies have suggested that stress could have an impact of levels of lipids in the blood by hindering the body’s metabolism. Unfortunately these studies included a relatively low sample size and sometimes demonstrated mixed results.

A strength of the study conducted in Spain is the fact it comprised of over 90,000 people. Ibermutuamur have annual medical check-ups and an incredible 430,000 people were assessed between 2005 and 2007 alone. Of these, a study questionnaire was distributed to over 100,000 randomly selected individuals and 91,593 responded. Participants were asked: “During the last year, have you frequently felt that you cannot cope with your usual job?” Those who replied ‘yes’ were deemed to have stress at work.

There were also 11 questions regarding any possible anxiety and depression symptoms, for example: “Have you felt keyed up, on edge?” and “Have you had difficulty relaxing?”

However, and somewhat strangely, diet was not taken into account in the questionnaire. Having a diet high in saturated fat can affect cholesterol levels. Some of the foods particularly bad in this aspect include: hard cheese, cream, lard, butter, cakes, biscuits, and sausages. It may well be that stress at the workplace leads people to opting for foods which are poor nutritionally and it is their diet responsible for an increase in bad cholesterol, and not the stress itself.

Nonetheless, the results from the study are intriguing and perhaps should encourage employers to try and minimise stress for their employees and create a positive work environment. In addition, Medical Specialists Pharmacy urge all readers to take a look at our article published last year for National Cholesterol Week in which we offered many tips to improve heart health and avoid high cholesterol.

Carlos Catalina, clinical psychologist and an expert in work-related stress at Ibermutuamur, said in a statement: “The workers who stated that they had experienced difficulties in dealing with their job during the previous 12 months – 8.7 percent – had a higher risk of suffering from dyslipidemia – a lipoproteins’ metabolic disorder that can manifest itself in an increase in total cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins, the ‘bad,’ cholesterol and triglyceride levels, in addition to a drop in high-density lipoproteins, the ‘good’ cholesterol. One of the mechanisms that could explain the relationship between stress and cardiovascular risk could be the changes in our lipid profile, which means higher rates of atheromatous plaque accumulation of the arteries.”

If you want to improve your cholesterol levels, Medical Specialists Pharmacy can help. ‘Crestor’ (Rosuvastatin) and ‘Lipitor’ (Atorvastatin) are prescription-only treatments that belong to a group of cholesterol-lowering medicines called statins. Along with a healthy low-fat diet, they lower ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL-C), increase ‘good’ cholesterol (HDL-C), as well as slowing the progression of atherosclerosis in adults with high cholesterol. We are pleased to inform our patients that we also offer legal generic Atorvastatin, with prices from as little as just £11.25 per pack.

Malaria-infected mosquitoes more enticed by human odour

Malaria-carrying mosquitoes are more drawn to human scent compared with mosquitoes that do not carry the parasite, suggests the findings of a new study.

For the study, led by Dr James Logan of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, mosquitoes carrying the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum were exposed to nylon socks that had been worn by one of the study authors (Renate Smallegange from Wageningen University in the Netherlands) for about 20 hours previously.

Ms Smallegange state the socks were used as ‘bait’ for the 176 mosquitoes that were analysed in the laboratory. She says: “Volatiles emitted by human feet are known to be highly attractive to Anopheles gambiae females.”

It was estimated that the infected mosquitoes were approximately three times more likely to land and try and bite on the worn socks compared to the mosquitoes without any parasite. For study purposes, the species of mosquito analysed was the Anopheles gambiae – the cause of high transmission rates of malaria in Africa. Both infected and healthier mosquitoes were not particularly keen on unworn socks that were also tested.

Experts are already aware that Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes have certain odour receptors which are effective at picking out specific human scents. The scientists involved in the study are convinced that it is the parasites which are creating a heightened craving for human smells, ergo increasing a risk of UK holiday makers being bitten in the dangerous areas for malaria.

Dr Logan was interviewed by BBC News and explained the findings in the study, commenting: “We think the parasite is giving them a heightened sense of smell. We are hypothesizing there is an alteration somewhere in their olfactory system that allows them to find us quicker,” which would make it more likely that the parasite enters the blood stream, ensuring its survival and the spread of the disease.”

The researchers conclude they are unsure how precisely the parasite alters mosquitoes’ sense of smell, in addition to which component(s) of human odour is the most is deemed most appealing to the mosquitoes as human skin emits over 350 different odour molecules. If this information could be attained from future studies, effective traps could be devised to catch the infected mosquitoes and hopefully lessen the risk of a disease that infects around 200,000 million people around the world each year, killing over 600,000.

If you are about to travel abroad and are unsure of what potential health risks there are or which medications are suitable for your area of travel, Medical Specialists Pharmacy recommend visiting the NHS Fit For Travel website.

Here you can click onto the continent and country you are about to travel to, see a highly detailed list of preventative measures to take before and during travel, what diseases are prominent in that particular country as well as a list of the symptoms of each, and also what medications/immunisations are advisable – i.e. Malarone, Paludrine and Doxycycline are all prescription medications to prevent malaria, with Malarone also able to treat the disease if you contract it. All three are available now from the Medical Specialists Holiday and Travel area of the website, where you can also find treatments for the prevention and control of travel sickness; Kwells, Kwells Kids and Avomine.

Risk of alcoholism later in life following adolescent drinking

New research suggests that adolescents who begin drinking during puberty are at a higher risk of suffering with alcohol problems and becoming addicted during adulthood.

A long-standing opinion amongst parents is that if they allow their children to drink supervised at an early age then this encourages their children to drink responsibly and have a better attitude towards alcohol as they get older.

However, a team of researchers from the University of Heidelberg in Germany may have now dispelled this theory as purely a myth and that neurodevelopmental changes that occur during puberty leave the body particularly susceptible to alcohol abuse later in life. The researchers say they have witnessed higher drinking levels in those who began drinking at an earlier stage.

Study co-author Miriam Schneider of the University of Heidelberg, comments: “Most teenagers have their first alcoholic drink during puberty; however, most research on the risks of early-onset alcohol use up to now has not focused on the pubertal stage during which the first alcoholic drink is consumed. Common thinking in alcohol research was that the earlier adolescents begin, the more deleterious become their drinking habits. However, a closer look at the statistics revealed a peak risk of alcohol use disorders for those beginning at 12 to 14 years of age, while even earlier beginners seemed to have a slightly lower risk.”

The longitudinal study was comprised of 283 participants – 152 females and 131 males. Each person was quizzed at ages 19, 22, and 23, with researchers issuing a questionnaire to calculate number of drinking days, amount of alcohol consumed, and any possible dangerous drinking levels. The results from a separate animal study were also used for comparative purposes and also showed a similar pattern. This particular study had analysed the voluntary ethanol consumption of Wistar 20 rat subjects at puberty and as they got older.

Schneider noted: “Both studies revealed that those individuals that initiated alcohol consumption during puberty tended to drink more and also more frequently than those starting after puberty.”
The point at which puberty begins can vary between each person, however Schneider was still able to observe that the stage of puberty appears to be the time when adolescents are most vulnerable – unsurprising considering the changes occurring in the growth and pruning of neurons (where the brain removes neurons no longer in use or useful) and synapses. Not only this, but puberty will cause adolescents to experience particularly high receptivity and development in their brain’s reward system.

Schneider continued: “Puberty is a very critical developmental period due to on-going neurodevelopmental processes in the brain. It is exactly during puberty that substances like drugs of abuse — alcohol, cannabis, etc., may induce the most destructive and also persistent effects on the still developing brain, which may in some cases even result in neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia or addictive disorders. Prevention work therefore needs to increase awareness of specific risks and vulnerability related to puberty.”

Dr Schneider’s colleague Dr Rainer Spanagel added: “Puberty is a phase in which the brain reward system undergoes major functional changes. Therefore, during puberty the brain is in a highly vulnerable state for any kind of reward, and drug rewards in particular.”

Statins may help to combat Erectile Dysfunction

Cholesterol-busting statins such as Crestor (Rosuvastatin) and Lipitor (Atorvastatin) are currently prescribed to nearly a tenth (7 million) of the population in the United Kingdom with high cholesterol; however could they also be used as a treatment for the millions of men around the world who suffer from erectile dysfunction (ED)?

Statins are inexpensive with the pills costing around the equivalent of just 40p per day. For high cholesterol they work by increasing good/protective cholesterol (HDL) and lowering bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides. The higher your cholesterol level, the bigger the risk you have of suffering from a stroke or heart disease and thus increasing the overall risk of having a heart attack due to your arteries being clogged up with the fat-like substance cholesterol.

ED, also known as male impotence, is a common condition that affects  about four in ten men over the age of 40 and around one in ten men across the UK suffer with the problem at some point in their life. Revolutionary medications to treat ED such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra have dramatically managed to help the situation for millions of men in the previous decade. Unfortunately there are some men who take them and see little or no improvement. Erection problems can severely impact a man’s self-esteem and even can cause stress that damages his health and relationship with his partner.

Past research has highlighted the possibility of erectile dysfunction being a precursor for heart disease. Therefore, researchers at Tanta University in Egypt decided to conduct a study into statins and ED. They recruited 60 men suffering with erectile problems – all of whom had not responded to Viagra.

The men were separated into three groups, being given 80mg of atorvastatin (Lipitor) each day or a vitamin E supplement or a placebo. Vitamin E was chosen as it is widely believed to also help men in the bedroom by aiding blood flow to the groin.

Any possible improvements in the men’s ability to achieve and maintain an erection were monitored after six weeks.

The study’s findings are explained in the International Journal of Impotence Research, and show those men who experienced the most improvement with their erectile problems were those taking a statin every day. The men were analysed by doctors using a 25-point scale known as the International Index of Erectile Dysfunction. The statin atorvastatin helped to achieve an average increase of score by 53% on the index.

The researchers believe the atorvastatin helps to increase the generation of nitric oxide. This causes blood vessel walls to relax and results in much better blood flow which in the pelvic region, would lead to improved erections.

Dr David Edwards, a GP who runs a male sexual health clinic at the White House Surgery in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, said the findings were ‘interesting’, commenting: “A lot of men stop taking them because the data sheet lists erectile dysfunction as one of the potential side-effects. But there is increasing evidence that a high dose of statins can improve vascular blood flow, which might help some men.”

Ginger may spice up asthma medications

Ginger extract could prove a lot of more useful than simply tasting delicious and having a soothing effect on the stomach – it may also help to soothe the lungs for asthma sufferers.

According to the researchers of a new study, asthmatics could benefit from more effective medications after ginger is added to them as parts of the peppery root interact with medicines known as beta-agonists.

Laboratory tests showed how the ginger compound worked at accelerating the relaxation of airway smooth muscle (ASM) tissue samples, says lead researcher Dr Elizabeth Townsend, from Columbia University in the U.S.

Dr Townsend spoke on the study findings, commenting: “Asthma has become more prevalent in recent years, but despite an improved understanding of what causes asthma and how it develops, during the past 40 years few new treatment agents have been approved for targeting asthma symptoms. In our study, we demonstrated that purified components of ginger can work synergistically with beta-agonists to relax airway smooth muscle.”

In the laboratory, the researchers exposed human samples of ASM tissue to the nerve signalling compound acetylcholine, which they knew would cause bronchial tubes to contract, preventing air flow and resulting in breathing difficulty. This is known as ‘bronchoconstriction’.

Following this, the researchers they treated the samples using the beta-agonist isoproterenol in addition to either one of three different components of ginger (6-gingerol, 8-gingerol or 6-shogaol).
It was noted that the 6-shogaol component appeared to offer the biggest effectiveness at increasing the relaxing effect of the beta-agonist and managed to dissolve protein filaments that are believed to constrict bronchial tubes. Interestingly, all three ginger compounds worked at suppressed a key enzyme that induces asthma symptoms.

Beta-agonist medications primarily target the muscles around the airways – bronchi and bronchioles. After the lungs are irritated, the airways become narrower as muscles surrounding the airways tighten. Beta-agonists relax the muscles of the airways and thus widen them, making it a lot easier to breathe.

Asthma and COPD are common lung conditions that are treated through the use of beta-agonists, with Ventolin Evohaler and AirSalb Salbutamol being two popular choices.  Moreover, there are beta agonists that have other medical uses to treat conditions such as hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar), hypotension (low blood pressure), heart failure, and as an antidote to beta-blocking poisoning.

The bubble bursts for condom counterfeit ring in China

Police in China have broken up a huge counterfeit ring responsible for the production of millions of fake branded condoms including variations of Durex, Contex and Jissbon.

According to reports, underground workshops were found to be operating in central and eastern China and police in Jinjiang, in the Fujian province, are believed to have seized more than 4.6 million fully-packaged fake contraceptives that have a combined worth of around 47.7 million Yuan (£5.1 million). In addition, 1,100 pounds of unpackaged condoms were also found.

The game was up for the counterfeiters in February when a police officer in the Fujian province realised that a store on Taobao.com, China’s biggest online shopping website, were selling suspiciously low-priced condoms considering they were apparently ‘branded’ contraceptives. After purchasing some from the store, tests were conducted on the condoms and unsurprisingly they were found to be counterfeits. The phony condoms being offered on the online store were then tracked to a number of illegal workshops.

Information released by Chinese police officers last week confirmed that 37 suspects from Fujian, Zhejiang and Henan provinces were apprehended following police raids on the workshops that occurred on 29 March.

During one of the raids; a workshop in the countryside of southeast China’s Fujian province, police discovered dozens of workers in a poorly lit room. The workers were busy on a production line applying lubrication to the condoms. The dangerous fake contraceptives were stacked up high ready to be shipped off to the unsuspecting public, and police commented that the cheap oil lubricants used on the condoms left a disgusting odour in the room.

It has emerged that one of the two main figures behind the counterfeit ring is a man surnamed Liu. Allegedly, he began his operation in December of last year, purchasing raw latex from a factory in Hebei – the surrounding providence of the capital, Beijing. Cheap lubricants were then applied and the phony condoms were packed up in bags and boxes that bore the names of well-known brands. According to police, Liu’s workers were producing up to an incredible 20,000 fake condoms each day; each costing 0.17 Yuan (£0.02) to produce and then sold on for 1 Yuan (£0.11).

After interrogation, Liu admitted to police that the condoms produced in his workshops were mainly sold on the internet, and through small vendors, pharmacies, supermarkets and rural sex toy stores.
This comes just a month after Ghana was hit with a ‘major public health issue’ after one million condoms provided to the country’s health service were shockingly discovered to have holes in them and were susceptible to bursting easily. The condoms were from the branded ‘Be Safe’ line, all imported from China.

“When we tested those condoms, we found that they are poor quality, can burst in the course of sexual activity, and have holes which expose the users to unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease,” Thomas Amedzra, head of drug enforcement at the Ghanaian Food and Drug Authority, commented to the Guardian newspaper.

It seems that Chinese police are upping the ante however in their quest to beat the counterfeiters. Just last week, £21 million of counterfeit designer goods were set alight and destroyed in an extravagant public event which they surely hope will show the world they are cracking down on the illegal trade. Everything from counterfeit cigarettes, handbags, cosmetics and even wine, were all thrown onto a fire in Guiyang, southwest China’s Guizhou Province.

Male and female contraception should only be purchased from a highly reputable source such as Medical Specialists Pharmacy. Every medication or product dispatched to our patients is 100% genuine and their health is at the core of our business practice. We have a wide range of both Durex and Skins condoms at great prices from our chemist shop. However, if you suspect you may have used a low-quality fake condom, we offer a Clamelle chlamydia test kit for just £24.85 which can be used in the privacy of your own home to prevent an embarrassing visit to your GP. Or, if you have been diagnosed as having chlamydia or gonorrhoea, the antibiotic Azithromycin can prevent the spread of the bacteria so that your body’s natural defences can fight back and remove the infection from your system.

Opioid painkillers could cause sexual problems for men

Doctors are being advised to inform male patients who are prescribed opioid painkillers that it could affect their sex life. More specifically, these types of medications could leave men at a much higher risk of suffering with erectile dysfunction (male impotence).

The warnings stem from a new study pioneered by lead author Dr Richard A. Deyo, an investigator with the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, whose findings are published in the 15 May online issue of the journal Spine.

The study findings indicate that taking opioid prescription painkillers for the treatment of back pain could lead to the development of erectile dysfunction (ED). Dr Deyo comments: “Men who take opioid pain medications for an extended period of time have the highest risk of ED. This doesn’t mean that these medications cause ED, but the association is something patients and clinicians should be aware of when deciding if opioids should be used to treat back pain.There is no question that for some patients opioid use is appropriate, but there is also increasing evidence that long-term use can lead to addiction, fatal overdoses, sleep apnea, falls in the elderly, reduced hormone production, and now erectile dysfunction.”

Opioids connect to opioid receptors within the brain, spinal cord, and places around the body. They restrict the ability of pain messages being transmitted to the brain, thus decreasing how much pain we feel. Opioid drugs include codeine, methadone, morphine and oxycodone. They are primarily used to relieve moderate to severe pain which isn’t subsiding after taking other, usually weaker, pain medications.

Dr Deyo and his colleagues decided to conduct their study after acknowledging that many men with chronic pain can also develop erectile dysfunction from a number of reasons including: age, smoking, depression, or opioid-related hypogonadism (low testosterone due to painkiller use).

However, they realised there is very little information regarding any potential correlations with erectile dysfunction in men who are suffering with back pain, and any crucial risk factors that can come into play.

The researchers were curious to find out if men prescribed painkillers, were also later prescribed testosterone replacement or ED treatments such as Viagra, Cialis or Levitra.

To do this, they studied 11,327 males from Oregon or Washington who were enlisted in the Kaiser Permanente health plan. All men had visited their doctor during 2004 complaining of back pain.
Pharmacy records spanning six months prior and six months after the back pain complaint were analysed to see if and/or when the men had been prescribed opioids and testosterone replacement or ED medications.

From the men who were taking low-dose opioids for a period of at least four months, it was found that 12% had also received prescriptions for testosterone replacement or ED medications.

However, it was discovered that over 19% of men who took high-dose opioids (classed as more than 120 mg of morphine-equivalent) for the same amount of time, were then also prescribed testosterone replacement or medications for ED. Dr Deyo says: “That could well be an underestimate, because many don’t bring it to their doctor’s attention, would be embarrassed or wouldn’t connect it to medication.” In addition, 6.7% of the men with back pain had received ED prescriptions, but had not been prescribed any opioids.

Dr Deyo concludes: “Opioid use and erectile dysfunction seem to go together, but we have to be cautious about saying one causes the other.”

Ministers in Wales abolish plans to permit smoking on film sets

Proposals that would have seen the smoking ban relaxed in Wales to permit actors to smoke in film or TV sets have been scrapped following a review of the arguments for and against it by ministers.
An alteration to the provisions of the 2007 smoking ban would resulted in performers being excluded from the ban in particular circumstances, but health leaders heavily criticised the potential exemptions, arguing it could be setting a dangerous precedent.

Wales, just like England, has a smoking ban in place that applies to enclosed public places such as bars, restaurants and in the workplace. After the law was passed in 2007, coalition ministers in Wales specifically made sure that the regulations also extended to actors smoking on set.

Assembly Members were due to vote on an amendment to the smoking law at the end of last year, but the vote never took place – largely because of a lack of support from Assembly Members.
Yesterday’s decision to abolish the plan though has been met with relief and joy by many anti-smoking campaigners and politicians.

Elen de Lacy, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) in Wales said: “We are delighted that plans to dilute the smoking ban in Wales have been dropped by the Welsh Government. The smoking ban has always been about protecting public health and all workers in Wales have a right to be protected from the harm of second-hand smoke, wherever they work. The film and TV industry’s demands have rightly been thrown out and we hope they never make these demands again. This decision sends a firm message to all industries who want to challenge our legislation, including the tobacco industry, that our values on public health are not for sale.”

The main calls for a relaxation in the smoking law came from BBC Wales, who had warned about an inadvertent impact to the economy in Wales if changes were not made. They argue that productions could withdraw from Wales and instead switch to England where such exemptions already exist – ergo bypassing the more restrictive Welsh law.

Changes to the law in Wales were being taken into consideration by two Assembly committees. Providing her case to the smoking sub-committee, BBC Wales’ head of productions Clare Hudson claimed that losing one particular drama would potentially cost Wales up to £12m.

However, Health Minister Professor Mark Drakeford was a staunch opponent of the planned amendments to the smoking legislation. After taking up his position in March, one of his first aims was to stop any changes being made.

Shattering BBC Wales’ hopes, Prof Drakeford released a statement yesterday saying: “Prior to them being debated it was announced that the Enterprise and Business Committee and the Health and Social Care Committee of the Assembly would take evidence from all interested parties on this matter, with a view to producing a final report on their conclusions. The minister for economy, science and transport and I have reviewed the evidence presented to the sub-committees to date, and have concluded that the government will not proceed with the original proposals at this time.”

Plaid Cymru health spokeswoman Elin Jones was delighted with the news, commenting: “It was clear from the evidence given to the committee that creating an exemption from the ban was not justified on health or economic grounds. Reducing smoking must remain one of the priorities for the Health Minister. Banning smoking in public places has been a great success and we believe that there are further measures that the Welsh Government could take to reduce smoking.”

Embarrassing Bodies star Dr Christian Jessen has had a second hair transplant

The presenter of Channel 4’s Embarrassing Bodies, Dr Christian Jessen, appears to be battling his own embarrassing problem after the 36-year-old revealed he has undergone a second hair transplant procedure.

He first went under the knife to restore his blonde locks in 2009, and only made the news public a year later. Following this, it led to other celebrities such as footballer Wayne Rooney and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey also having hair transplants of their own. In addition, Medical Specialists Pharmacy have since witnessed a huge surge in requests for hair loss treatments such as Propecia, Regaine and Regaine for Women as the problem of hair loss begins to shed the embarrassing stigma attached to it and both men and women start to embrace the number of options that are available to them.

Jessen’s thinning hair is what obviously prompted his first hair transplant four years ago; however his follicles were left more severely weakened after suffering with a debilitating bout of pneumonia in 2012. He commented: “Most of my hair grew back after the pneumonia but there was just a bit less. Any serious illness can result in hair loss. The same thing can happen to women after they give birth.”

As Jessen began losing more hair after his illness, the doctor became a target on the social networking website Twitter, as users began leaving him disgraceful comments such as: “great body, pity about the hair” and other more nastier insulting remarks.

Dr Jessen described the torment he was subjected to on the internet: “Your name crops up on blogs, chat rooms and forums like Twitter. They are not talking about your medical skills or your bedside manner – they just comment on your looks.”

Motivated by a wish for thicker hair once again, and tired of cruel jibes from Twitter trolls, Jessen paid £5,500 for a second hair transplant procedure with top celebrity surgeon; Dr Asim Shahmalak, at his Crown Cosma Clinic in Manchester. The transplant involved Dr Shahmalak grafting 3,000 individual hairs from the back of Jessen’s scalp and planting them into the front around the hairline. The procedure is known as ‘Follicular Unit Transportation’.

Besides the massive cost of the treatment – Wayne Rooney’s hair transplant is believed to have cost about £30,000 – it can take up to a year for transplanted hair to grow back and can frustratingly fall out or thin again in the future, leaving the patient not much better off than previously.

“I hadn’t realised that there was an option for a second hair transplant. When I was told it was possible, I thought it would be good to make my hair thicker at the front. There were also a few gaps which need filling. The techniques have improved a lot in the four years since I had the first one”, he said.

With more hair back on his head, Dr Jessen has now regained his confidence and says: “I am very pleased that I had it done – it has been very empowering for me. I thought to myself, “Why am I always telling people how to change things about their bodies that they dislike if I can’t do the same thing for myself?” We view cosmetic surgery for men and women so differently. Having a boob job for a woman is seen as such an everyday thing these days, but for a man to have a hair transplant is seen as a far bigger step. There are so many men out there who want to have this done but don’t dare. I just hope by talking about it openly that I will remove some of the stigma attached to men having cosmetic procedures. It’s great that other celebrities with transplants like Wayne Rooney and James Nesbitt have gone public as well. It may mean that more do not suffer in silence. When a transplant is done well, it can really transform your life.”

Setting patients back thousands of pounds for just one procedure of a potential few, hair transplants can only be afforded by a small minority of the millions of men around the world suffering with male pattern baldness.  In times of a crippling recession and austerity in Britain and many other countries, these expensive procedures are simply not a viable option for most.

For both men and women suffering from hair loss, Medical Specialists Pharmacy have a huge range of effective and much cheaper treatment options such as the prescription medication Propecia to combat male pattern baldness, in addition to Regaine, Alpecin caffeine shampoo. For women we have a number of treatments such as Florisene and the prescription medication Dianette – the latter can also be used for acne, hirsutism and contraceptive purposes. Visit the Men’s Health or Women’s Health area of the Medical Specialists website to find out more information on how to obtain these hair loss treatments.

Could obesity and type 2 diabetes be treated with gut bacteria?

A particular type of gut bacteria has been found to help reverse obesity and type 2 diabetes in animal studies; perhaps paving the way for new treatments for both health problems. Type 2 diabetes is most commonly connected to obesity and maintaining a healthy weight is one of the most effective ways of reducing the risk of developing the disease.

The Research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, demonstrates how mice were given a broth that contained a single species of bacteria, and there were subsequently huge benefits to their health.

The bacteria studied and which was administered to the mice, was the Akkermansia muciniphila – usually comprising of around 3-5% of gut bacteria. However, these levels are found to decrease in obese individuals.

Professor Patrice Cani and his team at the Catholic University of Louvain, in Belgium, wanted to focus firstly on mice that were eating a lot of fat and were obese and/or had type 2 diabetes. Researchers noted that the mice quickly gained two to three times extra fat compared to the leaner mice that were eating a more ‘normal’ diet.

However, giving the unhealthier mice oligofructose prebiotics – a dietary supplement that boosts the number of beneficial bacteria – this helped restore the Akkermansia muciniphila back to healthy levels.

These mice then gained a quicker metabolism and the rodents found themselves losing excess weight, reduced inflammation and lowered their insulin resistance; a symptom associated with type 2 diabetes.

The bacteria had worked at thickening the gut’s mucus barrier. This prevents some material from being transferred into the blood from the gut. In addition, the Akkermansia muciniphila had managed to alter chemical signals emanating from the digestive system, leading to changes in the processing of fat in other areas of the body.

Interestingly, similar findings were also achieved when researchers included a certain type of fibre in the diet of the mice and levels of Akkermansia muciniphila then increased.

Prof Cani commented on the study findings, saying: “Of course it is an improvement, we did not completely reverse the obesity, but it is a very strong decrease in the fat mass. I don’t think it’s feasible that you can eat cream cakes and chips and sausages all day long and then eat bacteria to reverse all that. It is the first demonstration that there is a direct link between one specific species and improving metabolism.”

Prof Cani said it was ‘surprising’ how merely one species of gut bacteria has such a positive impact when there are actually thousands within the gut, adding that the bacteria-based therapy may hopefully be utilised as a prevention method or as a treatment option for obesity and type 2 diabetes in the near future.

The Bill’s Ben Richards on ignoring the symptoms of his bowel cancer

British stage and television actor Ben Richards has spoken of his shock at being diagnosed with bowel cancer at just 39 years of age despite no family history of the disease and him having a healthy diet.

Bowel cancer is more common in the over-65s with 72% of diagnoses occurring in this age group. Obesity, alcohol, smoking and a diet high in red or processed meats are also other risk factors for developing what is the now the third most common type of cancer in the UK.

Ben, now 41, appeared in the ITV drama Footballers’ Wives back in 2004, playing the role of Bruno Milligan. He has since appeared in other television shows such as Holby City and The Bill, however has now returned to theatre work which he had been involved in prior to finding fame on TV.

Young and slender Ben has never struggled with his weight and the diagnosis stunned him after he chose to ignore the symptoms he was experiencing, stating he was a ‘typical man’ and was reluctant to speak to his doctor about ‘that part’ of his body. The actor had noticed his bowel movements had altered and there was a small amount of blood in his stools. Ben assumed it was internal piles and the change in bowel movements was because he had just finished travelling around India. Never for a moment did he consider he was suffering from anything as potentially-deadly as bowel cancer.

Ben, who has recently become ambassador for Bowel Cancer UK, says: “I was just a total bloke about the situation.  Like most men I didn’t want to even think about going to a doctor and it wasn’t until my then wife Helen nagged me that I eventually saw my GP.”

In January 2012, Ben finally decided to seek help and visited his GP, who subsequently urged Ben to immediately see a specialist upon hearing his symptoms.

By luck, Ben was able to schedule an appointment to see a private doctor on the very same day and was then booked in for a colonoscopy. This is where a thin, flexible tube with a camera attached (a colonoscope) is used to investigate the entire bowel.

Just one week later, Ben underwent his tests at the Harpenden Spire Private Hospital. Scans revealed a 6cm tumour in his bowel and he was given the news straight away that he had cancer.

He says: “I couldn’t quite compute what the doctor had told me. It was terrifying and cancer had always been something that happened to other people, not me. I had no family history of the disease either, so it never occurred to me that symptoms I had mistaken for IBS and piles could be something so serious. Surgeons were forced to remove almost half my bowel which was incredibly painful. The whole combination of treatments was a shock to the system and to be honest I felt awful.”

His recovery involved gruelling six-week cycles of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. After experiencing a few small complications along the way, Ben has fully recovered and currently in his fourth month of remission.

Although he describes feeling ‘better than ever’, he has learned valuable lessons and is now more careful in regards to his health. “I have always eaten healthily but now I’m extra careful. I don’t eat red meat and wheat and I’ve given up beer entirely – much as I miss it – because I just don’t want to take the risk of the cancer returning.”

As Ben highlighted, bowel cancer can be difficult to determine, with symptoms similar to less life-threatening conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome. If you experience unusual symptoms for longer than a few weeks, it is recommended you seek medical attention as soon as possible. Ben made a full recovery with a relatively earlier diagnosis, but persistent ignoring of symptoms can prove fatal.

Symptoms include: Blood in your faeces, the appearance of mucus in the faeces, inexplicable weight loss, persistent abdominal pain lasting longer than two weeks, severe constipation or diarrhoea lasting longer than two weeks and tiredness as a result of becoming anaemic from microscopic bleeding from the bowel.

If you have any of these symptoms, Medical Specialists Pharmacy advises that you see your GP immediately. In addition to the colonoscopy mentioned earlier, another test your GP may refer you to, is the ‘faecal occult bloods’ (FOBs) test. Here, many samples of your faeces are scanned for any possible microscopic amounts of blood lost from a tumour. If a diagnosis is made, a ‘Dukes’ staging’ is given to the cancer to determine how it is likely to progress or conclude which is the best course of treatment to go for the patient.