Graphic anti-smoking campaign targets users of roll-up cigarettes

A new anti-smoking campaign has been launched by Public Health England (PHE), aiming to alert smokers to some of the lesser known damages to the body that smoking does.

Most of us are aware that smoking dramatically raises the risk of developing a whole range of types of cancer such as colon, mouth and throat, in addition to heart disease and strokes, but many people aren’t aware that smoking can also cause health problems such as osteoporosis and is detrimental to fertility levels.

The graphic online and billboard campaign – depicting a rolled-up cigarette filled with decaying bodily tissue – is primarily targeting users of roll-up cigarettes, warning them that these types of cigarettes are just as damaging to the human body as conventional manufactured cigarettes, focusing on the harm inflicted to the brain, bones and muscles, teeth and eyes.

The campaign also aims to once and for all extinguish the common myths that still exist with regards to hand-rolled tobacco, or roll-ups. PHE say that a considerable number of people that smoke these are under the incorrect belief that they are safer than conventional cigarettes, despite evidence showing that hand-rolled cigarettes are at the very least just as hazardous as other kinds of cigarettes.
However, the number of people turning to roll-ups seems to be on the increase – perhaps because they are under the misconception the roll-ups are safer for them. Back in 1990, 18% of male smokers and 2% of female smokers stated that they primarily used hand-rolled cigarettes, but by 2013 this had jumped to 40% for men and 23% for women.

Not many people may be aware but smokers are actually 59% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and 53% more likely to have cognitive impairment, say PHE. It gets worse – smokers are also at a 79% higher risk of suffering with chronic back pain, a 25% higher chance of bone fracture and are at a 40% increased risk of breaking a hip. In addition, smokers are generally more likely to suffer with age-related macular degeneration and cataracts.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, the PHE chief medical officer, said: “Significant numbers of smokers are now using roll-ups without realising that gram for gram of tobacco they are just as unsafe as ordinary cigarettes. The research we have got suggests that people think it’s safer to smoke a roll-up up but they are wrong, it is not safe. No tobacco is safe and gram for gram it is as harmful as ordinary cigarettes.

This is our third hard-hitting campaign. The first was about cancer, the second was about heart attacks and strokes, and this one is about the general rot that tobacco does to your body. We have evaluated the other two campaigns and they have had real impact on the public and that has then fed through into orders for quit kits and people stopping smoking.”

Professor Kevin Fenton, National Director for Health and Wellbeing for PHE, added: “Much of the harm caused by smoking doesn’t become obvious until middle age but the invisible damage can start shockingly early – even by the late teens.

“The earlier a smoker quits the better, but quitting at any age can help reverse at least some of the damage. That’s why there is no time better than now to quit. Stop smoking and stop the rot.”

Lifting weights could be the key for avoiding obesity

By now most of you will be feeling the after-effects of the hectic Christmas period as all those turkey dinners, mince pies and alcoholic drinks begin to creep onto the waistline.

However, the findings of a new study show that weightlifting could be the key for winning the battle of the bulge and maintaining a flatter stomach, as opposed to aerobic exercise such as cycling or running.

Although the typical ‘macho’ gym-goer is often the source of ridicule from many people, it seems those lifting weights on a regular basis may actually have a much greater chance of avoiding a middle-aged spread around the belly, according to researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Lead author Dr Rania Mekary, from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH)’s Department of Nutrition, and colleagues looked at the levels of physical activity, waist circumference (in centimetres), and body weight of 10,500 healthy American men aged 40 who had been involved in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study during the years 1996 to 2008.

An analysis was conducted of variations in the participants’ activity levels over the 12 years to see which kind of exercise had the biggest impact on the men’s weight and waistlines.

It was discovered that the men who spent 20 minutes each day engaging in weight training actually had less of an increase in abdominal fat in comparison to those that had completed 20 minutes per day doing moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise.

Published online in the journal Obesity, the findings demonstrate the longstanding argument from many that both weight training and aerobic activities have the best results for keeping weight gain at bay. However, the two compared side-by-side indicated that weight training resulted in less gain to the men’s waistline.

Unsurprisingly, those who increased their sedentary behaviours, such as watching television, had bigger gains to their waistline.

“Because ageing is associated with sarcopenia, the loss of skeletal muscle mass, relying on body weight alone is insufficient for the study of healthy ageing,” said Dr Mekary.

“Measuring waist circumference is a better indicator of healthy body composition among older adults. Engaging in resistance training or, ideally, combining it with aerobic exercise could help older adults lessen abdominal fat while increasing or preserving muscle mass.”

“This study underscores the importance of weight training in reducing abdominal obesity, especially among the elderly,” added Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at HSPH and senior author of the study.

“To maintain a healthy weight and waistline, it is critical to incorporate weight training with aerobic exercise,” said Frank.

Painkillers linked to reduced skin cancer risk

New research suggests that regularly taking common painkillers such as aspirin and ibuprofen could help to reduce the risk of developing a form of skin cancer.

An Australian analysis into nine past studies found that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were effective in decreasing the risk of squamous cell carcinoma by 18%. This kind of cancer is the second most common type of skin cancer in the UK, with the major risk coming from sun exposure and excessive use of tanning beds.

NSAIDs include over-the-counter painkillers like aspirin and ibuprofen, as well as prescription medication that Medical Specialists® Pharmacy provide for suitable patients – celecoxib, diclofenac and naproxen.

Previous studies into the drugs have uncovered evidence to show they can be useful in also decreasing the risk of developing other cancers, such as colon cancer.

Health experts have previously suggest that NSAIDs could be beneficial in helping to boost protection against skin cancer, but definitive evidence for the theory has been scarce.
Therefore, researchers involved in the new analysis of nine previous studies assessed usage of NSAIDs against the risk of squamous cell carcinoma.

Reporting their findings in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, the researchers explained that taking any NSAID was associated with an 18% lesser risk of developing the cancer, and taking NSAIDs other than aspirin could lead to a 15% decreased risk.

These painkillers “have potential as part of a skin cancer-prevention strategy,” said review co-author Catherine Olsen, a senior research officer with QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

However, there is still an uncertainty regarding NSAIDs and skin cancer. For example, different people have varying degrees of sun exposure, will be taking different doses of their particular drug, resulting in accuracy of findings being debatable.

Some are of the belief that NSAIDs such as diclofenac could help to prevent skin cancer due to the fact they inhibit an enzyme named COX-2, linked to tumour development. A higher reduced risk was found with people taking NSAIDs that had either pre-cancerous growths or a history of skin cancer, which means the drugs could be considered as a preventative option for certain people in the future.
Olsen and others aren’t quite ready to advise people to start popping NSAIDs though just yet to avert the onset of skin cancer, citing that the drugs have been linked to some risks of their own.

“Don’t rely on aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to protect your skin,” commented Dr. Joshua Zeichner, director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, who wasn’t involved in the study.

“The best treatment is primary prevention,” he said, advising people to use sunscreen, sun-protective clothing and taking advantage of shade.

Smoking ban for cars due October 2015

From October 2015 it will be illegal to smoke in cars with children present under the biggest crackdown on smoking from the Government since the introduction of the 2007 ban on smoking in public places.

The Department of Health (DoH) said the tighter regulations laid before Parliament to make private vehicles carrying under-18s smoke-free were formulated with the aim to “protect young people from the serious health harms of smoked tobacco”.

The new plans will result in a fixed fine of £50 being given to people who smoke, or those who fail to prevent others from lighting up within private vehicles also carrying children.

Early in the New Year there will be a vote on the subject, involving both MPs and peers. Following this, there will be a period of three weeks for them to thoroughly assess the proposals put forth by the Department of Health.

This appears to be a formality though following a majority approval by MPs earlier in the year. Back in February MPs voted 376 to 107 – a majority of 269 – in favour of the ban, first suggested by Labour as an amendment to the children and families bill. The majority vote even eclipsed that which resulted in the smoking ban from July 2007, forbidding smoking in areas such as pubs, restaurants and nightclubs.

Most of the country could be behind the ban according to a YouGov poll for the anti-smoking group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), which discovered that 77% of adults – including 64% of those who actually smoke – were behind the plans to make it illegal to light up in cars carrying anyone under the age of 18.

The legislation would criminalise smoking from parents, carers or other adults in a car where there is anyone present under 18. According to the British Lung Foundation, there are about 430,000 children that are exposed to second-hand smoke each week in a family car.

Dr Penny Woods, the charity’s chief executive, raved about the Government’s plans, saying she was “delighted” by the proposals.

She said: “We are now closer than ever to helping protect the hundreds of thousands of children exposed to dangerous concentrations of second-hand smoke in cars every week.”

ASH were also happy with the plans to ban smoking in cars with children, but said the legislation should go one step further and stretch to a blanket ban which would also comprise of adults in vehicles too.

ASH chief executive Deborah Arnott said: “We are delighted that the Government is to press ahead with regulations to prohibit smoking in cars containing children.

“As with the smoke-free public places law, this is a popular measure that will largely be self-enforcing. However, second-hand smoke is just as harmful to adults as children and it makes it more difficult to enforce if it only applies to some cars, not all. Seatbelt laws don’t just apply to children, why should smoke-free car laws?”

Scientists develop obesity pill to ‘replace treadmill’

With Christmas Day now just a fortnight away, it would not be a surprise if much of the population found their pants becoming ever so tighter in the coming weeks, as the high calorie content of festive treats like mince pies, Christmas pudding and novelty chocolate foods start to creep onto the waistline.

To further show this point, a 2011 survey conducted by MSN found that the average Brit will consume two or three Christmas dinner servings on the day itself, taking in 2,300 calories in the process. This equates to a staggering 115% of the recommended daily intake for women and 92% for men.

It seems a lot of people are worried about the extra calories and are preparing for the possibility of weight gain this year as Medical Specialists® Pharmacy have seen a massive surge in the number of people coming to them seeking help with losing weight and enquiring about the obesity treatments available such as Xenical and Orlistat. Medical Specialists® have also witnessed a huge increase in requests for treatment for conditions usually worsened by the cold weather such as influenza and asthma.

However, it is still weight gain that remains as the primary worry for much of the nation over the festive period, but there has been good news this week for those trying to lose weight. It has emerged that scientists in America are developing a pill that could help the body to burn off excess fat and its creators even claim that “it could one day replace the treadmill”.

Researchers based at Harvard University have found a way to trigger a molecule that can convert ‘bad’ white fat cells into ‘good’ brown cells that help to burn energy.

When a person consumes too many calories and doesn’t burn off a sufficient amount, adult stem cells in the body start to generate a higher amount of white fat cells, leading to a flabbier physique, especially evident around the stomach and hips.

Brown fat cells on the other hand, are used by the body to burn energy and produce heat. The colder the body becomes, the higher amount of brown fat cells begin to get used up, and hence they are generally easier to get rid of compared to the white cells. Not only this, but the brown cells also work to reduce both the size and numbers of their white counterparts.

Researchers say they have managed to pinpoint which molecule is responsible for turning stem cells white or brown, and state that by increasing the molecule, this will help the body to generate more brown cells, instead of white.

Associate professor Chad Cowan, at Harvard, said: “What we were really impressed by is that there are some compounds that have this same kind of effect when they are administered to animals, but when you remove them, the effect goes away.

“But what we saw here was a stable conversion of the white fat cells to brown cells. You’re constantly replenishing your fat tissue so if you were on a medication to convert the cells, each new fat cell would be more metabolically active and would convert to brown fat over time.”

The scientists involved with the research go on to claim that this decreases the risk of a person developing health conditions associated with a fat build-up, such as type 2 diabetes.

A drug called tofacitinib, which helps to trigger the molecule for cell conversion is actually already approved, but for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. However, it remains to be seen exactly when a pill for obesity that contains the molecule will be approved, with fears it could damage the immune system.

Professor Cowan warned the compounds “target the same molecule, and that molecule plays a role in the inflammatory response”.

He stressed: “So if you administered them for a long time, the person taking them could become immune compromised”, and his team added that despite the fact any future obesity pill may help people to remain trim, it would still not be a sufficient substitute for the other health benefits to be gained from engaging in regular exercise.

ED drug Cialis to be used in Dementia trials

British pensioners will be given erectile dysfunction drug Cialis for the world’s first clinical trial of its kind to see if the drug can be used in the fight against dementia.

Tadalafil – Cialis’ active ingredient – belongs to the same class of medications (PDE5 inhibitors) as Pfizer’s Viagra, and works by dilating blood vessels in the penis so blood can flow there more easily.
Because of its benefits to blood flow, scientists were curious if tadalafil could help to avert the development of a common form of dementia (vascular dementia) by again increasing blood flow, but this time to the brain.

The Alzheimer’s Society and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) in New York are jointly funding the £328,000 cross-Atlantic research partnership.

Scientists led by Dr Atticus Hainsworth at St George’s, University of London, will assess 50 people aged over 65 in the UK that have experienced mild symptoms of dementia – such as memory loss – or have shown signs of blood vessel damage, following a stroke.

Dr Hainsworth commented: “My colleagues and I are very enthusiastic about this trans-Atlantic initiative as there are too few drugs in the medicine cupboard for dementia. We want to know whether a well-known, well-tolerated drug can be used to combat dementia, which has been called the twenty first century plague. The drug Tadalafil is widely used to increase blood flow in penile tissue. Now we’re asking whether it can do the same for another vital organ – the brain.”

Vascular dementia is the second most common type of dementia and an estimated 110,000 cases of dementia in the UK are this form of the disease. It is usually caused due to damage of the small blood vessels of the brain, leading to less blood being transported to the brain tissue as the artery walls are too thick and stiff.

This type of damage is also referred to as ‘small vessel disease’ and is evident in around 50-70% of older people because the damage usually develops and worsens over many years.

However, the researchers involved in the new clinical trials are optimistic that tadalafil’s blood-flow boosting properties will hopefully be able to stop the damage that causes vascular dementia.

The researchers will monitor the participants’ blood flow to the brain prior to and following a dose of tadalafil, using a special type of MRI called arterial spin labelling.

This involves the use of radiowaves to magnetise water within the blood and then monitor it as it travels to the brain, which will help the researchers to see the amount of blood that is getting to different areas of brain tissue.

The low dose of tadalafil will occasionally be switched for a placebo so the scientists can contrast the blood flow with and without tadalafil.

Patients already with dementia will be unable to be involved in the trials as those pioneering the research say they want to see if tadalafil may be able to actually prevent the onset of the disease.

Dr Doug Brown, Director of Research and Development at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Drug development can take decades and sadly, the path towards developing dementia treatments over the past decade is littered with drugs that have failed in clinical trials. As we learn more about the causes of dementia and its links to other conditions, there is hope that treatments we routinely use for other diseases may also work for people with dementia.

“These incredibly exciting studies could see existing treatments turned into drugs for the most common forms of dementia in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost of developing new drugs from scratch. By next year 850,000 people in the UK will have dementia and we owe it to them to do everything we can to develop better treatments and ultimately find a cure. Research like this is a huge part of that goal.”

Prescription drugs now taken by nearly half of adults

According to the latest report published by the Health Survey for England by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), around half of women and 43% of men are now taking prescription medications.

The new study – the first of its kind – probed into our nation’s pill-popping habits, discovering that the most commonly prescribed medicines are cholesterol-lowering statins such as atorvastatin and pravastatin (taken by 16% of men and 12% of women), and drugs for high blood pressure (hypertension) come in at a close second in the most often prescribed drugs list (taken by 14% of men and 15% of women).

The HSCIC report represents the very first nationwide representative assessment of medicines taken by people in the community, as opposed to within the healthcare system. It includes both those on long-term drugs and those taking a short course of antibiotics.

The report states that there were an average of 18.7 prescriptions administered per person in England during 2013, which reportedly sets back the NHS more than £15 billion each year.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, the new figures show that there are generally more prescription drugs taken by people as age increases, with over half of those aged 65 or over taking three or more medicines and over a third aged 75 or over take at least six.

Dr Jennifer Mindell, reader in public health at University College London and one of the authors in the report, argued the statistics should be taken in context due to the fact people are in better health than previous times and generally live longer in the modern day, primarily because of drugs for prevention and treatment of disease.

Dr Mindell commented: “That half of men over 65 are taking cholesterol-lowering medicines reflects the high risk of cardiovascular disease in this group. Stopping smoking, being a healthy weight, eating more vegetables and fruit, and being physically active reduce people’s risk of these diseases, for people who want to avoid taking medicines.”

The figures show that almost a third of prescriptions were for cardiovascular disease, with in excess of 65 million prescriptions given to combat either high blood pressure, heart failure or high cholesterol, but excludes the number of people using contraceptives and smoking cessation products, such as Champix.

The most single prescribed drug was Simvastatin – a cholesterol lowering treatment – with a staggering 40 million prescriptions given, followed by aspirin (31 million).

Antidepressant drugs were found to be taken by over one in 10 women – this is double the figure for men. These types of drugs were often taken by middle-aged women and those from the poorest regions of the country. It was found 17% of the poorest women were on antidepressants compared to 7% of the richest women.

Dr Sarah Jackson, at University College London, said: “It’s well known that rates of depression are much higher among women than men, so I am not surprised to see that antidepressant use follows the same pattern in this study. People with depression are less likely to be in regular employment, and people who are unemployed or in low paid jobs are more likely to have depression.”

In addition, the reported highlighted the fact that overweight and obese people were more probably going to be taking prescription medication, with over half of severely obese people across England taking at least one prescription drug and a third taking at least three.

Sue Faulding, a pharmacist and programme manager of prescribing and primary care services at the HSCIC, commented: “Obesity is often associated with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, joint pain and depression. Lifestyle changes are always recommended in the first instance, but medicines can help to address the symptoms and this study shows that medicine use increases steadily with body mass index.”

Mediterranean Diet can help improve the heart and erections

Men suffering with erectile dysfunction are often linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular problems like heart attack and stroke, but adhering to a healthy Mediterranean diet can decrease this risk, according to a new study.

The Mediterranean diet has repeatedly been linked to huge health gains such as ideal for weight loss, reducing the risk of cancer, high blood pressure, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, as well as being beneficial for the skin with various anti-aging boosts.

The diet is usually comprises of a daily consumption of plenty of fruit, vegetables, beans (legumes), grains, pasta, olive oil and nuts. It also contains moderate amounts of chicken and fish, with a small amount of red wine allowed as this has been shown to boost the health benefits of the diet, helping to thin the blood safely while providing its benefit through the antioxidant resveratrol.

Erectile dysfunction patients that have poor diets often have substantially more vascular and cardiac damage. Therefore, Grecian researchers wanted to conduct research to determine if the Mediterranean diet – touted as having cardiovascular benefits – could reduce the outcome of that risk, and explained their findings at the annual meeting of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging in Austria.

The study included 75 men with erectile dysfunction with an average age of 56. All had attended Hippokration Hospital in Athens, Greece – thereby having a bigger access to Mediterranean food than most – and had been diagnosed with erectile dysfunction.

Grecian doctor Dr. Athanasios Angelis, involved in the study, commented in a press release: “Erectile dysfunction is not a symptom of aging. It is a bad sign from the body that something is wrong with the vasculature. In 80 percent of cases erectile dysfunction is caused by vascular problems, and is a warning that patients are at increased risk of a heart attack or stroke.”

It was discovered that those patients that were not sticking to a Mediterranean diet had hearts and vascular systems in a poorer condition in comparison to those that often consumed foods from the diet on a regular basis.

Dr Angelis added: “Patients with erectile dysfunction who had unhealthy diets had more vascular and cardiac damage than those who followed the Mediterranean diet. Previous studies have shown that patients with erectile dysfunction have vascular damage but we found that the heart is also damaged. This may help to further explain why these patients are more prone to cardiovascular events. The formation of atheroma, the stiffening of the arteries, and the poor functioning of the heart can eventually lead to a cardiac event.”

“Our findings suggest that adopting the Mediterranean diet can improve the cardiovascular risk profile of patients with erectile dysfunction and may reduce their chances of having a heart attack or stroke. This needs to be tested in a larger study.”

Dr Angelis also offered advice for those on a lower budget, saying: “Really simple changes in our diet may help a lot, for example using olive oil which contains monounsaturated fat. If someone doesn’t have the money to buy some of the foods they can substitute them with others, for example nuts are a good source of monounsaturated fat. Sometimes it’s difficult to adopt something if you consider that it’s part of a prescription, but the Mediterranean diet is not a prescription, it’s a lifestyle. It’s about having an awareness of what foods are healthy or unhealthy.”

He concluded: “Patients who have erectile dysfunction and don’t adhere to the Mediterranean diet have vascular and cardiac damage and are at increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Our findings suggest that adopting a healthy diet can reduce that risk. We also advise patients to stop smoking, exercise and ensure that they have healthy levels of blood pressure and lipids.”