Alarming figures show almost one billion smokers on the planet

The earth’s population has more than doubled in the last 50 years, soaring to 7.1 billion according to the United States Census Bureau (USCB).

Inevitably, this has impacted the total number of smoker’s around the globe, with estimates showing there could be almost one billion people around the world who are lighting up. This is despite the fact that the habit is becoming less popular in certain parts of the world as people become more concerned for their health and the reality hits home that smoking is an incredibly expensive habit.

In 1980 it was estimated that the total number of global smokers stood at around 721 million. However, in 2012, this figure now stood at 967 million, according to data that was collated from 187 countries. The rise has occurred even though on the whole, the percentage of the population smoking on a daily basis across the globe has actually come down.

Research by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) have highlighted a spiralling population on the earth for the huge rise in smoking rates, with Bangladesh, China and Russia witnessing a particularly high number of inhabitants beginning to smoke during the last few years. Researchers noted that surprisingly, some of the largest smoking rates can be seen in the developing world.

Over half of the males in many countries smoke on a daily basis, such as those in Russia, Indonesia, Armenia, and Timor Leste.

At the other end of the scale however, the lowest smoking rates for men are found in Antigua and Barbuda, Sao Tome and Principe, and Nigeria. Smoking rates are lowest for women in Eritrea, Cameroon, and Morocco.

The small country of East Timor can claim the unwanted title of having the highest prevalence of tobacco use, with 61% of its population lighting up each and every day.

Two Caribbean Islands – Antigua and Barbuda – could proudly say they were jointly rock bottom of the list, with just 5% of their populations smoking each day.

Particular countries to be commended are Canada, Iceland, Norway and Mexico, all of whom were found to be effective at either getting their inhabitants to quit smoking, or manage to urge them not to start it in the first place.

IHME Director Dr Christopher Murray said: “Despite the tremendous progress made on tobacco control, much more remains to be done. We have the legal means to support tobacco control, and where we see progress being made we need to look for ways to accelerate that progress. Where we see stagnation, we need to find out what’s going wrong.”

Amanda Sandford of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) commented on the research, saying: “As the overall number of smokers worldwide is still rising, this study shows how important it is for all countries to implement a range of tobacco control measures to curb the terrible toll of tobacco-related illness and death. Low and middle-income countries in particular face an enormous challenge to fend off the powerful tobacco industry and stop smoking rates escalating.”

Eating more fibre could ease asthma symptoms

The results from animal studies suggest that asthma treatment may bizzarely come in the form a diet rich in fruit and vegetables.

Tests on mice, as reported in the journal Nature Medicine, has found that a high-fibre diet can impact the balance of microbes in the gut and make airways either more or less susceptible to the inflammation involved in allergic airway conditions such as asthma.

Asthma is a long-term respiratory disorder, where the air passages within the lungs unexpectedly become inflamed, narrowed, and swollen. This then prevents airflow into and out of the lungs. Attacks often occur in response to an allergen, cold air, exercise, or emotional stress. It is these triggers which create an inflammatory cascade in the bronchial tree.

The last three decades have witnessed a surge in rates of allergy-triggered asthma, in particularly in the more developed nations. Many health experts have attributed this to changes in dietary habits, such as a decrease in our fibre intake.

The reported stated: “In recent decades, there has been a well-documented increase in the incidence of allergic asthma in developed countries and coincident with this increase have been changes in diet, including reduced consumption of fibre.”

Therefore, Dr Benjamin Marsland of the University Hospital of Lausanne in Switzerland and colleagues, decided to study the variations in the immune and inflammatory responses of mice when the amount of fibre in their diet changed.

They discovered that those mice on a low-fibre diet experienced more lung inflammation after coming into contact with dust mites. In comparison, mice given food enriched with pectin – found in cell walls of plants – suffered with less allergic airway problems.

It was established that this boost in soluble fibre – most often contained in fruit and vegetables – was converted into short-chain fatty acids. These fatty acids increase resistance to irritation in the immune system.

For those who may struggle to adapt their diet to include more fibre, the researchers say that a fatty acid supplement may be instead taken to ease asthma symptoms.

Dr Marsland, spoke to BBC News, saying: “There’s a very high probability it works in humans, the basic principle of fibre being converted to short-chain fatty acids is known. But we don’t know what amount of fibre would be needed and the concentrations of short-chain fatty acids required might be different. It is early days, but the implications could be far reaching…Moreover, these data can be interpreted within the context of epidemiological studies showing as fibre content in the diet has decreased, the incidence of allergies has increased. Taken together, our findings support the concept intervention strategies targeting diet are a valuable approach for not only intestinal diseases but also respiratory inflammatory diseases.”

It would be foolish though to suggest asthma sufferers should disregard their blue reliever and brown preventer asthma inhalers just yet and merely rely on consuming more fibre. A diet rich in fibre may well be beneficial for asthmatics but it is generally recommended for everybody as it can to help to lower cholesterol, decrease the risk of heart disease and lessen the risk of some types of cancer.

Over 5,000 under-16s diagnosed with STIs in 2012

Shocking figures released by Public Health England under the Freedom of Information Act show that children as young as eleven have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection (STI).
If that isn’t bad enough, over 5,000 youngsters under the legal age of consent have been given diagnoses for a range of sexual infections in the last year alone.

The statistics show that 5,386 youngsters under 16 have required treatment for infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhoea, herpes and various other conditions. Moreover, in the last three years there has been a staggering 16,707 children under 16 that have been diagnosed as having an STI – the equivalent of 15 children receiving a diagnosis each day in the country.

Children under the age of 16 diagnosed with STIs in England last year

(SOURCE: PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND)

Age	Boys	Girls
Under 13	16	58
13	23	167
14	124	994
15	491	3,448
Total	654	4,667

* 65 children’s gender was not provided and not included within the above figures.

In just a decade, the number of STIs diagnosed in children has more than doubled. In 2003, the number of reported cases stood at 2,474, so clearly there is major work to do from the government and health care professionals to halt this worrying trend.

In addition, last year there were 90 reported cases of children under the age of 12 being diagnosed with STIs and doctors fear the actual correct figure could be significantly higher than this. Some children may be too terrified or embarrassed about speaking to adults about their embarrassing problem, whereas some STIs can take months for symptoms to even appear.

For instance, genital warts may show up around two to three months after infection, but could take anywhere up to a year to appear, whereas chlamydia may not have any symptoms at all in some people, or could lead to infertility without sufficient chlamydia treatment.

Unsurprisingly, it is older children who have the largest number of STIs. In 2012, 10,318 children aged 16 were treated, whilst there were 17,810 aged 17.

Dr Gwenda Hughes, head of STI surveillance at Public Health England (PHE) commented, “Data on infections primarily transmitted through sexual contact are routinely collected, across all age groups, by PHE. Rates remain highest in under 25-year-olds and whilst often these infections can be simple to diagnose and treat, if left untreated they can have serious health consequences. Regardless of age, everyone should use a condom with new and casual sexual partners, which significantly reduces the risk of getting an STI. We also advise young adults to get screened for chlamydia each year.”

She added: “The National Chlamydia Screening Programme is in place in England ensuring access to free testing from a range of convenient locations. With regards to those under 13 years old, the number of infections reported each year is very low. In this age group, using the term ‘sexually transmitted infection’ is problematic as it is very rare for children to be sexually active at this age. Moreover recent research suggests most of the infections reported are not acquired sexually; and of the few that may have been, sexual abuse was implicated. There is national guidance in place for health professionals to follow in these cases.”

How to stick to your New Year’s resolutions

2014 is now already three days old, with the year going off literally with a bang following that hugely spectacular and big-budget firework display by the London Eye as hundreds of thousands of people crowded into the capital to watch the event.

With a new year comes the chance for self-improvement, forgiveness for events from the previous year, a time to learn from mistakes, a chance to start again, strengthen relationships with loved ones, and strive to overhaul your lifestyle – if it needs it of course!

All these factors usually come in the form of something which dates back to the time of Julius Caesar; New Year’s resolutions. Romans would typically make a vow to be good to each other, and this is something which some people today probably still vow to do, but as times have changed in the modern day, latter day resolutions reflect this. ‘Cut down on Facebook’ or ‘Sell unwanted stuff on Ebay’ show how modern technology has impacted our outlook on life.

Things that will never change, regardless of the times, is the strife for many of us to try and give our health, diet, nutrition, exercise habits, etc. a boost each and every year. Unfortunately, the statistics of success with resolutions reads pretty grim. In 2007 Richard Wiseman from the University of Bristol carried out a study of 3,000 people and found that 88% of those who set New Year’s resolutions failed to meet them. This was in spite of the fact that over half (52%) of the participants had confidence of meeting their goals at the start of the study.

Therefore, you might be wondering what you can do to make yourself part of that elite 12% who actually manage to make their resolutions stick. If so, read on…

. Plan out small, realistic steps to your goals

Realising your ultimate goal, say losing weight, can be intimidating at the beginning of your journey. Creating one giant goal of simply ‘lose weight’ means you are much less likely to accomplish this unless you create some broken-down, personal, actionable steps. For instance, try writing down a series of smaller milestones that you can do before you reach the bigger picture. This could be ‘joining the local gym’, ‘switch from whole milk to skimmed’, ‘go for a 20 minute jog on Tuesday and Thursday mornings’.

. Anticipate obstacles that could arise

Focusing back onto the previous example of losing weight and going for jogs as part of this, an obstacle for this could be the weather. Plan ahead and check weather forecasts; is it going to be cold the next morning? Is it going to rain? Make sure you are fully equipped for everything and have appropriate running shoes, gloves, a woolly hat and make yourself visible with a reflective jacket if it is dark in the morning. If possible, having a treadmill at home could keep you on your weight loss goal for the occasions it is simple not feasible to get out for a jog. Or if you are worried about temptations with ‘bad’ foods whilst trying to adhere to a healthy diet, create avoidance tactics.
. One thing at a time

A limited amount of willpower we possess means that tackling multiple resolutions simultaneously is just asking for trouble, and likely unattainable. Focus on one goal at a time and when you have accomplished a particular goal, move on to the next. Remember you have twelve months to hit your targets, which brings us on to our next point; Try to keep your resolutions to an absolute maximum of ten.

. Don’t beat yourself with each slip up

You are only human at the end of the day and there is a good chance you will fall off track at least once or twice along the way to reaching your goals. Say you are quitting smoking as one of your resolutions for the year and something happens during that year that upsets you, and you smoke one cigarette. Don’t dwell on it, learn from it. Slip-ups like that actually usually strengthen a person’s resolve to meet their goals. Find ways to manage stress or discover other things to do when you find yourself tempted by that cigarette or chocolate cake (if trying to lose weight).

. Document your progress

There are many ways to do this in the modern age of technology. You could maintain a word document tracking your progress through the year as you reach each goal, describing your emotions and feelings on a daily basis, or what temptations and triggers you faced if you had slipped up. Positive and negative actions made during the year allow you to reflect on the time in an honest way. There are also many smartphone apps that will allow you to track your progress and alert you to what the triggers are to your behaviour patterns. Consider joining online forums where you can find support in others who might be going through similar experiences to yourself. Having people to share your successes and struggles throughout the year will make it easier to achieve your New Year’s resolutions.

Illegal websites posing as pharmacies still swarm the search engines

Buying from the internet can be risky, especially when it comes to your health. Those with health problems such as erectile dysfunction should only ever receive their medication from a registered pharmacy, clearly displaying the green cross logo and pharmacy number – which can be verified – on the front page of their website, as follows:



So for example, you have erectile dysfunction, you should have already have had, or about to initiate check-ups with your own doctor for any other underlying reasons for erectile dysfunction, and are about to search for a genuine, registered pharmacy on the internet. This is where you need to beware; there are thousands of illegal websites posing as pharmacies, who do not care about your health, who are plaguing search engine results and easily accessible, high up the rankings.

Often even within the first few pages especially of any given search engine, there are countless examples, and it is catastrophic. It is disastrous for patients, for genuine online pharmacies, and gives the entire e-commerce industry an unfairly bad reputation. But the good news is Medical Specialists Pharmacy are reporting these malicious websites to authorities and to the search engines themselves.
Here are the summarised important factors that can help you spot a rogue online pharmacy/illegal website.

. An unnecessary/suspicious internet browser redirect.
. No requirement of a doctors’ consultation for prescription medication.
. Long delivery times, sometimes up to several weeks. This is due to the drug being imported from a foreign country before it gets to you.
. The price of the medication is a lot cheaper than what would be expected, sometimes by as much as 70%. If a price is too good to be true, it’s probably because it is.
. ‘Bonus’ or ‘free pills’. Seriously, just stop and think what doctor would throw in free pills for you requesting a higher amount of something. Frankly, it is absurd and an obvious sign of an illegal pharmacy.
. The website does not list any contact details, e.g. a telephone and fax number, email address, company address or details of its pharmacists, doctors, etc.
. A registered Pharmacy such as Medical Specialists Pharmacy will have the GPhC green cross logo together with its Pharmacy number. This number can be checked to see if it does actually exist.
. The company registration and VAT number should both be clearly stated on the website. Both of these are a legal requirement.
. A non-UK currency and/or a ‘head office’ that is based overseas.

Now when you think of searching for products of services, the chances are almost all of us will turn to Google. Simply put, amongst search engine users, Google blows all of its competitors out of the water. It is the most popular search engine by a staggering distance, with an estimated 83% of search engine users found to prefer Google in 2012, a remarkable percentage whatever way you look at it.
Those behind the previously mentioned illegal websites are fully aware of what search engines are popular, and will target them with a vengeance. It is a problem for both patients and legitimate fully-registered pharmacies such as Medical Specialists, Chemist Direct, and it is a problem that needs dealing with NOW.

Worryingly, a lot of illegal websites are posing as pharmacies, selling counterfeit drugs. They have no regulation and their drugs may have none of the active ingredient at all.  These websites are still populating user’s search results and more vigilance needs to be shown by internet users all around the globe to spot them and avoid at all costs. The cost could even be your health or worse, your life. Safety is of no concern to these criminals, they instead offer counterfeit drugs, or ‘generic’ versions of medications that should not have generics.

Even the pill quantities should make anyone with common sense alert to authenticity. Erectile dysfunction medications are usually packaged within a box of four tablets and it doesn’t take a lot to realise you are not dealing with a genuine pharmacy when 120 mg x 10 ‘generic Viagra’ pills are being sold for just £17.76. Quantity issue aside, 100 mg is the highest dose of Viagra and this alone should raise serious alarm bells. Those cheap ‘generic’ Viagra tablets could actually contain very little sildenafil (Viagra’s active ingredient), none of it at all, or much more than listed on the website – highly dangerous to those with certain health problems.

Other common traits for the illegal websites is suspiciously low prices, as touched upon with the previous example, as well as absolutely no prescription or online doctors’ consultation required when ordering. All genuine UK online pharmacies should have GMC-registered doctors under their wing to assess if particular patients are medically suitable for certain medications.

However, it does not stop there. Say it is Viagra you want to treat your erectile dysfunction, even before the website has loaded, take notice of your browser address bar. There is a good possibility a seemingly random website address of ‘xyz.com/index.php?12345’ showing on the search results will suddenly change to ‘cheapgenericdrugs4u-order-viagra-online’, or something else that appears suspect. Ask yourself, why would any legitimate online pharmacy go to the trouble of implementing a redirect in your internet browser? Basically, they wouldn’t…Close the website immediately before it has infected your computer with malware; malicious software that can disrupt or damage your computer’s operation and even collect sensitive information for a third party’s benefit.

Powerful anti-smoking campaign could shock people into quitting smoking

Smokers could be scared into quitting smoking when they catch a glimpse of a new graphic television advert set to be given its debut today. More than 10 million British adults smoke – around 22 per cent of men and 19 per cent of women, so many will have their eyes opened wide upon seeing the advert, which says “If you could see the damage, you’d stop”.

The advert is said to “bring to life the toxic cycle of dirty blood” generated by the inhalation of cigarette smoke. It has long been common knowledge the devastating impact that cigarettes have on the heart and lungs, with smokers being double the risk of dying from a stroke in comparison to non-smokers.

However, health officials have now used the new campaign get the message across how the toxic chemicals in cigarettes – such as arsenic and cyanide – can destroy cells in the brain. This therefore increased the risk of not only stroke, but suffering dementia and cognitive decline is also greatly increased.

The campaign has been funded by Public Health England and has been launched by the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies.

“We know about the serious effect smoking has on the heart and lungs but smokers need to be aware of how much potential damage is being done to the brain and other vital organs through toxins in cigarettes entering the blood,” she commented.

She added: “Smoking is the major cause of premature death, with one in two smokers dying prematurely from smoking related diseases, and it is extremely worrying that people still underestimate the health harms associated with it. However, it is not all doom and gloom for smokers looking to quit this New Year. Within five years of stopping smoking, your risk of stroke can be reduced to the same as a lifetime non-smoker.”

In addition to the obvious health benefits of people quitting smoking, there is also a hugely underestimated impact on the economy as a result of smoking. In particularly, a staggering amount to the tune of £5 billion is lost each and every year due to health costs, sick leave and lost productivity.

Professor Kevin Fenton, national director for health and wellbeing for Public Health England, speaking to the BBC News, said: “Tar, arsenic, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide – these all have either effects that they can cause cancers or they can cause significant amounts of damage to the lining of blood vessels. We really want to draw attention to that toxic nature of cigarette smoke and the ways it can be dealt with – which are either to stop smoking or to switch to healthier nicotine delivery systems – for example nicotine patches etc.”

Professor Fenton argued that there is so much more than can still be done to urge more people to kick the habit into touch.

Also speaking to BBC News was somebody who has successfully managed to quit smoking. John Lee, suffered a stroke that “came out of the blue” at the age of just 42. This resulted in paralysis to the left side of his body.

“I had been playing golf in Portugal. I flew home, got in the shower, felt a bit light-headed and that was it. My twins were seven years old at the time…The children were devastated. It’s really hard to explain the effect a stroke has. It doesn’t just affect you, it affects everyone around you. I was married at the time – since then my marriage has broken down, basically due to the stroke. The children have gone from having a dad that can run around and play football and do everything with them, to basically being able to do nothing. I would encourage anyone never to start smoking.”

The post-Christmas battle with the bulge has begun!

Firstly, Medical Specialists Pharmacy hopes everybody has had a brilliant Christmas with friends, family and loves ones. We hope you have recovered from the frenetic, fast-paced and chaotic last few days and are settling down back to normality!

The period of the year that follows Christmas and runs into the following year is a particularly busy one for Medical Specialists. Our patient base spanning thousands upon thousands, usually expands as quickly as the waistlines of many who are seeking our help!

Yes, this is the time when all those mince pies, all those chocolate treats on offer, that fatty/sugary Christmas pudding and the endless supply of alcohol at the work Christmas party, will all make their presence felt – on the scales.

It is thought the average Brit consumes two or three Christmas dinner servings, taking in 2,300 calories in the process. This means women are consuming 115% of their recommended daily intake of calories and for men, it is 92%.

However, even prior to the festive period, most Brits will lose an average of 3lbs, usually to look their best for parties or other social events. This is all well and good until you learn that this is typically followed by severe overindulgence and a 6lb gain in weight. It seems the excess of food and alcohol simply catches up to all of us rather quickly and explains why ‘go on a diet’, ‘lose weight’, or ‘exercise more’, are included on many people’s list of New Year’s Resolutions.

Weight loss is achieved relatively easy enough, theoretically. With the right positive mind-set and willingness to achieve it, together with adopting a healthy diet and weight loss aid such as Xenical or Alli, shifting those post-Christmas pounds is rather doable.

A lax approach with food and inevitable slight weight gain is generally expected around the festive period, and sometimes hard to avoid when work colleagues are offering you treats on a regular basis. Weight gain can be reversed through dieting, however what happens when you have a lax and careless approach with regards to your sexual health?

As mentioned earlier, many want to look their best for parties and social events, which means the likeliness of attracting a sexual partner has suddenly increased somewhat. Unfortunately, sensible attitudes to sex suddenly go out the window at this time of year as people get swept up in the party atmosphere. Alcohol consumption spirals, along with sheer carelessness.  Condoms and other contraception simply don’t get used or are forgotten about in the heat of the moment, and a whole host of problems are created.

This is demonstrated in the fact the Family Planning Association (FPA) say their sexual health hotline is at its busiest in January as worried individuals contact them about an unplanned pregnancy or an apparent sexually transmitted infection they have contracted.

Rebecca Findlay of FPA, spoke last year about the issue, saying: “The helpline tends to go quiet before Christmas as everyone is busy and out partying, but calls then peak in January. Most people call about STIs or unintended pregnancy.”

If women have unprotected sex and are forgetting to take daily their daily contraception of Marvelon or Yasmin, this could result in many of the pregnancy concerns reported to the FPA, especially if condoms are not being used as well – which also massively reduce the risk of STIS. Condoms should be used with or without the daily contraception pill for this very reason and if you are worried, we are able to provide you with a clamelle chlamydia test kit that you can conduct in the comfort of your own home, or even a morning after pill. The morning after pill can actually be taken up to 72 hours after sexual intercourse has taken place.

Therefore, perhaps showing more care for your sexual health could be one of your New Year’s Resolutions should you decide to create some, like 7 million others will do, as the New Year gives everybody the perfect chance for self-improvement.

So what are the common resolutions we tend to make? Some old-age common resolutions include the health-oriented goals such as quitting smoking, joining a gym, cutting down on alcohol and eating less chocolate.

In recent years, as our daily lives have become faster paced and frantic, this has reflected on the introduction of some surprising resolutions, and less emphasis on ones that were previously more highly prioritised.

Instead, there are more aims influenced by our increasing time spent on social media, with ‘Socialise more in real life rather than Facebook’ making it in at number 21 of the 2012 LA Fitness poll of 2,000 people to find what they wanted to achieve for 2013.

The top 30 New Year’s Resolutions were found to be:

1. Read more books
2. Save more money
3. Lose weight
4. Redecorate
5. Take better photos
6. Go travelling
7. Sell old unwanted stuff on eBay
8. Buy a tablet
9. Organise photos
10. Do something for charity
11. Spend more time with kids
12. Buy a Sunday paper
13. Less TV time
14. Connect my computer to my TV
15. Leave work on time more often
16. Less time on Facebook
17. Totally revamp my wardrobe
18. Try a new hairstyle
19. Get a six-pack
20. Eat less chocolate
21. Socialise more in real life rather than Facebook
22. Drink less alcohol
23. Buy less coffee from Starbucks/big chains
24. Start my own business
25. Tell someone I have feelings for them
26. Quit smoking
27. Gain a promotion
28. Learn how to use Twitter
29. Run a half or full marathon
30. Call people more than text

Whatever your hopes and aspirations are for 2014, Medical Specialists wishes you luck in your journey to get there. However, you do not have to make that journey alone and we are here to help. Whether this be through smoking cessation medication to help you to quit, or through directing you to a weight loss forum where you can share your experiences and diet tips with others in a similar position, our patients’ needs are always at the core of everything we do. Good luck and a have a great New Year!