WHO chief slams industry for blocking tobacco law
World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General Margaret Chan Wednesday slammed the tobacco industry for “sabotaging” the vote on a strong European law on tobacco. “Unfortunately, many countries give more importance to tobacco as an issue for trade and commerce than as a severe threat to health,” Chan said, while addressing a gathering at the International Conference on Public Health Priorities in the 21st Century here. The WHO chief said the tobacco industry ruthlessly exploits this appeal to commercial interests. “The most recent example concerns efforts on the part of Philip Morris (tobacco major) to sabotage the vote on a stronger European directive on tobacco,” she said. The law calls for having larger pictorial warnings on the cigarette packets and banning all tobacco products with flavours like menthol, among others. She said lobbyists have been deployed to delay or block passage of the new directive until the European Council presidency moves to Greece, where the company has opened a huge hub for the production and distribution of cigarettes throughout Europe. The vote on the stringent tobacco law in Europe has been put off till Oct 8. Putting off the crucial vote is being seen as a victory to the tobacco industry. Any further delay could affect the passage of the directive, as the presidency of the European Council passes to Greece January. Greece is opposed to tobacco control. (IANS)
Swap unhealthy food ingredients with healthy ones
There are multiple options at home that can make your meal wholesome and complete without com
promising on taste, says an expert. Rohan Arora, founder and CEO of Bueno Foods Pvt. Ltd. (food outlet in Gurgaon that provides healthy food options) shares names of some of the healthy ingredients that can be used at home: – Low fat cottage cheese prepared at home instead of the packed and processed ones that we get in the market.
- No tinned fruits and vegetables.
- Whole wheat with extra fiber instead of white flour (maida).
- Fresh herbs like basil, thyme, rosemary, garlic, oregano (dried), coriander, mint, parsley and freshly ground and whole spices like cinnamon, cardamom, chilli flakes and chillies instead of the crushed processed ones.
- Honey, brown sugar and jaggery instead of packed white crystal sugar. (IANS)
Bladder botox could help treat incontinence
England’s drugs watchdog has said that botox in jections can now be offered as a treatment for urinary incontinence. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said that women with ‘overactive bladder syndrome,’ who have not responded to recommended lifestyle changes, should be offered the injections, the BBC reported. Botox treatment is believed to help dampen chemical messages that a person’s bladder uses to tell the brain that they need to urinate. The injections are administered directly to the bladder wall via a small device that has been inserted into the urethra. (ANI)
Why chocolates, olive oil, tea are healthy for you
Researchers are focussing on the healthful antioxidant substances in red wine, dark chocolate, olive oil, coffee, tea, and other foods and dietary supplements. The American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society, is holding a symposium on those substances during its 246th National Meeting and Exposition. Reports in the symposium involve substances that consumers know best as ‘antioxidants,’ and that scientists term ‘phenolic derivatives.’ These ingredients, found naturally in certain foods and sold as dietary supplements, have been linked with health benefits that include reducing the risk of heart disease and cancer. (ANI)
Smoking and obesity’s lethal combo ups risk of lung cancer
Cigarette smoking by obese people may result in them facing additional health problems, a new research has suggested. Aaron Wright, Ph.D., who reported on the study, said that their research shows that smoking and obesity together may pose a triple health threat in addition to the increased risks for heart disease, cancer and diabetes. He said that the dangerous combination impacts key mechanisms by which both the lung and liver perform metabolism. He said that the tobacco smoke and obesity also intensifies the cancer-causing potential of cigarette smoke and asserted that they were surprised to find that in some instances, the substances in second-hand smoke seem to have a more dramatic effect than just smoking. Wright described experiments analyzing the activity of a key family of enzymes in liver and lung tissues obtained from lean and obese mice exposed directly to cigarette smoke and second-hand smoke. These cytochrome P450 enzymes (also known as “P450s”) metabolize, or break down, about 75 percent of all prescription and non-prescription drugs, and other ingested substances. Wright and colleagues, who are with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., decided to take a first step toward determining the combined effects of both cigarette smoke and obesity. They studied how P450 enzymes work in liver and lung tissues from groups of mice that were obese or normal weight, and exposed to cigarette smoke, second-hand smoke, or not exposed to cigarette smoke. (IANS)