In the UK, smoking in workplaces is banned. But we can do what we want in our own homes and in our own time (as long at it’s legal). Glancing through job adverts (reading them is a recurrent hobby, not a search) I note that the World Health Organisation wants to recruit only people who […]
Continue Reading →Are medical surveys good for our health?
Invitations have been pouring through letterboxes all over the UK to take part in the Biobank. If you haven’t received one already, let me explain what this particular bank wants from you (thankfully, it doesn’t involve money). The Biobank is a research project, and its aim is no less than to improve the “health of […]
Continue Reading →Dying of cold
The snow falls, public transport grinds to a halt, schools are closed, and the Met Office issues “severe weather” warnings. And death rates go up: as the temperatures drop, so-called “excess winter mortality” kicks in. This phenomenon has been noted in many other countries, too, but why does it happen? A reasonable suggestion is that fuel poverty […]
Continue Reading →Facing the facts about the MMR vaccine
When is it time to say “enough”? As Barack Obama settles into the White House, I am hoping that his new surgeon general, widely expected to be CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr Sanjay Gupta, will decide that with one particular issue, the time has come. The MMR – measles, mumps and rubella – vaccine is […]
Continue Reading →Breast screening; better information?
For several years I have been trying – and, evidently, failing – to suggest that the information that women get about breast screening isn’t very balanced. The problem- as I see it anyway – is that services are geared to get women to turn up for screening. Whereas, I would like services judged not on […]
Continue Reading →Over the counter for the overweight
The EU Medicines Directive has decided that Orlistat, a weight-loss drug, can go on sale over the counter. You’ll be able to buy it without a prescription from pharmacies, and online. The difference between the over-the-counter version and the prescription variety will be the dose: the usual prescription strength is 120mg three times a day […]
Continue Reading →Can cereals reduce high cholesterol?
We have come a long way since the humble bowl of Corn Flakes. Kellogg’s signature cereal was famous for being best enjoyed with “ice cold” milk. Its latest cereal product, Optivita, is being sold along far more complicated lines. Current television advertisements for Optivita proudly proclaim that the cereal has been approved by Heart UK, […]
Continue Reading →We need evidence, not a register
I am dismayed to note that complementary therapists are now able to register with the CHNC. Ben Bradshaw, the health minister who is also so keen on the non-evidence based ‘iwantgreatcare.org’ doctor-rating website, is reported as saying: “I welcome the opening of the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) register…which the public can turn to for help. Members of the public […]
Continue Reading →Taking a “Benylin day”. Or not.
Thank you to a correspondent for the link to this promotional website offering workers suffering from colds all manner of unnecessary things. There are suggested out-of-office email messages (“I’m taking a BENYLIN® day or two and will reply to your email as soon as I’ve recovered!”) , recommendations for DVDs (all fairly rubbish, in my opinion) for frittering […]
Continue Reading →Are big ears the secret of a long life?
Why do men’s ears get bigger as they age? I don’t know, I told my editor, but I shall try to find out. Medical school teaches you a lot of things but this wasn’t one of them. The resource most likely to help answer such ponderables is PubMed, an online resource that replaced the book-bound […]
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