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Total smoking ban in public places only viable option in the UK

Doctors, nurses and charities in the UK have renewed demands for a total ban on smoking in public places, and are warning that government plans to allow smoking in some pubs would increase health inequalities.

6 Sep 2005

Campaign for tougher anti-smoking laws stepped up

The British Medical Association (BMA) has stepped up it's campaign for tougher anti-smoking laws with a blunt warning to the health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, that her current plans are a virtual death sentence for some bar staff.

25 Aug 2005

Losing weight cuts breast cancer risk

An international team of scientists has found that young women who carry a breast cancer gene, can reduce their risk of the disease by up to 65% by attaining a healthy bodyweight.

21 Aug 2005

Australia needs consistent uniform national abortion laws to protect women and doctors

Australian Medical Association (AMA) President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, said today that the charging of a doctor in NSW with manslaughter and procuring an unlawful abortion sends a clear warning to all doctors and women that they must fully understand the law in their State and Territory in regard to the termination of pregnancies.

15 Aug 2005

Guidelines released to cover new embryo donation option for infertile couples

Surplus embryos created by couples who have undergone IVF treatment can now be donated to assist other infertile people have a child, as a result of new guidelines released in New Zealand.

15 Aug 2005

New study shows testosterone treatment linked to prostate cancer

Researchers in the United States say that prostate cancer developed in 20 men within months to a few years after they began testosterone supplementation, to correct a deficiency of the hormone.

15 Aug 2005

Lifestyle changes may affect the progression of any type of cancer

Men with early stage prostate cancer who make intensive changes in diet and lifestyle may stop or perhaps even reverse the progression of their illness, according to a new study.

11 Aug 2005

National Programme for IT in the NHS (NPfIT) is at risk despite costing millions

The new National Programme for IT in the NHS (NPfIT) is at risk despite costing millions, because staff locally have been left feeling disengaged in the process, says a study in this week's British Medical Journal (BMJ).

4 Aug 2005

BMA response to BMJ article "Challenges to implementing the national programme for information technology"

Commenting on research published in today's (5/8/05) BMJ, which finds that the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) has failed to properly engage NHS staff, Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA's Head of Science and Ethics, said:

4 Aug 2005

Evaluation of sexual abuse in children takes special skills

More than 88,000 children in the United States were confirmed victims of sexual abuse in 2002. Studies have suggested that each year approximately one percent of children experience some form of sexual abuse, resulting in the sexual victimization of 12 to 25 percent of girls and 8 to 10 percent of boys by 18 years of age.

2 Aug 2005

New national cytology training programme established in New Zealand

A new nationally-coordinated training programme for pathologists, scientists and technicians involved in processing and interpreting cervical smears is to be established. The programme will be based in Christchurch with training taking place in main centres across New Zealand.

26 Jul 2005

U-M Health System study finds patient education video is excellent teaching tool but doctors are better at calming fears

In an age when people often learn health information from surfing the Web and watching television shows set in hospitals, researchers have found that showing patients an educational video about their condition teaches them the facts about their disease even better than when their doctor tells them about the condition.

26 Jul 2005

Vagal nerve stimulation, an innovative therapy for depression

The Saint Louis University Health Sciences Center medical team involved in the research and development of an innovative therapy for depression - vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) - is starting a new clinic for patients who have treatment-resistant depression.

19 Jul 2005

Cultural and language barriers may be hindering the treatment of South Asians with diabetes

South Asians are four times more likely than the rest of the UK population to have the condition. A follow up study has now begun into finding our how communication barriers could be overcome in medical consultation.

17 Jul 2005

Threat from Avian Influenza remains

At the request of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, World Health Organization (WHO) sent a team of international experts to Viet Nam last week to assess laboratory and epidemiological data on recent cases and determine whether the present level of pandemic alert should be increased.

30 Jun 2005

BMA(NI) Chairman addresses doctors' annual conference in Manchester

BMA Northern Ireland Chairman, Dr Brian Patterson, in his speech yesterday, 29 June 2005, to the annual BMA conference in Manchester, said that whilst the Northern Ireland Assembly remained suspended health services suffered. "This is due largely to the lack of local accountability by politicians, civil servants and managers".

29 Jun 2005

The British Medical Association in Northern Ireland says Minister must introduce a complete ban on second-hand tobacco smoke

The British Medical Association in Northern Ireland, which has energetically campaigned for a ban on smoking in all enclosed public places and workplaces, said that the Minister’s decision not to introduce an immediate total ban in Northern Ireland was very disappointing.

28 Jun 2005

Patients lose trust at U.S.hospital after hydraulic fluid incident

Officials at Duke Health Raleigh Hospital has sent letters this week to about 4,000 patients whose surgeons unknowingly used instruments washed in hydraulic fluid.

23 Jun 2005

New website and environmental history tools for pediatric health care providers

The National Environmental Education & Training Foundation (NEETF) has created a new website for pediatric health care providers. The site is an on-line resource portal with user-friendly tools, including a screening and a comprehensive environmental history form, and an environmental history taking primer.

22 Jun 2005

Most children with infective conjunctivitis (pinkeye) do not need treatment with an antibiotic

One in eight school children have an episode of conjunctivitis every year. This amounts to more than 1 million episodes in the UK and more than 5 million in the USA. Diagnosis of the condition is usually straight forward but doctors find difficulty in differentiating a viral cause from a bacterial cause.

21 Jun 2005