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Free nicotine patches could substantially increase the likelihood of smokers quitting

Giving smokers easy access to free nicotine patches could substantially increase the likelihood of them quitting, concludes a study in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

26 May 2005

Half of NHS stafff come from outside the UK and Europe

Almost half of the recent 16000 staff expansion of the NHS came from the recruitment of health professionals trained outside the UK and Europe, states an article in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

26 May 2005

Much more needs to be done to tackle heart disease in South Asians in the United Kingdom

Health inequality between ethnic groups in the United Kingdom is widening. Death rates from coronary heart disease in South Asians (immigrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka) have declined at a slower rate than in the indigenous population, while evidence shows that second and third generation South Asians seem to be displaying many of the same risk characteristics that make them prone to coronary heart disease as their parents and grandparents.

26 May 2005

Everyone is entitled to a good doctor

Everyone is entitled to a good doctor and the public will no longer tolerate substandard practice, says Donald Irvine, former president of the General Medical Council in this week's BMJ.

26 May 2005

Long pointed kitchen knives should be banned

Violent crime is on the increase in the UK, say the authors, whose experience of working in emergency departments suggests that kitchen knives are used in as many as half of all stabbings.

26 May 2005

Low-income women are more likely to breastfeed when given health education

...especially when learning takes place in an informal, interactive discussion group setting, according to a new review of studies.

26 May 2005

Exposure to pesticides linked to Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's Disease is an incurable degenerative neurological condition and researchers say they may have found a link between exposure to pesticides and an increased risk of developing the disease.

26 May 2005

Feelings intensify as we get older

According to new study people tend to feel more strongly about an experience regardless of whether it was positive or negative, when they know it is ending, suggesting that deadlines intensify our emotions.

26 May 2005

Clinton Foundation aims to treat two million people with HIV in India by 2008

Former United States President Bill Clinton announced in India this week that his Foundation plans to train 150,000 private sector doctors for care and treatment.

26 May 2005

Arizona secures $800,000 to fight West Nile virus

Arizona has secured an additional $800,000 in federal funds to bolster the state’s effort to fight West Nile Virus this year, Arizona Department of Health Services Director Susan Gerard announced this week.

26 May 2005

Smokers with access to low-tax cigarettes less likely to quit

Smokers who bought low-taxed cigarettes from American Indian reservations were half as likely to try to quit and had less success when they did attempt to kick the habit compared to smokers who bought full-price cigarettes.

26 May 2005

Long-lasting depression more common among blacks and Mexican American

While depression seems much more common among whites than blacks or Mexican Americans, the opposite is true when it comes to a milder mood disorder known as dysthemia.

26 May 2005

Raising tobacco taxes could curb youth’s cigar habits

The only way to effectively turn teens away from smoking cigars is to raise prices, and one way to do that would be taxing cigars at the same rate as cigarettes.

26 May 2005

Elderly suicide victims more likely to have fallen to their deaths

Suicide is a major public health problem among those age 65 and older, and a recent study found suicidal people in that age group who live in cities are more likely than their younger counterparts to choose falling from height as their suicide method and to choose to jump from their own homes or apartment buildings.

26 May 2005

Intensive tobacco control measures can sharply reduce smoking rates

Comprehensive tobacco control efforts, including raising cigarette taxes, making workplaces smoke free and offering free and readily accessible nicotine patches, have a widespread impact on lowering smoking rates.

26 May 2005

Competition from specialty hospitals promotes high-quality patient care

Specialty hospitals provide quality care to patients by offering new choices, and this hospital competition should not be stifled, the American Medical Association (AMA) testified to a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs this week.

26 May 2005

New treatment for wrinkles

Abbott Northwestern Hospital’s Center for Cosmetic Care in Edina now has a new option for people seeking treatment to slow down the aging process of our skin - the Fraxel.

26 May 2005

Tiny fluorescent crystals barely visible to the human eye that could revolutionise cancer diagnosis

Scientists funded by the Association for International Cancer Research have developed tiny fluorescent crystals barely visible to the human eye that could revolutionise cancer diagnosis and treatment in a big way.

26 May 2005

Is winter flu worse because of exercise-induced 'window of susceptibility'?

When you exercise or work outside in winter, that dry feeling at the back of your throat indicates the cold air has irritated your throat. Racehorses share a similar experience: exercising in below-freezing air causes mild airway injury.

26 May 2005

Armed forces doctors' pay rise fails to address recruitment and retention crisis

The announcement of a 3.225% pay increase for armed forces doctors by the Armed Forces Pay Review Body fails to address the continuing recruitment and retention crisis. Many doctors working in the armed forces will be bitterly disappointed at this missed opportunity to correct the disparity between pay for armed forces doctors and their civilian counterparts, the BMA warns today (26/5/05).

26 May 2005