Health e News
- ///Health
Children exposed to tobacco smoke in the womb may be at higher risk of hearing loss in later years, according to a recent article in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery. Researchers from New York University (NYU) examined data from almost 1 000 children aged 12 to 15 who took part in the 2005/2006 National Health Examination Survey in the United States. They found that about 16 percent of them had been exposed to tobacco smoke while in the womb. These teenagers had evidence of hearing loss and were nearly three times more likely to have one-sided, low-frequency hearing loss compared to youngsters without such exposures. The study could not prove a cause-and-effect relationship between smoking during pregnancy and hearing outcomes in offspring, only an association. “This is an effect which has been described previously for the adult population, so it is logical that it would also
- ///Health
Member states of the European Union are backing plans for bigger and bolder health warnings on cigarette packs and bans on most flavourings such as menthol. Under the new proposals, prominent health warnings would have to cover 65 percent of tobacco packaging and include graphic warnings. “We have an opportunity today to step up to the mark, or we can walk away and fail our children,” said Irish Health Minister James Reilly. EU Health Commissioner Tonio Borg said the crackdown was aimed at reducing smoking-related deaths, which stand at around 700 000 a year in the 27-nation bloc. The new regulations aim to stop youngsters from being swayed into smoking by enticing packaging and flavours that could get them hooked. Whatever the overall EU regulations contain in the end, individual member states would be allowed to impose even tougher rules as they please. The blueprint was decided despite the opposition
- ///Health
- ///Health
- ///News
- ///Health
- ///Health
- ///Health
- ///Health
Children are being used to grow tobacco and the practice is thriving in the Asia Pacific region. This is according to a new report, launched today (June 12) to coincide with World Day Against Child Labour. The Report on Child Labour in Tobacco Cultivation in the ASEAN Region (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), launched by the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA), revealed details on child labour activities in tobacco farming in the region. Labour activities performed by children in tobacco farming, as well as related risks and deprivation, violate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which sets out rights of children to attain the highest standard of health and education and to protect them from commercial exploitation. In Indonesia, a case study by Dr Priyo Adi Nugroho on tobacco cultivation in two districts in East Java found children below 15 years carried out a variety of
- ///Health
A Thailand trial has shown that a daily dose of the antiretroviral (ARV) drug Tenofovir reduces HIV incidence by almost half among injecting drug users and even further if they adhere to the regimen. The latest results complete the picture of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis efficacy for all major HIV risk groups, showing that ARVs are protective. Globally, there are around 16-million people inject drugs and three million of them are living with HIV. According to World Health Organisation statistics, on average, one out of every 10 new HIV infections is caused by injecting drug use and in parts of Eastern Europe and Central Asia over 80 per cent of all HIV infections is related to drug use. The Thailand trial is the first to assess whether preventative treatment with HIV drugs could affect rates of HIV infection in people who inject drugs. Published in The Lancet journal Online, the study results
- ///Health
The amount of smoking in movies has reduced since regulations stopping tobacco companies from buying on-screen brand placements were introduced in 1998, according to a new study in JAMA Pediatrics. Meanwhile the number of alcohol brand appearances has increased in movies rated G or PG-13, and the amount of time characters spend drinking hasn’t changed. “Children who see smoking in the movies are more likely to initiate smoking,” said the lead researcher, Elaina Bergamini from the Norris Cotton Cancer Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire (US). “I think there is some concern that that may hold true for alcohol as well.” For the study, researchers watched the top 100 box office releases of each year between 1996 and 2009 and recorded when a movie character was using or handling tobacco or alcohol, and when a particular brand was pictured. In all, Bergamini and colleagues recorded 500 tobacco and 2 433 alcohol