ASH Daily News for 12 August 2008

100-year-old who helped found the NHS still hardly needs it

Sir George Godber, former chief medical officer has reached his landmark birthday in good health.

On his 100th birthday, Sir George Godber could be described as a living testimonial to the NHS, which he helped Nye Bevan to found 60 years ago.

But, though the distinguished and remarkably youthful-looking former doctor still believes passionately in the 'free service for all' NHS principle, he rarely takes advantage of it personally, simply because he is so healthy.

Celebrating his birthday on Monday, August 4, Sir George's only burden to the NHS budget is a prescription of cheap calcium pills and occasional optical work when he loses his trusty monocle.

The monocle was the subject of a minor disagreement with Nye Bevan himself, whom Sir George described as "a good minister of health; a reformative fellow".

"He and Nye were discussing eye tests and dad questioned why people could have free glasses but he couldn't have a free monocle."

When Nye gave a non-committal reply, Sir George promptly fished out his glass eye and announced: "But you gave me this on the NHS."

Another victory came over cigarette smoking, for which Sir George pioneered the health risks in the 1950s, despite the Government's revenue-induced refusal to accept medical evidence of the day.

He joined the Ministry of Health in 1939 and was tasked with inspecting wartime emergency medical services before the NHS was set up in 1948.

The self-confessed workaholic who married a nurse, Norma, rose rapidly through the ranks to become chief medical officer in 1960, a post he held for 13 years until he retired.

One of seven children brought up on a farm in Willington, Bedfordshire, Sir George believed strongly in keeping fit.

He rowed in the Boat Race twice for Oxford, where he studied at New College after leaving Bedford School, and is believed to be the oldest living Blue. 

He only recently stopped exercising twice daily on his indoor bike.

"I feel antique now," he joked, showing his royal telegram, which bore a rare personal message from the Queen.

Sir Godber is still proud of the NHS he helped to set 60 years ago.

He said: "I think it does fairly well. People did not think we were going to get health services converted adequately and we did. Adequate means not as far as one would like but it means it's still useful at the moment."

The centenarian will now celebrate his birthday again this Sunday at a party organised by his daughter Bridget Burman at her Maulden home, involving his three children, eight grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.
 

Source: Bedford Today, 08 August 2008
Link: http://tinyurl.com/5mydtx

Healthy lifestyle and not smoking cuts stroke risk

A person's odds of suffering a stroke might be significantly reduced by maintaining an overall healthy lifestyle, which includes not smoking, exercising daily, consuming a healthy diet, drinking alcohol in moderation and maintaining a healthy weight, according to a study.

In the study, people with these five healthy lifestyle habits had an 80 percent lower risk of ischemic stroke compared to people with none of the healthy habits. An ischemic stroke occurs when a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain becomes blocked; it is the most common type of stroke.

This study shows that a "low-risk" lifestyle recommended to lower the risk of multiple chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease, may also help ward off stroke, the study team notes in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

All of the study subjects, who were free of major chronic diseases at the outset, provided information on their medical condition and lifestyle factors every two years between 1986 and 2002 for health professionals and 1984 and 2002 for nurses. During the study, 1,559 women and 994 men had strokes.

The investigators focused on the following five healthy lifestyle factors: not smoking; maintaining a normal body weight; exercising 30 minutes or more each day; taking a multivitamin for at least five years; drinking alcohol in moderation and eating a healthy diet, with an emphasis on high amounts of fruits and vegetables, cereal fiber, chicken and fish, nuts, legumes and low amounts of trans and saturated fats.

Women with all five healthy lifestyle factors had a 79-percent lower risk of suffering any type of stroke and 81-percent lower risk of ischemic stroke, compared with women with none of the lifestyle factors, the researchers found.

Men with all five healthy lifestyle factors had a 69-percent lower risk of any type of stroke and an 80-percent lower risk of ischemic stroke, compared to men with none of the lifestyle factors.

The researchers said, "This study shows that following a healthy lifestyle, which has been associated with up to 80 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease and 90 percent lower risk of diabetes, may also prevent more than half of ischemic strokes."

Source: Reuters News, 11 August 2008
Link: http://tinyurl.com/5cvtaf

Study: Media literate teens less likely to smoke

Adolescents who are skilled in interpreting media messages about tobacco may be less likely to smoke and less likely to start smoking in the future, according to a new study by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers.

In this study, researchers assessed the media literacy of more than 1,200 adolescents. Media literacy is defined as the ability to understand, analyse and evaluate media messages in a wide variety of forms. Building on previous research, the study focused on determining associations between smoking outcomes and particular types of media literacy.

"Of the 442,000 people who die from smoking each year, the majority began smoking at age 18 or younger, and we know from our prior research that media exposure to smoking contributes strongly to the initiation of the habit in adolescents," said Brian Primack, M.D., Ed.M., assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at Pitt's School of Medicine and lead author of the study.

He added, "In addition to attempting to change the way smoking is portrayed in the media, we can, as educators, develop innovative and effective ways to help young people analyse and interpret the smoking-related messages they see in the media. This research could help to focus those efforts."

Researchers issued questionnaires to students at a Pittsburgh public high school to gauge their knowledge of and attitudes toward tobacco advertisements and movie placements. Of those who participated, 19 percent were current smokers, while 40 percent of the non-smokers were identified as being likely to smoke in the future-figures that reflect national averages.

Students participating in the study were asked 18 questions related to three types of media literacy, including questions that focused on the portrayal of the tobacco industry as powerful and manipulative; the promotion of tobacco using appealing images and logos to evoke emotional responses; and the ironic difference between positive portrayal of tobacco in the media and the true effects of tobacco use on health.

The researchers linked students' responses on a broad range of questions related to media literacy to their current smoking habits and likelihood of smoking in the future. Most notably, students who demonstrated an understanding of the sharp contrast between the actual effects of smoking and positive media portrayals of smoking were more likely to be non-smokers. Likewise, students who believed that cigarette advertising leaves out important information also were less likely to smoke.

"These findings suggest that those with higher media literacy, especially with regard to certain facets of media literacy, may be less likely to smoke," said Dr. Primack. "Hopefully, these and other results will help educators design anti-smoking programming that is appropriately tailored to its target audience." 

Source: Medical News Today, 08 August 2008
Link: http://tinyurl.com/6xheje

USA: Anti-smoking legislation cuts asthma hospitalisations

Eliminating secondhand cigarette smoke (SHS) exposure by enacting smokefree legislation can decrease emergency department (ED) visits for asthma, according to US researchers.

"The [US] National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Expert Panel on the diagnosis and management of asthma recently updated guidelines for the management of asthma, identifying SHS as a major trigger in asthma morbidity and recommending that clinicians advise their patients who have asthma not to smoke and to avoid involuntary exposure to SHS," Ellen Hahn and colleagues from the University of Kentucky, Lexington, explain in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Hahn and team assessed emergency visits for asthma in four hospitals before and after the implementation of smokefree legislation in Lexington-Fayette County, Kentucky.

During the 32 months after implementation of a smokefree law, the team found that there was a significant 22% decline in emergency visits for asthma after controlling for seasonality, secular trends, and the demographics of the at-risk population.

The effect was even more pronounced in adults over 20 years of age, who showed a 24% decline in emergency visits.

"Because there is no risk free level of SHS, eliminating SHS exposure is essential to respiratory health," the authors write.

They conclude: "Although this study did not establish causation, the smoke-free law was associated with fewer asthma ED visits among both children and adults, with a more significant decline among adults."

Source: Medwire News, 12 August 2008  
Link: http://tinyurl.com/57undo

Ireland: Cigarettes worth €2.2m seized

Customs officers have seized six million contraband cigarettes valued at €2.2 million. The haul was found in the container of a lorry labelled fruit and vegetables after it was collected from Rosslare Port, Co Wexford.

The seizure is one of the largest in recent times involving cigarettes being illegally smuggled into the State without taxes and duties being paid.

Had it not been detected, it would have cost the exchequer in the Republic €1.65 million in taxes and duties forgone.

The cigarettes, which were of the LM and Regal brands, were found after a lorry was searched yesterday morning. The vehicle had come to the port to collect the container which had been in freight from Cherbourg, France, on Saturday. The haul is believed to have travelled into France overland from Spain.

The driver of the vehicle, from Northern Ireland, was questioned when the discovery was made. However, he was not arrested and, according to well-placed sources, is not a suspect.

Source: The Irish Times, 12 August 2008
Link: http://tinyurl.com/56ar6g