Information about News And Events, Politics And Government and More

Children vaccinated against hepatitis B probably are not at an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) unless they were inoculated with a particular brand of the vaccine, according to a new study.

The French study found that children with MS were almost twice as likely to have received the vaccine called Engerix B three or more years before the disease’s onset. Further studies will need to be done to determine whether the vaccine is a direct cause of the development of MS.

The study, which involved 349 children with MS and 2,941 children without the disease, is to be published in the Oct. 8 online issue of Neurology.

The Supreme Court of India on Monday refused to stay the implementation of the 2008 rules banning smoking in public places across India.It went further gone ahead and stated that no other court in the country would pass any order against these rules.

The apex court ruling now allows the Government to expand the prohibition on smoking in public places and workplaces to protect individuals from the hazards of Second Hand Tobacco Smoke.

Coinciding with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Government plans to introduce the no-smoking policy in all indoor establishments.

The notified law provides for prohibition on smoking in public places including hotels, restaurants, coffee houses, pubs, airport lounges, and other places visited by the general public like workplaces, shopping malls, cinema halls, educational institutions and libraries, hospitals, auditoriums, railway stations and so on.

While the civil society working for tobacco control in India has welcomed the apex court’s decision in the interest of public health,the tobacco industry has started its delaying and deceiving tactics.

It claims that implementing a prohibition on smoking in public places would infringe on the rights of the people.

According to Dr. K. Srinath Reddy, President, Public Health Foundation of India, “The verdict of the Supreme Court, upholding the ban on smoking in public places (including workplaces) is a welcome vindication of the right of the non-smoker to protect personal health and upholds the legitimate role of the state in enacting laws to protect public health.”

“The implementation of these laws from October 2, 2008 will unmistakably signal that the health of the people must take precedence over the interests of the tobacco industry and the misplaced concerns of restaurant owners,” he added.

According to Dr. P C Gupta, Director, Healis Sekhsaria Institute of Public Health, “The smoke-free laws have been easy to implement and help produce public health benefits, wherever they have been implemented. The tobacco industry has tried to block these laws using exactly the same arguments and strategies everywhere and India is no exception. Like in every other country, In India also, they have failed and public health has won”.

Cancer patients often turn to the Internet as a source of information and hope. But all too often, those hopes are betrayed by purveyors of so-called cancer “cures” that are anything but, experts say.

Earlier this month, five companies were charged with making false and misleading claims for cancer cures, and settlements were reached with six other companies, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced. Products marketed by the companies included essiac teas and other herbal mixtures, laetrile, black salve (a corrosive ointment), and mushroom extracts.

“There is no credible scientific evidence that any of the products marketed by these companies can prevent, cure, or treat cancer of any kind,” said Lydia Parnes, director of the FTC’s bureau of consumer protection, the Associated Press reported.

In June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters to two dozen companies peddling everything from cure-all teas to tablets and tonics. And earlier this year, more than 100 manufacturers of such products were issued similar letters.

According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, black salves are one of the most dangerous of these fake cures. The products, which supposedly “draw out” the disease from under the skin, can actually burn the skin and cause scarring.

Which is not to say that none of these compounds has potential as cancer fighters. But consumers need to be careful.

“Many of these compounds touted as having beneficial effects have lots of lab research, but it’s more selling hope in a jar based on preliminary lab research,” said Sarah Wally, a nutritionist with the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C. “That’s not fair to the consumer, particularly consumers with cancer who have a really strong motivation to try anything that might offer hope.”

Many of these so-called cures or preventive treatments won’t actually cause harm (except to your wallet), but some can interact with regular, supervised medical treatment, Wally said.

“Antioxidants can actually interfere with chemotherapy and radiation treatment,” she said. “Some people think, ‘I’m just drinking juice.’ But they might be drinking two gallons of juice a day of super-antioxidant juice compound, not thinking to discuss it with their doctor.”

And, some consumers may actually forego lifesaving conventional treatments in favor of shams.

Here’s some advice from the experts:

• “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” said Dr. Ted Gansler, director of medical content for the American Cancer Society. Beware of claims that one treatment will cure all types of cancer or more than one type of disease. Also be leery of language such as “scientific breakthrough,” “miraculous cure,” “secret ingredient” and “ancient remedy,” as well as claims that a product is “natural” and therefore safe. And take note of claims that the product has limited availability and that the company needs advance payment.
• Find out if the product has ever been tested in humans. Laboratory and animal research is fine, but only as a starting point, not as a basis for recommending the therapy in humans, Wally said.
• “Be careful about the credentials of the people promoting the treatment,” Gansler said. “The possibility that someone with no medical or scientific treatment is going to come up with a cure for cancer or other diseases is not very likely.” Reliable sources of information include the American Cancer Society, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. (All have Web sites.)
• “Watch out for evidence that is only testimonial,” Gansler said. “In some of the most notorious alternative clinics, people will be diagnosed with cancer who don’t even have cancer and, later on, they’re ‘cured.’ ” The “patient” may actually believe he or she was cured.
• Be on the lookout for obvious factual errors. If someone says their “Stage 7″ cancer has been cured, be leery. There is no “Stage 7″ cancer.
• Wally advised: “Before you wholeheartedly jump into these things, you need to really sit down and have a discussion with your physician.” This is especially true in an age when alternative and complementary medicines are gaining acceptance. It can be tricky distinguishing between something bogus and something that may have a benefit, Wally added.

Older problem gamblers who ask to be barred from casinos are three to four times more likely than younger gambling addicts to do so because they’re afraid they’ll commit suicide if they don’t stop betting, according to a new study.

The study included 1,601 compulsive gamblers who, between 2001 and 2003, asked to be banned from Missouri casinos. On average, those age 55 and older had gambled for 17 years before “self-exclusion,” more than twice the length of time reported by younger gamblers.

Gamblers of all ages cited gaining control, needing help, and hitting rock bottom as their primary reasons for seeking self-exclusion. But 14 percent of older gamblers said they sought help because they wanted to prevent themselves from committing suicide. That’s a far higher rate than in any other age group, the study found.

“This is particularly troubling because, irrespective of age, problem gamblers have reported rates of suicidal ideation and/or attempts as high as six times those found in the general population,” researcher Lia Nower, of the Rutgers University Center for Gambling Studies, said in an American Psychological Association news release.

The study also found that older adults are more likely than younger adults to prefer non-strategic games such as slot machines, video poker and lottery tickets. These preferences may hasten the onset of gambling problems, the researchers said.

Older adults in the study began gambling at a significantly later age.

“In particular, older women began gambling at about 49 but did not experience serious gambling problems until around the age of 60,” the researchers wrote. “In contrast, men began gambling more than a decade earlier, at 37, and also self-excluded around age 60.”

The researchers also found that older gamblers were less likely to receive mental health treatment, due to factors such as under-diagnosis, lack of physician referrals, and inadequate Medicare coverage.

“This reluctance to access care, combined with the increased potential for suicidal ideation, could increase the risk for self-harm among older adult problem gamblers without targeted interventions to assist them in accessing services,” the researchers wrote.

The study was published in the September issue of the journal Psychology and Aging.

Abraham Leon was getting a checkup when he found out he had high blood pressure and was at risk of developing diabetes.

On the spot, the 5-foot-6-inch, 240-pound lab researcher joined “Vamos Por Un Million de Kilos” (Let’s Lose a Million Kilos), a national campaign to get Mexicans to collectively trim about 2 million pounds.

The project is one of several new efforts to fight obesity in Mexico, which is on track to catch up with the United States within a decade as one of the world’s fattest countries, according to the Mexican government. Nearly half of Mexico’s 110 million people are overweight, and the number of fat children has climbed 8 percent a year over the last decade.

“The longer we carry this excess weight, the more serious the problem becomes,” said Dr. Samuel Flores Huerta, director of the Department of Community Health at Children’s Hospital. “Obesity is costing this country a lot of money.”

Mexico is working to mandate more physical education in public schools and encourage employers and unions to give workers time for exercise. The administration of President Felipe Calderon says it has built or renovated more than 800 public sports facilities around the country. The National Institute of Public Health is promoting food education and healthier choices in schools, such as fruits and vegetables instead of chips and soda.

Mexican cuisine has always been high in fat and carbohydrates. But for decades, people living in small villages could not grow enough crops to eat a lot and had to travel long distances to gather more food.

Now, as the middle class grows and more people move to cities seeking work, diets have become laden with processed and fast foods. At the same time, doctors say, Mexicans spend more time in sitting in cars or watching TV.

The country has the disease rates to prove it. According to government statistics, new cases of high blood pressure increased 24 percent in Mexico in just six years, from 2000 to 2006. New cases of Type 2 diabetes, believed to be linked in part to obesity, jumped 31 percent during that time.

Companies spend a lot to market unhealthy foods in Mexico, said Margarita Safdie, an investigator at the public health institute. In one so-called health-conscious promotion, a company offered a free bottle of water to anyone buying two soft drinks.

“It should be the other way around,” Safdie said. “It’s not that healthy food is much more expensive. What happens is that calories have become cheaper.”

At Alvaro Lozano’s taco stand in downtown Mexico City, customers line up every day for a choice of fatty meats on two corn tortillas washed down with a sugary soft drink. He said his customers are more concerned about money and time than about health.

Mexicans have also developed a taste for fast food.

“The food is good, and sometimes I don’t feel like cooking,” said Ana Lopez, 35, a Mexico City homemaker dining at Kentucky Fried Chicken on the Zona Rosa pedestrian mall.

“Vamos Por Un Million de Kilos” came out of a promotional campaign by the Televisa media company, launched after its sports department noticed a certain irony.

“Some of our sportscasters were talking about fitness while they themselves were obese,” said Rafael Bustillos, Televisa director of sport. “It was after that that we decided to start creating awareness about this issue.”

Advertisers sponsored spots encouraging viewers to eat healthier foods and showing easy and free ways to exercise in a country where few can afford gym memberships. Then the Mexican Institute of Social Security signed on, recruiting clinic patients like Leon for the weight-loss challenge. The campaign reached its goal in just four months with 2 million people.

“We only recommend that people lose a half to a full kilo (1 to 2 pounds) a week,” said Dr. Ernesto Krug, a public health unit director. “More than that is not healthy.”

The campaign is now starting a second phase, “Vamos Por Mas Kilos” (Let’s Lose More Kilos), targeted more widely, including at adolescents.

Leon, 39, has dropped 40 pounds since May. Before his checkup, he ate tacos, burgers and whatever his wife prepared, and didn’t exercise. Now he has learned to cook so he can choose healthy ingredients. He takes the stairs at work and walks at least twice a week with his wife. He also tries to be a role model.

“I have tried to tell my brother to do what I did. He’s overweight,” Leon said. “But he won’t listen to me.”

Leon plans to lose 20 more pounds. But already he worries less about heart disease and more about how to replace his baggy wardrobe.

“I think that it has paid off,” he said. “Physically, I feel great and more secure with myself.”