New laws to smoking and ban cigarette coming into place in few weeks

New laws to smoking and ban cigarette coming into place in few weeks

News Unknown   07:00

Report has it that six news laws that will bring to an outright end small packs of rolling tobacco and menthol cigarette will be put in place in few weeks to curb all “harmful” and “dangerous” cigs sending about 120,000 Britons each year. Thus making it impossible for smokers to buy packs of 10 cigarettes from shops.

The idea is that, it will now force smokers to think twice about the cost implication before spending £9 to buy the cheapest 20 packs of cig.

The proposed law will take effect from May 20, about a decade after the initial ban on smoking.

The proposed law which was introduced in May 2016, was billed to be implemented this year to enable suppliers have sufficient time to get rid of them.

The rules you need to look out for:

·         Ten decks of cigarettes will be banned

·         Smaller bags containing less than 30g of tobacco will  disappear from shops

·         The cheapest packet of fags will cost you £8.82 from May 2

·         Packets of cigarettes will be plain alongside graphic images showing the impact that tobacco has on health

·         Menthol cigarettes will be gradually phased out by 2020

·         Some flavoured cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco, including, alcohol, candy, spice, herbs and fruit, will be made illegal

The essence of the new law is to help in reducing deaths related to smoking and discourage young people from smoking.

Meanwhile, Amanda Sandford, from charity Action on Smoking and Health, said: “Cigarettes are already expensive and the price increase of cigarettes is a key factor in making people quit smoking.

“So by removing the packet of ten cigarettes this means people will have to find the extra money for a packet. It will hit poorer smokers harder, who are usually younger smokers.”

She told the Hull Daily Mail: “Paying £3 or £4 for a packet of ten cigarettes at the moment might not seem so much to people and still leave them with change in their pockets.

“But you when you have to spend £6 to £7, even £9, people may think ‘Do I really need this packet?’”.

This 6-year-old boy has a 4 inch opening across his skull

This 6-year-old boy has a 4 inch opening across his skull

News Unknown   11:06

Six-year-old Pheaktra Pov born with a four-inch deep crack across his entire skull seem not to have any hope of having a better life as his conditions gets worst each day. During mum’s pregnancy, she was warned by medical experts that the baby in her womb had a severe ‘problem with his head’ but little did she know that it was going to be as bad as it is today.

Finally, when she gave birth to him, doctors found out that little Pov had a small crevice on the top of his skull, but could not do anything to get it corrected, as a result, they were sent home.

Shockingly, the hole in his head has continued to get deeper and wider - now stretching from his forehead to the base of his skull on the back of his head.

The situation seem to have defied all medical knowledge and expertise, as they told the parents, of their inability to handle the situation. Nevertheless, the little boy’s grandmother, Thorn Hong, aged 67 is said she is determined to find a lasting solution to the boy’s predicament.

Every week, she wheels Pheaktra to the Angkor Watt temple in Siem Reap province, Cambodia, to beg for aids for her grandson, scraping together about £5 a day.

Thorn said: "My daughter checked when she was three-months pregnant if anything was wrong and the doctors said everything was fine.

"But at seven months they said there was a serious problem but it was too late to do anything.

"Pheaktra was born with a crack in his head and it’s getting bigger all the time. I can put my hand inside the middle, it is very big.

"Pheaktra’s father left before he was born so it’s just me and my daughter who take care of him. Doctors do not know what has caused this and they said there is nothing they can do.

"Until he was five-years-old it seemed like there was water inside his head and it was swelling and getting bigger.

"I get about $10 to $25 a week from people at the Angkor Watt temple when I go on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday."

Local charities supply free medicine to Pheaktra but it is to prevent seizures and has no effect on the bizarre crack in his head.

Thorn added: "The children’s hospital give us some medicine but it is just to make Pheaktra feel better. We pray everyday for somebody in the world that knows how to fix this."

After several years of traumatic experience with tumour, this teenage girl can now eat, drink and talk for the first time

After several years of traumatic experience with tumour, this teenage girl can now eat, drink and talk for the first time

News Unknown   09:57

At last, a fifteen-year-old teenager named Laxmi Kumari who had a huge 'gagging' tumour in her mouth now able to eat and talk very well, after a team of medical experts removed it from her, after many years of travail, as she was unable to eat and talk.

Sources said the tiny lump on the teenage girl, took about three years to erupt into a huge mass spilling from her mouth. And as result forced her out of public places including school, and also made her to the ability to eat, drink, communicate verbally and also breathe in a proper manner.

The girl later went through a life-transforming surgery last year and will undergo more cosmetic therapy later on in order to bring lasting solution to the traumatised girl.

"Eventually I had to stop going to school.

"Now I have no friends. No one even talks to me. Not even my own siblings."

Laxmi, from Navgachiya Koshipar, India, looked completely normal aged 12, but a small lump inside her mouth took just a few years to grow to a huge size. The lump called giant cell epulis, is believed to be caused by irritation or trauma.

During her period of travail, her classmates made mockeries of her at school, as they all thought Laxmi was "possessed by spirits".

The teenager needs more treatment for a small lump left inside her mouth and also on her right eye, but it was delayed until her family could save 2,600 rupees - just £31.

Fortunately to her, some good spirited locals came to her rescue when they raised the cash for operation, and she was admitted to hospital a couple of weeks ago, and is awaiting the procedure.

Neighbour Sonu Kumar Jaiswal said: "Laxmi comes from a poor family.

"Her farmer father did his best and took her to different doctors for treatment despite having limited resources.

"But he also had given up hope when doctors expressed inability to solve the case.

"Forget about the outsiders, Laxmi is leading a life of isolation and dejection at home.

"She is confined to a separate room where family members rarely go.

"Things have, however, changed drastically after the operation.

"Now, she is gradually being accepted and welcomed at home and outside.

"People have started to believe that Laxmi can regain face, dignity and beauty once the corrective operation is done."

Dr Upendra Nath, head of surgery department at state-run Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital, said: "The operation on Laxmi will be performed soon as we have got her pathology reports.

"We had asked Laxmi's father to bring her back to hospital so that we can continue the follow up treatment.

"But even after 20 days, Laxmi couldn't visit us as her father was unable to afford the money for tests.

"Now that the tests are done, she will be operated soon."

Spanish scientist finds cure for HIV

Spanish scientist finds cure for HIV

News Unknown   09:04

Optimism for HIV patients report has it that a team of medical scientist have developed a ‘functional cure’ for the HIV virus. The scientific feat could be a major landmark achievement for millions of people living with the virus.

The medical breakthrough is being applauded as a ‘vital piece towards a functional cure’ by the National Aids Trust.

Though the scientific is still in its early stage, report has it that a total of five (5) infected people with the virus are presently tested free of any detectable virus. Also one of the five persons has been living without any medication for over seven months running.

The research was started three years ago by a Spanish scientist name Beatriz Mothe of IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute.

Mothe along with other colleagues of hers lately gave 24 diagnosed people two Oxford University developed vaccines, followed by antiretroviral drugs.

At present, millions of people the world over, take the drugs to put the virus under suppression and prevent it from spreading, but such measure, and is not good enough, as it destroys the immune system if untreated.

One sad news about HIV is that the moment continuous treatment is stopped momentarily, the virus can replicate very fast, even if an undetectable viral load is achieved.

According to New Scientist, this year following Mothe’s trial, 15 of the participants were given a booster dose of one of the vaccines, then another three doses of romidepsin,

Romidepsin is a cancer drug that has shown the potential to ‘flush out’ HIV from hiding.

Five of the total 15 who stopped taking antiretroviral medication saw no return of HIV.

As a follow up to the experiment, Mothe and members of her team are presently examining the reason why the other 10 participants failed to respond to the therapy.

The National Aids Trust said: ‘This research shows that a therapeutic vaccine has the potential to keep the virus under control in people already known to be living with HIV.

‘The study was very small and only five out of 13 participants experienced the positive impact, all for less than a year so far.

‘To be confident that they have been functionally cured of HIV, much longer follow-up is needed.

‘We all want to reach a point where people living with HIV can be well without the need for daily medication, and this vaccine approach is one of a range of possible interventions which scientists are currently trialling.

‘But all are in early development and much more research is needed to achieve the functional cure.’

Unsurprisingly there is a heavy dose of scepticism. Dr Daniel Douek, of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in America admitted ‘results were encouraging.’

But said: ‘It is difficult to gauge what the effect of the procedure actually was because of the uncontrolled nature of the study and the fact that the people who remain off [ARVs] are, nevertheless, viremic.’

Previously a Mississippi baby was said to be ‘cured’ of HIV only for the virus to reappear when she was a four-year-old.

Steven Deeks, an HIV/AIDS clinician and researcher at the University of California, said he was ‘optimistic’ and said it was ‘hard to argue that the vaccine strategy did not do something.’

These couples who were born deaf hear each other for the first time after an ear implant

These couples who were born deaf hear each other for the first time after an ear implant

News Unknown   10:05

A couple who were both born deaf have been able to hear each other after the implantation of cochlear for the first time ever since they got married.

According to sources, it took about two years for Helen to convince Neil (husband) to accept the implant due to the failure of other devices which were administered to them. Thus making them the first couple in Britain to such device implanted in to them simultaneously.

The devices were fitted at the University of Southampton Audiology Implant Service (USAIS), where they underwent surgery to have tiny electrodes implanted into their skulls.

The moment the devices were first switched on was captured on video with Neil, 50, at first joking that he didn't like the sound of his wife's voice.

But he also said: "I am getting used to it now. It felt incredible, in a happy way. It felt really emotional."

The implant is made up of two components that sits on the internal and external region of the skull above the ear and are fused by magnet.

Information from the processor on the outside of the skull is sent to 16 electrodes on the inside, which then send electrical pulses to the brain.

The implants will now have to be perfected, though it is not clear how much hearing the couple will eventually recover.

Initially, cochlear implants were only thought to benefit people who had recently lost their hearing and already had speech and language skills.

Nevertheless Dr Mary Grasmeder said they are increasingly being used to treat people who have been deaf since birth.

"People who have been deaf for some time don't have the same expectation of sound will be like, compared with someone who has just lost their hearing," she said.

"Because their auditory system is not so well developed it will be more difficult for them to process the information and to understand it."

Cancer patients to have new treatment by 2018

Cancer patients to have new treatment by 2018

News Unknown   10:01

Good news for patients with various form of cancer such as brain tumours, head and neck cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer following a scientific breakthrough in the UK. According to report, new cancer treatment centres are ready to welcome patients to their centres.

From 2018, the Rutherford Cancer Centres will different kind of cancer treatments alongside high energy proton beam therapy.

Report has it that three centres are currently under development, in Newport, South Wales, Bomarsund, Northumberland and Reading, Berkshire.

Proton Beam Therapy is a type of radiotherapy used in cancer treatment, which distributes severely charged protons in a précised mode in order to minimise damage to tissue and organs that are not yet affected.

Though the UK is yet to have such treatment, countries across the world has successfully delivered Proton Bean Therapy with remarkable outcome for cancer patients, with particular attention to reducing the side effects.

The treatment went viral after six-year-old Aysha King was removed from NHS care by his parents to undergo proton therapy in the Czech Republic - at the Proton Therapy Centre in Prague.

Since then, dozens of patients have sought the treatment - with one patient explaining how he ‘fully recovered’ from prostate cancer following the treatment.

Proton Beam Therapy can be used for prostate cancer, breast cancer, head and neck cancer, brain tumours.

According to a Proton Therapy Centre spokesman there is going to be two new centres which are presently being constructed in the UK - with one housed at Manchester’s Christie Hospital and one at University College London.

For now, the NHS will still prefer patients abroad for treatment pending when the centre becomes in operation in 2018.

The Rutherford Cancer Centre, South Wales is nearing completion and will offer chemotherapy, radiotherapy and imaging via the 'latest treatment'.

Positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET-CT) will be available in the second half of this year and proton beam therapy will be available at the centre from early 2018.

However, Treatment at The Rutherford Cancer Centres will be available to medically-insured private patients, self-paying patients and patients referred by the NHS.

Professor Gordon McVie, chairman of Proton Partners International, said: “We’re delighted to announce the creation of The Rutherford Cancer Centres.

“Proton Partners International is committed to transforming cancer care in the UK.

“The Rutherford name is synonymous with a major breakthrough in cancer treatment and therefore we felt that this was a fitting identity for our treatment centres.

“With cancer on the rise, there is a growing need for patients to be offered a holistic and sophisticated level of cancer care.

“Patients at The Rutherford Cancer Centres will have access to a wide range of cancer services and a treatment plan will be implemented on an individual basis.”

Mike Moran, chief executive officer of Proton Partners International, said: “We are working with the world’s leading technology partners to ensure that our centres are equipped with the latest cancer technology.

“Our centres will have the capacity to treat 500 unique patients a year.  We will also network our centres to ensure the data they will provide can play a significant role in cancer research.

“We are committed to undertaking a genomics programme which will collate, analyse and distribute data through our research facility at the Life Sciences Accelerator centre in Liverpool.”