Smoking bans 'cut heart attacks'

Bans on smoking in public places have had a bigger impact on preventing heart attacks than ever expected, data shows.

Smoking bans cut the number of heart attacks in Europe and North America by up to a third, two studies report.

This "heart gain" is far greater than both originally anticipated and the 10% figure recently quoted by England's Department of Health.

The studies appear in two leading journals - Circulation and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Heart attacks in the UK alone affect an estimated 275,000 people and kill 146,000 each year.

Big impact

Earlier this month it was announced that heart attack rates fell by about 10% in England in the year after the ban on smoking in public places was introduced in July 2007 - which is more than originally anticipated.

But the latest work, based on the results of numerous different studies collectively involving millions of people, indicated that smoking bans have reduced heart attack rates by as much as 26% per year.

If you are a smoker, the single biggest thing you can do to avoid a heart attack is to give up, which could also protect the heart health of friends and family

Ellen Mason of the British Heart Foundation
Second-hand smoke is thought to increase the chances of a heart attack by making the blood more prone to clotting, reducing levels of beneficial "good" cholesterol, and raising the risk of dangerous heart rhythms.

Dr James Lightwood, of the University of California at San Francisco, led the Circulation study that pooled together 13 separate analyses.

His team found that heart attack rates across Europe and North America started to drop immediately following implementation of anti-smoking laws, reaching 17% after one year, then continuing to decline over time, with a 36% drop three years after enacting the restrictions.

Dr Lightwood said: "While we obviously won't bring heart attack rates to zero, these findings give us evidence that in the short-to-medium-term, smoking bans will prevent a lot of heart attacks.

"This study adds to the already strong evidence that second-hand smoke causes heart attacks, and that passing 100% smoke-free laws in all workplaces and public places is something we can do to protect the public."

Ellen Mason, of the British Heart Foundation, said: "These studies add to the growing evidence that a ban on smoking in public places seems to have a positive impact on heart attack rates, which is clearly good news for our nation's heart health.

"The statistics also show how quickly the benefits can be felt after a smoking ban is implemented and indicate how dangerous second-hand smoke can be to the heart.

"If you are a smoker, the single biggest thing you can do to avoid a heart attack is to give up, which could also protect the heart health of friends and family."

Latest figures show at least 70,000 lives have been saved by NHS Stop Smoking Services in the 10 years since they were established in England.

Daily Aspirin Cuts Colon Cancer Risk in People Genetically Prone to the Disease

Colon cancer is one of the most common cancers in the United States, diagnosed in more than 130,000 new patients each year. For most people, the life-time risk for developing colon cancer is about six percent, but the risk is more pronounced for those with hereditary colon cancer syndromes. Patients who have inherited one of these syndromes have an extremely high risk for developing colon cancer, approaching 90 to 100 percent. However, European researchers say people with the most common of these syndromes, Lynch syndrome, could significantly reduce their chances of developing colon cancer by taking daily doses of an inexpensive over-the-counter drug that’s been around for better than a century and continues to be at the forefront of emerging science—aspirin.

The researchers came to this conclusion after following 1,071 people with Lynch syndrome, which accounts for about five percent of all colon cancer. For about four years, half of the participants were given daily doses of 600 milligrams of aspirin, while the other half received a placebo. Tests done 29 months into the study showed no difference in colon cancer rates, but a follow-up after four years detected a significant difference. “To date, there have been only six colon cancers in the aspirin group as opposed to 16 who took placebo,” said John Burn of the Institute of Human Genetics at Newcastle University in Britain, who led the study. “There is also a reduction in endometrial cancer.”

A previous study by Harvard Medical School researchers found that regular use of aspirin may reduce the mortality risk of colon cancer by more than half by inhibiting the enzyme COX-2, which promotes inflammation and cell division and is found in high levels in tumors. The Harvard study showed that people who tested positive for COX-2 benefited more from aspirin use than those without the enzyme. But Burn has another explanation for aspirin’s protective effect. He theorizes that aspirin targets faulty stem cells, destroying them before they mutate into pre-cancerous cells. “If aspirin reduced the chances of such cells surviving, this would explain our results,” he said.

Others aren’t convinced of Burn’s theory. “There’s something weird going on here that’s outside of what we normally see,” said Alfred Neugut of Columbia University Medical Center in New York, who has done similar work but was not involved in the European study. “Reducing cancer is a wonderful thing, but there is something else going on here that we don’t understand.”

Despite skepticism, Burn says the team is “delighted” with the study results, “all the more so because we stopped giving the aspirin after four years, yet the effect is continuing.” He said previous trials may not have been long enough to prove aspirin’s benefit, which is one reason their study targeted people with Lynch syndrome, because they who are likely to develop cancer more quickly. “The benefits are probably not seen in the general population for at least ten years,” he said.

Burn presented the study results in Berlin at a joint meeting of the European Cancer Organization and the European Society for Medical Oncology. The team’s future plans include a study to find out whether a lower dose of aspirin will also stave off colon cancer.

source: http://www.healthnews.com/family-health/daily-aspirin-cuts-colon-cancer-risk-people-genetically-prone-disease-3700.html

10 top ways to make money

If you're looking at ways to supplement your income, here are some options other than working behind a bar or stacking shelves at a supermarket.

1 Police ID parades
Taking part in identity parades is easy money - you just have to stand there - but work is irregular and may depend on your appearance. Many police forces now use video line-ups but you can still get a one-off fee of £10 for being filmed.

Average pay: £10 for the first hour, £5 for every hour after that.
More info: ask at your local police station.

2 TV/film extra
Production companies need people of all shapes and sizes and if you're over 18 but look younger you'll be especially popular, as you can save them the cost of a chaperone for a child actor. Don't expect to meet the stars, though.

Average pay: £80 a day, with bonuses for things like providing your own costume or doing a 'walk-on'. Overtime is paid at around £11 an hour.
More info: there's a list of extras agencies at UK Screen

3 Campus brand manager
All sorts of companies hire students to promote them on campus, from film distributors to sportswear firms. You'll get plenty of opportunities to demonstrate your business acumen, but the work can be time-consuming.

Average pay: £300 a term, though some firms only pay on a commission basis.
More info: look for notices on student job boards.

4 Trading on eBay
'The World's Online Marketplace' has one million registered users in the UK alone so there's bound to be someone who'll pay for anything you have to sell. Start with stuff you don't want (old CDs, clothes, toys) to get a feel for it.

Average pay: the sky's the limit - but unless you're selling something rare or valuable, don't expect to make a fortune.
More info: go to eBay and click on 'eBay explained'.

5 Pose as a life model
You don't have to be beautiful or in particularly great shape but you do have to patient, able to sit still and perhaps not wince at what an artist makes of you. But good models are in demand.

Average pay: from £6 or so an hour clothed, to £7 or so an hour unclothed outside London; a little more in the capital.
More info: contact art colleges and adult education colleges near you.

6 In-store demonstrator
There's lots of work for confident, personable people in supermarkets and department stores. You might be required to show off your ironing skills, hold a food tasting or demonstrate a new kitchen gadget, for example. Hours are often in the evenings or during weekends so can fit around your studies.

Average pay: varies, but can be up to £10 an hour.
More info: search for 'field marketing agencies' on the Internet.

7 Event stewarding
Concerts and sports fixtures employ a small army to help with organisation. The necessary training will be provided on the day but don't view the job as a free ticket. Stewards at football matches, for example, are expected to face the crowd, not watch the game.

Average pay: rates start at £5 an hour; with training you can earn up to £15 an hour.
More info: try Recruit Event Services.

8 Blogging

There best way to make money through blogging is by placing advertising banners alongside your blog. An array of third party tools are available for setting up these ads, Google’s AdSense remains one of the more popular solutions. Just establish yourself a decent blog, configure the ads and see what happens.

Average pay: This will range widely depending on how many people visit your blog and click on the sponsored links.
More info: see Wordpress for starting a blog and Google Adsense for setting up your sponsored links

9 Mystery shopping
Some men would pay good money not to go shopping, but 'mystery shoppers', on the other hand, get paid instead. It's not just about going to shops but perhaps to restaurants, bars or to stay in a hotel and report on how the customer's being treated. You'll get all the money for your meals, drinks or bills repaid and you may get to keep the shopping, too - unless, of course, it's diamonds.

Average pay: from £6 a visit, but could be as much as £100 a day.
More info: try the Mystery Shopping Agency on 020 8325 8974 or Retail Eyes

10 Internet researcher
You may have grown up taking the Internet for granted but there are plenty of people who aren't familiar with it or are too busy to spend time on it. So if you're skilled at extracting information from a web search, you can hire yourself out as a researcher for people like lawyers and writers.

Average pay: £10 an hour
More info: look for notices on student job boards or contact likely clients in your area