A round-up of other stories in brief
PLEASANT PRESENTS:Washing-up liquid, tights, a hamster and replicas of the Taj Mahal - these are just some of the more unusual gifts given to doctors by grateful patients, according to a new survey in Britain.
In the last year, 76 per cent of doctors were given chocolates or other foodstuffs while 66 per cent were handed bottles of booze. Among the more strange gifts were artworks, vintage champagne, hand-embroidered cloths and poems of thanks.
The poll of 511 doctors, for the Medical Defence Union (MDU), also revealed that one doctor was given an ashtray.
Men were most likely to receive alcohol as a gift (80 per cent) while female doctors were given chocolates the most (85 per cent). GPs received the most presents, but psychiatrists, surgeons, paediatricians and anaesthetists also shared in the bounty. Only 4 per cent of male doctors reported receiving flowers from patients, although one was given a bouquet from a male patient.
QUIT TO BE FIT:To highlight National No Smoking Day tomorrow, the Irish Cancer Society is urging smokers to take the "Quit to be Fit" challenge and stop smoking to become healthier and fitter.
Research shows that smokers are less likely to take part in sports and physical activity because being active is a lot harder if you smoke. When being active, those who smoke are more easily exhausted, suffer shortness of breath, and have reduced endurance and physical performance.
"Smoking just a single cigarette can immediately affect physical capability in exercise when the inhaled carbon monoxide binds to red blood cells, displacing oxygen and preventing its delivery to muscle cells," said Norma Cronin, health promotion manager, tobacco control at the Irish Cancer Society. "At the same time, smoking constricts blood vessels, which prevents the proper redistribution of blood and oxygen to the muscles during exercise. So if you really want to be physically fit, it pays to quit."
PROSCRIBED PRESCRIPTIONS:The British government is launching a national campaign to remind doctors and patients of the potentially lethal consequences of prescribing antibiotics when it is not necessary.
The Department of Health said advertisements will appear in national newspapers and magazines, and posters will be placed in GPs' surgeries and pharmacies.
The chief medical officer said family doctors are wrongly prescribing antibiotics to treat minor ailments such as coughs, colds and sore throats in a third of all cases.
VIRAL WARNING:Anti- retroviral drug treatments can dramatically reduce the level of HIV virus in the blood but transmission risks remain, UN health agencies have said.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNAIDS, responding to a study published by Switzerland's Federal Aids Commission, said "correct and consistent use of condoms" was the best way to prevent the spread of the Aids virus between sexual partners.
People taking anti-retrovirals can have undetectable amounts of HIV virus in their blood "at certain stages of their treatment", the Geneva-based agencies said in a statement. "However, it has not been proven to completely eliminate the risk of transmitting the virus," UNAIDS and WHO said.
"More research is needed to determine the degree to which the viral load in blood predicts the risk of HIV transmission and to determine the association between the viral load in blood and viral load in semen and vaginal secretions."
COUCH POTATO TAX:The US state of New Mexico is considering a tax on TVs and computer games to discourage child couch potatoes.
Its supporters want to use the money on schemes to get youngsters playing outdoors.
A coalition of groups believes that outdoor education programmes can inspire children in a way that video games and television cannot. It wants the state to create a No Child Left Inside fund with a 1 per cent tax on TVs, video games and video game equipment which would raise around $4 million annually.
"We believe that an outdoor education program in New Mexico could be funded through a tax on the very activities that are divorcing kids from nature, promoting more sedentary lifestyles," said spokesman Michael Casaus.