Welcome to Home Health UK’s News page with all the health news stories we think you might be interested in from the months August - September.

In this part of the site we aim to provide you with some of the latest health information regarding diagnosis of various illnesses and medical conditions. We will also aim to tell you about any developments in any of our current products and any future products we believe we may sell.

Remember, if there is anything you would like to see on this page or elsewhere on the site you can fill out our feedback form.

The public approve smoking ban

A new study has shown that the majority of the public believe smoking should be banned in all workplaces. Research by Action On Smoking (ASH) and Cancer Research UK revealed that 73% of people in England and Wales support a blanket smoking ban.

Under Government proposals, which are due to come into force in 2008, pubs and clubs that do not serve food will be exempt from the smoking ban. A study for ASH and Cancer Research UK found that many publicans, especially those is poorer areas would stop serving food to get around the planned law.

ASH director Deborah Arnott labelled plans not to outlaw smoking in all establishments as "damaging" and "pointless". She said " The public wants action to end second hand smoke at work. It now kills more than 600 people at work every year, three times the number of deaths from industrial accidents. And it causes many thousands of asthma attacks and episodes of illness. Smoke-free legislation must be comprehensive if it is to be successful".

In addition to Ms Arnott a coalition of doctors, nurses and charities are pressing the Government to introduce a full smoking ban to save as many as 30 people a day from the fatal effects of passive smoking. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has written to health secretary Patricia Hewitt, urging her to take immediate action and to ban smoking in public places. Dr Beverly Malone, the RCN general secretary, criticised the Governments plan to allow smoking in places that do not serve food as "nonsensical". She said " The issue of whether a pub serves food or not is irrelevant. This is about having no choice about breathing in the smoke of others and the devastating effects of passive smoking on health."

TV presenter, Roy Castle's wife, Fiona also joined Cancer Research campaigners in delivering a petition to Downing Street calling for a total ban. Roy Castle died of lung cancer despite being a non smoker, it is thought that passive smoking was the cause.

A study by the British Medical Journal found that second-hand smoke kills 11,000 people a year in the UK.

The Government has released findings of a survey of more than 1,000 adults and found that 21% of non-smokers did not feel comfortable asking somebody not to light up near them, even though exposure to passive smoking increases the risk of lung cancer by 24% and heart disease by 25%. The survey also showed that 60% of smokers do not ask permission to smoke. The Government are also launching a new TV and radio campaign designed to show people the dangers of passive smoking.

For more information on smoking click here.

Aspirin may cut bowel cancer risk

A study by scientists in the US which looked at 83,000 women suggests that taking aspirin regularly for over 10 years does reduce the risk of bowel cancer.

The women who had taken 2 or more aspirin or similar painkillers a week had significantly cut their risk of bowel cancer. However, the doses were high enough to increase the risk of bleeding from the gut. The Harvard Medical School team told the journal of the American Medical Association more work was needed to see if the benefits outweighed the risks.

It was already known that aspirin use cuts the risk of recurrent benign bowel tumours, called colorectal adenomas, in patients with a history of bowel tumours, either cancerous or benign.

The Harvard team studied 82,911 women, of which 962 developed bowel cancer over 20 years. Among women who regularly used aspirin or other similar drugs there was a 23% reduced relative risk of bowel cancer compared with those who did not take the drugs regularly. The significant risk reduction was not observed until aspirin or similar was taken regularly for 10 years.

Responding to the study for Cancer Research UK, science information officer Ed Yong agreed more work was needed before any recommendations were made.

For more information on bowel cancer click here.

For more information or to buy our bowel test click here.

Couples unfit for pregnancy

A poll in the UK by Pregnancy & Birth magazine found that many couples do not ensure they are in the best physical condition to conceive. The survey of 2,000 women found two thirds drink alcohol and 4 in 10 continue to smoke while trying for a baby. Only 44% of women hoping to conceive said they tried to eat a healthy diet.

68% of all women surveyed said they continued to drink alcohol and 2 out of 10 admitted they drank "far too much". Of the 49% who smoked, only 26% gave up the habit. 47% of those surveyed had a partner that smoked and only 23% of men gave up.

Diet was another pitfall with a third of the women and their male partners saying they were overweight and 3 out of 10 couples reported taking recreational drugs.

The research also found that 70% of those questioned believed that women were leaving it too late to have children, most believed that 26 was the ideal age to have a first child. The reasons women gave for starting a family later included not having met the right man, not feeling ready or wanting to establish a career.

In the UK today 1 in 7 couples have fertility problems caused by a combination of factors, such as an increase in sexually transmitted diseases, women delaying motherhood and a increase in obesity which can interfere with ovulation.

Experts said it was important couples were educated on how health can affect your fertility. Most of the women surveyed were either pregnant or trying to conceive and the average age was 29.

For more information on trying for a baby click here

For more information on ovulation tests click here

For more information on our range of fertility tests click here.

NEWS HISTORY

2006

June-July 2006

April-May 2006

Jan-March 2006

2005

Sept-Dec 2005