Category Archives: Health

‘Safe’ air-quality levels in US, UK and EU still harmful for health, study says

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Even small amount of exposure to minute soot particles – known as PM2.5 – raises the risk of cardiovascular disease

The sooty air pollution spewed out by cars, trucks and factories is causing widespread harm to people’s hearts and lungs even with the smallest amounts of exposure, with government regulations still routinely allowing for dangerous risks to public health, two major new studies have found.

There is no safe amount of a microscopic form of airborne pollution known as PM2.5, consisting of tiny particles of soot measuring less than the width of a human hair, for heart and lung health, US researchers found, with even small amounts raising the risk of potentially serious problems.

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EU cuts toxic air limits but still falls short of WHO guidelines

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Rules hailed as once-in-a-generation chance to improve air quality but loopholes will let member states delay by up to a decade

The European Union has agreed to set stricter limits on the toxic particles and dangerous gas that dirty its air, but will not aim for the levels that doctors and economists recommend.

The new rules slash the yearly limits for fine particulates known as PM2.5 – which wreak havoc on the whole body because they are small enough to slip into the bloodstream – from 25 µg/m³ to 10 µg/m³, and for nitrogen dioxide, a gas that hurts the lungs, from 40 µg/m³ to 20 µg/m³.

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Australia news live: wages rise by 4.2% over 2023 in highest growth since 2009; flight cancellation crackdown

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Transport minister Catherine King unveils overhaul to legislation governing Sydney airport, to significantly increase transparency over allocation of take-off and landing slots. Follow the day’s news live

Man dies after electric unicycle crash in Victoria

A man has died after crashing his electric unicycle in Bellfield yesterday evening.

We have concerns for his health. We have been working consistently since coming to government, particularly behind-the-scenes, to say that we believe Mr Assange should be returned … These sort of issues of diplomacy are not always best done through a megaphone, but we will continue to advocate for an end to this and see Mr Assange returned home.

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‘Martha’s rule’ granting urgent second opinion to be adopted in 100 English hospitals

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Initiative before national rollout will allow review of care for patients whose condition is deteriorating

Patients whose health is failing will be granted the right to obtain an urgent second opinion about their care, as “Martha’s rule” is initially adopted in 100 English hospitals from April at the start of a national rollout.

The initiative will allow patients and their loved ones to get a review of their condition and treatment directly from doctors and nurses not involved in the medical team treating them.

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Combining three healthy behaviours can lower IBS risk, study finds

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People who tick at least three out of five boxes including not smoking and good sleep are found to have 42% lower risk

Combining three healthy behaviours can reduce the risk of irritable bowel syndrome by 42%, a study suggests.

IBS affects the digestive system and its symptoms include stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation. People can suffer for days, weeks or months at a time, and symptoms can come and go. IBS is thought to affect up to one in 10 people worldwide.

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Australians back stronger regulation on vapes including a ban, study finds

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Professor says vaping stores need to be shut down for people to realise supply is being regulated

Australians are concerned about the widespread availability of illegal vapes and many support a ban, new research has found.

A study published in the February edition of the international medical journal BMJ Open saw researchers consult with 139 Australians aged 14-39 living in Sydney and Melbourne about vaping regulations. Interviews were conducted across 16 focus groups.

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Rough sleepers dying ‘alarmingly’ premature deaths, Sydney homeless data shows

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People suffering from schizophrenia especially at risk, homelessness advocates say

One of Sydney’s largest homelessness services says its client data shows the city’s rough sleepers are dying at “alarmingly” premature rates, particularly those with schizophrenia.

Matthew Talbot Hostel, based in the inner-city suburb of Woolloomooloo,
said data from about 4,000 patients attending its health clinic shows those experiencing homelessness are dying at an average age of 55.9.

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Thousands of NSW students to stay home after asbestos found in mulch at two more Sydney schools

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Positive tests recorded at schools in Marsden Park and Orchard Hills takes total number of sites to have tested positive to 34 since early January

Thousands of New South Wales students will be forced into remote learning for a week after asbestos was found at another two Sydney schools, as testing continues across the city.

The state’s environment watchdog confirmed the additional positive results on Sunday while investigators continued to trace and test mulch that may be contaminated with asbestos.

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Woman who handed over British girl, 3, for FGM in Kenya given seven years

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Amina Noor travelled from north London with the child to Kenya where the procedure was carried out in 2006

A woman who was found guilty of handing over a three-year-old British girl for female genital mutilation (FGM) during a trip to Kenya has been jailed for seven years.

Amina Noor, 40, was convicted last year of assisting a Kenyan woman to carry out the procedure overseas in 2006. The conviction was the first for assisting in such harm under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003.

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Participants at retreat where man died after ayahuasca ceremony allegedly told not to talk, NSW inquest hears

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Jarrad Antonovich died after drinking plant-based psychedelic and having frog toxin extract ‘kambo’ dabbed into burns

The ceremonial leader of a spiritual retreat in northern New South Wales at which a man died after drinking ayahuasca may have told witnesses not to talk about the fatal ceremony, a coroner has heard.

The second sitting of the inquest into the death of Jarrad Antonovich – who died after drinking the plant-based psychedelic and having the frog toxin extract “kambo” dabbed into burns in his skin – held its second hearing on Friday.

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Health minister accuses vaping lobby of targeting children after industry ad campaign against ban

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Industry claims vapes should be regulated like alcohol but Mark Butler says companies want to create a ‘new generation addicted to nicotine’

A vaping lobby group with links to tobacco companies is running ads in Australian newspapers calling for the government to abandon its vaping reforms, in a campaign ministers and experts say is misdirecting the public.

A campaign called Bust the Black Market ran full page advertisements in The Australian and the Daily Telegraph this week calling for e-cigarettes to be regulated “like tobacco and alcohol”.

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Victoria’s largest public health service faces criminal charge over Indigenous woman’s hospital death

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WorkSafe Victoria has charged Monash Health for allegedly exposing a patient to health and safety risks while in its care

Victoria’s largest public health service is facing a criminal charge over the death of an Indigenous woman who took her own life while receiving mental health treatment at Dandenong hospital in 2022.

WorkSafe Victoria on Thursday announced it had charged Monash Health for allegedly exposing a patient to health and safety risks while in its care.

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Sydney asbestos crisis: largest EPA probe ever with hundreds of sites potentially contaminated

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More than 130 people working on criminal investigation into mulch supplied by Greenlife Resource Recovery. The company denies any wrongdoing

An investigation into the growing New South Wales asbestos scandal has become the state environmental watchdog’s biggest-ever probe with hundreds of sites potentially contaminated including parks, schools, train stations and suburban back yards.

A surge workforce of public servants and firefighters will assist the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) as it expands its criminal investigation into mulch found to contain asbestos across Sydney and regional NSW.

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London hospital and Sheffield clinic affected by faulty egg-freezing products

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Guy’s hospital and Sheffield clinic may have used faulty freezing solution that could damage eggs and embryos

Scores of women have been affected by the use of a faulty freezing solution at fertility clinics in London and Sheffield, with frozen eggs and embryos potentially destroyed as a result, the fertility regulator has said.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) confirmed the issue was limited to Guy’s and St Thomas’ assisted conception unit in London, and Jessop Fertility in Sheffield.

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NSW opposition calls for central register of sites under investigation amid asbestos crisis

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Environment spokesperson Kellie Sloane says park users should not hear about potential contamination through the media

The New South Wales opposition has called for a central register of all sites being investigated for possible asbestos contamination by the state’s environmental watchdog, including parks and schools.

Councils across Sydney have been assessing their parks and landscaping providers after the City of Sydney announced 32 sites were under investigation for possible contamination in addition to three where asbestos was found in mulch earlier in the week.

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Tennessee advances bill to ban people from helping minors obtain abortion

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Proposed bill that could see prison sentences of up to 15 years for breaching rules moves forward in state legislature

Tennessee state legislators moved on Tuesday to advance a bill that would ban people from taking minors for an abortion without parental permission – an act that the bill has dubbed “abortion trafficking”.

If someone illegally “recruits, harbors, or transports a pregnant unemancipated minor” for an abortion, they could face three to 15 years in prison under the proposed bill, which has now advanced out of a state house subcommittee after a hearing.

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Trial offers hope for millions that jab could prevent rheumatoid arthritis

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An existing drug for the chronic disease could slow or stop its progression, researchers say

Scientists have discovered a jab that could prevent rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a development experts say could offer hope to millions at risk of the disease.

RA is a chronic disease that causes inflammation in the body and triggers pain in the joints. About 18 million people globally are affected by the condition, which can lead to heart, lung or nervous system problems, according to the World Health Organization.

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Brianna Ghey’s mother warns tech bosses more children will die without action

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Exclusive: Esther Ghey says she believes social media use left her daughter vulnerable, while killers were able to access violent content online

The mother of Brianna Ghey has called for her murder to be a “tipping point” in how society views “the mess” of the internet, warning that a generation of anxious young people will grow up lacking resilience.

Esther Ghey said technology companies had a “moral responsibility” to restrict access to harmful online content. She supports a total ban on social media access for under-16s – a move currently under debate in certain legislatures, including Florida in the US.

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Australia’s sun safety guidelines updated to take account of diverse skin types

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New Australian guidelines balance the risk of getting too much sun exposure with the benefits of vitamin D

Growing evidence about the health importance of sun exposure and genetic differences in the population have prompted Australia to adopt new sun safety guidelines.

The research informing the update was published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health on Tuesday, and led by Prof Rachel Neale from the QIMR Berghofer medical research institute in Brisbane.

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Record one in five NHS staff in England are non-UK nationals, figures show

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Figure of 20.4% is highest since records began in 2009, prompting warnings over growing reliance

One in five NHS staff in England are non-UK nationals, according to figures that show the pivotal role foreign workers play in keeping the health service afloat.

Healthcare workers from 214 countries – from India, Portugal and Ghana to tiny nations such as Tonga, Liechtenstein and Solomon Islands – are employed in the NHS. And the proportion of roles filled by non-UK nationals has risen to a record high, according to analysis of NHS Digital figures.

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