Up Close and Personal
The monthly comment by CTM founder, Phillip Day

THE HARD WAY
Dominating this month's news was, of course, the case of the 'Elephant Man' drug trial that went tragically wrong and left six human 'guinea-pigs' fighting for their lives. True to their usual modus operandi, the whippets of the press began wringing their hands, wondering what on earth everyone could have done to prevent anything so horrific from happening. Setting aside the obvious retort, I was fascinated to see a whole host of worthies wheeled out to assure a dubious public they should continue submitting their flesh for cash to find the eventual cure for cancer and other complaints. And wasn't this a tragedy? And won't we be finding the culprits responsible? (Actually, I've just heard there are no culprits responsible).

Forget the horrendous substance used in this case to swell the victims' heads to three times the size of Cherie Blair's gum-shield, the proper questions, of course, escaped being asked. Why are correctly prescribed drugs the leading cause of death in most iatrogenic (doctor-induced) fatalities in the western world? Presumably such drugs made it successfully through the drug-approval procedure. Yet weekly, it seems, another advisory is released to haunt us, and once again the whippets in the press are at it, wringing their hands, and the whole production starts over again.

THE EASY WAY
Members of CTM, we are never going to be out of a job. If you believe you are what you eat (you are), and that every cell in your body comes from what you ingest (it does), then the main plank of CTM remains to push for doctors to be trained in nutrition. This one act would save countless lives, revolutionize healthcare for the forthcoming century, and save billions in valuable resources, yet most do not stop to consider the impact of this most common-sense of measures. Samantha and I just got back from doing the Vitality Show in London, and hundreds were amazed to learn such things were possible if only society had the will. But as usual, the worthy message was swallowed up in the plethora of tarot and fortune-telling, plastic shoobeedoos to shiver your back, and an hourly talk from Durex to titillate everything else within manicured hand-grasp. The simple truths escaped becoming known.

SIMPLE CHANGES
The idea for my new tour came last year, condemned as we were to programs depicting the 100 Best Adverts, the 100 Best War Movies, the 100 Most Embarrassing TV Moments, etc, and it struck me CTM could compile its own 100 list, something the public could really use, along the lines of 'Simple Changes - Your 100 Ways to a Happier, Healthier Life'.

Accordingly, commencing in the UK in May (and Australia and New Zealand come October), the Simple Changes tour will encompass pretty much the totality of the human experience, examining the 100 simple steps we can take across a whole raft of subjects to avoid trouble, enrich health and sanity, and form the framework of action anyone can take to their friends or neighbourhood for local talks or slide shows. We intend filming the talk in Australia. The Powerpoint presentation will be available FOC to those who send in a R/W CD with a stamped addressed envelope (also, for those further afield, downloads from the Internet). There will also be a Simple Changes book out in the summer.

The UK mailshot for Simple Changes has already gone out along with the itinerary. Every ticket for Simple Changes purchased in advance will come with a free copy of my new audio CD, 'There Must Be An Easier Way', recorded in Melbourne during the ABC's of Disease tour. Buy four tickets, get four CDs to pass onto friends. You will also be able to take your ticket to the Credence table and receive a 5% discount off anything you purchase on the night. Not bad, eh?

Getting serious about changing attitudes is nothing more than getting the truth out consistently - low-tech, hi-tech, a friend here, a business acquaintance there - whatever works. I hope you'll join me in helping to make the coming year a milestone for countless lives, to tell people the good news of how easy it can be to turn things around, if they've half a mind to put some effort in. Often all it takes is that one, wee light in an ocean of darkness to guide a lost ship safely back to port.

Have a happy April!
Phillip

Warning on Euro Licences
by David Rennie

A new Europe-wide driving licence could become "an identity card by the back door", a British Euro-MP warned yesterday.

Transport ministers are expected to approve the single driving licence for 25 nations at talks next week.

The document, the size of a credit card and replacing 110 types of licence in use in the member states, will be phased in over 20 years between 2012 and 2032.

Britain is backing the move as a practical anti-fraud measure which will make it much easier to check valid licences across Europe.

But Ian Hudghton, a Scottish Euro-MP, called for safeguards to prevent the licence becoming, in effect, part of a Europe-wide identity card system.

He welcomed measures to make Europe's roads safer, including a single driving licence to prevent drivers banned in one country obtaining a licence in another.

But he added: "If we are to have a Europe-wide driving licence scheme there must be safeguards. Otherwise it could herald a European ID card system by the back door. Many people would be unhappy about the prospect of a single EU identity card, just as they are unhappy about the prospect of identity cards being introduced by Tony Blair's Government. There are very real civil liberties concerns about data protection and about precisely who would have access to exactly what information about individuals."

Chris Davies, the leader of British Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament, predicted that Euro-MPs would move to close any loophole that would allow non-driving-related information to be placed on licence chips.

He said: "There needs to be data protection built in to this licence. Britain, under the Blair Government, is almost held up as an example of bad practice on this, across Europe."

A Transport Department spokesman said: "We have no plans to use this chip for anything other than driving information. This is not about ID cards, this is about cutting fraud."
The Daily Telegraph, 22nd March 2006

Further Resources:

The Real Face of the European Union by Phillip Day, video documentary (PAL format only)
Ten Minutes to Midnight by Phillip Day

Click here to purchase or review any of the above.
Click here for telephone sales around the world.

Benighted Laws that Oppress Us All
by Philip Johnston

For the greatest part of human existence, we have lived our nights in almost total darkness, brightened occasionally by a full moon or the glow of a fire.

We came to fear and distrust the dark and the dangers it shrouded: bandits or wild animals in the countryside; footpads in the towns.

Only in the past 200 years have our cities been properly lit, from the introduction of gas lamps to London in 1807 through to the all-encompassing glare that can now be seen from miles away. Those of us who live in big towns rarely see the night sky any more, but its disappearance was a trade-off for safety and ease of movement.

Over many years, astronomers and groups such as the Campaign for Dark Skies have agitated against this "light pollution", at which our forefathers would have marveled, and have pressed for new legislation to stop it. From April 6, it will duly arrive.

Light pollution will become a statutory nuisance for the first time and refusal to obey an order to dim an offending illumination is to be a criminal offence, punishable by a fine of up to £50,000.

Now, I have a good deal of sympathy with the arguments about light pollution, not merely because it is such a shock to see the glory of the night sky when out of the city, but also because it represents such a colossal waste of energy.

It is often public buildings that are the greatest offenders, both in having too many lights and in leaving them on too long, not least because those in charge of them do not have to foot the bill. The rest of us are encouraged to switch off a few more lights when the electricity demand comes in; for the public sector it is merely another cost to pass on to the taxpayer.

The councils who will police the new regulations say they intend to do so with a "light touch", no pun intended, and the Local Government Association today sets out a strategy for their implementation.

In the first instance, complainants are encouraged to record the problem with a detailed note of times and dates of nuisance and, preferably, to take some photographs for evidence.

Then, they are advised to speak to the light owner and see if a compromise can be reached. If this fails, a complaint can be made to the environmental health officers, who will then take a decision as to whether the lighting is in fact a nuisance and, if so, request that it is abated. If the order is ignored, the local authority may begin legal action.

No doubt for people irritated beyond measure by the incessant glare of a neighbour's lights, this law may prove a blessed relief, though they might be better advised to invest in a set of thick curtains first before starting proceedings that could prove costly and time-consuming.

But the reason why this law just does not feel right is that it represents yet another incursion into our daily lives. You just know that, for all the talk of turning the cities into a star-gazer's paradise, it will inevitably be used to stop people having too many Christmas tree lights, or to intercede in a row between neighbours over excessive security lighting, or to put an end to late-night floodlit tennis.

And the reason you know it is because many of the worst light pollutants are exempt from the law: airports, bus stations, road and rail transport facilities and (sensible one this) lighthouses are not covered by the new proscription.

Apparently, some campaigners' first target is not the new Heathrow Terminal Five, which lights up the horizon for about 20 miles around, but the floodlamps used to illuminate Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square.

The problem with so much regulation and policing is that, when a law is proposed that may well be a proper response to a real problem, it just seems like another wretched addition to the dismally long list of things we could do even as recently as 1997, but can no longer.

Every week brings a new restriction. From today, for instance, it will be unlawful to practise as a security guard or as a freelance CCTV operator without a licence, even though hundreds of thousands of people have done so over the years without any great problem.

Last week, the EU lifted its threat to ban mercury-filled barometers, which would have closed down the companies that make them. But a directive aimed at controlling hazardous substances will, from July, outlaw the use of lead in pipe organs and it will not then be possible to build new pipes or to move old ones from one church to another.

This will mean an end to centuries of English organ building and affect the upkeep of traditional pipe organs for cathedrals, concert halls, colleges and churches.

Why are so many laws introduced that merely inconvenience the respectable and law-abiding majority, while almost daily, it seems, there is a horror story telling the dreadful consequences that have arisen because someone in authority has failed to keep real criminals in jail for the duration of their sentence?

Would not the great efforts of government (and I include Brussels) to bury us under an avalanche of laws and regulations be put to better purpose if they were properly directed?

And it is not as though they can even get their act together. At the same time as new laws are introduced to curb light pollution, the European Commission is pushing a directive whereby drivers would have to keep their headlamps on at all times, day or night, with a £50 fine if they don't.

Since 1997, our lives have become increasingly circumscribed by laws that are essentially about how we should live, rather than a curb on behaviour that would normally be regarded as criminal.

In fewer than 10 years, the old adage that the basis of English liberty is the rule of law, under which everything is allowed unless specifically prohibited, has been turned on its head. The lights really are going out.
The Daily Telegraph, 20th March 2006

Further Resources:

The Real Face of the European Union by Phillip Day, video documentary (PAL format only)
Ten Minutes to Midnight by Phillip Day

Click here to purchase or review any of the above.
Click here for telephone sales around the world.

His Lordship is a Profitable Servant
by Christopher Booker

Some readers were struck by my reference last week to the fact that, as a former vice-president of the European Commission, Lord Kinnock is entitled to a pension worth £75,000 a year, since this is a higher figure than has been quoted before.

It derives from a written answer given to Lord Pearson of Rannoch on January 11, 2005. This shows that, on reaching 65 in two years' time, Lord Kinnock will draw 45 per cent of his final salary of £165,000, and is entitled to draw most of that already. On this he pays tax at a special preferential rate for EU employees of only 11 per cent, to the Belgian government.

This is, of course, in addition to what he receives as chairman of that increasingly rum body, the British Council; not to mention the rewards received by the rest of his family - his son Stephen, head of the British Council in St Petersburg; his wife Glenys, who receives £200,000 a year in salary and expenses as an MEP; and daughter Rachel, also on the EU payroll as her mother's researcher.
The Sunday Telegraph, 5th March 2006

Antibody 'Puts Immune System in Overdrive'
By Celia Hall

The experimental drug that has caused the violent reaction in six healthy volunteers is an entirely new type of antibody treatment which puts the body's immune response into overdrive rather than subduing it. That may help to explain why the reaction was so severe. The antibody also stays in circulation for a long time, making it very hard for doctors to treat the young men affected.

Prof Sir Gregory Winter, a world leader in antibody research, said that the new antibody "super-charges" the immune response in the body rather than turning it down. "Other antibody drugs like Herceptin (for breast cancer), Avastin (for bowel cancer) or Humira (rheumatoid arthritis), for example, appear to be relatively safe but these basically turn a response down."

The drug, called TGN1412, is an antibody treatment designed for some forms of leukaemia and rheumatoid arthritis. It stimulates the production of T-cells with the aim of improving control of a malfunctioning immune system.

"This is a different sort of antibody and I don't know of another antibody that is on the market that works in the same way," Sir Gregory said. "It is a different and very potent process and very difficult to predict in advance how mild or severe the clinical response might be."

Sir Gregory is the joint head of the Medical Research Council's laboratory of molecular biology division of protein and nucleic acid chemistry, at Cambridge. He said that the immune system was extremely complex and naturally had a series of checks and balances.

The new drug turned on a molecule called CD28 which helps to activate the T-cells. "You need to be very careful to be sure that you activate the response by just the right amount. You are on a knife edge: too much and it will attack not just the cells you want to attack but many other cells in the body. Furthermore, because the antibody remains in circulation for a long time the response is difficult to turn off."

Camilo Colaco, the chief scientific officer of the specialist immunology company Immunobiology Ltd, in Cambridge, believes that the disaster may expose the shortcomings of pre-clinical testing on mice and other animals. He told Science Business online: "The more we learn about the immune system, the more we realise that the mouse is not a good model for humans. This mismatch may be a particular problem with CD28, where there is little or no cross reactivity between a human antibody and the mouse immune system."

Scientists were also concerned about the effect on research.

Prof Chris Higgins, the director of the Medical Research Council clinical sciences centre, said: "Many antibody therapies treat and cure thousands of patients across the world. It would be a disaster if this one very serious incident impeded the development of new antibody therapies for serious diseases such as arthritis and cancer."

Karol Sikora, professor of cancer medicine at Imperial College, said that monoclonal antibodies were very powerful selective tools aimed at specific proteins on the surface of cells.
"They have been used extensively as treatments for cancer and they can target specific cells that regulate the immune response."
The Daily Telegraph, 17th March 2006

PHILLIP DAY'S COMMENT: The old cry of 'We must have drug trials so that diseases like cancer can be beaten' is, of cause, bankrupt. Nutrition has been curing cancer for years and, in spite of all said, intends to do so for the future. No, we must have drug trials so that the pharmaceutical industry can continue peddling its dangerous, quack remedies to a public slowly stirring itself to the issues. The unfortunate six, I suspect, are the tip of an iceberg that generally goes unreported - well-intentioned human guinea-pigs doing their bit for humanity, who end up with problems for years afterwards for want of a cheque.

Look, if you're that hard up for a few quid ….

The Fluoride Action Network

A Big Victory in Massachusetts

March 2, 2006

Dear All,

We have just received the exciting news from Chris Neurath that the attempt to introduce mandatory fluoridation into Massachusetts has failed at least for this year (add this to last year's failed attempts to introduced mandatory fluoridation in Arkansas, New Jersey and Oregon).

Huge congratulations to the many citizens in Massachusetts who made this victory possible. I am thinking particularly of Dr. Stephen Dean at this moment. His efforts on this issue for over 30 years have been tireless. He has dug deep into his personal time and his own pockets to keep fluoridation out of Springfield and other communities and now the state. Among many, many contributions from Steve in this latest effort was his organizing of a bus to take people from Springfield and surrounding towns to Boston to lobby against the mandatory bill.

Steve will be the first to point out the enormous help he has had from many others, but if you send your congratulations to him I know he will share them with all the others. His email address is drdean@the-spa.com

Well done Massachusetts! Time for another tea party!

Paul Connett

Paul,

Although the local MAF opponents are extremely cautious on declaring an early victory, yesterday marked the final death throw of a bill that would require mandatory fluoridation statewide. The second of two committees assigned to examine the bill decided to "send it to study". This is a euphemism for tabling the bill. No action will be taken on the bill for the rest of the legislative session and no votes will be taken on the bill. The proponents may try to re-introduce it next year, but for now this is a solid victory for Massachusetts opponents.

You may want to check with Steve Dean, Deirdre Healey, and Deb Moore for details on the ways they led the fight against this bill (yes please, Steve, Deirdre and Deb please tell us how you did it, PC). Lots of lobbying at the state house including a public hearing where the opponents of the bill faced rows of dentists and dental hygenists and came out the clear winner on the facts, in my opinion. Actually, most of the assembled "suits" were not even willing to testify but were there for looks. In contrast, the opponents had more speakers than there was time for. From scientists and engineers like Mullenix and Coplan to inner city activists who were concerned that mandatory fluoridation (in non-F Springfield and Worcester) was simply a ploy by the state and dental community to avoid the real problem in their neighborhoods, which was poverty and lack of access to dental care due in large part by dentist's refusal to accept Medicaid patients and scarcity of free dental clinics.

Chalk this up as one more big victory against the current strategy of trying to get mandatory state fluoridation bills passed as a way of bypassing the public accountability that almost always surrounds individual local level decisions on whether to fluoridate. In local cases, this focus on the issue often results in the opponents of fluoridation winning. At the state level, the media pay little attention to these state mandates and if they pass, it is then too late. For example, the Boston Globe has not run a single article on the bill to make fluoridation mandatory state-wide.
Chris
FAN Bulletin #506
http://lists.fluoridealert.org/listinfo/fan_bulletins

'Clever Foods' Are Not Such a Smart Buy
by Fiona MacRae

Are 'clever foods' any good?
Foods that supposedly boost intelligence or the immune system are not worth the extra money, experts warned yesterday. A series of studies suggests that the claims used to market the so-called 'healthy foods' can be misleading.

Products under the microscope included eggs and milk enriched with fatty acids to make us 'clever' and probiotic drinks with 'friendly bacteria' to keep our stomachs happy.

Research showing that the fatty acid omega-3 can boost the brain power of children has led to a flood of expensive products. One is St Ivel's Advance which is billed as 'clever milk' and is heavily advertised by leading scientist Lord Winston. It sells for almost 10 pence a pint more than normal milk. Experts believe, however, that anyone drinking it would need more than three pints a day to see an effect on their intelligence.

Similarly, many supermarkets sell Columbus eggs, which are produced by hens fed on a diet rich in omega-3. These cost around £1.39 for six - more than one and a half times the price of standard free-range eggs. Levels of the key fatty acids are so low though that 20 of the eggs would have to be eaten every week to have any effect.

Dr Alex Richardson, an Oxford University researcher who has studied the effect of omega-3 on children with learning difficulties, said: "If you want omega-3, why not go straight to the foods that are high in it anyway?"

The physiologist, who is a director of the charity Food and Behaviour Research, added: "The best place to get nutrients is from a healthy, balanced diet of fresh foods."

Oily fish such as tuna, sardines and mackerel are rich in omega-3 and people are advised to eat four portions a week. Most, however, take in just a fifth of that amount. Free-range hens are also thought to lay eggs higher in omega-3. A study in Greece suggested their eggs have 13 times more of the fatty acid than those of battery hens.

Probiotic yoghurts such as Actimel and Yakult have also come under the spotlight. The makers claim that 'good bacteria' in the drinks boosts our digestive and immune systems by keeping 'bad bacteria' at bay.

Research by the Consumers' Association concludes that the evidence for these claims is 'patchy'. The association's monthly bulletin for doctors and pharmacists also found no evidence to show the drinks improve general health. Another study for the association's Which? magazine shows that the drinks are loaded with sugar.

Yakult is 18 per cent sugar. Actimel, which is made by French firm Danone, is 14 per cent sugar. Both are sweeter than Coca-Cola.

Which? concluded: "Probiotic bacteria may be beneficial in certain circumstances but the evidence for this is patchy. There's no reliable research to prove that probiotics help your general wellbeing."

Michelle Smyth of Which? said: "You may have something which says it is low in cholesterol or low in fat or good for your heart. But, when you look at the nutritional information, it may he high in sugar or salt. This means the benefit you are being told about for the product may be counteracted by another factor and that is something people don't always realise."

A Yakult spokesman said: "The purpose of Yakult is to deliver high numbers of probiotic bacteria. These are by nature very acidic and without added sweetness, the drinks would be unpalatable."

Danone said that, taken regularly, Actimel can boost the immune system.

A spokesman for Dairy Crest, St Ivel's parent company, said Advance milk played an important part in increasing children's intake of omega-3, with even just one glass a day being beneficial.

A spokesman for Deans Foods, which produces Columbus Eggs, said just two eggs a day would provide half the daily recommended amount of omega-3.
Daily Mail, 4th March 2006

Danger of More Than Three Cups of Coffee
by Jenny Hope

Coffee: Heart risks
Coffee drinkers who have more than three cups a day could be dramatically increasing their risk of a heart attack, say researchers. A study found people who were "slow metabolisers" were at greater risk because they could not process caffeine as quickly as others. The research discovered that this type of coffee-drinker was up to 64 per cent more likely to suffer a cardiac arrest.

Risk for under-50s
The under-50s were found to be at greatest risk. A gene variation carried by some slow metabolisers caused the caffeine to linger in their bodies. It is not known how common the gene is in the British population but some studies suggest that up to a third of Caucasians may carry it.

The study of 4,000 people in Costa Rica is published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It could explain why previous research has mixed results about how caffeine can affect the heart, with some showing it can reduce heart attack risk while others show an increased risk.

However, experts say there is no easy way to identify the genetic traits involved outside research studies because there is no commercial test available. Researchers say it is impossible to tell if an individual is a slow or fast caffeine metaboliser based on whether coffee keeps you awake at night.

Genetic tests of blood samples identified fast and slow caffeine metabolisers, says the report by researchers from Toronto University, Harvard's School of Public Health and the University of Costa Rica.

Caffeine lingered in 'slow metabolisers'
The study involved 2,000 men and women aged 58 on average who had a non-fatal heart attack between 1994 and 2004, compared with a matched group of 2,000 healthy men and women.

The Canadian scientists discovered that people with a variant of the gene associated with slow metabolism, known as *1F are particularly at risk. Those who drank two or more cups daily were 36 per cent more likely to have a heart attack. Those who drank four or more were 64 per cent more at risk.

Researcher Ahmed El-Sohemy, of Toronto University, said: "It appears that one cup a day is not associated with any harm, regardless of your genetic make-up. There may be some people in the population for whom several cups a day may not be harmful, but until such exceptions have been identified, moderation would appear to be best." He added: "Perhaps in the future we'll be making different dietary recommendations based on people's genetic make-up." It was unclear from the study if caffeine alone affects the risk of heart attack or if other chemicals in coffee may be responsible.

But Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart Foundation said caffeine was a relatively small risk factor. He said: "We know that the speed at which people break down different drugs varies from person to person, depending on their genetic make-up. This research suggests that heavy coffee drinkers, having four or more cups a day, who break down caffeine more slowly may have a slightly increased risk of having a heart attack. However, for most people other lifestyle choices, such as smoking, diet and exercise, are far more likely to affect their heart health than the occasional cup of coffee."
The Daily Mail, 8th March 2006

Drug Trial Axed After Patients Poisoned
by Sam Lister

Six healthy volunteers have been rushed into intensive care after suddenly falling ill while participating in the trial of a new drug.

The six men, who were paid volunteers, are understood to have taken an oral preparation of the drug, being developed to treat inflammatory conditions and leukaemia, at a private research facility in Harrow, northwest London.

All of the men, who were admitted on Monday night, were suffering from multiple-organ failure at Northwick Park Hospital and two were said to be in a very serious condition.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) sent out an international alert to regulatory bodies and suspended the Phase 1 trial for the product. It is understood that no one else has taken the drug.

An MHRA official said that inspectors would be sent to the Clinical Pharmacology Research Unit, run by the US firm Parexel International. He added that the regulator was also in contact with the North West London Strategic Health Authority, the Department of Health and the Metropolitan Police.

The drug was identified last night as TGN 1412, being developed by TeGenero AG, a small German pharmaceutical company. It is thought to be designed primarily as a treatment for rheumatism, but also has potential as a leukaemia medication because treatment of the cancer requires inflammation suppression.

Eight healthy men aged between 18 and 40 took part in the trial. Two received a placebo and are unaffected. One patient was last named as student Ryan Flanagan, 21, from Highbury in North London, who was paid £2,000 to take part in the trial, according to The Sun.

He was admitted to intensive care three hours after taking the pills suffering from poor breathing and heavy swelling to the neck and head.

A family friend, Sarah Brown, 27, told the paper: "Ryan was a healthy young man and he saw the trial advertised on the internet. He is at college and was doing it to make a bit of extra money. His mother got a call last night to say his head and neck were swelled up and his leg had turned purple."

Ganesh Suntharalingam, clinical director of intensive care at Northwick Park, said that staff were working without a break on the patients' care. "Although they were not part of an NHS trial, we were able to admit the patients very quickly to critical care and our full team has been treating them," he said. "They are all receiving close monitoring and appropriate treatment."

Kent Woods, chief executive officer at the MHRA, said that as well as suspending the clinical trial authorisation (CTA) for the study with immediate effect, it was also reviewing the data submitted with the application for authorisation.

"Our immediate priority has been to ensure that no further patients are harmed," Professor Woods said. "We will now undertake an exhaustive investigation to determine the cause and ensure all appropriate actions are taken."

A MHRA spokeswoman added that the product had gone through the usual strict procedures before coming to the clinical trial stage, including MHRA and ethics committee approval. She said that, as with all new drugs, the product had been tested on animals and there was nothing to suggest it should not be used by humans. "There could be a number of things that might have gone wrong. I cannot speculate but we are investigating," she said.

"The trials on animals did not give any grounds to say the clinical trial could not go ahead. The first stages of a clinical trial are to prove the safety, the quality and the efficacy of a drug. There are tight regulations which stipulate what a clinical trial should look like to make it safe."

She added that the men were all in good health before taking part in the trial and had fallen ill soon after taking the drug. It is not known if the sudden illness is linked to the particular dosage given to the patients or the composition of the drug.

It is the latest controversy to be associated with anti-inflammatory medication, following the withdrawal of Vioxx, one of a group of Cox-2 inhibitor drugs. Vioxx was voluntarily removed from sale by its manufacturer last year following evidence suggesting that it was linked to an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Concerns have also been raised about other Cox-2s, including most recently Celebrex, which a study linked to heart attacks this month.

A spokeswoman for Parexel confirmed that the company was aware of what had happened in London. Herman Scholtz, the head of clinical pharmacology for Parexel, said the incident was likely to have been caused by a drug reaction. He said the company was co-operating with the hospital to support the families of the volunteers by providing updates on the clinical conditions of the patients whenever possible.

"Such an adverse drug reaction occurs extremely rarely and this is an unfortunate and unusual situation," Professor Scholtz said. "We have a high quality medical team in our Northwick Park unit. Since our unit is located within the hospital, we have immediate access to world-class medical care and we did everything possible to get the patients treated as quickly as possible."

Parexel provides clinical research services to major pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical equipment companies. The 36-bed Parexel unit, which is on the Northwick Park Hospital campus and is leased out by the NHS trust, is designed for the conduct of clinical trials. It employs more than 60 staff.

TeGenero AG, which was founded in 2000, was specifically created to develop the anti-inflammatory/cancer drug. It followed the identification by scientists of a new class of monoclonal antibody, which targets a single foreign substance, thought to be a breakthrough in treating the conditions.

The company, which has a staff of 15, is based in Wurzburg, Germany, and is supported by about £9million of venture capital backing. It is not a listed company and therefore news of the trial will have no impact on the stock market.

· Before being granted a licence all drugs must go through a series of trials, normally in three distinct phases: laboratory tests, then tests on healthy volunteers and then trials on patients requiring the intended treatment
· A clinical trial is the scientific term used to describe the testing of a new medicine or medical device to evaluate whether the drug or device is effective and safe for people to use
· Healthy volunteers accepted for clinical trials are normally young (between 18 and 40), weigh between 60 and 100kg, and have a body mass index (BMI) that ensures they are not overweight
The Times, 15th March 2006

Further Resources:

Health Wars by Phillip Day

Click here to purchase or review any of the above.
Click here for telephone sales around the world.

Exanta Withdrawn After Liver Damage to Patient
by Richard Irving

It was once touted as a $3 billion wonder drug to replace an ancient medicine commonly used as a rat poison. Yesterday, however, Britain's second-biggest pharmaceuticals maker finally pulled the plug on Exanta, developed at a cost of several hundred million pounds, after a patient testing the treatment suffered severe liver damage.

Shares in AstraZeneca fell after the Anglo-Swedish group said that it would pull the drug from sale and halt all further development work.

The drugs giant once had high hopes that Exanta would replace warfarin as a blockbuster medicine to treat thrombosis. Regulators in about a dozen countries had approved the drug as a blood-thinner for patients who had undergone hip or knee replacements.

However, AstraZeneca suffered a crucial blow in September 2004 when the US Food and Drug Administration refused to approve the treatment, citing concerns that it might cause liver damage if used over a long period.

The move shocked analysts and doctors, who had expected regulators to embrace any improvement to warfarin. Sir Tom McKillop, then the company's chief executive, was so incensed that he threatened legal action.

Yesterday AstraZeneca said that new trials of the drug had unearthed new safety concerns after a patient using Exanta over a longer period had suffered liver damage. A company spokesman declined to give further details, except to say that the problem had not resulted in death and that the patient was now receiving appropriate care.

About 400 people in Europe, Brazil and Argentina were taking the drug. A further 600 patients were testing Exanta for other indications in clinical trials that were halted last night. The drug generated just $575,000 (£330,000) in sales in 2005.

Analysts argued last night that AstraZeneca was unlikely to face a raft of class action lawsuits similar to those that swamped Merck when the American drugs maker unexpectedly pulled Vioxx from the market, emphasising that the company had not experienced safety problems with the treatment before.

David Brennan, who took over from Sir Tom last month, described the withdrawal as a precautionary measure to preserve patient safety.

Mr Brennan added that AstraZeneca was determined to find a replacement for warfarin, insisting that work on a follow-up compound to Exanta, so far known only by the codename AZD0837, would continue. However, the new compound, which works in the same way as Exanta but has a different chemical make-up, is at least five years away from pharmacy shelves.

News of Exanta's demise is not entirely unexpected. In an interview with The Times this month Mr Brennan admitted that the drug would never be commercially available in the United States. Shares in AstraZeneca fell 6p to £26.16.

Drug's Decline
· July 2003: Exanta trials reveal signs of potential liver damage, unnerving shareholders
· October 2003: AstraZeneca says development is on track and pledges to file for approval in the US by the end of the year
· December 2003: Exanta bounces back when French regulators approve treatment
· July 2004: first suggestions that the US Food and Drug Administration might be concerned at Exanta's links to possible liver damage
· September 2004: FDA declines to approve Exanta. Sir Tom McKillop, chief executive, says the FDA is misguided
· October 2004: Sir Tom insists company is dedicated to Exanta
· December 2004: regulators in France review safety of Exanta
· February 2005: Shareholders file lawsuit alleging that handling of Exanta launch was botched
· February 2006: David Brennan, new chief executive, admits Exanta is commercially doomed in US. Company pulls drug from market
The Times, 15th February 2006

Ministers Back 'Terminator' GM Crops

Website reveals plan to scrap prohibition on seeds that threaten Third World farmers with hunger
by Geoffrey Lean

Ministers are trying to scrap an international agreement banning the world's most controversial genetic modification of crops, grimly nicknamed "terminator technology", a move which threatens to increase hunger in the Third World.

Their plans, unveiled in a new official document buried in a government website, will cause outrage among environmentalists and hunger campaigners. Michael Meacher, who took a lead as environment minister in negotiating the ban six years ago, has written to Margaret Beckett, the Secretary of State for the Environment, to object.

The Government is to push for terminator crops to be considered for approval on a "case-by-case basis" at two meetings this month; its position closely mirrors the stance of the United States and other GM-promoting countries.

Terminator technology, so abominated even Monsanto will not develop it, would stop hundreds of millions of poor farmers from saving seeds from their crops for re-sowing for the following harvest, forcing them to buy new ones from biotech companies every year. More than 1.4 billion poor Third World farmers and their families pursue the age-old practice.

The technique is officially known as genetic use restriction technology (Gurt), making crops produce sterile seeds. It could be applied to any crop, including maize and rice, widely grown in developing countries.

The UK working group on terminator technology, a coalition of 10 British environment and development groups, says: "It could destroy traditional farming methods, damage farmers' livelihoods and threaten food security, particularly in developing countries."

In 2000, the world's governments imposed a de facto moratorium on developing, or even testing, the technology under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, an agreement largely brokered by Britain under Mr Meacher's leadership. But pro-GM nations such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, largely orchestrated by the US, have been pressing for the moratorium to be lifted, and for Gurt crops to be approved after "case-by-case risk assessment".

They, and biotech companies, claim the technology is a green solution to a serious drawback of GM crops, the way their genes spread, through pollen, to create superweeds and contaminate conventional and organic crops. But environmentalists say this is an illusion because terminator plants will still produce pollen, and their genes would pose a particular hazard by threatening to make non-GM sterile as well. Yet ministers have refused to meet environmental groups to discuss their policy and failed publicise their position, posted two weeks ago on the website of the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Britain will be pushing for this approach first at a meeting of EU ministers on Thursday, then at a meeting of the convention in Brazil in two weeks. Mr Meacher said: "For the first time in the history of the world, farmers would be stopped from using their own seeds. This would undermine food production and cause starvation."

How it works: Sowing the seeds of starvation
Gurts may be an ugly acronym, but environmentalists believe that the genetic use restrictions technologies they stand for are even uglier. There are two types:

v-GURTS, called terminator technology. Developed by the US Department of Agriculture and the Delta Pine and Land Co, it makes seeds sterile so they cannot be cropped and resown. Before they are sold, seeds are treated with a compound which activates a gene introduced into the plant from bacteria. The gene allows the crop to be grown normally, but takes charge just as it becomes ready for harvesting and stops its seeds from manufacturing any of the protein it needs for germination.

t-GURTS, dubbed traitor technology. These are linked to a particular trait of a plant such as good growth, germination and other desirable characteristics. The genes governing these can be activated only when the plant is sprayed with a proprietory chemical, which is sold separately. Big biotech companies want to make the plants dependent on their own chemicals so they can make profits by selling first the seed, then the chemical needed to make it work properly.
The Independent, 5th March 2006

It Must Have Been Something I Ate:
Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis
by Ian Marber (The Food Doctor)

Ian Marber explains why he has become a convert
I like to think of myself as being at the conservative end of the scale when it comes to complementary treatments. Therefore, I prefer to use biochemical testing to ascertain what has gone wrong and how best to deal with it from a nutritional standpoint.

I am aware that some of my peers use rather unconventional tests and I worry that there are complementary health practitioners whose methods would be more at home at Hogwarts than in a health clinic.

It seems that the more outlandish the test, the more some people like to believe it must be true. So the various tests are cleverly titled. They generally include the words "cellular" and "energy", presumably to give them a scientific aura.

One test that used to be classed as weird, and therefore suspect, is the Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA). I was very suspicious until a couple of years ago. But having now seen many very positive results from it, I have learnt to appreciate it.

The test involves cutting hair from the nape of the neck and analysing it to measure its mineral content. The data can be used to gauge the workings of processes within the body that rely on the various minerals. In the right hands and correctly analysed, HTMA gives an indication of how well our metabolism is working. I have found that it is particularly useful in cases of fatigue, stress and weight management, making it easier to construct an appropriate eating plan, with supplements where necessary.

Although hair is dead, from the moment that the shaft of the hair begins to travel through tissue, it absorbs some of the substances the body is exposed to. By taking a small amount of hair from the root (about half an inch), we can detect the mineral levels within the body over the past five weeks or so (the length of time it takes the hair to grow to this length).

As well as allowing a practitioner to get an idea of the metabolic rate, the test often highlights levels of unwanted toxic metals in the system. The most common one is mercury, which is most often the result of dental amalgams, or fillings, that are leaking mercury gas.

Excess mercury can be linked to a number of health issues, ranging from infertility to mental problems. (The phrase "As mad as a hatter" is thought to have been based on the incidence of madness among milliners who regularly used mercury in making hats.) The presence of mercury and other toxic metals in cases of infertility is thought so important by Foresight, the natural fertility organisation, that it recommends all couples struggling to conceive to undertake the HTMA.

If toxic metals are present, it is possible they are hindering the absorption of other minerals that are vital to numerous functions and so can have a negative influence on the metabolic rate. Getting rid of them involves following a course of chelation (derived from the Greek word, meaning "to claw"), in which herbs and the like are used to bind to the metal and remove it from the body. (This process should be done under supervision because there can be some unpleasant side effects.)

Aside from the toxic substances, levels of more mundane minerals can be used to identify problems with glucose absorption and the correct workings of the thyroid and adrenal glands.

The key minerals that are used as signposts to a slow metabolism are potassium, calcium, sodium and magnesium. The ratio between the minerals is all important. If the ratio of calcium to potassium is low, this denotes a potentially sluggish thyroid response, which might manifest itself in symptoms such as inability to lose weight, feeling cold and general fatigue.

Conversely, a higher degree of potassium and sodium suggests that the adrenal glands are working overtime, which might mean interrupted sleep and general anxiety. An inappropriate ratio between magnesium and sodium is likely to denote a slow adrenal response, usually experienced in someone who is highly stressed.

Overall, the test is useful, not just in pinpointing deficiencies that may be linked to conditions that are not serious enough to warrant a visit to the doctor, but those that will usually respond to nutritional intervention.

I confess to being a convert to the potential of the HTMA, perhaps because the results are written down in black and white. I suppose it is possible that I may feel the same in the future about facial analysis, computers that claim to be able to detect deficiencies or muscle testing. But I doubt it.
www.thefooddoctor.com; www.foresight.org
The Daily Telegraph 6th March 2006

Have No Regrets!
by Phillip Day

A Good Conscience is a Good Pillow
Thomas à Kempis writes: "Very soon it will be over with you here; then, see how things stand. Today we are, and tomorrow we are gone. And when we are taken out of sight, we soon pass out of mind. Oh, the dullness and hardness of our hearts that only think of the present and do not look forward more to the future. This being the case, you ought to master yourself in every act and thought as if you were to die today. If you had a good conscience, you would not fear death so much…. If you are not prepared today, how will you be ready tomorrow? …When that final hour does come, you will begin to think quite differently about all your past life, and you will be exceedingly sorry that you were so careless and remiss."

Well said. Live life with no regrets. Drag any skeletons out of the closet and bury them under the patio. Forgive those who have wronged you. Ask forgiveness from those you have wronged, even if you do not receive it. Own a good conscience. Always be aware of the context of your life and where you are on the journey. Do you lack purpose? Dream goals that get you excited. Then reinforce them repeatedly in a state of positive emotion.

Live Life to The Full
…need not mean parachuting from the Eiffel Tower, swimming with sharks or bungy-jumping from the Clifton Suspension Bridge. It's about enjoying what you do, always aware of your context and where you are on the journey. Goal-setting daily (What do I want to accomplish by bed-time tonight?) is my personal favourite, for each day lived has been thought about in advance. Achieving, on whatever scale, bestows satisfaction. Relaxation and play provide pleasure. A life lived to the full is one where goals have been met and pleasure and play abound with a clear conscience.

· Travel
· See the world
· Ask questions
· What does my photo album have in it?
· Am I smiling or scowling?
· Who knocked the Sphinx's nose off anyway?
· What happens when I press this at Cape Canaveral?

There are people near you who will die never having ever really lived. Fear holds them back. Fear to explore what they were told was a dangerous world. Fear they might fail. Fear they might not. One died a moment ago, a life of lost opportunities they probably wished they had taken.

Never Retire
When productivity ends, so can our will to go on. A gold watch and a pat on the back can be interpreted as the golden boot: 'All right, thank you very much. Make way for the young now.' Nothing but a corporate human resource, off to the post office and then to the scrap-heap, drawing your pension once a week and scratching down your lottery numbers while other people's children squirt you with water pistols.

Retirement. I am against it. Stay at home and watch Jerry Springer? How utterly unproductive. Continue producing, you'll have more fun. The insurance companies embezzled your pension fund anyway.

· Never retire FROM something, always retire TO something
· Now is the time to use your skills to start something you've always wanted to do, something worthwhile
· If you are lazy and not working at eighty, GET A JOB
· In long-lived cultures, retirement is unknown! Everyone produces, some still fathering sprogs at ninety
· Seventy-year-olds know a lot of stuff
· Dream - Plan - Deliver, and I don't mean pizza
· According to the longevity experts, at 65 you are approximately 55% through your genetic potential
· Sitting at home does nothing but provoke feelings of worthlessness (big nocebo), owned up to even by lottery winners, who often face depression or a return to work to do something useful
· Why not work for yourself? You captain, everyone else private. Create! Produce! Serve! Show someone you are still alive. Blink.
·
Out of Our Minds? Avoid Psychiatry
A pointless life provokes depression. Mind, a mental health charity, believes 1 in 4 Brits have a 'mental health problem' at some stage in their lives. By 2020, depression is expected to outstrip heart disease as the leading human health catastrophe, we are told.

'What's the point of it all?' 'Why work?' 'What's it all been about?' 'What the hell will it all matter fifty years from now?' More people are 'mentally ill' today, the experts say, than at any other time in history.

Actually, we're not. Mostly, we're victims of lifestyle and circumstance, of what we do to ourselves, the hamster wheel spinning too fast, pathologised into a mental illness by psychiatry and then treated with drugs: Chronic Tax Anxiety Syndrome; Conduct Disorder; Lottery Stress Disorder; Organic Caffeine Mental Disorder; or, if you disagree with your psychiatrist, Denial Disorder. You get the picture.

I am the sworn enemy of a system which stigmatises people with fake mental illnesses, then doses them up. Our schools and retirement homes are full of pharma zombies. My book, The Mind Game, dishes the goods on psychiatry, this scoundrel industry, and why you need to stay as far away as you can from its clutches. A list of the main 'mental' illnesses is given in The Mind Game and The ABC's of Disease, which are mostly lifestyle, metabolic or toxin-related problems, which, you'll be delighted to hear, do not have their resolutions in electro-shock or the Prozac bottle.

It suits psychiatry to tell us we're victims of any one of the frauds in their 'disease' manual, the DSM. Psychiatry is the study of people who don't need to be studied by people who do. A big chunk of the pharmaceutical pie now comes from treating bogus 'mental' conditions. Today, plans are afoot to test every American for 'mental illness'. In Britain, as life speeds out of control on the rodent wheel, we're being taught it's nothing we did, it's merely a chemical imbalance which can be adjusted with drugs.

Yet hyperglycaemia, schizophrenia, depression, behavioural disorders, addictions, anorexia/bulimia, criminal violence, menopausal symptoms, etc. have all been found to have lifestyle/metabolic causations. Can a lifestyle problem provoke a medical problem? Of course. Anger, stress and fear can all stir up physical/mental reactions which can be interpreted as 'illness' (more so if they appear to be chronic). Here's one more entry for the DSM. Medical Testing Disease: If you think you're completely healthy, you've not had enough tests yet.

Thinks
Do you think there is anything wrong with you?
Are you living life too fast, jamming the needles to the red and smoking the rubber to the cord?
When was the last time you took a break?
Is it really that bad?
Who can you talk the problem out with?

Avoid psychiatry.

Get Smooching
Love and caring affect us at a deep, physical level, the experts agree (those that pucker up). They're right. Who's loving you? To whom are you giving the keys to your soul and stationwagon? To GET the right person you have to BE the right person, which, broken down, means it's all about values and giving. Plants, animals, humans and even John Prescott have all been found to respond to love. It's a squishy world out there, after all, and one solidly grounded in give and take.

Those hurt by relationships, please take your place at the back of that long line (you might have a mental illness). Do your values match your partner's? If they don't, there will be conflict. Values are not the same as goals:

· Do you have friends who vex you?
· Do you share your partner's hopes, goals and values?
· Do you respect each other?
· Can you commit?
· Do you give more than you take?

I'm Outta Here - The Art of Playing
Take four-week holidays! TAKE FOUR-WEEK HOLIDAYS! Take four-week holidays! Take four-week holidays! Take four-week holidays!

'One in three British workers fail to take their full annual holiday entitlement, a survey has shown. Instead, they put in 36 million hours of free overtime, giving bosses almost £1 billion in unpaid work every year -'

And if we do go on holiday -

The survey of nearly 6,000 workers by the Chartered management Institute found nearly half stay in contact with their employer while they are away.' - Daily Mail, 15th June 2005

No! No! No! No! No!

Behavioural patterns are formed over a 15- to 30-day period through repetition and a state of emotional excitement. They break over the same period. Few of us take four-week holidays, which is why we still have bats in the belfry upon our return. Pavlov patterning relies on location, so clearing off somewhere nice geographically to break our stride makes all the sense in the world, especially if we go to play. Not for two weeks. Four weeks.

Take those who relax you. Leave the kids at home if necessary (straight-jackets are for this). Go forth and frivolate, you've earned it. The first ten days of your four-week readjustment are usually spent cussing out Spanish waiters and being thoroughly unpleasant to everybody as the mental puke gushes out. After, serenity and bliss prevail, or your travel agent will give you your money back.

· Now go and play
· Do not take the laptop or anything connected with work
· Do not phone home and get stressed
· Do not phone work
· Lose the mobile phone
· Do not ever tell your boss where he can reach you
· Eat real, living, organic whole-foods
· Exercise (more play)
· Behave inappropriately (even more play). It's a holiday
· Dreaming comes easier with a magenta sunset and a Mai-Tai. These are the times of refreshing and cerebral inspiration. Get refreshed, sunshine

Laugh? Easy For You to Say -
Laughter reduces stress. Laughter makes everyone look more appealing (apart from Jack Nicholson). Laughter says, 'See, I can put on a red nose the same as everyone else.' Laughter is actually pretty funny, so you should do it. Often.

· Change your posture to portray confidence and humour
· Plan laughter outings with friends which you know will be a riot, e.g. comedy clubs, a funny film, the barricades at a G8 summit
· Get friends who know how to shake their bellies
· Then tell the Germans and French how to do it

Laughter is the best medicine. You cannot patent it.

Not much laughter in a doctor's surgery.

Money
Is a tool, not an altar. Those who worship money are stressed at the idea of losing it and do not have loftier goals. Saying, "I wish to be a millionaire" is like saying, "I wish to have a million oysters". Oysters are a commodity. What do you want to do with them?

· Do not be dysfunctional around money. It's only money
· Expenditure rises to meet income. Are you living beyond your means?
· Accept money graciously
· Give money graciously
· Use money wisely
· You can't take it with you
· The answer to a money problem is not medication, alcohol or kicking the dog, it's money
· To get out of a money problem you need to increase your income while decreasing your expenses
· Dream - plan - deliver. Stay/get out of debt
· A workman is worthy of his wages. Pay those who work for you a little more than they deserve
· Nobody's last words were ever: "Darn, I wish I'd spent more time at the office." (except Ricky Gervais)
· Your bank manager is not losing one wink of sleep over your overdraft, unless you're reading this, Nick Leeson

Make Good Choices
What our lives become is down to the choices we make. A valuable pattern to install is to practise making conscious choices for the first thirty days on everything. What you eat, what you wear, what you say, etc. Some people start in just one area and then expand the concept. For instance, every day you have a choice about what to eat. But from a biochemical standpoint, there are no choices. Make the wrong choice with food consistently and nature will sharpen her sword for you.

Make good choices.

If faced with a difficult decision, rephrase the question: What would Napoleon do? What would God do? What would your hero do? I can speak better for them sometimes than I can for myself. Thus I change the focus of a difficult decision and the answer is often before me. I don't procrastinate. Procrastination's linking pain to taking action, a sure sign you're a sissy.

Simplify! Simplify! Simplify!
Most attitude problems, 'mental illness', anger, stress, road rage, toilet-seat rage, etc. derive from the hamster wheel spinning too fast. Some try to hang on for grim death (Whee!!), while others cause the onlookers to duck as they fly off into the water dish. Usually a psychiatrist fishes them out.

Learn More About Yourself
· Are you stressed?
· Are you doing too much?
· Do you have road rage? Hotel rage? Parking rage?
· Do you have free time when you can do nothing?
· What comes out of your mouth?
· Do you surround yourself with noise at every opportunity (TV, radio, parties, computer games, Graham Norton?)
· Try driving around in the car with nothing on (the radio)
· Try switching off the TV
· Exercise 60 - 90 mins a day outside (play)
· Allocate at least an hour each day/evening simply to veg
· Re-acquaint yourself with the names of your children
· Discover your spouse
· Rule your domain
· Be

Thinks
· The body and mind are one. Medicine does not teach this.
· How healthy are your thoughts?
· What you believe and what is important to you guides your actions
· Love and caring affect you at a deep, physical level
· Pain in, pain out. Pleasure in, pleasure out
· Surviving stress is knowing when to walk away
· When was the last time you took a consecutive, four-week holiday?

© Copyright Phillip Day 2005
Excerpted with permission from The Little Book of Attitude
www.credence.org

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Junk Food Firms: Use Celebrity Endorsements
Oliver Smallwood

Junk food manufacturers use more than 40 "dirty tricks" to sell unhealthy products to children behind parents' backs, watchdogs claim.

Their "sneaky advertising" via text message, the Internet and even video games is affecting a drive to make youngsters eat more healthily, warned consumer group Which?.

Although food companies still use tried-and-tested techniques such as celebrity endorsements, the Web is now their most powerful weapon - because they know most nine to 19-year-olds have access to a PC at home or at school.

For example, in an online Pepsi World game, a character has to race to serve customers "delicious Pepsi to keep them happy". The drink contains 36g (1.2 ounces) of sugar per can.

Advertisers are also tapping into the texting trend. Last year, Nestle printed numbers on chocolate bars to mark the launch of Disney's The Incredibles.

Customers were urged to text their numbers to see if they had won trips to the Disney studio in Hollywood.

Fast food games
Firms are also relying on tie-ins with best-selling computer games. Versions of The Sims include a McDonald's kiosk and players win points for using it. Play sets, toys and books are also used to attract children, Which? found.

A McDonald's play food set sold at Argos and Toys R Us contains plastic burgers, cookies and chicken nuggets. And Cadbury has encouraged school pupils to use Mini Rolls as trading tokens to get out of doing homework or eating greens.

Which? has sent Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt its hard-hitting report, Childcatchers, and is calling for new laws. Spokeswoman Sue Davies said: "Such reckless marketing undermines efforts to improve children's diets. This is crunch-time. If the industry fails to act, the Government must stick to its pledge to legislate."

The Health Department said it was working to stop the advertising and promotion to children of foods high in fat, sugar and salt.
Metro, 30th January 2006, from The Daily Mail 4th March 2006

Cancer Couple Claim Mast Victory

A couple who both suffered from breast cancer are claiming victory in their battle to have a phone mast moved from its site near their home.

George and Margaret King, who moved to their home in Crowborough, East Sussex in 1997, both had to have mastectomies. They accept there is no proof phone masts cause cancer but say they should not be sited in residential areas.

A spokesman for Vodafone said: "We have agreed to vacate the site provided we can maintain the service locally."

Mrs King developed breast cancer two years after moving to their Church Road home.
Her husband was diagnosed with the disease, which is rare in men, two years later. He also developed eight skin lesions on sites including his ear and nose.

The mobile phone mast is 3m (10ft) from the Kings' garden fence, on land owned by ATS Euromaster.

Mrs King has campaigned for two years to have it moved.

"We enjoy our garden, but we are living constantly under this mast," said Mr King.
"I hope that in the future these masts can be placed away from residential areas - away from homes, schools and hospitals."

New site
ATS ended its licensing agreement with Vodafone two years ago and said it was happy the mast was being moved. Vodafone said it would remove the mast as soon as a new site in the area could be found.

"There is no substantiated evidence that phone masts have adverse effects on people's health," said a spokesman. "Masts must be located where mobile phone users are - where they live, work and travel - in order to provide a service many of us value."
BBC NEWS: 13th March 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/southern_counties/4802346.stm

Rows That May Drive You To An Early Grave
by Celia Hall

Rowing spouses may be right when they accuse the other of sending them to an early grave, according to research that shows marital clashes cause real heartache.

The three-year study found that hostility was especially bad for women's hearts while controlling behaviour or dominant stances were worse for men's hearts.

Scientists from the University of Utah invited 150 married couples in their 60s and 70s, who had no symptoms of heart disease, to engage in arguments and agree to scans of their coronary arteries. Each couple was invited to pick a topic known to cause disharmony, such as children, money, holidays, in-laws and household duties and "discuss" them for six minutes.

Psychology students then scored the spouses' responses to each other as the conversations hotted up.

A statement like: "You can be so stupid sometimes" was regarded as hostile; "You're too negative all the time," was regarded as dominant. A warm, submissive comment was "Oh, that's a good idea, let's do it."

Two days after the conversation heart scans were taken. Tim Smith, professor of psychology at the university, said they had found that outright hostility in either the husband or wife showed as narrowing of women's arteries while dominant behaviour from either affected men.

"Women who are hostile are more likely to have atherosclerosis [hardening of the coronary arteries], especially if their husbands are hostile too," he said. "The levels of dominance or control in women or their husbands are not related to women's heart health. In men, the hostility, their own or their wife's, wasn't related to atherosclerosis. But their dominance or controlling behaviour, or their wife's dominance, was related to atherosclerosis in husbands. A low-quality relationship is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease," he said.
The Daily Telegraph, 4th March 2006

From the Mailbag
Some comments from our new subscribers

"Worthwhile listening to Phillip Day. Very informative meeting. Thank you." - Patrick C, Vic. Australia

"Thank for all your efforts to the people worldwide, and for what you do to influence governments on our behalf!" - Robin P, Vic. Australia

"I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in both breasts in December 2003 and had an operation to remove 2 lumps, some lymph glands and some nerves. Thankfully, I heard about B17 and did not proceed any further with another operation for a half mastectomy, chemo, radiation and tamoxifen.

I am pleased to say that I am doing very well. The doctors at the hospital have ignored me since February 2005. I had requested that they continue to monitor my progress with ultrasound. They insisted that I see a particular radiographer because they wanted to see the results they wanted, whom I knew was a particularly rude and rough ultrasound scanner. So I requested to see another radiographer. They kept sending me appointments for the same radiographer and I kept phoning the Ultrasound Department to change to another radiographer. Each time they said that the consultants refused! This went on for months and from February 2005, I have not heard a word from them.

They were not happy that I had refused their barbaric ways of practising medicine! They told me that if I continued to use alternative medicine, my condition would worsen and I would be back to go on conventional medicine, by which time "it would be too late"! I did offer to give them information on all the supplements and about B17 but they flatly refused saying that they didn't care about what I was doing because it won't work!!! They kept saying that as I was in my late 30s the cancer would advance at a great speed and I should think about my daughter!

That's my story in a nutshell! Keep up the good work." - Laila T, London, UK

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"I attend Phillip Day's seminar nearly every year in Melbourne and have a very high regard for his research. May God bless his ministry and his boldness in Jesus." - Lois B, Vic, Australia

"Great talk - Phillip Day in Brisbane. There's hope for us all still!! Mass consciousness here we come!!" - Rose-Marie S, QLD. Australia

"We should all be told the truth!" - Tossie F, Vic. Australia

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"I think it would be a disaster for the normal, free thinking people with a mind of their own to be dictated to by a 'mob' of no-hopers as to whether we can go and purchase a simple vitamin pill without a doctor' prescription!" - Erik A, Vic. Australia

"I honour you for the courage and determination you have demonstrated for exposing the truth about the scandalous behaviour being exercised by the Pharmaceutical Industry and world power houses regarding HIV=AIDS and all the other life-threatening diseases. My prayer is that these unscrupulous players are brought to book and completely exposed and also to be made accountable for their actions. Thank you for your great work that will be noted in history. Let the truth be told in the name of humanity." - Peter le R, Western Cape, South Africa

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"Attended your talk at The Swallow Hotel on the 15th March and found it informative, especially having worked in the NHS as a Health Visitor for many years before working as a Chiropractic Assistant." - Grace C, North Lanarkshire, UK

"I have been aware of many of these issues for many years and I am delighted to discover that there is concerted campaigning going on in this area. As a member of this campaign, I hope to find out more exactly how this is being carried out and perhaps to contribute in some way at a later stage. I am currently undergoing training with the Bi-Aura Foundation and hope to become a qualified practitioner in the near future." - Constance D, Perth, Australia

"I am a British citizen residing in WA. It seems that much of this EU problem is based on centuries old desires for the return of the Holy Roman Empire by European nations! I hope we British and our cousins worldwide can avoid being fooled by a second "gunpowder plot." - Robin L, WA, Australia

"Thank goodness someone is finally standing up for truth," - Rowena, London, UK

"I am so glad to know about CTM." - Susie C, Texas, USA

"I totally agree with the view of the CTM and would like to join and help making people more aware of the current situation. In the Netherlands the patients also do not get informed choices and get a lot of drugs prescriptions. We need new laws and new ways to help people to make the right choices for their health. Good and real information is the first right of patients. We don't get this due to pharmaceutical companies and their aggressive advertisements, the training for doctors and other things in the laws of this country and health insurance. Same in Europe. You are doing good work. I have started a foundation to show MS patients other possibilities for treatments. My website is in Dutch. Maybe I will translate it into English…." - Cathalijne Z, Deventer, The Netherlands

"Being a 2nd year student of Naturopathy I see the hidden truth constantly. Media suppressing and bagging what we have known to be reality for years. We need more gathering of free and enquiring minds like this to inform the public of what's really happening. Whoowah!" - Belinda M, WA, Australia