| Know your drugs |  The period 24 to 30 June is National Drug Awareness week - all too pertinent with the growing problem of addiction in South African society. Time was that we were relatively shielded from the horrors of drugs such as heroin and cocaine - ironically enough one of the few good effects of international isolation. But our entry into the world post-1994 has unfortunately brought an opening up of the international market in drugs of abuse.
Tik abuse is a major problem - cutting across social barriers as children from all walks of life fall victim to its lure.
But, let's not forget the other drugs of abuse - alcohol and cigarettes. When my husband was teaching a few years ago, he found that kids as young as 14 would come in on Mondays with hangovers - and how much they had drunk over the weekend was a source of pride and competition. Most of these youngsters also smoked. These two drugs are socially acceptable but take a huge toll in disease and general human misery. Alcohol is one of the major causes of violence in our society - both domestic and otherwise. And as for toll on the roads - most road traffic accidents, whether involving two cars or cars and pedestrians, are fuelled by alcohol in South Africa.
So, know your drugs and recognise that just because certain drugs of abuse are legal this doesn't mean that they are harmless.
Bridget Farham Editor
https://www.bizcommunity.com
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MedicalMSF: Nothing to celebrate on World Refugee Day in South Africa "Everyone is failing to protect us" - displaced Zimbabwean man in Thokoza community hall, Johannesburg. Bizcommunity.com beefs up Gauteng sales teamSenior Bizcommunity.com sales manager, Riaan Kriel, will head up sales in Johannesburg from 1 July 2008. His redeployment to the proverbial city of gold is part of the continued expansion and growth that the Bizcommunity brand has experienced year-on-year. Ferring aims for market share growth with X/procure® - Owlhurst CommunicationsSpecialty biopharmaceutical group, Ferring South Africa, recently partnered with Primedia-Unlimited subsidiary X/procure® for an initial one year period to promote Pentasa, its latest treatment option for Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Via X/procure's® innovative electronic procurement system, Ferring has gained direct access to a national network of pharmacists. South African TB conference Durban 1 - 4 July 2008 - Magda NaudeThe findings of a new test for the rapid diagnosis of drug-resistant tuberculosis will be announced at the start of the SA TB Conference in Durban from 1 - 4 July.
Corporate Social ResponsibilityBold new pharmacy clinic service - Corporate ImageRecent research has indicated that there has been an increase in degenerative diseases, especially associated with obesity and the deterioration of mental health in our modern and stressed society. The Pick n Pay healthcare team has decided to find novel ways to address these challenges. New schools programme to tackle SA's unhealthy kids - Discovery VitalityDiscovery Vitality has walked the talk on its drive to build healthier communities amongst learners from grade one to grade nine. Pfizer celebrates five years of high-impact corporate volunteer missions - Magna CartaThis summer, Maria Machado, a supply chain expert from Brazil, will make an extended visit to Africa - unlike any trip she's taken before. Maria and 15 of her colleagues at Pfizer, Inc. are part of a now 5-year-old skills-based corporate volunteerism program, the Pfizer Global Health Fellows. Leading multinational pharmaceutical company sponsors Hospital Management Conference - 365 Projects & ConsultantsThe Operational Hospital Management Conference, the healthcare sector's premier hospital management conference, is set to take place from 9 - 11 September 2008 at Emperors Palace, Johannesburg.
HIV/AIDSANGOLA: Invisible and vulnerableIt was a wedding that pulled out all the stops, including a party at the Marine Club on the island of Luanda and a five-star nuptial night at the Hotel Presidente Meridien. MOZAMBIQUE: ARVs slowly play catch up with HIV caseloadThe number of children orphaned by AIDS has doubled since 2003, and the high rate of HIV prevalence has dented Mozambique's growth rates, a new report has found. Mind your language - a short guide to HIV/AIDS slangHIV has hit our lives, our families, our economies; it also shapes the way we talk. IRIN/PlusNews looks at how the virus and its impact translates into everyday speech from the streets of Lagos to the townships of Johannesburg, and finds that despite the billions of dollars spent on positive communication strategies, the word on the street remains decidedly negative.
Infectious diseasesResearch organisations join forces to develop treatments for neglected infectious diseasesTwo research organisations based in Paris, the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (Institute of Research for Development) and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, have announced that they will work together to develop new candidate drugs to treat visceral leishmaniasis, Chagas's disease, and sleeping sickness. WHO reports poliomyelitis in Nigeria and West/Central AfricaAccording to a report just issued by the WHO, northern Nigeria is currently affected by a new outbreak of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1), which has begun to spread internationally.
Medical ResearchNew research finds 'grumpy oldies' are having fun!Australian researchers have found that there is a very strong possibility that youth really is wasted on the young. New drug offers hope for Alzheimer's victimsAn experimental drug to treat Alzheimer's disease has been seen to be effective in trials with Alzheimer's patients. Coffee drinking may actually prolong lifeScientists from Spain and the US found that drinking two or three cups of coffee a day did not increase risk of death.
NutritionWFP goes for a makeover The work of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) is no longer going to be only about delivering food, the former "food aid agency" announced in its new strategy for the next three years (2008-2011); it would now bill itself as a "food assistance agency".
Obstetrics and GynaecologyWomen in the developing world are not getting cervical screeningA study published in the open-access journal PLoS Medicine has found that women in the developing world are not getting the cervical cancer screenings that they need.
PaediatricsChildren's ear infections linked to use of dummiesResearch from the Netherlands has shown that children who use dummies and pacifiers are twice as likely to suffer from ear infections. A BPA free bottle now available - MAM BabyA lot of public attention and concern has been given recently to Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical found in polycarbonate baby bottles.
Public healthFood labels and junk food ad bans to help Australia slim downThe Australian Medical Association has called for serious action on obesity. How smoking ages youSmoking has the same effect on mortality risk as aging 10 years. Know your drugs - InZalo CommunicationsDrug Awareness Week: 24-30 June 2008 |
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| | Events to diarise | SA TB Conference - Durban, 1 July
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