E-cigarettes around 95% less harmful than tobacco estimates landmark review

E-cigarettes around 95% less harmful than tobacco estimates landmark review An expert independent evidence review published by Public Health England concludes that e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful to health than tobacco and have the potential to help smokers quit smoking.

Key findings of the review include:

• the current best estimate is that e-cigarettes are around 95% less harmful than smoking
• nearly half the population (44.8%) don’t realise e-cigarettes are much less harmful than smoking
• there is no evidence so far that e-cigarettes are acting as a route into smoking for children or non-smokers

The review suggests that e-cigarettes may be contributing to falling smoking rates among adults and young people.

See also:

• Research and analysis: E-cigarettes: an evidence update Public Health England
• E-cigarettes 'should be prescribed' BBC News
• VIDEO: 'How E-cigarettes helped me quit' BBC News
• British smokers urged to start vaping by health officials The Daily Telegraph
• The NHS should not pay for vaping The Daily Telegraph
• Make e-cigarettes available on the NHS, say Government health officials The Independent

New report looks at NHS vacancies advertised online

New report looks at NHS vacancies advertised online The NHS Vacancies Statistics England - 2014/15 report from the Health and Social Care Information Centre looks at data from March 2014 through to February 20154. The report provides new information on adverts published and covers the number of hits, applicants, shortlisted candidates and appointments.

The data are also broken down by:

• Health Education England Region
• Staff Group
• Area of Work
• High-level Occupation Code Staff Groups

'Female Viagra' gets US approval

'Female Viagra' gets US approval The US Food and Drug Administration approves a libido-enhancing drug for women that has been dubbed "Female Viagra". BBC News

NHS to quintuple fines on patients for incorrect free prescription claims

NHS to quintuple fines on patients for incorrect free prescription claims NHS officials plan to hand out fines worth up to £150 to around 1.2m patients a year by 2016/17 in a severe crackdown on incorrect claims for free prescriptions, and have urged GPs to help patients understand the rules. GP Online

Syphilis - is that a heavy metal band? Study reveals shocking ignorance when it comes to STIs...with 10% of people thinking chlamydia is a flower

Syphilis - is that a heavy metal band? Study reveals shocking ignorance when it comes to STIs...with 10% of people thinking chlamydia is a flower The poll by online pharmacy MedExpress.co.uk revealed 36 per cent of people have never had an STI test - despite being sexually active. The Daily Mail

NHS sounds compensation alarm after £120,000 lawyer bill for £5,000 claim

NHS sounds compensation alarm after £120,000 lawyer bill for £5,000 claim NHS Litigation Authority says a third of £1.1bn paid out last year went to lawyers and that government legal aid reforms have led to rising costs

A third of the £1.1bn paid out by the NHS in compensation last year was handed to lawyers, with one firm submitting a £121,700 bill following a £5,000 claim.

The cost to the taxpayer is expected to rise to £1.4bn next year, with the NHS conceding that it faced an “increasingly difficult task” in managing the level of payouts. Continue reading... The Guardian

What NHS organisations are doing to improve staff health

What NHS organisations are doing to improve staff health One trust provides one-to-one support for traumatised staff while another has made a commitment to reducing reliance on agency staff

NHS organisations have a problem with sickness: that of their employees. Health and Social Care Information Centre figures for English NHS trusts show that 4.44% of working days were lost to staff illness between January and March this year, up from 4.2% for the same period a year ago. The Office of National Statistics said the sickness rate across public sector healthcare for 2013 was 3.4%, compared with 3% in central government, 2.7% in local government and 1.8% in the private sector.

Like most large employers, NHS trusts and boards provide occupational health services to help employees when they are ill, with mental health problems including anxiety, stress and depression vying with musculoskeletal complaints as the biggest problem. But some are also helping their staff to avoid sickness in the first place. Continue reading... The Guardian

The abuse of antibiotics is everyone's fault

The abuse of antibiotics is everyone's fault Overuse will render these wonder drugs useless. We need to demand - and prescribe - them less. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Patient safety alert: addressing antimicrobial resistance through implementation of an antimicrobial stewardship programme NHS England
• Antimicrobial stewardship: systems and processes for effective antimicrobial medicine use NICE
• Guidelines set to tackle over-prescribing of antibiotics NHS Choices
• Why antibiotics are precious BBC News
• Antibiotics: Why are we taking so many and why is that such a bad thing? The Independent
• Doctors warned to curb antibiotic prescribing OnMedica

Africa has recorded zero new cases of polio in the past year

Africa has recorded zero new cases of polio in the past year Africa has recorded zero cases of the crippling polio virus in the last year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed, but it will need another two clear years before the continent can be certified polio-free. The Independent