WHO urges countries to impose
higher taxes on cigarettes
Despite the rise in prices
of tobacco products, people are able to afford these comfortably due to the
growth in purchasing power. This is because the prices have only a marginal
rise which can be easily compensated. Therefore, World Health Organisation (WHO)
has urged countries across the globe to raise taxes on cigarettes and
othertobacco products
to reduce the number of deaths caused by their addiction and to generate funds
for public health systems. According to WHO’s 2015 report on the global tobacco
epidemic, released on Tuesday in Manila, only 33 countries around the world
impose taxes, representing more than 75 percent of the price of a packet of
cigarettes, Efe news agency reported.
‘Raising taxes on tobacco products is one of the
most effective and cost-effective ways to reduce consumption of products that
kill, while also generating substantial revenue,’ WHO Director-General Margaret
Chan said in the report. The UN agency says many countries have either very low
or no special taxes on tobacco and products derived from it. ‘I encourage all
governments to look at the evidence, not the industry’s arguments, and adopt
one of the best win-win policy options available for health,’ Chan urged.
Of the six control
strategies proposed by WHO, known as ‘MPOWER,’ that of raising taxes is least
implemented in terms of population coverage, the report reveals. Meanwhile,
Douglas Bettcher, director of WHO’s Department for the Prevention of
Noncommunicable Diseases, who presented the annual report, pointed out it had
been proved that raising cigarette prices led to reduction in its consumption.
‘Evidence from countries such as China and France shows
that higher tobacco product prices linked to increased taxes lead to declines
in smoking prevalence and tobacco-related harm, such as lung cancer deaths,’ he
said. The 2015 tobacco report was released in the Philippines in recognition of
the country’s efforts and advances in the fight against tobacco consumption.
Tobacco taxes have gone up by over 300 percent in the Philippines in recent
years, the WHO representative added.
Illnesses linked to tobacco consumption are one of
the biggest global health threats. It is estimated one person dies every six
seconds due to a tobacco-related illness, which is equivalent to some six
million people annually. The WHO calculates this figure will rise to eight
million by the year 2030 unless imminent measures to control tobacco addiction
are adopted.
Source: www.thehealthsite.com
08.07.2015
Now, ‘Rambo’ protein to protect you from heart failure!
A protein
named after the famous Hollywood movie Rambo which was earlier thought to be
causing death can in fact protect against heart failure, says new research. The
research done at King’s College London may help scientists to develop new
therapies to improve the outlook for people suffering with heart failure, a
condition for which there is currently no cure. ‘The research has shed light
on the misunderstood Rambo protein which may, in fact, protect heart cells from
death in heart failure, revealing a possible target for therapy. Further
research is now needed to develop methods to control the activity of the
protein in heart cells,’
said Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart
Foundation.
The Bcl-Rambo protein (also known as
Bcl2-L-13) was named by a Japanese scientist because it was thought to be
involved in activating cell death. ‘Rambo’ also means violence in Japanese. The
Rambo protein is involved in safely clearing damaged mitochondria from cells.
Damaged mitochondria are removed by a process called mitophagy — killer
vesicles are activated to engulf and degrade the damaged mitochondria.
The Bcl-Rambo protein is involved in the process of mitophagy in
mammalian cells. If researchers can find ways of regulating this protein, they
may be able to control the process of mitophagy and develop new treatments to
limit the development of heart failure. ‘The discovery of the Rambo protein’s
importance in protecting cells represents a significant step forward in the
understanding of disease processes at the cellular level,’ Pearson
said. ‘Mitophagy is linked to a number of diseases and is of growing
interest to scientists. As well as heart failure, neurodegenerative diseases,
such as Alzheimer’s
disease and Parkinson’s
disease have all been linked
to problems related to mitophagy,’ said lead author Kinya Otsu from King’s
College London. The study was published in the journal Nature
Communications.
Source: www.thehealthsite.com
08.07.2015
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