Four million children die annually in South Africa:UNICEF

Around four million African children die annually of preventive diseases, a recent report by UNICEF has pointed. The African nations contribute over half of the 9.2 million child fatalities in the world annually, report added. The report also praised Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi and other Sub Saharan African states that have succeeded in reducing the infant mortality rate by 40 percent. From 2000 to 2007 the southern cone countries in this continent have managed to reduce by 90 percent the diseases caused by measles, UNICEF said. According to Ann M Veneman, executive director UNICEF these signs of progress are a result of joint efforts made by the government and international allies to boost vaccination campaigns. The focus now must be on prenatal care, specialised attention during birth, breastfeeding in the first months of life and proper nutrition, Veneman added. UNICEF is working in over 150 countries and territories to bring a change in lives of children.

Alcohol intoxication may not always be visible

Alcohol intoxication is often accompanied by trouble walking or slurred speech, however, exceptionally tolerant individuals do not show signs of tipsiness even though they are very intoxicated, says an expert.
John Brick, executive director of Intoxikon International said that one of the deadliest consequence of alcohol over-consumption is impaired driving and it is still difficult for trained observers to fully identify "intoxication," given that so many factors contribute to it.
"It is important to understand and recognize intoxication because of the risk for injury that results from it," he said
"Understanding and recognizing an intoxicated person can help us make decisions about allowing a person to drive, accepting a ride from someone, or cutting off a drinker," he added.
Brick revealed that 'Obvious intoxication' as defined in some courts is not always the same as 'visible intoxication'.
In some states 'obvious' intoxication means that if someone has consumed a large number of drinks, it should be obvious that they are intoxicated and not capable of driving. Other state laws define 'visible' intoxication as specific types of behaviour, such as trouble walking, slurred speech and other common signs of alcohol intoxication.
In most people reliable signs of intoxication are present by casual observation at a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 150 mg/dl or more, even in most tolerant individuals.
At a BAC of less than 150 mg/dl, signs of visible intoxication are not reliably present in most drinkers, and the likelihood of identifying signs of impairment is less than chance.
"This presents a particular challenge to preventionists," said Brick.
"For example, how do you intervene or make an informed decision about driving with someone if they do not appear visibly intoxicated? People who are too impaired to drive are not typically staggering, slurring their speech, or presenting gross signs of intoxication.
"A very small woman drinking rapidly could attain a BAC of 150 mg/dl with only four standard drinks, whereas a large man might require 10 or 12 such drinks, again depending on how long they were drinking and other scientific factors," he added.
At times when people show no signs of visible intoxication even though they are very intoxicated, the only way to know if they are intoxicated might be to count drinks, Brick explained.
"If you have a policy that allows a certain number of drinks per hour, for example, you may rely on counting rather than paying attention to behavior, and end up overserving," he said.
Drink counting is also problematic in a busy bar etc, so Brick said there is a need for further research to establish a reasonable maximum number of drinks to be served, coupled with training to identify signs of intoxication.
The review is published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research and is currently available at Early View. (ANI)

Single men are sexiest for fertile wives

Women’s sexual preferences change over the course of their menstrual cycle, with partnered women being most attracted to single men during their fertile stage, according to a new study.
Researchers at the University of Padua in Italy suggest that partnered women, who want to have an affair or even think about having a fling, subconsciously choose single men when they are fertile. On the other hand, their attraction shifts to coupled men when they become infertile.
The researchers say that women select a man who is more likely to be a willing partner when they are fertile.
They explain that having an affair with a coupled man may be both a waste of time, and risky, as there is a greater chance of getting caught.
“Ancestral women who felt more attracted to a single man than to an already coupled one would have been more likely than others to succeed and transmit this preference to their daughters,” Nature quoted Paola Bressan of the University of Padua in Italy, as saying

Cigarette, beedi packets will now depict death

The government has given the go-ahead for the implementation of pictorial warnings on cigarette and beedi packets ending a long-drawn debate on its feasibility.
The pictorial warnings could be either a scorpion or lungs, a Group of Ministers, convened to decide on carrying pictorial warnings, decided in its conclusive meeting on Tuesday.
"Pictorial warnings are coming and what pictures would be carried would be decided by the Chairman of the GoM in a couple of days," Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said.
The total coverage area for the picture would be either 30 per cent or 40 per cent of the pack. Earlier, 50 per cent of the total packet was to be covered by the pictorial warnings.
"The size, colour and what picture is to be carried would be decided by the end of this week by the Chairperson of the Group of Ministers," Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said after the meeting.

Tips to tackle pressure during Board exams

With Board exams around the corner testing times are here again for students as well as parents. While some students perform better under pressure, others totter. So, where should parents draw the line?
Gifty, a student, has been burning the midnight oil to pass with flying colours in his class 10 board exams.
“There are these phone calls saying I'm studying for eight to 10 hours. We start to think that they are studying for 10 hours and why am I not studying that much,” a visibly worried Gifty Kurien said.
Inspite of being a topper Gifty’s mother Marianne is constantly under pressure that her son lives upto everyone's expectations.
“Everyone is asking how much percentage he is expecting to get, so if he does not come up to everyone's expectations we will be very depressed,” Mariama said.

1 billion people could die due to tobacco use: WHO

Tobacco use could kill more than one billion people around the world this century unless governments and civil society act to reverse the epidemic, according to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report that was released on Thursday.
"One hundred million deaths were caused by tobacco in the 20th century," said the report unveiled by WHO director-general Margaret Chan at a joint press conference with New York mayor Michael Bloomberg.
"If current trends continue, there will be up to one billion deaths in the 21st century. Eighty per cent of those deaths will occur in the developing world," the report said.
The study, recommends a six-pronged approach to combat the scourge.
The strategies involve monitoring tobacco use and prevention policies, protecting people from tobacco smoke, offering help to quit tobacco use, warning about the dangers of tobacco, enforcing bans on tobacco advertising and promotion and raising taxes on tobacco.
"While efforts to combat tobacco are gaining momentum, virtually all countries need to do more," Chan said. "These six strategies are within the reach of every country and, when combined as a package, they offer us the best chance of reversing this growing epidemic." Bloomberg, a former smoker, described the report as "revolutionary".
"For the first time, we have both a rigorous approach to stop the tobacco epidemic and solid data to hold us all accountable. While tobacco control measures are sometimes controversial, they save lives and governments need to step up and do the right thing," he said.
The report noted that tobacco use is growing fastest in low-income countries, owing to the steady population growth coupled with the targets by the tobacco industry. The end result is that millions of people become fatally addicted each year.
It said that nearly two thirds of the world’s smokers live in 10 countries: China (accounting for nearly 30 per cent), India (10 per cent), Indonesia, Russia, the United States, Japan, Brazil, Bangladesh, Germany and Turkey.
It noted that only five per cent of the world’s population is protected by comprehensive national smoke-free legislation, while half of the countries — two out of three in the developing world — did not even have minimal data on tobacco use.
"In most countries, tobacco use is higher among the poor than the rich and the poor suffer more from the consequences of tobacco-related diseases, creating economic hardship and perpetuating the cycle of poverty and illness," the study by the UN health agency said.
It made clear that tobacco use currently costs the world hundreds of billions of dollars each year.
The tobacco industry meanwhile spends tonnes of billions of dollars on marketing and targets the developing world with the same marketing and lobbying tactics perfected and now banned in rich countries, the report said.
These include enticing women and teens to use tobacco and pressurising governments to block marketing restrictions and tax hikes.
It singled out higher taxes on tobacco as "the most effective way to decrease consumption and encourage tobacco users to quit". A 70 per cent increase in the price of tobacco could prevent up to a quarter of all smoking-related deaths worldwide, it stat