News

In brief

Australian soap operas do more to discourage young people from smoking than the British versions, according to new research from the Health Education Authority.

The research, from Aston University, found that there are three times as many portrayals of smoking in UK soaps than there are in Australian-produced ones. Children’s perceptions of the progammes also reflected this difference. The Medical Practitioners Union has called for GPs to have the right to ‘opt out’ of out-of-hours work if they wish. The MPU says that GPs rate being on call overnight as the most stressful part of their job, and that 82 per cent of doctors want to have the right to opt out if they wish. A study from the King’s Fund suggests that much hospital care could be moved to primary and community care settings, but not without major changes in how community services are planned and provided. The study, carried out in Bromley, found that around a half of care provided for children and the elderly in hospitals could be moved to non-acute settings, but would not necessarily result in cheaper or improved quality care. The decision by North and Mid Hampshire health authority to cut back its contract for abortions with the British Pregnancy Advisory Service may put pregnant teenagers at risk, according to local community workers.

‘A lot of young women seek help very close to 24 weeks and if they then have to look for private funding it could be too late’, said Judy Codman, co-ordinator of a local youth counselling group. The Public Health Alliance have recently elected David Player as their new chair. Dr Player is best known for his work as director general of the Health Education Council, from 1982 until its abolition in 1987. Unhealthy diets can be up to 40 per cent cheaper than healthy ones, according to a survey by the Food Commission. The survey compared 15 healthier alternatives to commonly eaten foods, and found that the prices of the healthy choices had risen by 31 per cent over the last seven years, compared with a rise of only 13 per cent for the less healthy alternatives. The difference between the healthy and unhealthy diets was greatest in less affluent areas.