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Well, according to the television news last night, Scotland drinks about a quarter more alcohol than the rest of the UK.
That amounts to – according to the report – two glasses of wine a week.
Now, call me Mr Cynical, or Mr Media Studies, but that means (if my maths is correct) that in the rest of the UK they drink 8 glasses a week while Scotland drinks ten? Can that be all?
Hmm… I've been for nights out in England from London to Leeds and a good few places in between, and I'd have to say that I've seen people who – never mind 8 glasses a week – are on the 8th glass by about 9pm.
This isn't to defend the Scots alcohol figures – just to say that the figures themselves don't tell the whole story. All 'per capita' figures ever do is provide a statistical tool whereby certain things can be predicted, inferred or quantified. What they can't do is actually provide a figure for each 'capita' – if one guy in England drinks nil glasses a week, and another drinks 15, then the average is 7.5. But only one of them has actually had a drink. Extrapolate that over milliions in a nation and the picture gets impossibly complicated. When you factor in social, economic and cultural components, then the figures don't really say that much at all. Some people are drinking too much? Well, some people always did drink too much.
But it looks like, right now, too many people are drinking too much. Price may be a part of it, but then I've been to places in Europe where the booze is cheaper than lemonade and nobody goes around pie-eyed.
I don't have an answer to this problem (nobody does) but my feeling is that the solution can't come simply from putting tax on bottles, or prohibition or anything thet tends towards governmentalism. It's got to come from offering people more in life than  bottles of wine. Educating them in the pros and cons of alcohol might help. And people who are well informed can then make well informed choices. Choices about things like diet, lifestyle and private medical insurance, and how to get the most from life.

Wine

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It is a time of dramatic change for the NHS, but as this Guardian piece points out, "the scale of what is being proposed has yet to sink in".
So what happens now is anyone's guess. Expect a lot of shouting regardless of what happens. Cameron no doubt wants to save money but the scale of change looks more like a rejigging of the actual organisational structure than a few money-saving exercises.
There are also a few interesting opionions from within the profession on today's Telegraph letters page. With one FRCS telling us that in his career at the NHS a "a modest-sized cadre of administrators" has been replaced by "a bloated swath
of 'managers',
given authority to tell the professionals what to do".
Hopefully any cost savings will be ones that optimise the NHS and allow it to continue to be there training and employing medical staff. I think the balance of private medical provision in this country along with the NHS is a good thing. Any change needs to be carefully and confidently carried out: anything else is going to be more than simply controversial.
My guess would be though that private medical care will increase over time – there are many reasons for this. But think of it like dentists' or opthalmologists' work – private provision for these has increased as the nationalised service hasn't been one size fits all and many choose some of the private as it suits their pocket. Nothing wrong with that art all. But for private medicine to grow healthily, it has to be done in the right way.

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…in which we take a look at health, fitness, and medical insurance stories taken from around the world and conveniently placed on the internet for us to have a read.
First up – a 'sweetened beverage' can apparently 'reduce aggression' according to a report in Telegraph. well, I'm not going to argue with that [said he, slurping a sugarless coffee...]
The Beeb reports on new EU laws regarding health food claims.Now, we all know that a bit of poetic license is allowed on food packaging? Maybe not for much longer…
Over at The Guardian: top doctor calls for urgent action on salt and fats in food. Err, call me Mr Cynical, but haven't top doctors been calling for this since the Cretaceous Period??
Intriguing headline from the Herald: Poverty is not single cause of Glasgow’s ill health. What is then? Well, poverty is part of it, along with 'other factors'. Will be interested to see how this one develops.
Across the pond, the New York Times reports that Obama is set to bypass the senate in appointing the new Medicare/Medicaid chief. I don't know the significance of the senate being bypassed here, but it definitely makes Obama sound decisive and no-nonsense.
Strangest headline of the week goes to the AXA blog, with AXA PPP healthcare praises world's fastest Leprechaun.
If you know of a faster leprechaun, or just have any general comments on the above or suggestions for health news sources we should follow, drop us a comment.

Rainbow_Leprechaun

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For a while now I've been wondering how the economy has been affecting the health club industry. After all, memberships could be seen as either a luxury or a necessity, depending on your point of view.
According to this interesting report from Reuters, health clubs are doing rather well, with Europe being one of the most advanced markets in the sector.
So, if you haven't yet joined up with a health club, now might be a good time to start thinking about it – it's a competitive, growing market, and in the current recession conditions it's likely that you'll be able to find a good deal that suits your needs and your pocket.
The report quoates a professional who calls the growth of the industry "a shift towards wellness".
It's not surprising that, after a century when most occupations were sedentary rather than physically active, we are now all on the move in our leisure time. It's also a good time to be thinking about private medical insurance, just to keep all bases covered and have peace of mind as well as a healthy body.

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We all need a holiday, it's essential for our wellbeing -  but in these credit-crunch times it doesn't need to be a holiday that involves spending thousands of pounds going to an exclusive galmorous far-off location.
It's especially the case for a family holiday. A lot of fun can be had taking the children to, say, a caravan park in Wales so long as the emphasis is on fun and not money-saving. And with a bit of good luck, the weather in the UK is sometimes better than on continental europe.
To be honest, when I was a kid I wasn't much interested in exotic locations anyway. if you'd given me the choise of Tuscany or Center parcs I'd have definitely chosen the latter.
But if the money's there, why not try going somewhere different and off the beaten track? With the range of destinations available these days, there's bound to be something that all the family can agree on. Me, I'd like to head for the Northern mariana Islands since a) it's a pretty unheard-of destination and b) I could indulge my love of World war 2 history (ref: Battle of Saipan).
But sadly there's not the time this year, not to mention the hefty airfare, so it'll be a family trip to Wales (or maybe Cheshire) for me this year. Not quite as old school as the caravan pictured below, though.

1933_car&trailer

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Minumum pricing for alcohol has taken a step closer with the news that experts from NICE (The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence ) have made clear that they are in support of the call.

Tesco Chief executive Terry leahy has added his voice to the many who are also in favour of a minimun pricing policy.

I am undecided as to whether minimum pricing is a good thing, as I don't drink budget alcohol products. Give me real wine, cider or ale, not stuff that's concocted in a laboratory from some kind of concentrate, thanks very much!

If the policy eventually comes into effect it will be interesting to see what happens. Hopefully the minority who over-consume will go for moderation, and the taxes will be put to good use.

For the rest of us, the policy will mean little on a week to week basis – unless it pushes up prices as a whole. If it does, I think I'll turn teetotal and get my Friday night relaxation from a cup of green trea instead.

800px-Niag715

                                                          An end to the Niagara of cheap booze?

 

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Whats Does The Future Have Instore For Medical Insurance?

20091221_gordon-brown-david-cameron-nick-clegg_w

Now that the general election has finally finished and the debates are finally of our TV screens (even though they were good for comedy value half the time) I'm just wondering now what will happen in the medical area of our country?
Gordon Brown who recently resigned as Primeminister stated that the NHS was the best form of health insurance the citizens of the UK needed but now that David Cameron and Nick Clegg are in charge will they back his views or insist on people taking out private health insurance?
With so many things bound to change I think this could be one at the top of the list. Whats your views on the issue and do you think with these two in charge will our country go forward from the mess were in just now or is it going to get worse?

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With the new Conservative/Liberal government coming in and the focus on reducing the tax burden on individuals we thought it would be good to have a look at some of the tax liabilities that are associated with having a private medical insurance policy from your employer – and whether you may be better off from a financial stand point having your own policy outside your work etc.HMRC view employer provided health insurance as "benefit" you receive from your employer and as a result it is subject to taxation. That does mean however that in a benefit to cost ratio (assuming you're not in the higher bracket of taxation) that you could make a significant saving on your health insurance costs. You pay only about the 1/5th of the cost of the medical insurance rather than the full amount. AS you're paying tax on it rather than paying a medical insurance provider the full amount. And generally you're covered for most things that are not pre-existing conditions so the insurance should cover you for most modern maladies and not be simply a cash back policy or something similar.When the Tories are in power, historically, these kind of workplace benefits have been looked upon more favorably and it may be that the taxation regime they implement may reduce the tax burden on these more completely and allow your work to invest in your long term health and well being without penalizing you. With the impending spending cuts and everything projected to happen under these austere times medical insurance may become far more prevalent in the UK workplace than ever before.

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Reading the health column in one of our major newspapers, I came across an article about how it is no recent thing for experts and reports to claim huge headlines about how this or that cancer is out of control because of this or that. There seems to be a new terror every week, [including the ridiculous report in another minor paper that cancer was caused by facebook].
Of course they are all overblown, and mostly laughable attempt by people needing to justify their salaries. But this doesn't take away the real risks that do exist about cancer. The important thing is not to make them into scare stories but just gentle advice and reminders that there are often pretty obvious ways to avoid cancer. Yet these do not get the headlines.
Take for example the fact that last week was sun awareness week, yet I can not remember it being heralded throughout the red tops [okay, there was an election], it was instead left up to a private health insurance company to fly the flag.
At least somebody is taking up the slack, and this company has a record with cancer as they also are amongst the few that offer specialist cancer care with a dedicated nurse for all their cancer patients.

Googlecancer

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The general election campaign here in the UK is becoming increasingly heated. Today, The NHS Confederation with the British Medical Association, King’s Fund and the Royal College of Nursing is holding a pre-election health hustings. The debate features prominent health spokesmen from the three major political parties: Andy Burnham (Labour), Andrew Lansley (Conservative) and Norman Lamb (Liberal Democrats).
The majority of the debate will be around four main themes:
NHS finances, workforce, public health and social care.
You will be able to view live coverage of the debate from 11am on this blog. Feel free to join in a discussion about what was said afterwards.

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