Health News Roundup: Use of tear gas to control protesters in Hong Kong could have dangerous effects on health and the environment


Reuters | Updated: 03-12-2019 03:07 IST | Created: 03-12-2019 02:28 IST
Health News Roundup: Use of tear gas to control protesters in Hong Kong could have dangerous effects on health and the environment
Image Credit: ANI

The use of tear gas to control crowds of protesters in the Chinese-ruled city of Hong Kong could have dangerous effects on health and the environment, a group of academics warns. In an article last month in The Lancet, researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) called for government-led decontamination efforts in areas where tear gas has been dispersed, including residential neighborhoods and commercial shopping centers. They also commented on the lack of official guidelines on how to protect against side effects. Bangladesh plans to ban e-cigarettes amid growing health concerns

Bangladesh plans to prohibit the sale and use of electronic cigarettes and vaporizers, a health official said on Sunday, as countries around the world move to ban devices that have been linked to health risks and teen addiction. "We are actively working to impose a ban on the production, import and sale of e-cigarettes and all vaping tobaccos to prevent health risks," Shaikh Yusuf Harun, Secretary at the health education and family welfare division of the Ministry of Health and Family welfare, told Reuters. Could life insurance go up in smoke for some vapers?

Global reinsurers are stepping up their warnings to life insurer clients about the potential risks of vaping, putting pressure on underwriters to charge certain vapers higher rates than smokers, or even exclude them altogether. U.S. authorities said last month that there had been 47 deaths this year from a lung illness tied to vaping. The health concerns about vaping have grown despite evidence showing e-cigarettes help smokers to quit, and has led to bans in some countries including India and Brazil. Grey's Anatomy episode on sexual assault raised viewer awareness

(Reuters Health) - An episode of the long-running television show Grey's Anatomy increased public awareness about sexual assault and how to get help, a study suggests. On March 28, 2019, the medical drama series aired an episode called Silent All These Years, on the topic of consent and sexual assault. At the end of the episode, series star Ellen Pompeo appealed to viewers to ask for help if they were affected by sexual violence. She explained how to reach the free National Sexual Assault Hotline operated by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, or RAINN (800-856-HOPE or via online chat at https://hotline.rainn.org/online/). Slight hearing loss may affect kids' behavior, school performance

(Reuters Health) - Children with slight hearing loss may do a little less well in school and may be a bit more likely to develop behavior problems, a new study suggests. Hearing impairment that doctors and parents may have considered slight or mild "may actually be associated with both school performance and behavior," researchers write in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. 'Prediabetes' common in U.S. teens, young adults

About one in five teens and one in four young adults in the U.S. have slightly elevated blood sugar, sometimes known as "prediabetes," that can lead to full-blown diabetes, a study suggests. For the study, researchers examined data on blood sugar levels for 5,786 people ages 12 to 34 who hadn't been diagnosed with diabetes. Overall, 18% of the younger people in the study, ranging in age from 12 to 18 years old, had "prediabetes," as did 24% of the adults 19 to 34 years old.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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