• UK: Branding ban on cigarette packs?
• US: More states require 'green' cleaning products
• Canada says G8 to focus on maternal, child health

• New spas, scientific research highlight a year of health achievements
• Military returning from active duty find relief from stress through Transcendental Meditation: 'Like a weight taken off my shoulders'
• Offering a variety of courses for healthier individuals and a healthy world: Maharishi's Vedic Approach to Health

• US: Even with preacautions, medical drugs end up in water
• Girls with ADHD show other mental health risks
• US: FDA concerned about candy-like tobacco products

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Positive Trends
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

UK: Branding ban on cigarette packs?
2 February 2010 - The UK government launched plans on Monday to halve the number of smokers by the end of the decade and said it would consider removing branding from cigarette packets and banning cigarette vending machines. The number of people lighting up in Britain has fallen by a quarter in the past decade as a result of various policies including a ban on advertising and raising the age of sale for tobacco to 18. (more)

US: More states require 'green' cleaning products
27 January 2010 - More states are requiring schools and government buildings to use environmentally friendly cleaning products. After a burst of legislation last year, 10 states including Connecticut, Illinois, and New York require or encourage 'green' floor waxes, window cleaners, and other products in schools, according to Green Seal Inc, a nonprofit that certifies the products. Similar bills are expected to be debated this year in at least five states. Supporters say the laws protect the environment and reduce the use of harsh chemicals that can harm workers' and children's health. (more)

Canada says G8 to focus on maternal, child health
26 January 2010 - Canada will use its Presidency of the Group of Eight leading nations to push for improvements in maternal and child health in poor countries, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in an editorial published on 26 January. 'We have an obligation to assist those that are most vulnerable to hardship. Canada hopes members of the G8 will rally together on this,' said the editorial. (more)

Malawi to receive health funds to reduce maternal mortality
26 January 2010 - The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation plans to raise its health funding aimed to reduce maternal mortality in Malawi, Melinda Gates said on Tuesday. Gates, the co-founder and co-chairperson of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, told Reuters during her two-day visit to the impoverished southern African country that she was impressed with the progress made by Malawi in reducing maternal mortality (more)

US: Study finds drop in age-related hearing problems
26 January 2010 - Sweet news for baby boomers: Despite all those warnings that loud rock music would damage their ears, their generation appears to have better hearing than their parents did. Experts theorize there may be several reasons for the finding, like fewer very noisy jobs and better ear protection at worksites, and maybe even a decline in smoking. (more)

Dutch spending still rising...on bicycles
25 January 2010 - Recession or not, the cycle-happy Dutch are still spending a lot of money on their bicycles -- nearly 1 billion euros' worth a year, in fact. About 1.3 million bicycles were sold in the Netherlands last year. The country's flat geography and high population density has made the bicycle one of the primary modes of transportation, with 18,000 km (11,180 miles) of cycle paths nationwide. (more)

Smokers with cancer could quit and double survival - UK study
22 January 2010 - People with early lung cancer who quit smoking could double their chances of surviving, a new study says. Until now, there has been little proof that quitting smoking after developing lung cancer makes any difference to survival. 'The message is you should never give up on giving up (smoking),' said Amanda Parsons, of the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies at the University of Birmingham, who led the study. (more)

US: Indiana House panel backs statewide smoking ban
20 January 2010 - Smoking would be banned in most public places statewide in Indiana under legislation endorsed Wednesday by a state House committee. Local smoke-free workplace laws have been implemented in eight counties and 31 cities in Indiana, according to the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation agency. (more)

Smoking bans in China expand to seven major cities
18 January 2010 - China is tightening smoking regulations to ban lighting up in any indoor public spaces in seven provincial capitals, the latest sign of rising health awareness in the world's largest tobacco-consuming nation. However, the restrictions face stiff resistance from retailers and some local governments. Cities targeted include some of China's biggest commercial centers where smoking and breathing in secondhand smoke add to health threats from other sources such as traffic, industrial waste, and polluted air. (more)

Travel Picks: Top 10 bicycle-friendly cities
16 January 2010 - With fuel costs soaring and environmental conservation in vogue, the bicycle is making a comeback in many cities, becoming a major part of urban transportation plans. The following is a list of the world's top most bicycle-friendly cities, from countries around the world. (more)

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Success of Maharishi's Programmes
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

New spas, scientific research highlight a year of health achievements
8 February 2010 - Expansion of Maharishi Ayur-Veda spas and Health Centres, research on the benefits of the Transcendental Meditation Programme for cardiovascular disease, and models of Veda in the human physiology are among significant achievements in the field of health in the past year. (more)

Military returning from active duty find relief from stress through Transcendental Meditation: 'Like a weight taken off my shoulders'
6 February 2010 - Veterans returning from military service describe how practising Transcendental Meditation helped them with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD) within a short time: 'My health has definitely improved. Transcendental Meditation has also given me a lot of patience,' said one veteran. Others comment on finding deep rest, relaxation, and growing inner stability and resilience through the technique. (more)

Offering a variety of courses for healthier individuals and a healthy world: Maharishi's Vedic Approach to Health
6 February 2010 - A variety of courses in approaches of Maharishi's Vedic Approach to Health--including courses in Veda Aroma Therapy, Maharishi Light Therapy with Gems, and expansion of Maharishi Ayur-Veda products--are among initiatives contributing to a healthier world. (more)

New courses offer training for medical doctors in Maharishi's Vedic Approach to Health
5 February 2010 - Ideal, natural, preventive health care, free of harmful side-effects, is expanding in countries around the world through new courses for medical doctors in Maharishi's Vedic Approach to Health. (more)

Film features benefits of Transcendental Meditation for ADHD, without side-effects of medication
1 February 2010 - A special outreach programme in the United States has helped many families with children suffering from ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) to benefit from practising the Transcendental Meditation Programme. A recent short documentary film relates the experience of one such family in San Diego, California. (more)

New programmes bring Maharishi Ayur-Veda natural health care and integrative medicine to millions of Americans
1 February 2010 - A new Health Professionals Training Programme in Maharishi Ayur-Veda--the world's oldest system of natural health care--has been offered to many US physicians in 2009 and early 2010 by Maharishi Ayur-Veda Association of America. The programme, developed by Stuart Rothenberg, MD, will expand in 2010. Dr Larry Chroman, Minister of Trade and Commerce for the Global Country of World Peace, recently highlighted this and other achievements of the past year--including new programmes to bring Maharishi's Vedic Approach to Health to millions of Americans through Maharishi Ayurveda Products International (MAPI). (more)

Dramatic improvement in war veterans' Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Pilot study on Transcendental Meditation
31 January 2010 - Results of a pilot study led by Dr Sarina Grosswald and psychiatrist Dr Norman Rosenthal reveal profound benefits of the Transcendental Meditation Programme for PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). A recently produced short film, featuring an Iraq war veteran who participated in the study, reinforces the positive impact of the meditation technique for those suffering from the disorder. (more)

New research, training programmes bring attention to Transcendental Meditation for ADHD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
29 January 2010 - Promising new research results and a training programme in the United States are increasing awareness of the benefits of the Transcendental Meditation Programme for many kinds of psychological disorders. (more)

United Kingdom: Majority of people learn Transcendental Meditation to ease stress, anxiety
28 January 2010 - Research in both the UK and the US shows that people enquire about and learn Transcendental Meditation primarily to ease stress and anxiety, and gain relaxation. Transcendental Meditation Teachers are increasingly utilizing social media to make sure that people everywhere are aware of the wide-ranging, scientifically verified benefits of the programme. (more)

US: Consciousness-Based Education in a high school: Disciplinary violations down, 'everyone happier and less stressed'
27 January 2010 - Consciousness-Based Education programmes in the United States are showing very positive outcomes in schools, as well as increasing awareness of the benefits of the Transcendental Meditation Programme for many kinds of psychological disorders. (more)

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Flops
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

US: Even with preacautions, medical drugs end up in water
8 February 2010 - The federal government advises throwing most unused or expired medications into the trash instead of down the drain, but they can end up in the water anyway, a study from Maine suggests. Tiny amounts of discarded drugs have been found in water at three landfills in the state, confirming suspicions that pharmaceuticals thrown into household trash are ending up in water that drains through waste. (more)

Girls with ADHD show other mental health risks
4 February 2010 - Girls with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are more likely than their peers to develop depression, anxiety, eating disorders, or other psychiatric problems by the time they reach adulthood, a new study suggests. (more)

US: FDA concerned about candy-like tobacco products
4 February 2010 - US health officials are seeking more information about the possible attraction and addiction of flavoured, dissolvable tobacco products that regulators worry look too much like candy and can entice children. The products contain powdered 'smokeless' tobacco and are brightly coloured, with flavors such as coffee and mint. The US Food and Drug Administration, in letters to makers of the products, said it was concerned that the products could draw in children and teenagers. Use of the products could lead to nicotine addiction and could even cause health problems from the ingestion of too much nicotine, the FDA said. (more)

Study links excessive Internet use to depression
3 February 2010 - People who spend a lot of time surfing the internet are more likely to show signs of depression, British scientists said on Wednesday. Psychologists from Leeds University found what they said was 'striking' evidence that some avid net users develop compulsive internet habits in which they replace real-life social interaction with online chat rooms and social networking sites. 'This study reinforces the public speculation that over-engaging in websites that serve to replace normal social function might be linked to psychological disorders like depression and addiction,' the study's lead author, Catriona Morrison, wrote in the journal Psychopathology. 'This type of addictive surfing can have a serious impact on mental health.' (more)

'Club drug' ecstasy risky for healthy youth
30 January 2010 - The so-called 'club drug' ecstasy is more likely than other stimulants like speed or crystal meth to kill young, healthy people who are not known as regular drug users, British researchers said on Friday. A study of stimulant-deaths in Britain between 1997 and 2007 found that those who died after taking ecstasy were mainly younger and healthier than those who died after taking amphetamines. Fabrizio Schifano of the University of Hertfordshire, who led the study, said his results were worrying because they appeared to show young people are particularly vulnerable to ecstasy -- and this age group is the most likely to take it. He said the results suggested young people aged between 16 to 24 'seem to suffer extreme consequences after excessive intake of ecstasy', but it was not clear why. Schifano said it may be that young peoples' brains, which are still developing at the age of 16 and 17, are more vulnerable to the effects of the drug. (more)

Medicine running out at Haiti hospitals, clinics
29 January 2010 - Doctors and aid workers are running dangerously low of supplies in Haiti's capital and in the countryside, complicating efforts to treat 200,000 people in need of post-surgery care following the earthquake and increasing the potential of many more deaths due to infection and disease. As days turn to weeks, doctors struggling to keep up with demand in devastated hospitals and improvised clinics are warning of a looming public health calamity as earthquake survivors with untreated injuries fail to get proper attention, Elisabeth Byrs, of the UN's humanitarian coordination office said Friday in Geneva. Anthony Banbury, deputy head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti, said during a tour that he would try to resolve some shortages -- but he noted there is a 'grave need' for medicine all over Haiti. Those needs are competing with the urgency of delivering tons of food, water, and tents which, like the medicine, are delayed by bottlenecks as a result of damaged roads and ports and a tiny airport that is unable to accommodate the backlog of flights waiting to deliver supplies. (more)

Infant swimming in chlorinated pools tied to lung infection, asthma
28 January 2010 - Children who start swimming before the age of 2 may be at increased risk of a common infant lung infection, and possibly asthma and respiratory allergies later in life, a new study suggests. The findings, reported in the European Respiratory Journal, add to evidence that exposure to chlorinated pools may affect children's respiratory health -- particularly if they have a family history of asthma or respiratory allergies like hay fever. Experts have suspected that the air quality around pools, particularly indoor ones, is to blame. In the new study, Belgian researchers found that infant swimming -- whether in indoor or outdoor pools -- was linked to a heightened risk of bronchiolitis. Among children who had used only indoor pools for more than 20 hours before age 2, the risk of bronchiolitis was 3.5-times higher compared with children who had never been to a chlorinated indoor pool at that age. Children who had spent that much time at an outdoor pool showed a two-fold increase in their risk of the lung infection. (more)

Pot smoking during pregnancy may stunt fetal growth
25 January 2010 - Women who smoke marijuana during pregnancy may impair their baby's growth and development in the womb, a new study suggests. Poor fetal growth and reduced head circumference at birth are linked to an increased risk of problems with thinking, memory, and behaviour in childhood. Cigarette smoking during pregnancy is known to impair fetal growth, but studies on the potential effects of marijuana have been inconclusive. For the new study, researchers in the Netherlands followed more than 7,000 pregnant women, 3 per cent of whom acknowledged smoking marijuana at least during early pregnancy. They found that babies born to marijuana users tended to weigh less and have smaller heads than other infants. What's more, the study found, the longer a woman had used marijuana during pregnancy, the stronger the impact on birth size -- suggesting that the drug itself was to blame. (more)

One-fifth of US teens have unhealthy cholesterol
22 January 2010 - One in five American teens has unhealthy cholesterol levels, a major risk factor for heart disease in adults, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday. The heavier teens were, the more likely they were to have high cholesterol but even 14 per cent of teens with normal body weight were found to have unhealthy cholesterol levels, the CDC said. (more)

UK Alcohol advertising code seen failing
22 January 2010 - Britain's system of self regulation on alcohol advertising is failing and companies are 'pushing the boundaries' of codes of practice to lure in young drinkers, social marketing experts said Thursday. A study analyzing internal marketing documents from four alcohol producers and their communications agencies found many of them contravened the codes of practice designed to stop them from appealing to under-18s or encouraging excessive drinking. Researchers from Stirling University's institute of social marketing, found the drinks manufacturers -- Beverage Brands, Diageo, Molson Coors, and Halewood International -- use market research data on 15 and 16 year olds guide marketing campaigns and many documents refer to the need to recruit new drinkers and establish brand loyalty. (more)