Category Archives: Health & Medicine

Business, Economy, Health & Medicine, Human Interest, Law Enforcement, Politics

PHILIPPINE TOBACCO LAW PUT ON HOLD: GRAPHIC WARNING ON CIGARETTE PACKETS TOO GRAPHIC

August 7, 2014 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

Filipinos won't see similar graphics seen in this warning label on cigarette packs in Thailand. — Filipinos won’t see similar graphics seen in this warning label on cigarette packs in Thailand.

Manila, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – A new law requiring that graphic warnings showing the harmful effects of smoking be placed on all cigarette packs sold in the Philippines has been put on hold. The reason: Filipinos consider the graphic photos too graphic.

The new law, signed by President NoyNoy Aquino last July, was supposed to be in effect this month, but it has been postponed until May of 2016, to the delight of the powerful tobacco-growing industry.

The proposed graphic warnings feature gruesome photographs of the ill effects of smoking, including skin and throat cancer as well as emaciated bodies of smokers.

Soon after the proposed graphic designs were made public, tobacco companies initiated a petition to put the new law on hold until less offensive, less repulsive and less nauseating photographs are used on cigarette packs. The petition drew more than 1 Million signatures, prompting officials to suspend the law’s implementation.

In an exclusive interview with The Adobo Chronicles, a spokesperson for the Inter-Agency Committee on Tobacco (IAC-T) said that the committee has decided to replace the graphic photos with a picture of President Aquino smoking a cigarette. “Because of the growing unpopularity of Aquino, having his photograph on cigarette packs would encourage smokers to quit while discouraging young kids from starting to smoke.”

The new graphic warning on cigarette packs won’t be rolled out until May of 2016, just weeks before the president’s six-year term as president comes to an end. “That way, there will be no conflict of interest or impropriety when Aquino receives compensation and royalty from the tobacco companies for the use of his photograph,” the spokesperson said.

This will be the photo that will be used in the graphic warnings on cigarette packs:

Health & Medicine, International, The Media

U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION APPROVES NEW PILLS TO CURE SELFITIS

August 4, 2014 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

Washington, D.C. (The Adobo Chronicles) – The. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced the approval of a new pill that would cure selfitis, the obsessive-compulsive urge to take photos of one’s self and posting them on social media.

Recently, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) officially classified selfie-taking as a mental disorder with three levels of the disease: borderline, acute and chronic.

The FDA announcement unveiled three color-coded pills that doctors can prescribe to their patients: green for borderline, blue for acute and red for chronic selfitis. In clinical trials conducted prior to the FDA approval, the pills showed an efficacy rate of plus or minus three percent.

The new pills are similar to FDA-approved drugs that fall under the category of SSRI, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, used to treat depression and anxiety. The new pills’ manufacturer, Actavis which recently acquired Forest Laboratories, said the new drug will be marketed under the brand name selpram . Forest Laboratories owns the brand name Celexa (citalopram) which is prescribed for depression.

The FDA announcement came as a huge relief to selfie addicts, a population that has grown to almost 1 Billion worldwide. Equally, Facebook and Instagram users will be spared from the agony of having to deal with their friends’ selfies all too frequently posted on their walls.

Selpram will be available in the market starting this fall.

Business, Food, Health & Medicine, Law Enforcement, Local News, Politics

SAN FRANCISCO SEEKS TO BAN SUGAR AND WHIPPED CREAM IN STARBUCKS COFFEE

July 27, 2014 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

San Francisco, California (The Adobo Chronicles) – Buoyed by an earlier approval to include in November’s ballot a proposed two-cent tax per ounce of sodas, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed another measure in its war against sugar.

The new measure, which passed 6-4, will ask San Francisco voters to approve a new city law that would ban Starbucks and other coffee outlets from serving or offering sugar or whipped cream with their coffee. Tall, grande or venti, only black coffee will be be sold at these outlets, and no sugary enhancements, according to the proposed regulations.

“We want San Francisco to take the lead in the fight against obesity and diabetes,” said board president David Chiu.

Asked by The Adobo Chronicles how far the city is willing to go in this healthy obsession, Chiu said: “This is just the beginning. If the two measures are approved by voters in November, we will go after cake shops and ice cream parlors next. We are very confident that with voter support, San Francisco can go totally sugar-free by 2020.”