‘Picking nose may give you pneumonia’

‘Just say no’ to drug legalisation: WHO chief

PARIS, Oct 11, (Agencies): Parents exasperated by their children constantly ignoring pleas to stop picking their noses, may have finally found an argument to break the habit: it might give you pneumonia.

Pneumococcus, the bacteria that causes – a lung condition that can prove deadly if untreated – is known to spread through airborne droplets, often from the coughs and sneezes of infected individuals.

British scientists said Thursday they had proved for the first time that the disease-causing bacteria can be transmitted manually via the nose and hands.

In a trial, the results of which were published in the European Respiratory Journal, a group of adult volunteers had the bacteria applied to their hands.

They were then given the unenviable choice of four tasks: “wet sniff,” “dry sniff”, “wet poke”, and “dry poke” designed to mimic everyday actions that see people touch or rummage around inside their noses.

“This study has shown that the hands can spread this bacteria as well and objects like mobile phones or children’s toys could also be adding to the spread of this bacteria,” Victoria Connor, a clinical research fellow at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Royal Liverpool Hospital, told AFP.

Globally, pneumonia kills an estimated 1.3 million infants under five each year, and Connor said although the trial was conducted with adults, the main lesson was for parents of young children.

“It might not be realistic to get children to stop picking, poking and rubbing their noses,” she said.

Hygiene

“But for parents... ensuring good hand hygiene and cleaning of toys or surfaces would likely reduce transmission, and reduce the risk of developing pneumococcal infection such as pneumonia.”

Participants in the study were just as likely to get the bacteria in their noses whether they were exposed to wet or dry pneumococcus samples, said the researchers.

But the total amount transmitted was higher in the “wet sniff” and “wet poke” groups, suggesting that the process of drying out may kill some of the bacteria.

With Canada on the verge of becoming the world’s second nation to legalise recreational marijuana, the head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday that countries should think twice before opening that door.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who was in the Philippines for a regional meeting, told AFP the organisation supports availability of drugs like marijuana for medical reasons.

“Of course we believe that people who need it, especially for pain management, should have it. There should be access,” he said.

That access should be clearly regulated, he added, and throwing open the doors to full legalisation carries its own health risks.

“I think any addictive substance is not good for human health,” he said. “We wouldn’t encourage countries to follow those who are actually ... legalising it.”

As he spoke, Canada was a week away from allowing for adults to buy, grow and consume cannabis, the second nation in the world to do so after Uruguay’s move five years ago.

Canadian officials have justified legalisation on the grounds that it would take traffickers and dealers out of the equation and protect young people.

HONG KONG:

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Hong Kong plans to ban e-cigarettes and other new smoking products to protect public health, the leader of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory said Wednesday.

Carrie Lam said in an annual policy address that her government was drawing up proposed legislation to forbid the import, manufacture, sale, distribution and advertisement of products used in the pastime known as vaping.

E-cigarettes typically contain the stimulant nicotine and there is little research on their long-term effects, including whether they help smokers quit. The rise in teenagers using e-cigarettes has alarmed health officials in the United States who worry users will become addicted and be more likely to try cigarettes.