|
|
|
|
S & A Publishing |
|
|
|
Media |
|
Consumer press articles |
|
|
|
Lighter Life |
|
|
|
A new dawn for weight loss
(2007)
|
|
|
|
Pills to stop you eating
are becoming more popular as a quick fix
to lose weight. But do any of them really
herald a bright future in the fight
against obesity? And what are their side
effects? By Ai lsa
Colquhoun
|
|
|
The prospect of simply
being able to take a pill while continuing
to eat whatever you want and lose weight
is enticing, but could it really be what
lies ahead in the fight against obesity?
PIlls that claim to be able to help you
lose weight or keep off the pounds already
exist but none has yet proved to be the
complete answer for the increasing number
of people in Britiain and around the
world, whose health is at risk of being
overweight.
|
|
|
|
Prima
Baby
The £28 test that could save your baby’s life
Andrea Barrett, 33, from Belfast considers
herself one of the lucky ones. Her son, Tristin
is now a happy, healthy 14-month-old, as playful
and adventurous as any other. But two days after
he was born, Tristin contracted a
life-threatening infection from his mother and
almost died. He pulled through, though, because
his doctors knew what they were looking for; a
concerning vaginal discharge when Andrea was 28
weeks’ pregnant caused her midwife team to take
a swab test, which alerted them all to the fact
that she carried group B streptococcus (GBS), a
bug that lives harmlessly in many adults but
which can kill a new born baby. When she went
into labour, the doctors knew to give her the
simple antibiotics Tristin would need to keep
him healthy.
Tristin was unlucky enough to develop this
relatively rare infection because Andrea, like
one in three British adults, is a GBS carrier.
Almost three years ago on ITV’s Coronation
Street, mechanic Kevin Webster’s baby son Jake
contracted the same thing – and unfortunately,
he died.
Currently, the NHS does not routinely test
pregnant mums for GBS, due to the fact that
medical opinion varies over the associated risks
and benefits of screening and treatment, given
that only a small number of babies go on to be
ill with a GBS infection. This means that babies
who are born with the bug and become seriously
ill can often do so before anyone realises they
are at risk of developing the infection. As
Andrea says: “It is terrible to think that some
women will give birth to babies who could then
go on to die and they simply would have no idea
why it happened. It’s especially terrible when
you think that the tragedy of a child dying in
this way can be so easily prevented.” |
|
|
|
The
Mirror
Is reign of umbrella at an end?
Men - first, here’s the bad news. If you are
aged between 20 and 24, your chances of catching
chlamydia after having unprotected sex are
higher than ever. Official statistics now show
that after 10 years of increasing infection
rates, the disease now affects almost one in one
hundred of such men, making it the UK’s most
common sexually transmitted infection (STI). All
men who have the infection are at risk of
infertility, kidney damage, arthritis and eye
problems but worse still, many will not even
know it as 50 per cent of the time, infection
does not even cause them any symptoms. Until
now, the test for chlamydia has involved the
fairly eye-watering ‘umbrella’ test, which
involves a specialist in sexually transmitted
infections inserting a very fine cotton bud
about two centimetres up your water passage.
Even the professionals admit this is an
uncomfortable procedure. However, the good news
is that by the end of this year, a new test
could be available in every specialist clinic,
which only involves the doctor or nurse taking a
urine sample. In fact, it’s so simple, in parts
of the country, specialists are working with
workplace bosses to allow employees to take
their own test for chlamydia in the privacy of
their work loo and then get the results through
the post. Whether this will become available in
every workplace is still up for debate and will
not be known until the beginning of next year.
Until the new test is available in your area,
doctors still advise you to go and checked out
if you have any of the symptoms of chlamydia,
which include a white/cloudy, watery discharge
from the tip of the penis, pain or a burning
sensation when passing urine or pain and/or
swelling in your testicles. Even if you don’t
have any of the above, but think you might have
slept with someone with this, or other
infections, then you should go, too. Most large
hospitals have a sexual health clinic and the
number will be in the phone book under
genitourinary medicine, STD or VD. You can also
call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47 (24hrs). |
|
|
|
Trade press articles |
The
Grocer
Britons taking 44m holidays
With the war in Iraq, the SARS epidemic and the
on-going threat of terrorist attack, it is
little wonder that consumers have been loath to
holiday abroad over the past few years. But,
following several years of economic boom,
average personal disposable incomes have risen
by over a quarter since 1998, according to
Mintel, prompting rain-weary Britons to open
those holiday brochures once more. In a recent
report on the holiday market, the analyst
estimates that just over 44 million overseas
holidays will be taken this year, a rise of just
over 5 per cent on last year. Encouraged by the
favourable dollar exchange rate, far-flung
destinations such as Caribbean are fast becoming
the holiday of choice, taking over from old
European favourites such as Spain. Importantly,
they are also luring some domestic holidaymakers
into the market as well.
Grocers already recognise the value of
associating themselves with the holiday market,
as loyalty card link-ups such as Tesco’s link
with car rental company Avis and Sainsbury’s
Nectar card link-up with online travel operator
eBookers attest. But, thanks to increasing
shifts in terms of medicines and healthcare
shopping, the sector is also becoming a key
outlet for holiday health shopping. During 2004,
over the counter (OTC) medicine suppliers
collectively applied to market through grocery
three previously pharmacy-only summer medicines,
including Wasp-Eze Bites & Stings Spray,
Benadryl Allergy Relief for hayfever and, most
recently, Procter & Gamble’s tummy trouble
remedy Pepto-Bismol. Somewhat unsurprisingly,
therefore, IMS Health’s PharmaTrend Offtake
Report data for January reveals that in value
and volume growth terms grocers massively
outstripped pharmacy in the four key summer
health markets of hayfever and allergy relief,
antidiarrhoeals, skin cleansing products and
bites and sting creams. |
|
|
Taken
from The Pre-Reg Handbook, 2005
prepared
for Pfizer Consumer Health
Research
shows that on any one day, 930,000 people
in the UK will be suffering from a cold,
and as adults, we can expect
to suffer from between two and five colds a
year. Over a lifetime of 75 years, this means
suffering over 200 separate colds – and spending
around three years of our life coughing and
sneezing. |
|
With so many OTC cough and cold remedies
available, it is important to get the right
medicine for your particular symptoms, which is
why Pfizer Consumer Health provides invaluable
information and advice on recognising and
treating winter ailments on its recently updated
website,
www.coughandcoldadvice.com.
Coughs,
particularly, can prove troublesome, as they
are very
common, but Pfizer
CH’s market-leading Benylin range contains
products for every type of cough and there is
nothing more effective available without
prescription - no wonder consumers voted it
their ‘Most
Trusted Brand’ in the cough/cold category of the
2004
Readers Digest
magazine poll. |
|
|
Contract
publishing |
|
|
Feel Good this
Summer mini-brochure for healthfood shop
customers (Cress Health, 2007)
|
|
 |
|
|
Unichem The Business magazine |
|
Even though pharmacies come out top in retail
polls for the advice they can offer, it is a
fact that 90 per cent of pharmacy sales occur
without the help of pharmacy staff. |
|
It is also a fact that 28 per cent of first-time
product purchasers buy a product because they
have seen it on display. |
|
So, do you have the right stock on your shelves? |
|
According to Caroline Parrett, pharmacy services
manager at UniChem, the answer, unfortunately,
is often no. “When people call on UniChem’s
Merchandising Plus service for help, they are
often intrigued to see the products that we
recommend they sell. They’ve often got the wrong
stock on shelf. They overstock on haircare,
simply because a good rep has been in and has
sold them too much of their range. As a result
they have every colour imaginable on shelf, when
two or three would do.” |
|
Worse still, she says, is when valuable GSL
medicine lines are pushed behind the counter or
are not effectively merchandised as a healthy
living section. “These should be out where
customers can find them- albeit close enough to
pharmacy staff so that customers can ask for
advice as and when they need it. |
|
“There’s no excuse for getting it wrong these
days, when UniChem, for example, delivers twice
a day and independent EPoS data is available
from its merchandising service. With
consultation rooms becoming more and more
commonplace, the retail floor space is getting
smaller and smaller - making it more important
than ever to make sure you have the right
products on display in the right place.” |
|
|
Public Relations |
|
Pharmacy:
making the move to a service-driven
profession: Pharmaceutical Field magazine,
March, 2007. Double page spread placed on
behalf of Geoff Mackay. director of
Stirling Business Consultants.
|
|
|
Pharmacists are set to have
an increasing influence on NHS prescribing.
Geoff Mackay examines the changing role of
the pharmacy and how pharma companies can
work with pharmacists to help them meet the
requirements of the new contract.
|
|
|
Press and consumer launch materials for
HibiScrub bodywash |
Consumer release, May 2007:
THE DOCTORS' SECRET WEAPON COMING
TO A BATHROOM NEAR YOU!
Do you
know…..
-
5,000 deaths result from Hospital
Acquired Infections (HAI) every year
-
1800 more people die each year from HAIs
than on UK roads
- Three
times more UK people die each year from
HAI than from Skin Cancer
-
Treating HAIs cost the NHS over £1
billion pa
But………
-
For the first time there's a clinically
proven product that can protect you pre
and post operation.
Launched by surgical and woundcare
experts, Mölnlycke Healthcare, HiBiSCRUB
TM is the only whole bodywash available to
the public to contain chlorhexidine
gluconate 4%, a hospital-strength
cleanser that is used by surgeons the
world over before they scrub up for an
operation.
Independent bespoke
courses, from a trainer with over 17 years
in journalism. Bespoke and off the shelf
courses are available, including:
How do I get my press release read? A half
or whole day course on getting the most
copy for your client. Content includes:
Copywriting tips and help making sure your
press release is noticed.
What journalists want
Copy clinic
Successful Interviews. A
whole day course that will ensure that you
always get a positive media report- even
in a crisis - and to get the 'endorsement'
of the journalist as well, covering:
Selling the story in
Preparing for the interview
The interview itself
Making the News: A 3-hr
course designed to help agencies set up
a successful news feed service on behalf
of their clients. Content includes:
How to structure a news
team?
Where does news come
from?
What makes good news?
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|