Sleep tabs death, e-cigs, GP examples, underactive thyroid and pregnancy

Inside Health

BBC

Health & Fitness, Science

4.4 • 575 Ratings

🗓️ 28 February 2012

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

10 million prescriptions for sleeping pills are written every year in England. So how alarmed should we be over new American research suggesting that people who take them are more likely to die than those who don't? Dr Mark Porter speaks to a leading British sleep expert about the findings and asks what the alternatives are.

An Inside Health listener asked us to investigate how safe "electronic" cigarettes are. So Dr Max Pemberton, who uses them himself, talked to Professor John Britton from the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies at the University of Nottingham about these currently unregulated products. Rumours abound that a tobacco manufacturer is about to launch the world's first so-called "safe" cigarette. But smokers' reactions are mixed and some prefer other products like nicotine gum.

GP Margaret McCartney's column is about whether your doctor's dietary preferences and habits influence your well being.

Half of all pregnancies in the UK are unplanned, so women and their babies lose out on important supplements like folic acid to help prevent spina bifida. But for women with an underactive thyroid gland it's even more important that they do their best for their baby by increasing their thyroxine dose as soon as they know they're pregnant. But research from Leicester shows that women often fall through the gaps when seeking care - as GPs, midwives and consultants often think someone else is helping these women.

Producer: Paula McGrath.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, you're about to listen to a BBC podcast, and I am Ed Gamble, host of another BBC
0:04.6	podcast, The Traitors Uncloaked. But my show is available only on BBC Sounds, just like
0:09.9	Ellis and John's Saturday bonus episodes, the Pop Top Ten podcast with Scott Mills and Rylen,
0:15.0	and comedy specials from the likes of Harriet Kemsley, Susie Ruffel and Romesh Ranganathan.
0:19.9	However, and maybe I'm biased, it's really all about the traitors uncloked.
0:24.3	So for a whole bunch of exclusive scoops and podcasts, listen only on BBC Sounds.
0:29.4	This is a download from the BBC. To find out more, visit BBC.com.ukuk slash radio four.
0:37.0	Hello and welcome to Inside Health, where we look at the real issues behind the stories making the news providing clarity where there's confusion.
0:44.8	In today's program, are electronic cigarettes dangerous? Amid speculation that a major tobacco manufacturer is about to launch the world's first so-called safe cigarette.
0:54.8	We look at the burgeoning number of electronic alternatives already on the market.
0:58.9	Were you actually smoking in the office?
1:00.4	I was actually smoking at my desk, puffing away over the monitor.
1:03.4	And how did your boss feel about that?
1:04.9	Well, I got my boss smoking one as well, so I mitigate the circumstances.
1:09.2	And while we're on the subject of lifestyle and health,
1:12.2	could your GP's dietary preferences and habits influence your wellbeing?
1:17.0	Margaret McCartney examines the implications of doctors leading by example.
1:21.7	And I'll also be finding out why women with thyroid problems should plan ahead
1:25.4	when it comes to trying for a baby.
1:28.0	But first, new research from the states suggesting that taking sleeping tablets
1:31.9	increases the chances of an early death.
1:34.6	The figures look pretty startling.
	...

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