Others see Hef - as he is universally known - as a filth pedlar and the instigator of universal moral breakdown.
The man himself is sanguine about his reputation. “I know I’m living out a lot of other guys’ fantasies,” he once confided. “But what you need to understand is that I’m living out my own as well. That’s what it’s really all about.”
Hefner’s rise personifies The American Dream, his greatest invention being, well, Hugh Hefner.
Born in Chicago on 9 April 1926, his upbringing could not have been more removed from the idyll of the hipster swinger it was to become.
Marilyn scoop
He reflected in 2000: “I was raised in a typical Midwestern Methodist home with a lot of Puritan repression.
“The dreams of my childhood came directly from the movies; they had more to do with romantic adventure and passion than living happily ever after.”
After serving in the US Army during the final days of World War II, he read psychology and married at 23.
Hugh Hefner: 80 years young
|
Drawn to journalism through a passion for drawing cartoons, Hefner worked as a copywriter at Esquire magazine before resigning after famously being denied a $5 pay rise. In 1953, with $10,000 raised from 45 investors, he launched Playboy.
The magazine’s first issue, published in December of that year, provided one of the scoops of the century: a nude Marilyn Monroe. It sold 53,000 copies.
Centrefolds followed in 1955, then came the Playboy clubs, a syndicated US television show called Playboy’s Penthouse, the Big Bunny jet airliner, casinos, hotels and resorts.
The 1970s saw Playboy hit the heights. Monthly sales of up to seven million copies made it a major player in the publishing industry.
But Playboy has always been about much more than bums ‘n’ boobs - although female nudes have remained at its heart.
Awaiting Beatty
It was, arguably after Esquire, the world’s first men’s lifestyle magazine, replete with heavyweight articles by writers like Norman Mailer, Arthur Koestler and Hunter S Thompson.
And then there were the interviews. Starting in 1962 with Miles Davis talking to a struggling journalist called Alex Haley - later to pen Roots - the magazine has also featured luminaries including Jean-Paul Sartre, Malcolm X, Vladimir Nabokov and Fidel Castro.
One of John Lennon’s final interviews famously graced Playboy in January 1981, the month after his death. More recently, Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry and Johnny Depp have all undergone the rigorous grilling for which the magazine is justly famous.
Skater Katarina Witt bared all in 1998
|
JFK and his brother Bobby both declined Playboy’s offer. And Warren Beatty, perhaps the world’s best-known playboy, remains the most famous living refusenik.
But, by the 90s, the Playboy empire had begun to shrink. The clubs and casinos closed, lads’ mags brought new competition, as did the internet.
The refocusing of Playboy has its critics, who say that more flesh mean less literature and that Hefner’s unashamedly libertarian pronouncements - on abortion, contraception and divorce - have become muted.
Vault
But, in a sign that there’s still life in the Bunny, the Playboy Club - and the bunny Girls - are set to return later this year, with the opening of a new venue in Las Vegas. And Playboy.com, Hefner’s presence on the internet, is a market leader.
But not everyone has been won over to his ethos. The magazine recently suspended its Indonesian edition following violent protests by a number of Muslim groups.
Muslim protesters succeeded in closing Playboy’s Indonesian edition
|
Hef’s private life has been complex. After his first marriage ended in 1959, he devoted himself to a swinging lifestyle which included regular orgies and a period in which he experimented in bisexuality.
But, in July 1989, he tied the knot again, with Kimberly Conrad, that year’s Playmate of the Year. This marriage failed in 1999, though the couple have not divorced.
Since then Hefner has enjoyed the polygamous lifestyle which endures today.
And, when the time comes to go to the Great Bunny Club in the Sky, Hefner plans to do it in style, spending eternity in the vault next to Marilyn Monroe at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in LA.
Today, asked to sum up his love-life, Hugh Hefner gives a disarmingly direct answer:
“He makes love to his girlfriends, plural. And he thanks God for Viagra.”
Full story
 |
Dee Caffari
A dream came true for 33-year-old English gym instructor Dee Caffari when she became the first woman to sail non-stop and solo around the world against the prevailing winds and currents. Hundreds of supporters including the Princess Royal gave her a heroine’s welcome when she arrived in Southampton. Fighting back the tears, she fell into the arms of her mother. Later she said “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.”
Full story
|
|
Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett is to play none other than Bob Dylan in a forthcoming movie. The Australian actress will be one of six actors to portray the musical bard in what the makers say will not be a biopic but an “evocation of Dylan’s various persona, his public image and what he expresses in his songs”. Blanchett will portray him as an androgynous star, before his 1966 motorcycle accident. Richard Gere and Heath Ledger will also star.
|
|
Mr Lordi
Dressed like a cross between a Viking warrior and an orc from Lord of the Rings, lead singer Mr Lordi led his band Lordi to spectacular success in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. The heavy metal band from Finland sang Hard Rock Hallelujah to Euro victory dressed in latex monster masks and with sparks flying from their guitars. Mr Lordi declared afterwards: “This is a victory for rock music and also a victory for open-mindedness.”
Full story
|
Written by BBC News Profiles Unit’s Andrew Walker
Originaly from
Viagra could be used to help people flying eastwards recover from jetlag, animal research suggests.
A team of Argentine scientists found the drug helped hamsters recover up to 50% faster from forward shifts in their daily time cycles.
However, the drug only worked in conjunction with light therapy, and only in one time direction - the equivalent to flying eastbound.
The study features in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In mammals, the light-dark cycle regulates the body's biological clock, which promotes activity during the daytime, when it is light, and sleep at night.
Time shift
The researchers from the National University of Quilmes shifted the light-dark cycle of hamsters six hours forwards, by switching on lights six hours earlier than usual.
They then monitored the hamsters' running wheel activity to assess when their body clocks had adjusted to the new time cycle - the hamsters are active in the day but stop running when the lights go out.
Injection of Viagra before the time shift meant the hamsters adjusted to the new time cycle faster, even when low doses of the drug, which did not cause penile erections, were used.
Viagra, the drug sildenafil, was originally developed for the treatment of high blood pressure and angina, and is used to treat erectile dysfunction.
Viagra used in combination with light could help jetlag symptoms
|
When used without the shifts in light, the drug did not induce changes in the hamsters' activity, so it seems to work by enhancing the light-induced response.
Dr Diego Golumbek, who led the research, said the drug seemed to work via a molecule called cGMP which is known to have a role in setting the body's time clock - it is present at higher levels during the day.
The Viagra blocks the activity of an enzyme which breaks down cGMP, allowing higher levels to build up.
One direction only
Dr Golumbek said the fact that different mechanisms may be used to slow down and speed up the body clock explains why Viagra only worked when the lights were switched on early, not late.
Professor Robert Lucas, from Manchester University, said although looking for ways adjust biological clocks was important, regulating light exposure was the most widely accepted strategy for doing this.
He said the new research raised the possibility of using Viagra in conjunction with this light treatment, but he added: "We will have to wait for more research to know whether this will work in humans."
Pfizer, the makers of Viagra, said the drug should only be used in accordance with the approved labelling.
Originaly from
Members of a crime gang who ran a drugs syndicate from a garage workshop in Barry, south Wales, will be sentenced on Thursday.
Cardiff Crown Court was told that S&J Autos provided the cover for the gang, who were involved in supplying ecstasy brought from Spain in lemonade bottles.
The court heard undercover police set up a business next door to trap them.
Fourteen men have admitted taking part in a network which extended to Spain and the Caribbean.
‘Operation Panama Canal’ involved undercover police setting up a marine services business next door to the car bodyshop and befriending the drug dealers to catch the gang.
Pivotal figure
The court was told that this included “pivotal figure” Russell Dawson, 37, also known as “Sam”, who told police he was willing to do anything illegal to make money.
Dawson, who was working at S&J Autos at the time, set up meetings for the officers with dealers from Manchester.
These dealers told the undercover pair, known as Tommy and George, they could supply between 200,000 and 300,000 ecstasy pills.
The officers, who bought 10,000 pills for 45p each, were told previous batches of ecstasy had killed five users.
Dawson, from Barry, also said he could supply the officers with ecstasy from Spain imported in lemonade bottles.
Bearing the Motorola symbol, the tablets would cost the men a few pence each.
In addition, Dawson introduced the officers to other drug dealers around Cardiff who dealt cocaine and speed with them.
Dawson admitted five counts of conspiracy to supply drugs, namely cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamine sulphate, also known as speed.
The gang will be sentenced in Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday
|
Prosecutor Ieuan Morris said: “He (Dawson) talked to them about schemes to supply Viagra, pornographic DVDs, forged vehicle licences and MOT certificates, contraband cigarettes and even people smuggling.
“Dawson and his co-conspirators were willing to do any activity to net themselves extra revenue.”
S&J Autos’ owner Stephen Farmer, 46, of Barry, admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply cocaine.
Jeffrey Preece, 33, of Barry, who ran the neighbouring garage, admitted two counts of conspiring to supply cocaine and ecstasy.
The gang’s “foot-soldiers” Christian Skeene, David Page and Marc Allinson admitted conspiracy to supply ecstasy and speed.
Terrence Yates, 45, of Southampton, would travel to France for the gang. He admitted conspiracy to supply ecstasy.
The Manchester drug dealers Gary Jackson, 29, and John Cooper, 30, admitted conspiracy to supply large amounts of cocaine, speed and ecstasy to the undercover officers.
Jackson has also admitted possessing four nine-ounce bars of cannabis resin with intent to supply.
Clanson Foster, 43, of Barry, who ran a valeting business out of S&J Autos as a cover for his drug deals, has admitted conspiring to supply cocaine and possession of a firearm.
Donald Williamson, 41, also of Barry, told officers he had worked in immigration and knew how to import drugs successfully.
He has admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and possession of a firearm.
 |
The gang members were steeped in the drug culture
|
London chef Adam Culverwell, 32, and his restaurateur uncle Enzo Cridali, 53, of Barry, Cardiff, admitted conspiring to supply speed and having control of counterfeit money.
The court heard Cridali, who had made a large amount of money from selling property, funded counterfeit currency deals and was rewarded with a 40,000 BMW X5.
Michael Hamblin, 32, of Birmingham, also admitted conspiring to supply cocaine.
Mr Morris told the court: “The gang members were steeped in the drug culture and had interests in a variety of illegitimate business enterprises.
“As the undercover operation gained momentum what became apparent was the ready access and availability of firearms and ammunition.
“This was organised crime run out of a car body repair centre.”
Originaly from
Tim Levell set an unusual task for his money: invest the same amount in three different ISAs to see which performs the best.
Three years on, he is older - and wishes he had been a miser.
I’m not normally one to miss a good party.
And so it was in the spring of 2000, when all around newspaper headlines were screaming of the apparently inexorable rise of the stock market.
At the time, I found myself (unusually) in possession of a mild cash surplus, which I was looking to invest.
But where to put it? So many options, so many ISA adverts. One thing was sure, though: I didn’t want to miss out.
And so, out of my indecision, a cunning plan was born.
Investment choices
I would set aside 1,500 to invest. But rather than putting it all into one fund, I would split it up and put 500 into three different mini ISAs. The purchases were made a few days apart but either side of the tax deadline in order to get around ISA rules which tie investors to one equity ISA provider.
Having invested the money, I would set them going and see how they compared.
It was an agonising period as I looked through all the alternatives.
But eventually, these were the three I opted for:
-
A Legal and General UK index tracker
-
An Aberdeen Technology managed fund
-
A Smile cash ISA
A pretty balanced mix, I thought, as I smugly wrote the cheques.
And how have they done?
Let’s look at the Legal and General fund first.
Off track
I was quite happy with this one, as I felt it was probably the most sensible of my choices.
I had read the Motley Fool guide to finance, and knew that historically trackers perform as well as funds managed by individuals.
Being basically automated programs, they buy whatever is popular in the market, so if the index goes up, they go up, and if it goes down, they go down.
 |
After three years of falling markets, private investors are beginning to give up on the market.
A City expert looks at future prospects for the stock market
|
You can’t really lose, because you do as well as everyone else is doing.
And because you aren’t helping pay those huge fund manager salaries, you get charged wafer-thin commission fees.
That was the good news.
But as everyone knows, the stock market hasn’t exactly performed like Peter Stringfellow on Viagra.
My tracker did just what it promised - tracking it all the way down.
My 500 is now worth 272.98.
Favourite flavour
Next to the investment that really got me excited: my Aberdeen Technology fund.
You don’t need to be Martha Lane-Fox, founder of Lastminute.com, to recall that technology stocks were truly flavour of the season.
One friend had recently banked a profit of about 15,000 from a 5,000 investment in various tech and media stocks, including the Money Channel, Autonomy and Baltimore.
I vividly remember reading a newspaper article entitled something like: “Can this stock boom go on forever?”, with the unequivocal answer: YES.
I needed to be in with the in crowd!
Techno phobia
How diligently I studied the various tech stocks.
In the end, this armchair expert plumped for Aberdeen - but it wouldn’t have made much difference.
It started going down from the day I bought it.
To crown a dismal period, Aberdeen are now in the process of dumping their funds on another manager, New Star Asset Management.
Last time I looked, my 500 had imploded to a spectacular 76.55.
Of 1,000 invested, I’ve already lost 650.
Backs covered
And so to the last on my list: the Smile cash ISA.
I really did not want to go for this, but my wife insisted we have something more ’sensible’ to cover our backs.
It was paying 6% or so - the best cash rate around, but nothing like those adrenalin-fuelled graphs of upwardly soaring markets I drooled over every week in the Sunday Times.
But three years on, it has significantly outperformed the other two - the only one, in fact, actually to grow my money.
Or, at least it should have done.
Therein lies my own personal tragedy.
For various reasons (mostly to do with the overly complicated initiation procedures on the Smile website) I opened my cash ISA - but never actually transferred any money into it.
Despite various chasing e-mails, I never quite got around to it.
And so my balance remains a neat and tidy 0.
If I had actually done the deed, my 500 would now be worth 587.27, according to those nice people with, um, a smile on their face.
Fearful greed
So what have I learnt?
Only what all the experts tell you most of the time anyway.
Don’t invest what you can’t afford to lose. (Treating it as a mildly interesting experiment certainly helped lessen my anxiety.)
Don’t despise cash - it’s surprisingly satisfying.
Don’t believe the hype. As the legendary investor Warren Buffet once put it: ‘When others are fearful, be greedy; when others are greedy, be fearful.’
Originaly from
Patients buying medicines over the internet will soon be able to look out for a logo assuring them that a site sells safe and genuine medicines.
A pilot scheme is being launched by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society this week to protect patients.
It comes days after leading cancer doctors warned patients are increasingly turning to the web because drugs are unavailable on the NHS.
The RPS scheme will only apply to sites registered in the UK.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, a watchdog which oversees the quality of medicines available in the UK, polices the internet - but can only close down British-based sites which break the law, as it has does not have jurisdiction over those based abroad.
‘Well-informed’
There is concern over consumers buying drugs via the internet because some products are fake and contain ingredients bearing little resemblance to the medicine named on the bottle.
Taking these medicines will do no good to a patient, and may even cause harm.
In August this year, the Lancet medical journal reported the case of a woman who damaged her vision with oral steroids bought online from Thailand.
The 64-year-old woman had taken the drug for four years after making an incorrect self-diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome.
Cancer consultant Karol Sikora has also warned that patients who cannot get the latest drugs on the NHS are turning to the web to access what they believe they need.
He said a number of his own private patients had ordered drugs such as Avastin for bowel cancer and Tarceva for lung cancer from a Canada-based internet site.
“These patients are well-informed and they shop around for the cheapest prices,” he added.
‘Public benefit’
The RPS scheme cannot outlaw disreputable sites, or the unwanted emails offering cut-price deals on medicines such as the anti-impotence drug Viagra.
Instead, it aims to help those people who want to be able to obtain reputable products, but who do not want to get them via a family doctor, perhaps because they are embarrassed about their condition.
As well as checking individual sites for logos, consumers will be able to go to the RPS’s site to check online pharmacists’ registration details.
Lynsey Balmer, RPS head of professional ethics, said: “One of the main concerns around the supply of medicines via the internet is that members of the public are often unsure how to distinguish between sites which are operated by a registered pharmacy and sites which operate illegally.
“Patients may believe they are purchasing medicines from a registered healthcare professional, when in fact the supplier has no professional qualifications or healthcare expertise.
“Our policy is that the public benefit from the opportunity for advice from a pharmacist when they have a medicine supplied.”
If the RPS pilot scheme is successful, it will be rolled out to all registered internet pharmacies
It is legal for a member of the public to be given a diagnosis and prescription online- if that prescription is signed by a doctor.
But there are no face-to-face meetings, and often not even a phone conversation during this process.
Originaly from
The gun which was found with the body of actress Lana Clarkson has been shown to jurors at music producer Phil Spector’s murder trial in the US.
Prosecutors argue that the revolver, which was unregistered, was used by the 67-year-old to kill her.
Mr Spector’s defence lawyers contend that the weapon, which is still covered in dried blood, was used by Ms Clarkson to take her own life.
She was found dead at Mr Spector’s Hollywood mansion in February 2003.
Jurors were also shown photographs of a gun holster in an open drawer of a bureau located close to the spot where Ms Clarkson’s body was found in the foyer of Mr Spector’s castle-like home.
Los Angeles county sheriff’s detective Mark Lillienfeld, who put on gloves to show the snub-nosed Colt Cobra revolver to the courtroom, also gave evidence about the arsenal of weapons found at Mr Spector’s home, including an unloaded shotgun and bullets.
The dozens of rounds of ammunition were identical to the type that killed Ms Clarkson, he told the court.
Phil Spector pioneered the “Wall of Sound” recording technique
|
Mr Spector’s briefcase was on a chair next to Ms Clarkson’s body, Mr Lillienfeld added, which contained some over-the-counter medication and a packet containing one Viagra pill and empty spaces for two more.
There was also a DVD player which held a black-and-white film called Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.
Photographs of Ms Clarkson’s body were also displayed by the prosecution to show a leopard-skin handbag over her right shoulder - a fact which led the coroner to rule out suicide.
Ms Clarkson’s mother and sister were advised to look away when the photographs were shown to the courtroom.
Defence lawyer Bradley Brunon showed photographs of the police investigation of the scene of Ms Clarkson’s death, suggesting there was contamination of evidence, as not all officers were wearing gloves.
Mr Lillienfeld said gloves were not worn because they did not handle any evidence.
Originaly from
Dora is angry.
Angry because her diabetic sister died from what she is convinced were fake insulin and fake antibiotics.
And angry because so many of her countrymen and women are fighting killer diseases like malaria and tuberculosis with little more than sugar syrup and chalk tablets, cynically packaged to look like the real thing.
When she started her job as director general of Nigeria’s National Agency for Drug and Food Administration (Nafdac), she trawled drugs markets, hospitals and clinics and was horrified at what she discovered.
A survey conducted with the World Health Organisation found more than half the drugs on sale in Nigeria were fake or sub-standard.
Nigeria’s hospitals were using fake and contaminated drips, surgeons were using fake adrenalin to re-start the heart, anaesthetists were giving sub-strength muscle relaxant to patients in their operating theatres.
“Counterfeit drugs are murder,” says Dora. “It is the highest form of terrorism against public health because it kills a mass.”
Death threats
 |
Counterfeit drugs are murder
|
Until her arrival, Nafdac, like many other government organisations in Nigeria, had functioned little better than a toll gate. Importers simply paid a bribe to get their products into the market.
That changed.
Last year she closed down the vast open-air medicine market in Kano for three months, after her officers confiscated 140,000 worth of fake drugs.
But in a culture steeped in corruption, she has not had an easy ride.
She built a new team of female inspectors and pharmacists (she believes most men are too easily tempted by bribes) and started to prosecute importers of fake drugs.
When the public saw the dragons she was slaying, she may have become Nigeria’s uncrowned queen, but the counterfeiters fought back.
They burnt down Nafdac’s offices and threatened to kill her and her children.
When she stood firm, they shot her in her car. The bullet grazed her skull but she survived.
‘Injecting water’
Dora tells the medicine dealers at Kano market to reject fake drugs
|
Direct proof that a fake drug has killed is hard to find.
However, one particular tragedy in July 2003, is probably as close as it gets.
The International Children’s Heart Foundation visited Nigeria to operate on sick children at a teaching hospital in Enugu.
The operations should have been straightforward. The patients’ prognosis was good. But when the operations began, things went wrong.
Cardiac nurse Joanne Price recalls: “You give them adrenalin to restart the heart and that normally works. But this time nothing came back. It was water. I felt we were basically injecting water instead of adrenalin.”
Four children died as their parents watched and prayed.
Despite being confronted with what seemed to be a hospital cover-up, Dora confiscated supplies and found fake adrenalin, fake muscle relaxant and infected intravenous drips.
The hospital maintain there is no proof to link the deaths of the patients with the drugs used.
International effort
Imperfect holograms on packets can indicate that drugs are fake
|
But the problem of fake drugs is not confined to Nigeria, or even the developing world.
In the UK in November 2004, Allan Valentine was imprisoned for manufacturing fake Diazepam and Viagra in his Wembley warehouse where Indian tablet presses and chemicals were found.
In the US, where patented drugs are the most expensive in the world, fakes have penetrated the pharmaceutical chain from drug manufacturers, through wholesalers, to high street pharmacies.
The American Food and Drugs Administration prosecutions have tripled in the last year.
At a conference in Paris about counterfeit medicines, Dora demands concerted global action. “Eradication of counterfeit drugs should be treated as an international health emergency,” she says.
She believes that raising public awareness has produced dramatic results in Nigeria and urges other nations to be more open.
Unsurprisingly, drug companies around the world are fearful that their brand will be shunned if news of a fake gets out.
But no matter how tough the situation gets for pharmaceutical industry, Dora will not be leaving any stone unturned.
Bad Medicine was broadcast on Tuesday 12 July 2005 at 2100 BST on BBC Two.
Originaly from
A fire at the Cafe India restaurant, which was unoccupied, brought part of Glasgow city centre to a standstill.
Blaze leaves city at standstill
Two men were killed when their car was in an accident with a road gritter, Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary have confirmed.
Men die in road gritter accident
A 60-year-old man found murdered in his flat in Perth could have lain dead for up to four weeks, it has emerged.
Body lay undiscovered for weeks
SATURDAY 16 DECEMBER
A 60-year-old man found murdered in his flat in Perth could have lain dead for up to four weeks, it has emerged.
Body lay undiscovered for weeks
A boat which lost one of its crew overboard in the North Sea is continuing a search using underwater equipment.
Crew continue missing man search
Police have confirmed that three people died in two separate crashes on the A9 in the Highlands and the A726 in Renfrewshire.
Three dead in separate accidents
FRIDAY 15 DECEMBER
Two local authorities have clashed after launching rival campaigns to name the new Forth bridge after their areas.
Troubled waters for bridge naming
The mother of a murdered boy has renewed her call for parents to be given information about sex offenders living in their communities.
Mother renews ‘Mark’s Law’ demand
Commuters using Glasgow’s underground system will soon be able to use their mobile phones when they travel through the tunnels.
Mobile sound on the underground
THURSDAY 14 DECEMBER
Residents in the Perth and Kinross village of Milnathort have questioned why a new flood prevention scheme failed its first proper test.
Village flood defences questioned
Dozens of families were rescued from their homes in Milnathort after being trapped by rising flood water when the River Queich burst its banks.
Village evacuated amid flooding
A kitchen assistant from Greenock who fell when a drinks machine malfunctioned was awarded 60,000 damages in court.
Woman awarded 60,000 after fall
WEDNESDAY 13 DECEMBER
A restaurant in the capital was fined 18,000 after hygiene inspectors found mouse droppings on dishes.
‘Filthy’ restaurant fined 18,000
Smokers in Glasgow were mistakenly prescribed anti-impotence drug Viagra to quit the habit, it has emerged.
Smokers prescribed Viagra to quit
Perthshire residents faced serious flooding problems as several severe warnings were issued for the area following a day of heavy rain.
Perthshire flood ‘danger’ warning
TUESDAY 12 DECEMBER
A 43ft dead sperm whale has posed council officials in Moray with a massive task of disposing of its carcass. Watch video.
Monster task of disposing of whale
The company behind the UK’s largest onshore wind farm project - proposed for the Hebridean island of Lewis - has unveiled revised plans for the scheme.
Revised wind farm plans unveiled
A young classic rock band is hoping to win $100,000 and a world tour in a prestigious competition finale.
Band aims to rock all over world
MONDAY 11 DECEMBER
A 43ft dead sperm whale has posed council officials in Moray with a massive task of disposing of its carcass.
Monster task of disposing of whale
Six people, including two children, were taken to hospital after a fire in the Leith area of Edinburgh at about 1100 GMT on Monday.
Six in hospital after flat blaze
Six people were injured as two buses and a car were involved in a collision in the centre of Inverurie at about 1400 GMT.
Several hurt in double bus crash
Originaly from
Condoms and the anti-impotency drug Viagra might be joining the shopping basket of items used by the Cypriot government to measure inflation.
Most nations have a list of products whose prices they track, but such items are traditionally more bread and butter - both literally and metaphorically.
Cyprus’ state statistics department is also proposing to add hunting licences and vodka to its new list of items.
The UK’s Office for National Statistics added champagne to its list this year.
Hair wax
A Cypriot statistics official said the department was planning to add condoms to its list to improve the quality of inflation data in the country, seen as the birth place of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty.
The UK’s ONS now counts fizz consumption
|
“It was one of those items which was always under-represented by households so we got the data from the importers,” he said.
The department is said to be preparing a list of 153 additional goods and services to be added to the list of products it uses to determine its cost of living or inflation index, according to the Greek-language Phileleftheros newspaper.
Other items up for consideration include the price of hair waxing, contact lenses, hair gel, hands-free mobile phone accessories, pay-TV subscriptions, blank CDs and a visit to the osteopath.
The UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) updates its list every March and this year corned beef and cycle helmets were two of the products removed to make way for chicken nuggets, champagne and fizzy drinks.
In past years the ONS has added fishing rods and guitars while removing brown ale.
Originaly from
Smokers spend 676 a year on their habit, before the cost of cigarettes is even taken into account, a study says.
Buying cleaning products, life insurance and tailored products such as toothpaste help to bump up the hidden costs, the NHS Smoking Helpline said.
The research said an average 20-a-day smoker can expect to shell out 2,500 a year in total.
Smokers’ lobby group Forest branded the research a waste of money for stating the obvious.
 |
HOW SMOKING HITS THE POCKET
Personal hygiene - 199.95
Cleaning, repairing and replacing - 212.68
Other costs, including insurance premiums - 263.33
20 cigarettes a day - 1825.00
TOTAL - 2501.29
|
The research, carried out by the helpline, showed personal hygiene costs for lotions, potions and medications that treat and disguise the effects of smoking accounted for about 200 of the annual bill.
The research found that although many of the items were also used by non-smokers, the quantity and price of the products used by smokers was greater.
They included products like smoker’s toothpaste, cough sweets, breath freshener, hand-care cream for stained fingers and lip balm.
Meanwhile, the price of tackling burns, stains and odours arising from smoking was estimated at more than 200.
This included extras such as dry cleaning bill and treating cigarette burns in furniture.
Other costs highlighted by the helpline included the increased energy bills associated with ventilating smoky rooms - an extra 10% on a normal bill according to estimates.
Finances
Even the effect on sexual health was taken into account by the researchers - with one prescription of Viagra being priced at 6.65.
Also noted was the premium increases for smokers taking out health and life insurance. One insurance company said smokers’ life insurance premiums would on average be a third higher than those calculated for non-smokers.
NHS Smoking Helpline adviser Indrani Paul said the study showed as well as harming health, smoking hit finances.
“As well as costing you your health, smoking makes a huge dent in your finances - in many more ways than you might at first realise.
“It seems that, on top of the cost of cigarettes, smokers pay out more than an extra third of the cost on related expenses.
“The conservative total figure we have come up with represents well over 10% of the average national salary, which is a huge amount to spend on smoking and also a big incentive to quit.
“Putting this money into a savings scheme could help you through retirement or see your children through university years and beyond.”
But Neil Rafferty, of Forest, said: “Equally, non-smokers spend money on all sorts of trivial things to support their lifestyle, especially snacks that smokers do not.
“However, I think it is disgraceful that the NHS is spending money on this sort of research to state what is obvious.
“It is fine for them to tell smokers about the dangers of their habit, but not on what they should be spending their money on.”
Originaly from
« Previous Entries
![Inverurie bus crash scene [Pic: Newsline]](http://propharma.120host.net/files/2007/08/_42340499_buscrash66.jpg){kind=small}