The Advertising Standards Authority's ruling that the Pfizer-backed ad raising awareness of the dangers of buying drugs online is not misleading or unduly distressing has put this issue back in the news. That's no bad thing.
I say this not because I'm interested in drug company profits but because I'm interested in men's health. By buying drugs online without a prescription you're not depriving drug companies. Global spending on prescription drugs was about $643 billion in 2006 so big pharma won't be passing the hat round anytime soon. What you are doing is depriving yourself of a diagnosis. By diagnosing yourself you might well miss something serious. Erection problems, for example, don't just happen - they are often the sign of potential killer diseases like heart disease and diabetes. Go and see your doctor and get a prescription before buying online.
The attractions of using the internet for health are obvious. That's why malehealth has had three million unique visitors in the last two years. And we know from our own survey that most men would consider buying drugs online in the right circumstances. So it's good to see some organisations rising to the challenge.
If you have a prescription there are umpteen online pharmacies to choose from. If you haven't, Dr Thom have been providing online treatment for erection problems for a while now. Today we report on a new online initiative that can enable the under 25s to test themselves for chlamydia, the most common sexually-transmitted infection at home in private. It's attracting web-savvy men in droves: a shrewd move because chlamydia is symptomless but dangerous - it can make men infertile as well as women.
Times are changing. Smart internet users don't have to turn to the pirates and risk buying dodgy pills, today there are plenty of safe online options and the number is growing.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Why is there no news in our newspapers?
The government is often criticised for announcing new funding or new initiatives more than once. They're accused of spinning and of trying to pretend they're doing more than they really are. But perhaps it's the media that are spinning? I've discovered another reason why the government sometimes announces something more than once: because nobody takes the slightest bit of notice the first time around.
So it is with the Department of Health's Third Sector Strategic Partner programme. The Department have teamed up with 11 strategic partners including the Men's Health Forum in a move that could radically change the way government works with the not-for-profit health sector.
The scheme was announced in February and covered by the MHF website. It was press released again this week. It's shocking really that nobody in the mainstream media is interested in running with the story. There are big issues here with pros and cons. Will it help government understand patient needs better by working more closely with their organisations? Or will third sector organisations be compromised?
Of course police brutality, MPs' dodgy expenses and the economy are big stories that need covering but it's not lack of space in our increasingly bloated newspapers. No, it seems that as our daily rags get fatter, the news coverage gets lazier. No wonder readers are turning to the internet.
So it is with the Department of Health's Third Sector Strategic Partner programme. The Department have teamed up with 11 strategic partners including the Men's Health Forum in a move that could radically change the way government works with the not-for-profit health sector.
The scheme was announced in February and covered by the MHF website. It was press released again this week. It's shocking really that nobody in the mainstream media is interested in running with the story. There are big issues here with pros and cons. Will it help government understand patient needs better by working more closely with their organisations? Or will third sector organisations be compromised?
Of course police brutality, MPs' dodgy expenses and the economy are big stories that need covering but it's not lack of space in our increasingly bloated newspapers. No, it seems that as our daily rags get fatter, the news coverage gets lazier. No wonder readers are turning to the internet.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Avoid a hazardous waist, have an NHS health-check
If you're aged between 40-74 (and in England) look out for your invitation for a free health check. The government reckons it can save over 500 lives a year and prevent over 1500 heart attacks and strokes through preventative check-ups. And the MHF agrees. If you're invited, I strongly urge you to go along. It won't be long or painful - a few questions, weight, height and a simple blood test. Let us know how you get on - especially if you don't find it helpful.
The downside - as usual - is that it will take time for everyone to be seen. Local Primary Care Trusts are designing their own plans and government admits the scheme won't be available everywhere in England until 2012/13
Why now? Well, perhaps the government has been reading Hazardous Waist, a book the MHF helped produce with Radcliffe Publishing back in 2007 but which suddenly, for some unknown reason, has started attracting the reviews it deserves. Edited by MHF chair Alan White and Maggie Pettifer, the book has been described as 'the perfect antidote to the laissez faire attitude that seems to pervade male health problems at the present time' (Dr Jeremy Sagar, Univadis).
While in Perspectives in Public Health, Dr Bashir Qureshi admits: 'the account in this book was so moving that I have decided to do something to shrink my own middle-age spread. I cannot think of any health professional or general reader who would not like to read and benefit from this slim book.'
Praise indeed - if you've not been invited for your free check-up yet, why not give it a read?
The downside - as usual - is that it will take time for everyone to be seen. Local Primary Care Trusts are designing their own plans and government admits the scheme won't be available everywhere in England until 2012/13
Why now? Well, perhaps the government has been reading Hazardous Waist, a book the MHF helped produce with Radcliffe Publishing back in 2007 but which suddenly, for some unknown reason, has started attracting the reviews it deserves. Edited by MHF chair Alan White and Maggie Pettifer, the book has been described as 'the perfect antidote to the laissez faire attitude that seems to pervade male health problems at the present time' (Dr Jeremy Sagar, Univadis).
While in Perspectives in Public Health, Dr Bashir Qureshi admits: 'the account in this book was so moving that I have decided to do something to shrink my own middle-age spread. I cannot think of any health professional or general reader who would not like to read and benefit from this slim book.'
Praise indeed - if you've not been invited for your free check-up yet, why not give it a read?
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Job insecurity: destroying us from the inside out
Every so often something that you've long suspected is proven by a piece of research. So it is today with the publication of a study in Cambridge showing the damaging impact of the threat of unemployment on male mental health. We ought to be pleased that we have the evidence to back the hunch but nobody can be happy at evidence demonstrating just how badly wrong we have got things in our society.
According to the study, men are affected by job insecurity - the threat of losing your job - far more than women. This may be because men define themselves in terms of their work far more than women do. The trouble is that all jobs are becoming increasingly insecure. Outsourcing, temporary contracts, freelancing. Nobody gets a job and is set up for life anymore (unless you're Fred Goodwin but I won't get into that again). Yet clearly, psychologically, security is what we need.
In the past to criticise job insecurity was seen as a political position, considered unhelpful by governments who saw job security as a barrier to prosperity. Today's research shows that this is not a political issue but a health one. Not only does this way of working not create wealth, it is destroying us from the inside out.
According to the study, men are affected by job insecurity - the threat of losing your job - far more than women. This may be because men define themselves in terms of their work far more than women do. The trouble is that all jobs are becoming increasingly insecure. Outsourcing, temporary contracts, freelancing. Nobody gets a job and is set up for life anymore (unless you're Fred Goodwin but I won't get into that again). Yet clearly, psychologically, security is what we need.
In the past to criticise job insecurity was seen as a political position, considered unhelpful by governments who saw job security as a barrier to prosperity. Today's research shows that this is not a political issue but a health one. Not only does this way of working not create wealth, it is destroying us from the inside out.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Congratulations to the government
Nobody's got a good word to say for the government at the moment - not even the bailed-out bankers.
However, the announcement earlier this month that the Men's Health Forum is to be an official strategic partner of the Department of Health is good news for men's health and the government should be congratulated on it. Tomorrow also sees the first ever men's health debate on the floor of the House of Commons - an indication of how far we've come since 1997.
However, the announcement earlier this month that the Men's Health Forum is to be an official strategic partner of the Department of Health is good news for men's health and the government should be congratulated on it. Tomorrow also sees the first ever men's health debate on the floor of the House of Commons - an indication of how far we've come since 1997.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Six exercises using a bar
For technical reasons we can't currently embed videos on the main malehealth site so here you'll find the videos to accompany our fitness coach Scott Pearson's series on exercises every man should know. For the original article, click here.
Bench Press
Back Squat
Deadlift
Bent Over Row
Military Press
Bench Press
Back Squat
Deadlift
Bent Over Row
Military Press
Upright Row
Monday, March 2, 2009
Nicole, stop frightening us
Which? have questioned the lack of science behind brain trainers that tell you your 'brain age'. These products have always interested me not just because Nicole Kidman advertises them but because, to be honest, I'm terrified of dementia. I've seen it eat into grandparents on both side of my family and given that I never had much a memory in the first place, I've always wanted to know what i could to avoid the inevitable or, at least delay it as long as possible.
I tried one of these online brain tests and I have to say it did nothing at all to ease my fears, quite the opposite. With every single question a race against a 30-second clock, I felt like a chess player being timed out, reeling from bad move to bad move. I never finished the thing as - thankfully - I was interrupted but I have no doubt that my 'brain age' would have been up in three figures as I panicked, made daft mistakes and clicked in the wrong place.
Like everybody I want to believe that there is a magic bullet out there but there isn't one for Alzheimer's any more than there is for cancer or heart disease. As ever, it's about money. Some of these products are not cheap. Private medicine will always be there to exploit our fears of illness and as science advances so do their marketing techniques. One of the great things about the NHS is that we never have to ask ourselves the question 'Is this treatment for the benefit of my health or my medic's bank balance?' (Under any health care regime where money changes hands between doctor and patient - not just terrible ones like in the USA but even supposedly good ones like France - you're asking it every five minutes.)
The worry for health campaigners - and this is the men's health angle here - is that people who can't afford to be scared because they can't afford the solutions will simply turn off and not take any notice of any health advice. You may not need a 'brain trainer' but doing the odd crossword won't hurt. If anybody wants to help me with mine, I'm stuck on 'instinctive sense of self-preservation on which commerce preys' (4). First letter F.
I tried one of these online brain tests and I have to say it did nothing at all to ease my fears, quite the opposite. With every single question a race against a 30-second clock, I felt like a chess player being timed out, reeling from bad move to bad move. I never finished the thing as - thankfully - I was interrupted but I have no doubt that my 'brain age' would have been up in three figures as I panicked, made daft mistakes and clicked in the wrong place.
Like everybody I want to believe that there is a magic bullet out there but there isn't one for Alzheimer's any more than there is for cancer or heart disease. As ever, it's about money. Some of these products are not cheap. Private medicine will always be there to exploit our fears of illness and as science advances so do their marketing techniques. One of the great things about the NHS is that we never have to ask ourselves the question 'Is this treatment for the benefit of my health or my medic's bank balance?' (Under any health care regime where money changes hands between doctor and patient - not just terrible ones like in the USA but even supposedly good ones like France - you're asking it every five minutes.)
The worry for health campaigners - and this is the men's health angle here - is that people who can't afford to be scared because they can't afford the solutions will simply turn off and not take any notice of any health advice. You may not need a 'brain trainer' but doing the odd crossword won't hurt. If anybody wants to help me with mine, I'm stuck on 'instinctive sense of self-preservation on which commerce preys' (4). First letter F.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)