The
government’s downgrading of the legal status of cannabis last month has
prompted doctors’ groups to warn that the move may mislead the public
into thinking the drug is safe to use.
The British Medical Association (BMA) said they were extremely concerned about the negative health effects of smoking cannabis. Particularly significant was the increased risk of lung infections (the BMA says that a cannabis ‘joint’ has ten times as much tar in it as a standard filter cigarette) as well as the associated mental health problems such as depression and schizophrenia.
The Home Office move has reclassified cannabis from a Class B to a class C drug bringing it into the same legal status as steroids or antidepressants. Along with the change in the law, the government has launched a £1 million press and radio advertising campaign to educate people about the drug.
About 80,000 UK adults a year are currently charged with cannabis possession offences and the downgrading will mean that it is unlikely that police will arrest for simple possession of small quantities of the drug. The Independent Drug Monitoring Unit estimates that the black market for cannabis in this country is about £1.5 billion a year.
The news comes as the Office of National Statistics annual ‘Social Trends’ report revealed that a third of young men and a fifth of young women between 16 and 24 say they have used cannabis.
Some people living with HIV regularly use the drug, to stimulate appetite
and to counter weight loss or as an alternative to alcohol.
But the potential extra risks from chest infections and mental health problems
may now prompt them to reconsider using cannabis despite the recent change
in the law.
Durex
has ceased production of condoms containing the controversial lubricant nonoxynol-9
(N-9) following concerns that it increases the risk of sexually transmitted
infections (STIs). Medical experts say that N-9 can break up or irritate the
cell lining of the vagina or rectum making it easier for HIV or other STIs
to pass into the bloodstream. Keith Weinstein, campaigns manager at the National
Aids Trust, called on the government to ensure that N-9 is removed from all
condoms made or sold in the UK. The danger in anal sex is increased because
the rectal wall is only one cell thick whereas the vagina has a wall that is
about 40 cells thick.
The boom in alternative medicinesPeople in Britain spent a record £130 million last year on complementary medicines and many say they haven’t got the time to go to the doctor, according to market analysts Mintel. Faith in herbal and homeopathic remedies and aromatherapy oils has sparked a 60 per cent boon in the last five years and the study predicts that the market will increase by a further 45 per cent by 2008. Meanwhile a US study has found that 50 per cent of HIV patients use complementary therapies but many don’t tell their doctors, which can lead to potential dangerous interactions with antiretroviral drugs. For women sexual pleasure can improve with age
Vitamin B12 and vibrating shoes are good for you
Meanwhile special vibrating insoles have been developed by scientists at Boston University that help balance. The insoles vibrate at a very low frequency and are designed to improve sensory information coming back to the brain from the ankles and feet. This could mean that people with HIV who have balance problems due to peripheral neuropathy, as well as older people, could be much more stable on their feet. |
Jon Hanley on how to Better your Butt...
Edited by Rose De Freitas
BB stands for Bubblebut, or Buttlelicious Baby!, not a description of my butt
two years ago. Think sagging, drooping, flat or even ‘Oh my god where’s
it gone!’ Not a pretty sight. It got so bad I used to walk out of my
bedroom backwards to avoid my boyfriend’s eyes. A sad echo of its former
glory and badly in need of help. But what to do? Ask Jordan for her old implants?
Wear padded pants? Maybe I could give the gym one last try. See if I could
lick my ass into shape!
Having a diminishing arse really pissed me off. It didn’t happen overnight; it was more of a slow process, but definitely a noticeable one. Some call it lipoatrophy - fat wasting due to HIV drugs. Others I know have lost it on their faces or legs, but with me it was my buttocks. Wasting of the buttocks is certainly a common complaint in people on HAART who suffer from lipodystrophy. Fat wasting is reputedly more of a problem for men, but then a recent Italian study suggests that lipodystrophy itself affects more women. (Gaining weight on the breasts, stomachs and neck area are certainly linked side effects for women, but there are other significant hormonal imbalances that can come into play too.)
Of course it goes without saying that being a gay man can make you over-conscious of how well your jeans are packed from the rear as well as the front end.
I have friends who suffered so much discomfort when sitting down that they went everywhere armed with a cushion or rubber ring. And I know that black women too cherish a big bum as an important status symbol; so for them it’s just as important to keep it shapely.
The good news is that after some time trying, I found an exercise programme that genuinely improved my shape significantly. And it has made me a much happier, more confident man and kept my current boyfriend interested.
Naturally, I tried lots of things to bring it back: cycling, yoga, aerobics.
They didn’t help. I even invested in a pair of Buttforyou padded pants
(featured in PN 73/74). A ladies’ equivalent, I’m told, are those
tights with reinforced elasticated support to hoist up the buttocks for full
J Lo effect. Some people suggest taking up horse riding (all that clenching
of flanks can’t be a bad thing) and others recommend swimming regularly.
I didn’t think that exercise would work because I had tried it in various guises, without success. But then I was proved wrong.
What worked in the end was a proper all-round programme that concentrated on my legs and gluteals (buttock muscles). I got so fed up that on a visit to my gym some months back, I asked my instructor if he could help me just concentrate on building up my bum. I found that with repeated, regular focus on a specific type of exercises, my buttocks began to regain shape.
I recommend at least one to two sessions each week (I actually did it three times) and I followed three routines of three to four sets of exercises per muscle group. Each exercise should be repeated 12 times.
A typical routine might include squats, lunges and kickbacks. Kickbacks
are especially good for focusing on your back thigh muscles. There are
actually
about 30 different types of exercises (some with weights) and your instructor
should direct you which to concentrate on for your own needs and capabilities.
It is best to spend half an hour at least beforehand doing a cardio-vascular
warm-up and then a good session of stretching.
After six months of doing this routine regularly I really noticed the results. And others did too. The length of time may differ for each person.
You shouldn’t experiment on your own at first. My advice is to check in with a good gym that’s either local authority or privately run and actually tell them you want to concentrate on your buttocks and legs and forget the rest of the body for the time being.
Your instructor can then ensure that you get the techniques right and that if you’re a beginner you don’t overexert yourself. If you find it easier to continue at home with the programme then do so. I myself always keep the motivation going by attending a gym. All good gyms should offer induction and update programmes for their members.
Remember you need a balanced diet when you’re following this kind of routine. Eat more protein than usual and get plenty of rest, especially if you’re immune-compromised and recovering from side effects of HIV drugs, or have been recently diagnosed and are suffering debilitation as a result. You should also talk it through with your doctor if you’ve got any concerns.
Brad Pitt, Richard Gere, Marilyn Monroe, Jennifer Lopez.
For more info on recent lipodystrophy studies, visit: www.aidsmap.com
Many
women are concerned that age and the onset of the menopause may affect their
sexual attractiveness. But a new study from the British Medical Journal (BMJ)
says that women’s sexual pleasure actually improves after hysterectomy.
Researchers in the Netherlands compared the effects of three types of hysterectomy
on the sexual wellbeing of 413 women and found that sexual pleasure improved
in all the patients with less problems with lubrication, orgasm or with pain
after surgery. Dr Jean-Paul Roovers said: “Sexual wellbeing improves
after vaginal hysterectomy, subtotal abdominal hysterectomy and total abdominal
hysterectomy. This type of technique does not seem to determine the persistence
or development of bothersome problems during sexual activity.”
People living long-term with HIV who are suffering from lipoatrophy (fat loss)
or peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage) in their feet may be interested in
research from Finland that shows that vitamin B12 may lessen the pains in the
feet. It also appears to work against depression.