Published40 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Lisa McManusBy Hannah RitchieBBC News, SydneyAustralia’s prime minister has given a national apology to survivors of the thalidomide scandal and their families. It comes over 60 years after the morning sickness drug started causing birth defects in babies globally. “This apology takes in one of the darkest chapters in Australia’s medical history,” Anthony Albanese told parliament on Wednesday.It is the first time the government has acknowledged its role in the tragedy. “To the survivors – we apologise for the pain thalidomide has inflicted on each and every one of you each and every day. We are sorry. We are more sorry than we can say,” Mr Albanese said, addressing a crowd of survivors and their families in the chamber. The exact number of people affected in Australia remains unknown, but more than 140 survivors have registered for a financial support programme since 2020.In 2019, a report found that 20% of Australia’s thalidomide cases could have been avoided if leaders had acted sooner. Survivor Trish Jackson, 61, told the BBC she hoped the apology would give “a bit of peace” to families. “[But] it should have been done years ago when parents were still alive, when mothers were still alive. Some survivors have even died and not gotten to hear this.”Developed in Germany in the 1950s, thalidomide was originally used as a sedative or tranquiliser, but soon became widely promoted around the world as a morning sickness drug. As usage increased, so too did reports of birth defects – usually in the form of significantly shortened limbs.It was an Australian report in The Lancet medical journal that first warned the world of thalidomide’s dangers in 1961, and it was taken off the market soon after. By then an estimated 10,000 babies globally had been born with disabilities.For decades, survivors have fought for acknowledgments of wrongdoing and compensation. Canada introduced financial assistance for survivors in 1991, and in 2010 the UK issued a national apology to those affected. But it wasn’t until a landmark Senate inquiry in 2019 that Australia took action to support survivors. Its financial scheme provided a one-off payment of up to A$500,000 ($332,000; £261,000) to survivors, followed by annual payments of between A$5,000 and A$60,000.The programme was later closed to new applicants, but on Wednesday Mr Albanese reopened it “to ensure that anyone who may have missed the previous opportunity to apply does not miss out”. More on this storyHow Australia has ‘lagged’ on thalidomide responsePublished3 April 2019Thalidomide survivor welcomes lifelong help offerPublished29 September 2022

Published33 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockBy Hannah RitchieBBC News, SydneyAustralia will ban imports of disposable vapes from January, in an effort to curb nicotine addiction in children. New laws to stop single-use vapes from being made, advertised, and supplied in the country will also be introduced. It comes amid a broader push to phase out recreational vaping completely. Vaping has been marketed as a way to quit smoking, but Australia’s health minister says it has created a “new generation of nicotine dependency”. Vapes, or e-cigarettes, are lithium battery-powered devices that have cartridges filled with liquids containing nicotine, artificial flavourings, and a range of other chemicals.It has been illegal for any Australian to purchase or import e-cigarettes or nicotine vapes without a doctor’s prescription since 2021, but despite those restrictions rates of addiction have continued to skyrocket.A study from the University of Sydney earlier this year found that over a quarter of teenagers aged 14-17 had vaped, while research from Australia’s Cancer Council charity found that nine out of 10 teenagers in the same age group found it easy to access nicotine vapes. “All Australian governments are committed to working together to stop the disturbing growth in vaping among our young people,” said Mark Butler, the federal health minister who is leading the ban.In May, the Australian government signalled its intention to phase out the use of single-use vapes, but until now it had provided no concrete timeline. Mr Butler says that the import ban on disposable vapes will start on 1 January, and that by March refillable non-therapeutic vapes will also be banned from entering the country.Importers and manufacturers supplying therapeutic vapes will also have to comply with tighter government regulation concerning the flavours, nicotine levels, and packaging of their products. Experts have warned that not enough is known yet about the long-term impacts of vaping. Research from Johns Hopkins University has linked the practice to chronic lung disease and asthma.And in Australia, scientists who have studied the liquids used in vapes have warned that they contain “a suite of chemicals” known to impact lung health. Australia’s announcement comes just days after New Zealand’s government scrapped its world-leading smoking ban to pay for tax cuts. More on this storyWhy Australia decided to quit its vaping habitPublished28 MayTobacco firm calls for tougher rules on vapesPublished1 day agoShock as New Zealand axes world-first smoking banPublished12 hours ago

Published4 days agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, SuppliedBy Hannah RitchieBBC News, SydneyAn Australian police officer charged with tasering a 95-year-old care home resident acted in a “grossly disproportionate” way, prosecutors in the case say.Clare Nowland died in May, a week after the incident which was prompted when she was found holding two knives. New court documents allege Kristian White said “bugger it” before firing as she slowly advanced using a walker.He is yet to enter a plea on grievous bodily harm and assault charges.Details of the incident in the town of Cooma – about 114km (71 miles) south of Canberra – have been outlined for the first time in police facts tendered to court.Just after 03:00 local time on 17 May, Ms Nowland was spotted walking along a corridor in Yallambee Lodge while holding two knives. Twice, the dementia patient was asked by a nurse to drop the knives, police say, to which she replied “no”. She was later found holding them while standing inside another resident’s room.After failing to reach Ms Nowland’s family, staff called emergency services with the intention of having an ambulance come to sedate her, the police facts say.It was around that time that workers allege the dementia patient threw a knife at one of her carers. After police and ambulance workers arrived on the scene, Ms Nowland began moving “very slowly” on her walker towards them with the remaining knife raised. Mr White asked Ms Nowland to drop the knife and stop moving four times before discharging his weapon from 1.5-2m (4.92-6.5 feet) away, police allege.The senior constable also warned her that he was pointing a taser at her chest.”Clare, stop now, see this, this is a taser, drop it now, drop it, this is your first warning,” he said, according to the documents.Ms Nowland suffered a fractured skull and a serious brain bleed from falling and hitting her head after she was tasered.Prosecutors say Mr White – who has been suspended from duty without pay pending the outcome of the criminal investigation – used “excessive force” given Ms Nowland’s age and physical state.Police procedures dictate that a taser “should not be used against an elderly or disabled subject unless exceptional circumstances exist”, the documents added. The Nowland family have asked for “privacy and space” while they digest the police facts, according to a statement released by their lawyer. “The facts alleged against Mr White are extremely confronting and shocking,” it said.Kristian White – who is on bail – is due to appear before a Cooma court again on 6 September.More on this story95-year-old woman Tasered by police in Australia diesPublished24 May