Published15 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesBy Nadine YousifBBC NewsA recent report on women who contracted HIV after receiving a “vampire facial” has raised questions about the safety of some cosmetic procedures.At least three women were infected at a spa in New Mexico in 2018, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that said the cases shed light on new ways the infection can spread.They are believed to be the first-ever HIV transmissions related to a cosmetic procedure documented in the US.But what exactly is a “vampire facial”, and how did the women contract HIV after receiving it? And what can people do to keep themselves safe from infection when getting cosmetic treatments?Here is a breakdown of what we know and what experts recommend.What is a Vampire Facial? The term is a colloquial one for platelet-rich plasma – or PRP – facials. It involves drawing a patient’s blood and then separating out platelet-rich plasma from it using a centrifuge. The plasma is then injected back into the face through tiny needle punctures. The procedure is said to help repair the skin’s barrier by stimulating the production of new collagen and elastin, which can reduce the appearance of wrinkles and acne scars.It has been around for a while – reality television star Kim Kardashian shared a selfie post-procedure in 2013 where her face appeared bloody. A few years later Ms Kardashian said that she would not get the treatment again, writing on her website that it was “really rough and painful for me.” The treatment could cost anywhere between $1,000 to $2,000 (£1,600) at a licensed medical spa, according to estimates from providers online. Image source, Instagram/Kim KardashianHow did the New Mexico women contract HIV?In summer of 2018, the CDC became aware of an American woman, aged between 40 and 50, who tested positive for HIV while she was abroad.The woman reported no history of injection drug use or recent blood transfusions, and did not have recent sexual contact with anyone other than her current partner.She did, however, report getting a vampire facial earlier that year at a spa in New Mexico.A CDC investigation into the spa – which also provided other injection services, including Botox – later revealed that it was unlicensed and that it had “multiple unsafe infection control practices.”This included “unlabelled tubes of blood and medical injectables” that were stored in a kitchen fridge next to food, as well as “unwrapped syringes” scattered in drawers and on counters.Some of the blood vials also showed signs of being reused, and the CDC had identified at least one client who had tested positive for HIV before visiting the spa. The health agency has since tied the spa to five cases of HIV, including four women who had all received a vampire facial treatment between May and September of 2018 and a man who was romantically linked with one of the women.The late stage of the HIV infections for the man and woman in a relationship indicated they had contracted the disease before the facial, the CDC saidThe spa was forced to close in late 2018, and its former owner, 62-year-old Maria de Lourdes Ramos De Ruiz, is serving a three-and-a-half year prison sentence. She pled guilty in 2022 to practicing medicine without a license.Are cosmetic procedures like vampire facials safe?There have been hundreds of published medical research papers and trials that suggest the treatments are effective for some sports injuries, acne, eczema and other skin conditions.Theh American Academy of Dermatology Association says the procedure itself, when done correctly, appears to be safe.”You may have a bit of pain, bruising and swelling afterwards,” the association says. “These tend to go away within a few days.” The biggest risk comes from the way the blood is handled by the facility providing the treatment. “It’s essential that the blood removed from your body be kept sterile. Otherwise, you could develop an infection,” the association says. It is also important to ensure that the blood being injected back belongs to the client, and not someone else, as the recipient could get very sick otherwise.Experts say that those looking to get cosmetic treatments should research the provider beforehand to make sure the facility is licensed. They should also note how medical equipment – like needles – are being handled by staff.Vampire facials are not the only cosmetic treatment to make recent headlines after being linked to serious illness.US health officials warned last week of a botulism outbreak tied to counterfeit Botox, which has sickened 22 people in 11 states – some of whom have since been in hospital.Botulism is a serious illness with symptoms including blurred vision, difficulty swallowing and breathing, slurred speech and fatigue. Botox injection is a popular treatment used to smooth wrinkles and make skin appear younger. Injections typically cost around $530 a treatment. Like with the vampire facials, the CDC advises those looking to get Botox injections to research the treatment provider beforehand, and to make sure that the Botox being used is FDA approved and purchased from a reliable source.More on this storyBotox providers in England facing stricter rulesPublished2 September 2023Action on rogue Botox clinics targeting childrenPublished24 March’Vampire facelifts’ ahead of OscarsPublished27 February 2014

Published40 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Massachussets General HospitalBy Nadine YousifBBC NewsThe first man to receive a genetically modified kidney transplant from a pig has been discharged from hospital. The 62-year-old was sent home on Wednesday, two weeks after the ground-breaking surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Organ transplants from genetically modified pigs have failed in the past. But the success of this procedure so far has been hailed by scientists as a historic milestone in the field of transplantation. The news was shared in a press release on Wednesday by MGH, which is Harvard Medical School’s largest teaching hospital in the US city of Boston. Are pigs the future of organ transplants?In the release, the hospital said the patient, Richard “Rick” Slayman of Weymouth, Massachusetts, had been battling end-stage kidney disease and required an organ transplant. His doctors successfully transplanted a genetically-edited pig kidney into his body over a four-hour-long surgery on 16 March.They said Mr Slayman’s kidney is now functioning well and he is no longer on dialysis. In a statement, Mr Slayman said being able to leave hospital and go home was “one of the happiest moments” of his life.”I’m excited to resume spending time with my family, friends, and loved ones free from the burden of dialysis that has affected my quality of life for many years.”In 2018, he had a human kidney transplant from a deceased donor, however it began to fail last year, and doctors raised the idea of a pig kidney transplant.”I saw it not only as a way to help me, but a way to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive,” he said.The new pig kidney he received was modified by Cambridge-based pharmaceutical company eGenesis to remove “harmful pig genes and add certain human genes to improve its compatibility with humans,” it said. For the procedure, the hospital said it drew from its history as being behind the world’s first successful human organ transplant – a kidney – in 1954, as well as research it had conducted with eGenesis on xenotransplantation (interspecies organ transplants) over the past five years.Image source, Massachussets General HospitalThe procedure was greenlit by the Food and Drug Administration, who offered a single Expanded Access Protocol – also known as compassionate use – that is used for patients with life-threatening illnesses to grant them access to experimental treatment.The team behind the transplant hailed it as a historic step that can provide a potential solution to the world’s organ shortage, especially to those from ethnic minority communities whom the shortage disproportionately affects. “An abundant supply of organs resulting from this technological advance may go far to finally achieve health equity and offer the best solution to kidney failure – a well-functioning kidney – to all patients in need,” said Winfred Williams, Mr Slayman’s doctor at MGH. According to data by US non-profit United Network for Organ Sharing, more than 100,000 Americans need a lifesaving organ transplant. Meanwhile, the number of donors – deceased and living – in 2023 was just under 23,500.It is estimated that 17 people die each day in the US while waiting for an organ, and kidneys are the most common organ needed for a transplant. While this is the first pig kidney transplanted into a human, it is not the first pig organ to be used in an transplant procedure. Two other patients have received pig heart transplants, but those procedures were unsuccessful as the recipients had died a few weeks later. In one case, there were signs that the patient’s immune system had rejected the organ, which is a common risk in transplants. More on this storyThree ethical issues around pig heart transplantsPublished11 January 2022Man ‘recovering well’ after pig kidney transplantPublished21 March

Published16 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, ReutersBy Nadine YousifBBC News, TorontoCanada remains one of the only countries in the world that allows legal and regulated access to recreational marijuana. But five years after the drug’s legalisation, the country’s cannabis industry is struggling for survival. George Smitherman remembers buying his first legal gram of cannabis in October 2018 from a Tweed shop in Newfoundland. The cannabis company had made headlines two years prior for signing a marketing deal with US rapper Snoop Dogg, which was hailed at the time as a sign of a new dawn in the marijuana industry.The shop,Mr Smitherman recalls, was “beautiful”.”I didn’t know if I was in a spa or a jewellery showroom,” he said. He also remembers the juxtaposition of the product he bought versus the striking space he bought it in – all marijuana products in Canada are sold in generic packaging with plain, government-issued labels. Still, it was an exciting time, Mr Smitherman recalls. Canada’s long-anticipated cannabis legalisation had just become a reality. Investment was flowing into a brand new market that many thought would get them rich. Five years later, the industry is dealing with economic struggles far removed from the enthusiasm of those early days. Take Aurora Cannabis, for example. The Alberta-based cannabis manufacturer – one of the largest in Canada – announced in August that it will be diversifying its offerings and start selling orchids.That same month, another company, Canopy Growth, sold the multi-million dollar Ontario headquarters it bought in 2017 back to its original owner, candy manufacturer Hershey Canada. Both companies, along with other cannabis producers, have also given out pink slips to thousands of workers in an effort to cut costs as they continue to generate little to no profit.Inside Thailand’s ‘weed wonderland’ Oklahoma voters say no to recreational cannabisGermany plans to legalise recreational cannabisPart of the problem, experts and industry leaders say, is overregulation of the drug as the country attempts to toe a careful line between public health and building a robust cannabis industry. Others say it’s simply a matter of too many players and too much production that far exceeds demand. And because Canada is one of the only countries in the world that federally allow the manufacturing and consumption of recreational cannabis, the options for domestic producers to make money outside Canada’s borders remain very limited.Image source, Getty ImagesThese challenges were difficult to see early on, said Mr Smitherman, a former Ontario politician who is now the head of the Cannabis Council of Canada. “The thing is, there was no global road map,” he told the BBC, as no other country had attempted to legalise recreational cannabis on such a large scale. When Canada passed its landmark Cannabis Act in 2018, one of its biggest goals was to move marijuana users away from the illicit market towards a legal, regulated market. It was designed to keep the drug away from minors and limit money flowing into the illegal marijuana trade.There was also the economic argument as well – that Canadians and the country’s economy as a whole would stand to benefit.In many ways, that economic equation still holds true: Canada’s domestic recreational market is valued in the billions. In 2022, Deloitte Canada estimated that cannabis added C$43.5bn ($31.91bn; £26.23bn) to the country’s gross domestic product since legalisation. And Canadians can access legal and regulated marijuana just about anywhere in the country. But they have also reportedly lost more than C$131bn investing in cannabis businesses.Michael Armstrong, a cannabis business researcher at Brock University in Ontario, argues that early hiccups paved the way for some of the business challenges seen today. “One way to sum it up would be to say we’ve kind of had a classic boom and bust,” Prof Armstrong said.In the early days, many stores were dealing with chronically empty shelves as production could not keep up with demand. Prof Armstrong said this drove cannabis producers to make too much product, which led to a surplus and an eventual downsizing.It also meant that many still relied on the illicit market to get their marijuana. On the retail side, cannabis stores were initially very profitable. But a clustering of storefronts over time in the same areas meant retailers had to lower their prices and offer other incentives to compete with other stores nearby.As of 2023, there are around 3,600 licensed retail cannabis stores across the country and 970 licensed cannabis producers in Canada.Few of those producers appear to be profitable. Mr Smitherman said a recent survey by the Cannabis Council of Canada found that only 20% are showing some form of positive cashflow. “The attrition, turnover and consolidation is relentless,” he said of the current business landscape. Image source, Toronto Star via Getty ImagesSome also point the finger at what they say is the overregulation of the industry, where cannabis is still a controlled substance. By law, cannabis companies cannot advertise their products or build brand recognition in the way companies in other industries can. Retail locations have tinted windows to conceal what is inside, and the drug is sold in government-approved packaging. They also pay higher regulatory fees than companies selling other controlled substances.It is part of a delicate balance the government has tried to strike between public health and managing a new legal industry, Prof Armstrong said. “The big trade off in legal cannabis is: how do you make the legal market attractive enough to get all the existing users to go with the legal weed, but not so attractive that you get a whole bunch of new users starting up,” he said. Canada also has stringent laws on the types of products that can be sold, as well as their potency. Some argue that this has caused illegal cannabis in the country to continue to thrive even under legalisation.Consumers of cannabis edibles, for example, are able to go online and find products with a potency higher than the legal amount, Mr Smitherman said. Often, those products are sold at a considerably lower cost than what is being offered in licensed stores.In late 2022, Canada’s Department of Public Safety estimated that 33% of the marijuana market is still controlled by the illicit drug trade. There are also limited options for Canada’s cannabis producers to profit outside of the country’s borders.Canada remains the only country with a legal, federal cannabis framework outside of Uruguay, and the export of recreational products is not allowed. While some states in the US have legalised marijuana, the drug remains illegal at the federal level.Countries in the European Union have toyed with the idea of legalisation, but “they are moving very slowly”, Prof Armstrong said, partly due to stringent EU laws. Industry leaders like Mr Smitherman have long lobbied the government for looser laws that, he argues, will benefit the cannabis industry while not straying away from the country’s public health objectives.”Our argument is: ‘Hey, if we can make some incremental changes here, collectively, we can grow the pie,'” he said. Despite the challenges, many still hail legalisation as somewhat of a success.”From a public policy standpoint, the people of Canada are very satisfied with it,” Mr Smitherman said.”But one of the measures of success is, are we creating a sustainable model here where, in the next five years, we are going to see good cannabis companies bringing innovative products and winning that battle for market share, or are we going to retreat?”Prof Armstrong said that what Canada has is “what no other country in the world has”. “Now, having said that, legalisation is not a roaring success.”More on this storyCanada legalises sale and use of cannabisPublished17 October 2018As it happened: First day of legal Canadian potPublished17 October 2018Why Canada’s cannabis bubble burstPublished29 December 2019

Published1 day agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Kim BlakeBy Nadine YousifBBC NewsMore Americans than ever are dying from fentanyl overdoses as the fourth wave of the opioid epidemic crashes through every community, in every corner of the country.It was six years ago that Kim Blake’s son Sean died from an accidental fentanyl overdose in Burlington, Vermont. He was 27 years old.”Every time I hear of a loss to substance use, my heart breaks a little more,” Ms Blake wrote in a blog dedicated to her son in 2021.”Another family shattered. Forever grieving the loss of dreams and celebrations.”That year, the US witnessed a grim milestone: for the first time ever, drug overdoses killed more than 100,000 people across the country in one single year. Of those deaths, more than 66% were tied to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more powerful than heroin. Fentanyl is a pharmaceutical drug that can be prescribed by a doctor to treat severe pain. But the drug is also illegally manufactured and sold by criminal gangs. Most of the illegal fentanyl found in the US is trafficked from Mexico using chemicals sourced from China, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).In 2010, less than 40,000 people died from a drug overdose across the country, and less than 10% of those deaths were tied to fentanyl. Back then, deaths were mostly driven by the use of heroin or prescription opioids. The contrast is outlined in a study released this week by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) that examines trends in US overdose deaths from 2010-21 using data compiled by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data paints a clear picture of how fentanyl has redefined drug overdoses in America over the last decade.”The rise of illicitly manufactured fentanyl has ushered in an overdose crisis in the United States of unprecedented magnitude,” the study’s authors wrote. Virtually every corner of the US, from Hawaii to Alaska to Rhode Island, has been touched by fentanyl. The rise in fentanyl-related deaths was first observed in 2015, the data shows. Since then, the drug has spread across the US and death rates have grown sharply. “In 2018, around 80% of fentanyl overdoses happened east of the Mississippi river,” Chelsea Shover, an assistant professor at UCLA’s school of medicine and co-author of the study, told the BBC. But in 2019, “fentanyl becomes part of the drug supply in the Western US, and suddenly this population that had been insulated from it is exposed, and death rates start to go up,” Prof Shover said.In their study, the researchers sound the alarm on another growing trend: deaths related to the use of fentanyl and another stimulant drug, like cocaine or methamphetamine.This trend is being observed across the US, albeit in different ways owing to drug use patterns that differ from region to region. For example, researchers found higher death rates related to the use of fentanyl and cocaine in north-eastern US states, like Vermont and Connecticut, where cocaine has been traditionally more available. But for virtually everywhere else in the country, from West Virginia to California, deaths were primarily driven by the use of both methamphetamines and fentanyl. Ms Blake, who is also a trained physician, said her son sporadically used cocaine, though his toxicology report revealed only fentanyl in his system. She learned that many use fentanyl along with another stimulant for a prolonged high. “It’s no surprise to me that we’re seeing such an increase in stimulant-opioid combinations,” Ms Blake told the BBC. When fentanyl first arrived in the US as part of the illegal drug supply, “a lot of people did not want it”, Prof Shover said. But the synthetic opiate became widely available as it is cheaper to produce compared to other drugs. It is also highly addictive, meaning people who struggle with substance use and are exposed to it often seek it out to avoid painful withdrawals.Across the US, the study identified states like Alaska, West Virginia, Rhode Island, Hawaii and California as having the highest rates of overdose deaths involving fentanyl and another drug. These states have historically high rates of drug use, Prof Shover said. With the arrival of fentanyl, drug use in those areas has become more lethal. No longer just a ‘white problem’The opioid crisis has been traditionally portrayed as a “white problem”, Prof Shover said. Her study, however, revealed that African Americans are dying from a combination of fentanyl and other drug use at higher rates, across age groups and geographical lines.For Rasheeda Watts-Pearson, an Ohio-based harm reduction specialist, the data reflects what she has seen in her region. She has been doing outreach work with A1 Stigma Free, a grassroots organisation that was founded just eight months ago to tackle a notable rise of overdose deaths within the African-American community in Cincinnati. As part of her work, Ms Watts-Pearson frequently visits barbershops, bars and grocery stores to talk to people about the deadly impacts of fentanyl. She said she does this because of a lack of awareness, driven partly by historic healthcare disparities experienced by racial and ethnic minority groups.Even marketing campaigns made to bring awareness to the opioid crisis have not included the experience of black Americans, she said. “I can drive down Avondale right now, there is a billboard that says ‘Opioid Crisis’, but there’s two white people on that billboard,” Ms Watts-Pearson said.A big blind spot for her community has been fentanyl-laced street drugs, she said, which has led to people unknowingly using the deadly, synthetic opioid, and developing a dependency to it. “The coroner’s office is seeing people overdose and die off of cocaine, off of crack, off of pills, with traces of fentanyl,” she said. “It has been infiltrated in the black community now, and not enough people are talking about it.”Image source, A1 Stigma FreeA fourth waveThe lethal use of fentanyl in combination with other drugs has marked the “fourth wave” of the overdose crisis in the US, researchers have said. And experts like Prof Shover have cautioned that treatment options in the US for substance use have not kept up.”Our treatment system for substance use disorder is often focused on one drug at a time,” Prof Shover said. “But the reality is, many people who use drugs use more than one kind of drug.” To keep her son’s memory alive, Ms Blake has been outspoken about her loss and has helped other families go through their grief of losing a loved one to an overdose. “Everyone has a story, and for a parent who has lost a child, that is forever,” she said. Her son had been enrolled in treatment a few times during his battle with substance use disorder. The experience taught Ms Blake that care options vary from state to state, and in many cases, what is available is not enough. “Ideally, I think we would see something where people would get treatment rapidly, whenever they want it, and long-term,” she said. Ms Blake also raised the idea of overdose prevention sites, where people could use drugs safely and under supervision. Those sites are widely available in Canada – which has its own fentanyl crisis – but only two sanctioned sites exist in the US. Above all, Ms Blake has called for compassion and understanding for those who are struggling with substance use. “Most people I talk to, their kids did not want to die,” she said. You may also be interested in:This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.More on this storyFentanyl – a killer drug’s trail of destructionPublished1 AprilFewer US teens use drugs – but more are dyingPublished16 October 2022On America’s trail of destruction. Video, 00:13:34On America’s trail of destructionPublished24 October 201813:34

Published12 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingThis video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.By Nadine YousifBBC NewsRepublican Senate leader Mitch McConnell is “medically clear” to work, says a doctor, a day after the lawmaker suddenly appeared unable to speak for the second time this summer.Brian Monahan, the attending physician of the US Congress, said he had consulted with Mr McConnell and his neurology team about the matter. On Wednesday, Mr McConnell, 81, froze up for more than 30 seconds when asked if he would run for re-election. He had a similar lapse in July. During Wednesday’s press event in Covington, Kentucky, the senator was unable to answer questions, which had to be repeated by staff. This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Mr McConnell made no comment about his health before leaving with aides, who later said he was feeling lightheaded. He suffered from a concussion after falling at an event in March, according to staff. Dr Monahan said in a statement on Thursday: “Occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration.”Politico reported that a handful of Republican senators were weighing whether Mr McConnell should stay on as leader. Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, meanwhile, wrote in a post on social media that Mr McConnell was “not fit for office.” “Severe aging health issues and/or mental health incompetence in our nation’s leaders MUST be addressed,” Ms Greene said, also mentioning the age of US President Joe Biden, who is 80. Democratic congressman Dean Phillips called on social media for term limits for members of Congress and the Supreme Court. On Thursday, President Joe Biden said he had recently spoken with Mr McConnell and that he seemed well. “He’s a friend, and I spoke to him today. And you know, he was his old self on the telephone,” Mr Biden told reporters in Washington DC. Mr Biden added he did not have any concerns about whether Mr McConnell was fit enough to do his job. More on this storyMcConnell freezes for second time during press eventPublished15 hours agoMcConnell has had ‘multiple’ recent falls – reportsPublished27 JulyUS senator freezes in front of reporters. Video, 00:00:33US senator freezes in front of reportersPublished26 July0:33

Published3 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Health CanadaBy Nadine YousifBBC News, TorontoCanada will soon print warning labels directly on cigarettes in a world-first, the country’s health agency announced.New packaging will feature a warning on each cigarette with phrases like: “Cigarettes cause cancer” and “Poison in every puff”.The regulation will come into effect on 1 August, Health Canada said.It is part of an effort to reduce tobacco use in Canada to less than 5% by 2035. In an announcement on Wednesday, Health Canada said the new regulations “will make it virtually impossible to avoid health warnings” on tobacco products. The health agency anticipates that by April 2025, retailers in Canada will only carry tobacco products that feature the new warning labels directly on the cigarettes. Products that will have labels on tipping paper include individual cigarettes, little cigars, tubes and other tobacco products, Health Canada said.The move follows a 75-day public consultation period that was launched last year.Warning labels are already printed on cigarette package covers. Health Canada said it plans to expand on those by printing additional warning labels inside the packages themselves, and introducing a new external warning messages.In a statement, Canada’s minister of mental health and addictions, Carolyn Bennett, said tobacco use kills around 48,000 Canadians each year. “We are taking action by being the first country in the world to label individual cigarettes with health warning messages,” Ms Bennett said, calling the change a “bold step”. Image source, Health CanadaThe move was applauded by the Canadian Cancer Society, Canada’s Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Lung Association, who said they hope the measures will deter people, especially youth, from taking up smoking.Cigarette smoking is widely regarded as a risk factor for lung cancer, heart disease and stroke. Canada has required the printing of warning labels on cigarette packages in 1989, though it was behind the UK, which printed warnings as early as 1971. The US was the first nation in the world to require health warnings on cigarette packages, passing its Federal Cigarette Labelling and Advertising Act in 1965.Labels in all three countries have evolved over the years, notably to include sometimes graphic images in addition to text to show the health consequences of smoking. Since the US introduced warning labels, the smoking rate has significantly decreased. Some studies, however, have found that labels are not a deterrent for people who have a high nicotine dependence. According to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 42% of US adults were smokers in the mid-1960s. In 2021, that number dropped to a historic low of 11%. However, electronic cigarette use appeared to have risen. In Canada, the rate of smokers aged 15 years or older is around 10%, according to a national 2021 Tobacco and Nicotine survey. Like the US, the survey revealed vaping rates to be higher at around 17%.More on this storyWhy US lags behind on graphic cigarette warningsPublished16 August 2019Who are the smokers that haven’t quit?Published24 July 2019Canada mulls putting warnings on each cigarettePublished11 June 2022

Published1 day agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Peel Regional PoliceBy Nadine YousifBBC News, TorontoCanadian police have arrested and charged a Toronto-area man they allege is linked to deaths by suicide in Canada, the UK and the US. Kenneth Law, 57, is facing two counts of counselling and aiding suicide. Peel Regional Police believe he may have sold a lethal substance online, with packages going to people in over 40 countries.His arrest comes after a recent Times investigation linked him to at least four deaths in the UK. Police said on Tuesday they began investigating the case a month ago following the sudden death of an adult in the Toronto-area. Mark Andrews, deputy chief of community policing for the Peel police, said authorities believe the person ingested a lethal substance that was sold to them by Mr Law. During the investigation, police say they became aware of a second local death allegedly linked to Mr Law, who is accused of operating several companies that provide a common food preservative, that can be deadly when ingested in certain quantities.Deputy Chief Andrews said his police force is now working with other forces in Canada and internationally to determine if more charges might be be laid. A tip line has been set up for people to come forward with any information. “We believe there could be more victims,” he said. He added police are aware of 1,200 packages sold by Mr Law that were shipped to over 40 countries, though they do not know how many may have included the substance.A report published by the Times of London last week linked Mr Law to up to seven deaths, including a 17-year-old boy in the US and four adult British citizens. One of them was 23-year-old Neha Raju, who died in the Surrey area last April. A coroner’s inquest into Ms Raju’s death revealed that she died after ingesting a substance that she purchased online.The inquest said the substance is “freely available to be purchased from the internet in lethal quantities for delivery within the UK”, and that “no protection is afforded to vulnerable people prior to them making such purchases”.Doctors in Canada have called for tighter regulation of the preservative. Speaking to the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail last week, Mr Law defended his actions and said that he sold a legal product. “What the person does with it? I have no control,” he told the newspaper. Mr Law is now in custody awaiting a bail hearing. His first court appearance has been scheduled for Wednesday. Under Canada’s criminal code, counselling or aiding a person to die by suicide can result in a 14-year prison sentence. If you’ve been affected by self-harm or emotional distress, help and support is available via the BBC Action LineMore on this storyCall for university duty of care after suicides25 AprilSelf-harm content to be criminalised in online bill27 November 2022

Published14 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, ReutersBy Nadine YousifBBC News, TorontoThe Canadian government has pledged nearly C$200bn ($149bn; £124bn) in funding over 10 years to aid the country’s ailing healthcare system. The funding was pitched as a generational fix for the system in an announcement on Tuesday.For months, Canada’s hospitals have grappled with a lack of staff and lengthy wait times for care. A few reports have since emerged of patients dying while awaiting treatment.Canada’s healthcare system is funded by the taxpayer to offer free, universal access to necessary hospital and doctor visits for all citizens and permanent residents.It is paid for using a mix of federal and provincial money, but administered at the local level. Around 25% of funding is from the federal government through the Canada Health Transfer. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the funding pitch to Canada’s provincial premiers, who have repeatedly pushed Mr Trudeau to increase federal spending on healthcare. Mr Trudeau, however, had said he would not increase funding without strings attached. Following a meeting with the premiers on Tuesday, Mr Trudeau said that his government is “taking action today so Canadians can continue to have trust in our public system.””This is a big country, built on big progressive ideas,” he said. “Few are more central to who we are as Canadians than the promise of universal, publicly funded healthcare.”His proposal includes a total of $196.1bn to be spent on healthcare over the course of a decade – $46.2bn of which is new money on top of what has already been budgeted. The total amounts to around a 61% increase in the Canada Health Transfer to provinces over the next 10 years.It is less than what Canada’s premiers wanted – they had asked Mr Trudeau for an annual top-up of $28bn. Manitoba’s premier, Heather Stefanson, said she was “disappointed” with the amount. Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, called it a “starting point”. The premiers said they are now assessing the proposal. Mr Trudeau said the money his government has put up is a “major investment in healthcare”, but he added that money alone will not fix the country’s faltering system. He said he will also negotiate separate agreements with each province to address unique regional issues. The government has also asked provinces for better healthcare data so they can assess the system’s performance better. Canada: Why ERs are struggling to stay open nationwidePremiers demand to meet Trudeau over health crisisHealthcare has often been a point of pride in Canada, but, like many other countries, its system has grappled with mounting pressure since the Covid-19 pandemic, with growing wait times to access care.In Nova Scotia, a 67-year-old woman reportedly died after giving up on a seven-hour wait to see a doctor at a local hospital’s emergency department. Patients have also been affected by a growing backlog for surgeries and diagnostic procedures. Canada spends over 10% of its GDP on healthcare, about the same as the UK, compared with more than 16% for the US, according to World Bank data.Its healthcare system ranks higher than the US, but lower than the UK and others in some international comparisons. More on this storyWhy Canada’s ERs are struggling to stay open2 September 2022Parents stressed over flu season pain med shortage17 November 2022Canada seeks to delay euthanasia for mentally ill6 days ago

Published4 hours agoSharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesBy Nadine YousifBBC News, TorontoThe leaders of Canada’s provinces have urged PM Justin Trudeau to meet them over the nation’s healthcare crisis.Canada’s hospitals have faced significant strain, with reports of patients dying while waiting for care.Mr Trudeau has previously said he is willing to provide more funding, but with strings attached.Medical treatment in Canada is publicly funded, with private non-profits owning hospitals and employing doctors, but government picking up the tab.While the county’s universal healthcare system uses a mix of federal and provincial money, it is administered provincially. In a joint press conference on Friday, all 13 of Canada’s premiers publicly asked Mr Trudeau to meet them early in the new year.They renewed their request to raise the federal share of healthcare spending in Canada from 22% to 35%, accusing the Trudeau government of not paying its fair share.”The number one issue in this entire country from coast to coast to coast is healthcare, and we can’t do it alone,” said Ontario’s premier Doug Ford. Hospitals across Canada have faced significant pressure this year due to staffing shortages and a rise in the number of sick people requiring care. In smaller communities, the shortages have forced some emergency departments to temporarily close their doors to patients. Why ERs in Canada are struggling to stay openParents ‘panic’ amid Canada shortage of children’s pain medsA surge in viral infections among children has put a strain on paediatric hospitals in recent months. In the province of New Brunswick, protests sprang up after a man in his 70s died in an emergency department’s waiting room on Wednesday.In a September poll, 51% of Canadians said they don’t feel confident they would receive timely care in a medical emergency. Provincial health ministers met their federal counterpart as recently as November in Vancouver to pin down a deal on healthcare funding, but those talks collapsed.Premiers have since accused Mr Trudeau of ignoring the issue and communicating with them via the media. Mr Trudeau has previously said he expects the provinces to deliver better healthcare. “It’s not just about money,” the prime minister said last month. “It’s about creating a stronger, more robust healthcare system across the country.”Canada spends over 10% of its GDP on healthcare, about the same as the UK, compared with more than 16% for the US, according to World Bank data.More on this storyWhy Canada’s ERs are struggling to stay open2 SeptemberCanada to get 1 million bottles of children pain meds18 NovemberSurging viruses stretch US children’s hospitals1 December

Published9 hours agoSharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesOn a Thursday in mid-August, the doors of a hospital’s emergency department two hours west of Toronto were shut. A note posted on the front said the ER was closed for the day. It would reopen the following morning at 08:00, but close again for the evening. Patients who needed urgent care were asked to go to nearby hospitals – a 15- to 35-minute drive away.It was the ninth time since April that the Huron Public Healthcare Alliance – a network of four hospitals serving around 150,000 people in western Ontario – had to temporarily close or cut back hours at one of its emergency departments. And it won’t be the last, said the organisation’s CEO Andrew Williams. The reason? There aren’t enough nurses to staff the ER. “You are seeing – almost weekly – hospitals having to reduce their services,” Mr Williams told the BBC. It’s a dilemma playing out at emergency departments across Canada, particularly at smaller hospitals where reduced services have become commonplace. In the maritime province of Nova Scotia, one hospital’s ER has been closed since June 2021 due to staffing shortages.Canada is one of the richest countries in the world. Its universal publicly funded healthcare system has been touted by progressive politicians in the US, the country’s southern neighbour, who see it as a needed alternative to an American system where millions remain uninsured. But in recent months, Canada’s system has been described by workers and hospital executives as being in a state of “crisis”. That includes struggling emergency rooms. Toronto ER physician Dr Raghu Venugopal said he has seen stretchers lining the hallways, occupied by patients suffering from ailments like a broken hip or abdominal pains.On some days, those patients may wait anywhere from two to four days to be admitted to hospital, all while a team of two nurses tends to a total of 50 to 60 patients on the unit.Other patients are being examined in the waiting room because the lack of staff has forced parts of the ER to close, meaning there is limited space for doctors to see them privately.”We are in a standard-less void where anything goes, and it is shocking,” Dr Venugopal said. In the prairie province of Saskatchewan, one nurse said some paramedics have spent the entirety of their 12-hour shift waiting with a patient on a stretcher as no one was around to admit them for treatment, leaving the paramedic unavailable to respond to other calls. Patient stories have also emerged across the country. In Ontario, a woman told the CBC she spent a total of 19 hours in ER with severe backpain before she was admitted. She was later diagnosed with cancer. In New Brunswick in July, a man died while waiting for care, and the hospital has launched a review.The challenges brought on by Covid-19 bear part of the blame. Many nurses in Canada – fatigued from the pandemic –