Following the landmark decision made in Australia recently, South Africa is looking to implement a similar strategy of reducing cigarette packets to nothing more than a box with text. This is part of government’s new plan to bring South Africa’s smoking regulations in line with “international best practice.”
Professor Tim Noakes has said in a letter published in the Cape Times today that the theory that blood cholesterol and a high-fat diet are the causes of heart disease will be one of the greatest errors in the history of medicine.
Imagine your last memory being in 2005. It certainly was a different world back then – no black US president, no iPhones, no Facebook. This is what happened to Ayanda Nqinana, who was put into a coma following a late night crash on a lonely Eastern Cape road in 2005.
The City of Cape Town has finally issued an official statement on how it once and for all plans to deal with the broken up Seli 1 wreck on Blouberg beach. But it’s not up to them – it’s now up to the National Treasury to issue the funding for the operation.
A little while ago, The University of Cape Town (UCT)’s Science department announced groundbreaking news: it has found a single dose cure for Malaria.
It’s not a good time to be a smoker in Australia right now. Right off the back of the news that the Supreme Court has upheld the decision to strip all cigarettes of their branding, the state of Tasmania is now considering banning the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after the year 2000.
Bucking international trends such as what we have just witnessed in Australia, a US appeals court on Friday upheld a lower court ruling that would block the federal government from requiring tobacco companies to put graphic anti-smoking images on cigarette packaging.
Here’s the best news a lot of men may read this week: Scientists and dermatologists are confident that a new lotion could be on the shelves in two years which will prevent you from having to do that awkward comb-over every morning.
International cigarette companies are busy scrambling after an Australian court has held that it’s perfectly legal to strip cigarette packs of all their branding. Instead, cigarette boxes will come in a uniform olive drab box, covered in health warnings and only stating the brand and variant of cigarette in a standardised font.
The University of Adelaide has reported a major breakthrough in opiate addiction: addiction to morphine and heroin can be blocked, while at the same time increasing pain relief.
If you know the feeling of struggling through the last kilometre of your run, take heed of these five tips, as the songs on your running playlist may be the key to giving you that final burst of strength.
A report in the New Age this morning revealed that Jackie Selebi had not been to Steve Biko Hospital in Pretoria for a week – but it didn’t take long for someone to find out that he is now receiving private treatment elsewhere.
A new study suggests that not enough exercise is causing as many deaths as smoking across the world. This is especially chilling news for smokers who do not excercise, as they are expected to drop dead at any moment.
The United Nations has just just released the World Drugs Report for 2012. The information shared is pretty interesting. For example, what percentage of South Africans do you think smoke weed? Take a guess.
Good news! It’s time for another government backpedal! After revealing to you on Friday that the government approved a tender for R22,5 million to supply banned HIV Testing kits, the decision has been reversed. The tender process is now also under scrutiny.
The Economist has surprised everybody by doing something fun, using the United Nations’ World Drug Report 2012 (released yesterday) to generate a map of the world’s heaviest weed users. The Pacific island of Palau wins easily, with nearly a quarter of people aged 15 to 64 having smoked pot in the past year. South Africa does okay, too.
2oceansViber, Fred, got in contact with us recently about his stolen MacBook Pro, which was grabbed by a thief as Fred confronted him in his bedroom. The thief and the MacBook got away, but Dropbox remained installed. Imagine the surprise when pictures from his stolen Mac started appearing in his DropBox. They tell quite a story. Full (hilarious) gallery inside.
Check out Cape Town Mayor, Patricia de Lille, recording a rap tune in a bid to curb drug and alcohol abuse. Non-kids (especially those in advertising and politics) trying to be as cool a real kids normally just looks awkward. So does De Lille manage to not look like a fool doing this? Check it out and decide for yourself – after the jump!
Over the weekend, an American aircraft carrier group recovered close to 19 000 pounds of marijuana that had been dumped in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California.
Yesterday, news broke that this year’s Comrades Marathon winner, Ludwick Mamabolo, had tested positive for the banned substance methylhexaneamine. It is the same substance that got Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bjorn Basson in trouble in 2010.
Glow sticks burned brightly all over Canada yesterday as optimistic ravers partied at the thought of being able to pick up doses of MDMA at their local government run ecstasy shops. Dr Perry Kendall said that pure MDMA is “safe” when consumed responsibly by adults.
Last month we reported on the horrific cannibal attack that happened in Miami. Preying on the communities fears, a prankster has started staging fake “zombie attacks”. An accomplice then films these incidents from a distance. The Miami community is outraged, and so are we! Even though it is difficult – no, impossible – to watch this video with a straight face.
Now, I’m not saying that this story is in anyway related to Mark Keohane’s resignation, but these things happen. Reuters reports that Diego Perez Henao, the leader of the “Los Rastrojos” gang in Columbia, was arrested on Sunday morning near the Venezuelan-Colombian border. Read more about this modern-day Escobar inside.
So it turns out that one of the Patrick Holford supplement range products – called Smart Kids Brain Boost – does not actually enhance mental performance. This was revealed in a ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority. The company will now have to change the name of the product, as well as remove the term “intelligent fats” from the packaging.
The Global Marijuana March is a yearly event embracing cannabis culture as a personal lifestyle choice. Around 700 different cities worldwide, including Cape Town, have signed up since 1999. This highly anticipated celebration took place over the weekend. How did Capetonian dagga supporters celebrate? Find out inside.
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel spoke at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner yesterday. Amongst the issues he got off his chest was the legalisation of marijuana. See him tell Barack Obama that “pot smokers vote too” after the jump.
Yesterday comedian Russell Brand gave evidence to British MP’s about his battle with addiction during a renewal of the government’s current drugs policy. True to his style, Brand sported a sleeveless t-shirt that showed off his heavily tattooed arm, copious jewellery, cowboy boots and hat, and a long trenchcoat. His colourful speech included a description of how emotional and psychological difficulties led to him becoming addicted to drugs.
Further concerns over the potentially large number of jobs that could be lost as a result of government’s proposed booze advertising ban, have been aired. Government is still mulling over its draft bill – which has been labelled draconian – but either way, the health department is determined to clamp down on the industry.
Advice from the first official British government report into fracking has been published today. In it, British ministers have been informed that they should allow the controversial process of fracking for shale gas to be extended there, this despite the process having been blamed for causing two earthquakes.
King Juan Carlos of Spain is no stranger to controversial hunting. Six years ago, it was asserted that the 74-year-old shot a drunken Russian bear that had been lured with honey and vodka. Officials dismissed the allegations as ridiculous. The Spanish media have just had another field day though, after they learned he’d broken his hip hunting in Botswana recently.