Tag: addiction

It’s ‘Stoptober’ – but 28 days isn’t long enough to change a habit

Habits aren't easy to breakA month feels a very long time when you’re trying to give something up. Crikey, if you’re trying to give up cigarettes then even a weekend seems an eternity. And now that October is upon us, scores of smokers are going cold turkey on the fags for a 28 day stint. It’s all part of the NHS’s annual ‘Stoptober’ stop-smoking campaign; the logic being that if you can kick the cigs for a month then you can kick them for good. A nice idea, but does it really help?

Everyone’s heard that it takes 28 days to make or change a habit. Granted, some of us have been told that it’s 21 days; but the general ‘if you can stick it out for three-four weeks’ rule has long been accepted wisdom of counsellors, agony aunts and your mates down the pub. But just know this: the idea that it takes a month to change your ways is a load of tosh. For actual science says that changing any routine – be it smoking or otherwise usually takes much longer than 28 days. Read more

The Next Legal High: Sun Tanning?

“You’ve got a healthy glow! Have you been somewhere hot?”

No, I’ve just spent the afternoon in the garden!

Blue MagicI am one of those irritating people who get a tan at the mere hint of sunshine. A hundred years ago however, I wouldn’t be gloating. Until fairly recently, women went to extraordinary (and dangerous) lengths in pursuit of a freckle-free, pale complexion. To be tanned was ugly and represented the poor, undesirable ‘working class’. That all changed the moment fashion designer Coco Chanel stepped off a cruise liner in 1922 – with a sun-bronzed skin.

Fast forward to today – no longer are lead-based skin whiteners or blood-letting beauty treatments threatening health. The present day sun-worshipping generation risk skin cancer and – perversely – increased skin aging, immune system damage and blindness.

Increasingly, research is uncovering that tanning has become more than an innocuous way to while away a sunny afternoon: For some it becomes an uncontrollable compulsion. Offering a buzz similar to taking drugs, some experts now claim that ‘Tanorexia’ is a very real addiction that destroys lives… Read more

Exposed! Britain’s ‘Energy Drink’ Child-Addicts

What did you used to spend your pocket money on? I clearly remember the excitement of going to the corner shop and getting as many handfulls of strawberry shoelaces and cola ice-pops that my 50p could buy. Kids these days are far less likely to buy sweet treats: confectionary sales have stangated as a new ‘vogue’ has hit the schools . Push-pops are most definately ‘out’ and the new cool is ‘energy drinks‘.

Despite the the recession, sales of caffeine-fuelled fizzy-pop are at an all time high; Read more