Tattoo Removal Surgeries Now Gaining Grounds

Diamonds, cockroaches, and tattoos are forever. But wait a minute - that's no longer true of the latter. These days, a tattoo can be here today and gone over the course of several painful tomorrows.

For many regretful men and women, what used to be a permanent reminder of a passing fad is now written in erasable ink. Tattoo removal surgeries, involving multiple laser treatments that destroy the pigments beneath the skin, have become increasingly common.

Over the past twenty years, tattoos have exploded in popularity. The explosion is thanks to better health and safety standards, including single-use needles, protective gloves, and sterilisation, as well as a surge of ink in popular culture. Together, these factors have encouraged a generation who otherwise could have lived without the Chinese symbol for Mouthwash etched in its skin. A newly tattooed tribe was born, and it thrives to this day.

While the techniques had become safer and more common, the classic dangerous appeal of the tattoo remained. Regardless of their relative safety, tattoos were no less painful or permanent. Somehow, even the promise of individuality persevered. But with more and more skin going under the needle, more and more people began to realise that forever is a long, long time.

The most comment argument against the tattoo is regret, and that regret falls into three basic categories. One, your sensibilities may change: You may eventually decide that you do not feel as strongly about Megadeth, or the Tasmanian Devil, or Jason, Sharon or Steve. Two, your circumstances may change: You may find it difficult to acquire gainful employment with exposed tattoos, even if they include WORD and EXCL across the knuckles.

All the more common is reason three: you, physically, will change. Thousands of years ago, before the first tattoo was performed on an early Eurasian ancestor, his ancient Eurasian mother asked him how it was going to look when he was old and wrinkly. This, however, is the easiest argument to refute. After all, nobody's modelling swimsuits when they're old and wrinkly.

The common theme of these arguments is time. Time passes, things change, yet (with occasional retouching) tattoos stay the same. For many, committing to a tattoo used to mean coming to terms with and accepting your regret. That, strangely, was yet another part of the appeal.

But today, for a few thousand dollars and a few weeks of appointments, that permanence and regret is no more.

Soon, a new type of tattoo ink will be available that is designed for laser surgery. Only one treatment will be necessary to remove the ink from the skin, making this the tattoo equivalent of non-alcoholic beer.

Meanwhile, the fringe will continue to get - and keep - their tattoos, even while the tribe who sought their tattooed individuality together seeks removal together as well. Like any other youthful fad, ink is now readily tossed aside for family, career, and adulthood.

Tattoos aren't forever, but some things never change.

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Some One Million Crib Recall Underway In The United States

The largest crib recall in history is underway following findings showing that a couple of kids have been killed by their cribs. Some one million cribs with older drop-side hardware were recalled following an announcement by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Simplicity for Children Inc., asking consumers with such cribs to return them.

The agency and the company are concerned with failure in the "drop-side" of the crib when it is incorrectly assembled. According to the CPSC, the drop-side failures result from both the hardware and crib design. These two faulty elements all too easily trick consumers into unintentionally installing the drop-side upside down. Thus installed, the hardware can weaken and cause the drop-side to detach from the crib, creating a gap in which infants can become entrapped and, there, suffocate. Thus far this failure has led to three infant deaths.

"According to First Candle, a leading promoter of infant health, infants who sleep in an adult bed with their parents are up to 40 times more likely to die through suffocation or other means than infants who sleep in a crib. Parents need to know that babies are
safest in a separate sleeping space designed for them," said Simplicity President Ken Waldman.

This is the largest recall of cribs in United States history. The cribs were made in China.

All of the cribs in question were manufactured by the first part of 2006, and none of the cribs that Simplicity is presently distributing to stores have this design problem.

Once again, a controversy is surrounding products made in China and sold for children in the United States.

However, the last time such a thing happened, which was with the recent recall of supposedly lead paint toxic toys made in China for the giant Mattell toy manufacturer, it ended up being a red herring. Today, Mattell issued a company apology to the entire nation of China when it became clear that the amounts of lead paint that were in the recalled toys did not exceed CPSC limits. Instead, the problem lay tiny magnets in the toys that children could swallow and get sick from - which was a design problem on Mattell's end, not China's.

Critics are concerned that the real motive behind at least a lot of the "China bashing" lies in the frustration that many American consumers feel over the outsourcing of so many formerly American jobs to the Asian nation, where the workers demand only a fraction of the salary that their American counterparts would, as well as with the United States' steep trade deficit with China which American officials blame largely on China's artificially depreciated currency.

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E. Coli Found In US Lettuce Brand, Triggers Dole Lettuce Recall

A bag of Dole's Hearts Delight salad mix sold at a store in Canada, tested positive for E. coli triggering a recall in at least nine states. Neither Canadian health officials nor Dole Food Co. have received reports of anyone getting sick from the product, despite speculations that the product, which is suspected of being contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 has been distributed all over Canada.

The affected packages contain romaine and green leaf lettuce and butter lettuce hearts.

“Don’t play Russian roulette,” said Rene Cardinal, national manager of the fresh fruit and vegetable program at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. “If you have it in your home, destroy it.”

Cardinal added that not all bags are necessarily contaminated, “but don’t take any chances.”

The food safety agency discovered that a sample of Dole’s Hearts Delight mixed lettuce salad was tainted with bacteria as part of random testing completed over the weekend. It’s possible the recall could be expanded as the agency begins an investigation to determine the origin of the bagged salad and where it was distributed.

However, he noted it will take time for the government to determine where the produce was grown because it is a blend of different lettuce types.

“If it had been one single type of lettuce it would be easier,” he said. “It’s too premature at this point in time (to say) what caused the contamination.”

Last year, E. coli-tainted spinach was linked to the deaths of several people in the U.S. Hundreds more were made ill. The spinach scare, as well as subsequent recalls involving items such as carrot juice and lettuce, prompted governments and the food industry to find new ways to improve produce safety.

But this most recent recall shows there is still a long way to go before problems involving food safety are eliminated, said Mansel Griffiths, director of the Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety at the University of Guelph, Ont.

“Hopefully as we identify these issues and put things in place — the correct production practices for the fruit and vegetable industry — then we can reduce the problems that we have.”

The traceability of food, which refers to the ability of authorities to determine where food came from and how it was distributed, is a major factor affecting how quickly possible sources of contamination can be pinpointed and dangerous foods pulled off shelves, Griffiths said.

“Certainly it would help if you could trace the sources of this lettuce as quickly as possible so remedial measures could be taken,” he said.

Despite these latest safety scares, the industry has been making major gains to improve the safety and quality of food, said Heather Holland, senior technical manager of food safety and government relations at the Canadian Produce Marketing Association.

“In actual fact, we’ve been working on food safety for a number of years,” she said.

The fact that this week’s recall is focused on a specific type of Dole brand lettuce shows that the industry’s focus on improving safety and production is working, Holland said.

“What we’re seeing here is the benefits of good practices,” she said. “We’re able here to have the scope of the product narrowed down to a lot number and a best-before date.”

The affected Dole brand lettuce blend is sold in 227-gram packages, coded UPC 0 71430 01038 9 and lot code A24924B, with a best-before date of Sept. 19. It may have been distributed nationally.

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Long-Term Breastfeeding Does Not Reduce Children's Risk Of Suffering Asthma

Long-term breastfeeding, while famously rich in nutrients for baby, does nothing to reduce the risk of developing childhood asthma and allergies, a new study suggests.

Canadian and Belarusian doctors recruited 17,046 breastfeeding women who were attending maternity clinics in Belarus in the late 1990s.

The volunteers were split into two groups.

In one group, the women (and the healthworkers at the maternity clinics) carried out their normal practices and policies of breastfeeding.

In the other, breastfeeding was promoted and supported, with the result that more infants of women in this group were breastfed exclusively for their first three months of life, and for longer periods, at up to 12 months.

When the children reached the age of six and a half, they were tested for any symptoms of asthma and their parents were asked to detail any symptoms of wheezing, chest tightness, hay fever and eczema.

In addition, the children were given allergy pricks to test for any response to house dust mites, cats, birch pollen, mould and grass pollen.


A total of 13,889 youngsters were followed up this way.

There was no difference between the groups on the questions of asthma, hay fever or eczema - and the results from the allergy pricks showed that in the "pro-breastfeeding" group, the youngsters were more sensitive to dust mites and grass pollen than their counterparts.

"These results do not support a protective effect of prolonged and exclusive breastfeeding on asthma or allergy," say the investigators, led by Michael Kramer of The Montreal Children's Hospital, Canada.

They note that asthma and allergies have surged in incidence in the past few decades while breastfeeding has enjoyed a renaissance.

This "strong suggests that breast feeding does not have a potent protective effect (against these disease) at population level."

In 2002, a smaller study, conducted among 1,037 New Zealand infants, found that babies who had been breastfed for more than four weeks rank almost double the risk of contracting asthma and allergies in their childhood compared with counterparts who had been fed on infant formula.

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Oesophagus Cancer Linked To Obesity In Australia

A rapid rise in cases of a deadly oesophagus cancer has been linked to Australia's obesity crisis, with doctors investigating whether fat tissue is feeding the tumours.

The incidence of adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus — one of the most lethal cancers — has increased fivefold in the past 25 years in Australia, according to David Whiteman, senior research fellow at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research.

"It's a real increase in cancer which you just don't see in epidemiological lifetimes," he said. "It's unprecedented to see a cancer come up so quickly."

Those at greatest risk appear to be obese people, especially men, who suffer from reflux and have smoked at some time.

Dr Whiteman has recently completed a study aiming to identify factors that might affect a person's risk of oesophageal cancer, with a particular focus on whether fat may be feeding certain cancers.

"There really is no question that this is an obesity-related cancer but the question is how and why?" he said.

"Could it be that the fat tissue itself is acting like a fertiliser? Is it producing an environment where if you have an early change that could turn into a cancer in someone with more body fat, that it is more likely to flourish, take root and grow than it would in a lean person who doesn't have the same amount of proteins flitting around the body?"

Dr Whiteman's study has been accepted for publication in the medical journal Gut, published by the British Medical Journal publishing group. His research team compared more than 1000 Australians diagnosed with oesophagus cancers with healthy people.


The participants were asked a number of questions including the nature of their symptoms prior to diagnosis.

"People often don't realise they have any problem until they get their food stuck when they swallow and when that happens usually the cancer is of a large size, which means it's resistant to treatment," Dr Whiteman said.

"It has a survival rate that's as bad as any of the bad cancers like pancreatic cancer."

According to Cancer Council Victoria, there were an average of 133 new cases of the cancer per year in Victorian men and women in 2002-04. Men are five to eight times more likely to get it than women.

One of the big risk factors associated with the cancer is reflux (heartburn) from the stomach, a condition more often suffered by overweight people.

Smoking is also a risk factor, even for people who have only smoked for a short time.

The director of Cancer Council Victoria, Professor David Hill, said the rise in adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus was concerning.

The Cancer Council has conducted a 20-year study of more than 40,000 Victorians, which looked at how lifestyle factors, including diet and exercise, affected a person's risk of developing certain cancers.

It was estimated that obesity contributed to 500 cancer deaths in Victoria each year.

The study, developed by Professor Graham Giles, found men and women who were considered overweight — with a body mass index over 25 — had an increased risk of adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus. Of the patients with the cancer, 45 per cent had the disease because they were overweight.

Professor Hill said certain cancers were associated with being overweight including cancer of the colon, endometrium, postmenopausal breast, kidney and myeloid leukaemia.

"This study shows how much impact you could make in reducing the burden of cancer by in fact changing the prevalence of the risk factor, in this case, overweight/obesity," Professor Hill said.

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Mattel Makes A Third Toy Recall

Mattel, Inc. announced today that, as a result of the company's ongoing investigation of its toys manufactured by vendors in China, the company has voluntarily recalled 11 toys globally, including eight pet and furniture playsets sold under the Barbie® brand and three Fisher-Price® toys, due to impermissible levels of lead. No Barbie® dolls are included within the recall. In total, there are 530,000 affected toys in the U.S., and 318,000 affected toys outside of the U.S. Mattel has completed the testing program for the majority of its toys, including all of its toys currently sourced from vendors.


The voluntary recall results from Mattel's thorough investigation of vendor-sourced toys. Mattel has also globally implemented a strengthened, three-point check system to test toys throughout the manufacturing process.

"In August we promised that we'd continue to focus on ensuring the safety and quality of our toys through extensive testing of finished products, thorough investigation of our vendors and the implementation of a strengthened three-point check system. As a result of our ongoing investigation we discovered additional affected products. Consequently, several subcontractors are no longer manufacturing Mattel toys. We apologize again to everyone affected and promise that we will continue to focus on ensuring the safety and quality of our toys," said Robert A. Eckert, chairman and chief executive officer, Mattel.

In the U.S., there are seven recalled Barbie®-branded toys. The specific affected parts include:

* Dream Puppy House™– orange on miniature dog
* Dream Kitty Condo™– brown on miniature cat
* Table & Chairs Kitchen Playset – yellow food on two dinner plates, brown on miniature dog, yellow and orange on potato chip bowl, orange on salad bowl
* Bathtub & Toilet Playset – brown on miniature cat
* Desk & Chair Bedroom Playset – brown on miniature dog
* Living Room Playset (deluxe) – brown on miniature cat
* Living Room Playset (premium) – yellow flower on purse



The playsets affected by the recall were produced by Holder Plastic Company (Holder), a Mattel contract vendor, which subcontracted the painting of miniature toy pets and small furniture pieces to Dong Lian Fa (DLF) and Yip Sing (YS). DLF and YS used uncertified paint and are no longer producing toys for Mattel.

Mattel's investigation revealed that the subcontractors painted the affected toys between March 2007 and August 2007. However Mattel is being cautious and recalling the entire production of the seven toys painted by the subcontractors. Therefore, toys manufactured beginning in October 2006 are included within the recall. The toys being recalled were sold at retail between November 2006 and August 2007.

Among the three Fisher-Price® toys recalled are two Fisher-Price® GEOTRAX™ toys and one "It's a Big Big World" toy. Fisher-Price® toys with specific parts affected include:

* GEOTRAX™ Rail & Road System Freightway Transport™– yellow headlights on train car and miniature ladder
* GEOTRAX™ Special Track Pack™ – yellow headlights on train car and miniature ladder
* "It's a Big Big World" 6-in-1 Bongo Band – painted decal on top of clear plastic on drum



The two GEOTRAX™ toys were manufactured by Apex Manufacturing Company Ltd. (Apex), one of Mattel's contract vendors, which outsourced paint work to a subcontractor, Boyi Plastic Products Factory (Boyi). Apex supplied Boyi with certified paint; however, the toys were manufactured with uncertified paint. Boyi is no longer in business. The two GEOTRAX™ toys that tested for impermissible levels of lead were manufactured between July 31, 2006, and September 4, 2006; however, the painted parts were stored and incorporated into toy production throughout the year. Mattel is being cautious and recalling toys shipped between August 3, 2006, and July 31, 2007.

The Fisher-Price® "It's a Big Big World" 6-in-1 Bongo Band toy was manufactured by Shun On Factory, one of Mattel's contract vendors, which outsourced the molding and painting of one plastic piece. A subcontractor, Jingying Tampo Printing Processing Factory, used uncertified paint on the affected piece. The "It's a Big Big World" 6-in-1 Bongo Band was manufactured between May 19, 2007, and August 1, 2007.

Mattel is working in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and other regulatory agencies worldwide. Mattel is also working with retailers worldwide to identify and remove affected products from retail shelves.

For additional information regarding this recall, including a full list of affected products, please contact Mattel at (888) 496-8330, or visit the company's Web site at www.service.mattel.com. A full list of products is also published by the Consumer Products Safety Commission.

How to Return Affected Toys/Parts:

1) The first step is for consumers to determine if they have a toy that has been affected by the recall. To do so, they can visit www.service.mattel.com where they will find a complete list of each toy recalled, including color photos, toy model numbers and affected date codes. Consumers can locate toy model numbers on the bottom of most recalled toys.

For consumers without a computer, or for those preferring phone support, they may call (888) 496-8330

2) Once consumers determine that they think they own a Mattel toy affected by the recall, they are prompted to fill out a form (online) or provide their postal address (via phone), and Mattel will send to consumers (via email or to a postal address) a color brochure with photos, toy numbers and date code ranges of every affected toy, as well as a pre-paid mailing label for return of the affected part(s).

3) After receiving consumers' returned, affected part(s), Mattel will send consumers replacement parts for each affected product, as well as bonus pieces/parts.

Mattel recommends that consumers do not return toys to retailers for three reasons:

1) Mattel can help consumers determine if a toy has been affected by the recall (vs. returning an unaffected toy)

2) Mattel will provide consumers with a replacement part for each toy part affected by the recall

3) Mattel will handle affected products in an environmentally friendly way

Consumers do not need to have the toy's original packaging or a receipt to return affected products to Mattel.

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