‘Husain wanted to destroy work’
People who take help of anti-smoking drugs to kick the butt are 72 per cent more prone to serious heart attacks than those who take sham medications, a new study led by an Indian-origin scientist has claimed.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in the US found that healthy and middle-aged smokers who take varenicline, the widely-used smoking cessation drug on the market, had a 72 per cent increased risk of being hospitalised with a heart attack or other serious heart problems.
“People want to quit smoking to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease but in this case they’re taking a drug that increases the risk for the very problems they’re trying to avoid,” said lead researcher Sonal Singh.
In the study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Singh and her colleagues analysed 14 double-blind, randomised, controlled clinical trials involving more than 8,200 healthy people who received either varenicline or a placebo. Varenicline made by Pfizer is sold in many countries including India under the brand-name Chantix.
None of the studies followed people for longer than a year. The average age of study participants was less than 45 years and the majority were men.
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Radcliffe fought alchohol addiction
London: Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe says he spent years battling with a secret drinking problem and now has turned teetotaller in a bid to put behind his boozy lifestyle.
The 21-year-old British actor, who shot to stardom in the wizard franchise when he was 11, developed a penchant for partying and became “reliant” on alcohol in order to have a good time, reported Contactmusic. “I became so reliant on (alcohol) to enjoy stuff. There were a few years there when I was just so enamoured with the idea of living some sort of famous person’s lifestyle that really isn’t suited to me,” he said.
Radcliffe said he is glad that the paparazzi never caught him misbehaving, and he has now turned his back on his wild ways to concentrate on a calmer lifestyle. —PTI
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