Anyways, there’s lots going on at West Wave in the mornings with charity groups hiring areas of the pools for their beneficiaries. One of those groups is Wai Health, another is 50+. I think 50+ (that’s 50 years and older) costs money but it’s cheaper than normal fare with a 50+ card. but, and this is the best part, Wai Health is FREE. Yep, you heard that right …. it’s FREE.

Here is their schedule.

Water Walking – low to medium work-out
Days: Mondays & Wednesdays 9.30 – 10.30am
Venue: West Wave Aquatic Centre
Entry no later than 9.15am

Aqua Aerobics – medium to high work-out
Days: Tuesday 9 – 10am
Venue: West Wave Aquatic Centre
Entry no later than 8.45am

Adult learn to swim – medium to high work-out
Days: Thursday 10 – 11am
Venue: West Wave Aquatic Centre
Entry no later than 9.45am

Aqua Circuit – medium to high impact.
Days: Tuesday 7 – 8am
Venue: West Wave Aquatic Centre
Entry no later than 6.45am

Please let me know if you want to go to these so we can meet up.

They also have a couple of others things….

Kick Boxing – discipline in kick boxing and fitness development
Days: Tuesday & Thursday 3.30 – 5pm
Venue: Hoani Waititi Marae, Glen Eden

Play Safe Kids - Junior, Intermediate and High school
Winter: Rugby League & Junior Basketball
Summer: touch/tag
Days: Monday, Tuesdays, Thursdays 5 – 8pm
Venue: unknown but I’ll find out

For enquiries contact: Bella Te-Pou, Willie Tahuri
Phone: (09) 839 0288 extension 723 or 027 216 1960

LIVERPOOL, April 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A 28 year-old UK woman has died of deep vein thrombosis after taking birth control pills for a decade, the Daily Mail reports. Jenna Morris, a bank worker who was planning to marry her live-in fiancé Luke Hawson, was sent home sick from work by doctors who told her she was suffering from kidney stones. She died suddenly when blood clots that formed in her legs spread to her lungs.

Her sister Suzanne confirmed that doctors said the clots were “possibly caused by the contraceptive pill.”

“I am still in shock,” she said. “I still cannot believe what happened. I keep thinking it is a dream.

“People should be aware because it could happen to anyone. Jenna was our beautiful pink princess and a fantastic sister. I miss her so much.”

Studies are increasingly showing connections between hormonal contraceptives and a range of serious health risks.

In 2005, Ortho McNeil, a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson, the manufacturer of the hormonal birth control patch Ortho Evra, admitted a link between their product and stroke and death by blood clots. In 2003, the journal Archives of Internal Medicine reported a study showing that women who use birth control pills greatly increase their risk of potentially life threatening blood clots when they travel by air.

In 2007, researchers at the University of Aberdeen published a study in the British Medical Journal showing that women who took birth control pills for over 8 years increased their risk of cancer by 22 per cent.

In 2008, researchers at the University of Ghent found that, based upon a study of 1,300 healthy women aged 35 to 55 living in a small town in Belgium, women who take oral contraceptives may have more plaque buildup in their arteries.

In the same year, a study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, conducted by the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies at the University of Udine, in Italy, concluded that the new, “third-generation” oral contraceptives elevate the levels of “C-reactive protein” (CRP) in women, which in turn raises their risk of cardiovascular disease.

READ MORE

It is good, we are now questioning how harmful it is to expose ourselves at a metabolic cellular level, to constant amounts of dioxin carcinogenic (cancer-causing) or teratogenic (fetal malformation-causing) pesticides, such as chemical insecticides, herbicides and fungicides; plus all the synthetic fertilizers; artificial colourings; flavour enhancers; chemical preservatives; antibiotic growth promotant feed enhancers; and other synthetic additives.

But what of our toxic homes ??

Partnering with bio-dynamic food ideals are the principles of bio-harmonic living – that is living in a healthy home that uses natural bio-building principles, such as an energy-efficient design, low-toxicity materials, and environmental sustainability of renewable natural resources. This is another area where Kiwis are becoming adept — housing solutions using clay, sand, straw, earth and recycled reused materials.

Eco-natural houses have been constructed for over 10,000 years – and some of the first one’s built are still standing. But the days have well gone of eco-houses only being built by ascetic frugally-minded incense-burning hippies. No, no. Some eco-natural housing is exceptionally trend-setting, winning environmental awards, and becoming a vision to aspire to. “Natural house building is the way of the future” says Alan Drayton, of the talented and renowned Alan Drayton BioBuilders, “I like to tell people to think of their house as their third skin – healthy homes and sustainable building is vital for the future of our planet.”

The level of bio-harmonic principles opted for by the home-owner is a totally individualised part of eco-friendly house designs. It is very possible to have an eco-chic conventionally mainstream looking home in suburbia that is connected to the local utility grid infrastructure. Or you can have a very extraordinarily unique eco-natural home in the remote countryside that is self-sufficiently off-grid with zero waste. There are few rules, just the principles of: Planet-friendly reduced environmental impact; healthy aesthetically pleasing energy-efficient building design; and use of abundantly-available sustainable natural materials.

Some of the bio-harmonic jargon can sound mysteriously captivating … pressed-earth, rammed-earth, straw-bales, stone walls, adobe mud-brick with clay-cowdung slurry, recycled telegraph poles, recycled railway sleepers, or swamp kauri … it’s entrancing and enchanting! If you want it, there are even fibre-reinforced concrete slabs that don’t disturb the earth’s natural vibration; ways to minimize exposure to electro-magnetic field radiation; or the use of sacred geometric dimensional designs. Eco-natural homes are like taking Feng Shui to a whole new spiritually uplifting level!

But typically, a modern healthy eco-home uses concepts such as passive solar design; lawsons-cypress framing; macrocarpa beams; non-chemical kiln-dried timber treated with tung oil or waxes; double-glazing; solar-panel hot-water; copper plumbing; breathable wall systems (such as rammed-earth and Hebel® aerated autoclaved concrete and breathable plaster); CFLs (compact fluorescent lighting); energy-efficient appliances; on-demand power switches; rainwater reticulation; non-toxic wool insulation; polished concrete; bamboo, eucalyptus or linseed-oiled cork floors; eco-friendly polyurethane; natural wool carpet; reduced levels of underlay urea formaldehyde; and organic Bio-Paint® with ultra-low VOCS (volatile organic compounds).

Apart from the reduced toxic exposure and normal halving of power bills, many eco-friendly houses have other wonderful benefits, such as their superior ‘thermal mass’ which stabilizes temperature fluctuations inside the home (so the house is cool in summer and warm in winter); natural sound-proofing and fire-proofing; hypoallergenic qualities (reduced dust mites, mould, fungi and chemicals); and their undeniable ‘good vibe’ tactile feeling.

How much do eco-natural homes cost?

That question is virtually impossible to answer accurately as too many options are involved – but somewhere roughly say 5-15% more for a fairly standard home (of course the sky’s the limit for luxury eco-homes). There are also ongoing estimated savings of halving the normal power and water bills, plus of course unquantifiable health benefits.

Permaculture

Permaculture (derived from permanent agriculture) is another buzz-word closely linked with eco-natural homes, which was first coined almost thirty years ago by authors Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. Permaculture describes a human habitat practicing the ideologies of sustainable use of land’s natural resources, and self-renewing food production. Within eco-friendly house construction this often includes such features as ‘living’ planted roofs, using solar and wind energy for water-heating and power, capturing rain water, purifying waste-water, re-using grey-water, and of course composting toilets. Permaculture is about conserving wasted energy and materials, and taking responsibility for your own global ‘footprint’.

Co-housing

Another interesting development of modern bio-harmonic house-construction, are hundreds of ‘co-housing’ communities or eco-villages around the world (urban, suburban and rural) particularly in Europe, America, Australia and now New Zealand (such as EarthSong Waitakere, Koanga Kohatu Toa Kaiwaka, and Awaawaroa Waiheke Island). Co-housing is a thirty-year-old term first used by architects Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett, which in some ways now epitomizes the post-modern version of the intentional community commune.

Co-housing eco-villages have individually-owned homes using eco-natural design and permaculture principles. Usually the village shares a large common-house for regular communal meals and other activities, plus shared gardens and grassed areas. EcoVillages are also often involved with ‘sustainable-plus’ living, that is the restoring, rejuvenating and improving of their local community environment.

An essential ingredient to any new eco-built home, or eco-wise retro-fitting renovation of a non-eco home; is that one uses an ecological architect designer and specialist building contractor who are experienced with the ‘healthy green home’ sustainable principles. NZ has a number of specialists such as building contractors Alan Drayton Bio-Building and Arhaus; and architects such as Richard Lambourne Architects, Graeme North’s Eco-Design, and Reinhard Kanuka-Fuchs and Johann Bernhardt of the BBE (Building Biology & Ecology Institute).

The BBE have produced the Sustainable Home Guidelines for eco-friendly homes, and even provide building and design correspondence and workshop courses, plus they produce an Eco-Projects Services Directory.

Another useful organization are the EBANZ (Earth Building Association of NZ). West Auckland’s Waitakere Council have also been particularly active with their Eco-City philosophies, including the EcoMatters Environmental Trust, and the Council’s share-holding in the Beacon Pathway research consortium on environmentally sustainability.

One big reality though with eco-natural houses, is certainly don’t hold your hopes up of ever managing to buy a one-off existing eco-natural house – as owners of these abodes typically rarely sell, because they love their homes!

——————————————————————————–

Kathy Fray is an independent midwife, keynote speaker, magazine columnist, managing director of BabyOK Products, and author of the popular book “OH BABY…Birth Babies & Motherhood Uncensored”

Article Healthier Homes written by Kathy Fray

Sex Education
What did your own sex education consist of? Was it the ideal way to learn about sex? What did you (or will you) do differently for your kids? To guide your thinking on this sensitive subject, check out our four Sex Education articles – “An Introduction” ; “The Practicalities” ; “STIs” ; and “Emotions“.

Special Offer – Counsellor & Parenting Coach

Self-Development therapist and Counsellor for couples, parents and children, Caroline Beazley, has a Mother’s Day Special Offer for Mums. Check out her wonderful offer.

After School Care

Phew … the kids are back to school! But what about after school care? Check out the latest on SKIDS, a fast expanding provider of Before school, After school, and Holiday Programme care, now in 45 locations throughout NZ.

Eating Tips for New Mums

Our resident Dietitian and Nutritionist, Fiona Boyle, provides some excellent tips on eating for new Mums.

Simply Nappies

Confused by your nappy choices? Simply Nappies is the ultimate trial pack. Four nappies from three leading nappy companies. Only $79.95, Normally RRP$125! Visit www.simplynappies.com

FREE Naturopathic Consultation

Skin problems? Stressed? Sleeping poorly? Tired? Don’t be shy, contact our resident Naturopath and Medical Herbalist, Tracy Harris, for a FREE naturopathic online consultation.

Learning Difficulties

Is your child struggling at school or disinterested in learning at home? Have a read of learning difficulties specialist, Rosemary Murphy’s general articles, plus articles specifically on Dyslexia and on Dyspraxia.

You might think that women need to find more minutes to squeeze into the day — not deduct them for “me” time, right? Not exactly. Now more than ever, women need to figure out ways to take care of themselves.

Experts are concerned about damage to women’s health from failing to make themselves a priority. You may have heard that excessive stress produces cortisol, which can cause weight gain and even heart problems. But did you know that stress can cause dementia-like symptoms?

Cortisol build-up can create memory loss and a lower attention span, says Sandra Chapman, the director of the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas at Dallas. “It’s particularly toxic to the memory area of the brain,” she says.

The APA study found that women tend to report higher levels of stress in general and have a higher tendency to feel they aren’t doing enough to manage it. There are a number of reasons why stress impacts women more than men. Most of it has to do with women’s tendency to feel responsible for those around them.

When Rat Race Rebellion, a Web site geared toward work-life balance, asked women why they can’t turn down favors, the top reason was — “I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings or make them mad at me.” Second to that: “They’re showing faith in me and I can’t let them down.”

Women tend to say to the world, “Look what I can do,” since they’ve been raised to please others and define their self worth according to the way others perceive them, say experts. Debbie Mandel, a stress-management author, calls it “stress addiction.”

“Women who are addicted to stress are suppressing feelings of unattractiveness, unworthiness and inadequacy,” says Mandel. “[They're] always moving forward, living in the future or worrying what will happen later. It’s a survival mechanism.”
The martyr complex

Deborah Roth Ledley, author of a stress-management book for new moms, suggests there’s also a little of the martyr complex. “Women say, ‘I’ll be neglecting the kids,’ or ‘Things will fall apart at home if I’m not there,’” Roth Ledley says. “In fact, everyone will benefit if mom comes back from her break feeling more patient and energetic.”

‘Many women underrate themselves and their talents.’—Dorothea Hover-Kramer, therapist

But no matter what the underlying psychological reasons, when a trying event occurs such as a job loss, even the most balanced individual can end up becoming overwhelmed and losing a sense of who they are.

That’s why it’s important to regularly take time to pay attention to you. Start with the simple stuff. Turn off your BlackBerry every night, even if just for 10 minutes. Screen all your mobile phone calls. Let your family know you’ll be making some time for yourself this month. Gradually, you’ll notice that the email response can wait; the call doesn’t have to be returned immediately and your family likes the way you look and act after your alone time.

“Many women underrate themselves and their talents,” says Dorothea Hover-Kramer, a therapist and author in Port Angeles, Washington. She notes that after the recent death of a client’s wife, the widower spent $100,000 just to replace the care and attention his wife gave their three children and home, excluding, of course, her love and support.

Article

* In Pictures: 10 Ways to Take Time Out for Yourself
* The World’s Longevity Secrets
* What’s Stressing You Out
* How To Tackle Downturn-Related Depression
* Seven Work-Stress Relievers

Instead of focusing on the money you’ve already lost or obsessing over future losses, try zeroing in on the present moment. Let go of distractions like a looming bill or the record unemployment rate and concentrate on your breath. Take in all the air you can, pause and then release.

“It’s actually totally boring concentrating on your breath,” says Dr. Michael J. Baime, director of the Penn Program for Stress Management at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. “Lifting a barbell is totally boring too, but it’s exercising a muscle.” After 10 repetitions, he says, you should start to feel some degree of calm.

Though anxiety is the body’s natural response to a threat, that alarm system sometimes sounds unnecessarily, cluttering the mind with the chatter of negative thinking. The breathing exercise helps divert the mind’s attention elsewhere.

Controlled breathing isn’t the only strategy for anxiety relief, either. Others include engaging the brain and body, cognitive and behavioral adjustments and meditative techniques.
The Origins of Anxiety

If it’s difficult to understand why you are plagued by certain anxious thoughts, don’t take it personally — it’s a phenomenon that still eludes scientists. What is known, says Dr. Sonia Bishop, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, is that anxiety involves responses in two parts of the brain: the amygdala and the pre-frontal cortex.

The amygdala is responsible for the fight-or-flight response, while the pre-frontal cortex controls executive functions like decision-making and planning. A human foraging for berries, for example, would use the pre-frontal cortex to decide which berries to collect. If a predator suddenly jumped from the bushes, the amygdala would sound the alarm.

Scientists don’t fully understand why certain individuals are more prone to anxiety, but some theories suggest varying levels of neurotransmitters — the chemicals that relay signals between neurons and cells and affect how well the amygdala and pre-frontal cortex function — may play an important role. What interests Bishop, however, is how the anxiety-ridden can reverse course regardless of pre-disposition. That’s why she recently conducted a brain-imaging study with 17 participants, some of whom had “high trait anxiety,” which was determined using a standardized measurement.

While being monitored by an MRI that tracks changes in brain activity, each participant had to engage the pre-frontal cortex by identifying certain letters and ignoring others. When the task increased in difficulty, both groups did well on recruiting that region of the brain. But when the task was easy, those with trait anxiety did a poor job. This was particularly telling, says Bishop, because the participants were not exposed to any anxiety-triggering threats.

The results have led her to believe that the anxiety-prone may have difficulty preventing the mind from lingering on distractions when performing easy, day-to-day tasks.

Though not yet tested by other scientists, Bishop’s conclusion seems to reflect what works well in other successful techniques for battling anxiety: meaningful distraction.
Overcoming Anxiety

You could try informally testing Bishop’s theory by doing a crossword puzzle instead of watching TV. More commonly accepted remedies for curbing anxiety include socializing and exercise, the latter of which can increase levels of dopamine, the body’s naturally occurring, mood-boosting chemical. Such distractions are most effective, though, when paired with a real effort to switch your focus.

In the simplest terms, that’s what Dr. Israel Liberzon,a professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Michigan, tries to teach his patients. Using cognitive and behavioral techniques, Liberzon shows patients — many of whom suffer from anxiety disorders — how to change the way they deal with their worries.

‘When you learn to bring your attention into the present moment in a balanced way, you learn to undo those negative predictions for the future.’—Dr. Michael J. Baime, University of Pennsylvania

Often he advocates for reconsidering what you associate with anxiety, trying to judge perceived threats using a more rational scale or creating an emotional distance from certain fears. In other words, putting things in perspective.

But since that reaction is hardly intuitive, Liberzon recommends seeking out professional help. In addition to the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, a nonprofit organization that provides information on anxiety treatments, Liberzon says support groups and local universities with anxiety and stress research centers can serve as useful resources.

Like Dr. Bishop, Liberzon also recommends mindfulness meditation, a well-regarded technique that has been shown as effective in clinical settings. Mindfulness meditation emphasizes focusing on the present moment instead of dwelling on regrets or worries.

Dr. Baime, of the Penn Program for Stress Management, teaches dozens of these meditation techniques and says they can be learned by reading literature on the subject. He recommends Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness by pioneer of mindfulness meditation Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, which Baime uses as a textbook in his classes. Another alternative is to find local practitioners. While there is no certification process required to teach these methods, Baime says consumers can weed out potential snake-oil salesmen by asking to speak to previous students and inquiring about where the instructor learned the methods and how many students he or she has taught.

With the right tools, says Baime, mindfulness meditation can help the anxious reclaim their lives.

“When you learn to bring your attention into the present moment in a balanced way,” he says, “you learn to undo those negative predictions for the future.”

* In Pictures: Nine Foolproof Ways to Battle Anxiety
* 10 Ways To Be Happier Now
* The Medicinal Powers Of Yoga
* How To Beat The Winter Blues
* 14 Reasons You’re Not Sleeping

Article

6.4% of men in England and Wales between the ages of 20 and 24 say they were victims over the last year, compared with 5.4% of women.

The official definition of partner abuse includes non-physical forms like emotional bullying.

It also means more serious behaviour like threats and severe force.

Overall women are more likely to be abused in general and to be the victims of stronger physical violence.

Across all age ranges, one in four women have been abused compared with one in six men.

But analysis of the latest figures from the Home Office shows the problem is more evenly spread between the sexes in the early stages of a young relationship.

Mark Brooks from the men’s health charity Mankind reckons the issue of male domestic abuse is often ignored by the government, social services and the police.

More and more men will come forward when they realise they are not the only ones being abused.

“In the UK as a whole there are 500 refuges for female victims and that is probably not enough,” he told Newsbeat.

“There are only 12 for male victims. Overall services for men are 35 years behind those available for women and that’s simply not good enough.”

Women are still more likely to be repeatedly abused in the home than men and to be physically harmed.

The latest Home Office figures for 2007/8 show 2.2% of women of any age said their partner used minor or severe force against them over the last year. The figure for men was slightly lower at 2.0%.
Have you been the victim of male domestic abuse?

Kevin Edgar from Masa, which operates a helpline for abused men, says blokes can be slow to come forward and recognise the problem.

“Often there are children involved and they don’t want to leave them with a violent partner. They do feel a sense of shame in what’s happened even though that’s illogical.

“More and more men will come forward when they realise they are not the only ones being abused.”

Scotland and Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland 8% of men said they had experienced domestic violence in 2007/8 compared with 15% of women.

The figures for the region show more 16 to 29-year-olds said they are victims than 30 to 59-year-olds.

Estimating the level of male domestic abuse in Scotland is more difficult as statistics are obtained from police reports instead of an anonymous survey.

Official figures from the Scottish government show a 2% rise in overall domestic abuse in 2007/8.

12% of all recorded incidents involved a male victim and female perpetrator up from 8% in 2000/1 although campaigners say that figure underestimates the scale of the problem as men are less likely to file an official police report than women.
Read: One man’s story

A Home Office spokesman said: “The government is committed to working with our partners to reach across communities to victims and potential victims.

“Our national domestic violence delivery plan ensures perpetrators are brought to justice whilst providing the best possible help for victims and their children

“We continue to make significant progress in our drive to tackle domestic violence by, for example, the expansion of specialist domestic violence courts, multi-agency risk assessment conferences and independent domestic violence advisers, in addition to funding a matrix of national helplines, including the national 24-hour freephone Domestic Violence Helpline and the Men’s Advice Line.”

On Tuesday Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced a £3.5m package to help victims of domestic abuse.

The money will be used to safeguard the future of helplines and provide leaflets which will help families and friends of victims to identify and support them.

BBC News

The cervical cancer vaccine should be given to boys as well as girls, to protect them and their future partners from genital warts and cancer, public health experts say. The main introduction of the $177 million vaccination programme, which aims to immunise 300,000 Kiwi schoolgirls over five years, begins this week.

READ MORE

The push for vaccination is very big in New Zealand – via the media, in schools, on billboards, in leaflets being handed out to parents, at hospitals and doctor surgeries.

It was promoted so quickly with very little research being given to the public because of elections coming up last year. This has concerned the Women’s Health Action Trust.

“GARDASIL – CARTWRIGHT’S DAUGHTER?”

The present government did a dramatic U-turn on its initial decision to wait another two years before reconsidering the decision to introduce the HPV vaccine into the childhood vaccination schedule, and the implementation of this particular vaccination programme is being carried out in undue haste because we have an election coming up in a few months. Once again we have a health policy decision closely tied to an impending election.

And yet again it is a health issue that affects only women. In this particular instance it is the bodies of young women who are being targeted and I would argue experimented upon.

There are still many unresolved issues surrounding the long-term efficacy and the impact of this vaccine. We do not know how long it takes teenagers to clear HPV infections for example, as there are no data on clearance rates among girls. Nor do we know what the actual HPV prevalence rates among youth and young children are.

Off topic here for a moment because I want to remind everyone one of the reasons feminism came to gain so much support.
Terrible experiment on women that was going on right here in NZ regarding cervical cancer.

………………….

Today is not so different to back then and the mighty pharmaceutical companies are not so easy to take on or even show to be pushing through unhealthy drugs.

Vaccine Drug Company Targeting Boys For Profit
Family First Media Release 3 February 09

Family First NZ says that calls for the cervical cancer vaccine to be given to boys as well as girls is based on shonky research, marketing pressure, and wrong spending priorities. “The claim that Gardasil prevents penile cancer is based on a study of 16 to 26-year olds, funded by the drug company Merck which sells the drug, and the study lasted only five years,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ. “But penile cancer does not normally present until a person reaches the age of 50, and is extremely rare at approximately 1 in 100,000 men. There has also been no research on whether the vaccine actually reduces the carriage of HPV in the community and this is acknowledged by NZ’s Immunisation Advisory Centre.”
“Any research by Merck should be treated with extreme caution as they have just funded a $4.85 billion payout to settle 26,500 lawsuits regarding Vioxx – a painkiller which caused heart attacks, strokes or deaths. They were accused of waging ‘a campaign of deception to promote its drug, moving slowly to warn of possible hazards while at the same time dressing up in-house studies as the work of independent academic researchers’.”

READ MORE

There are also overseas groups concerned with the vaccination.

Gardasil, the vaccine being pushed by governments around the world to combat the spread of human papillomavirus (HPV), has been linked in Fiji with 3 cases of outbreaks of genital warts among primary school students. HPV, the most common sexually transmitted infection which causes genital warts, has been linked to the development of cervical cancer in women and governments around the world are implementing mandatory vaccination programs using Gardasil.

With the Fijian government pressing forward with mass vaccination programs, Matelita Ragogo, writing in the Fiji Times, asks, “Are our girls guinea pigs?”

She reports that within three months of the government approving Gardasil vaccinations for school girls, three primary school students were reported to have “reacted negatively” to the vaccination. Ragogo points out that although the Fijian government has approved the vaccine for use on young girls, the testing process for the drug is not expected to be completed until 2009. Nevertheless, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has “fast-tracked” approval of the drug after a six-month review process.

Earlier this year, Judicial Watch, a non-profit watchdog group, listed 21 deaths and 9749 “adverse reactions” linked to Gardasil, including 78 outbreaks of genital warts and 10 miscarriages. Judicial Watch uncovered documents through the Freedom of Information Act that show the FDA received reports of 10 deaths associated with Gardasil since September 2007, and 140 “serious” reports of adverse reactions, including 27 “life threatening” cases, 10 spontaneous abortions, and 6 cases of the debilitating Guillain-Barre Syndrome since January 2008.

In Fiji, Ragogo writes, “Effectively, Cabinet approved a vaccine which is still being tested so no one can be sure of its effectiveness or long-term side effects. Our children are guinea pigs for a money-making, I mean, drug-making, machine.”

In a television interview with CBS News in May, Dr. Diane Harper, the specialist who helped develop the Gardasil vaccine, said making the vaccination mandatory is “a real danger zone.”

“The vaccine has not been out long enough for us to have post-marketing surveillance to really understand what all of the potential side effects are going to be,” Harper said. “To put in place a process that says you must have this vaccine means that you must be part of a big public experiment and so we can’t do that. We can’t have that until we have more data.”

At the same time, a recently published article in the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics has criticized the pressure in the US for states to make Gardasil vaccinations a mandatory requirement of school attendance. Calling it “premature,” the article’s authors assert that Gardasil is relatively new and long-term safety and effectiveness in the general population is unknown. Long-term testing is required before the drug’s effectiveness can be established. They also warn that since the HPV vaccine does not represent a public health necessity, issues of constitutionality can be raised against mandatory vaccinations.

Nevertheless, Merck has recently published findings that Gardasil may also be used by men, a development that would considerably expand the drug’s market base. The studies have shown that Gardasil can be used as protection against genital warts in men, potentially precancerous lesions, and to prevent penile and anal cancers.

The male market for Gardasil is mainly to be found among the active homosexual population who are at significantly higher risk for genital warts and anal cancer than is the general population. A 2005 study in San Francisco found that 95 per cent of HIV-infected gay men also had anal HPV infection, of which 50 percent had precancerous HPV-caused lesions. HPV type 16 is also associated with oropharyngeal squamous-cell carcinoma, a form of throat cancer.

A similar drug, Cervarix, has also been approved for use in mass vaccinations in the UK. Cervarix is designed to prevent infection by only two HPV types out of an estimated 30 to 40 existing types, compared to Gardasil’s four.

lifesitenews

Through June 10, medical professionals and others reported to a government database 8,864 instances of health problems, including fainting, numbness, seizures and paralysis, a study released June 30 by the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch shows. The database is shared by the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As many as 18 deaths were reported, the study found.

FDA spokeswoman Karen Riley said the updates have “nothing to do with” the serious cases that have been reported. She said the updates were made at Merck’s request and touch on possible “mild” symptoms.

“The bottom line is that we have not seen any safety signals in the adverse events other than [fainting],” she said. “We continue to look at these reports.”

Merck spokeswoman Amy Rose said Wednesday she didn’t have any conclusive answers about the recent changes but that she doesn’t “have any reason to believe it was anything other than a routine update.”

The vaccine, typically given in three doses, is approved for females ages 9 to 26. It targets certain kinds of a sexually transmitted virus known to cause cervical cancer.

One case involves a 13-year-old from Berkeley, Calif., who got her third shot of Gardasil in March 2007. Later that spring, she began feeling weak and today she is paralyzed, according to her family’s blog.

Officials at FDA, Merck and the CDC say the vaccine is safe and effective.

CDC spokesman Curtis Allen said government and Merck officials scour all reports of adverse health events and look for patterns, such as higher rates of certain health incidents than one would see among girls who didn’t get the vaccine.

“From the data we have seen to date, the vaccine is safe and effective,” he said, adding that his daughter received it.

He said the CDC only knows of 17 deaths and that he didn’t know why Judicial Watch cited one other death. He said that among the 17 reported deaths from April 2007 to June 30, the government has determined eight are not linked to Gardasil, three are under review and the rest were inconclusive.

Merck on Tuesday said it analyzed the reports of death and paralysis and thinks “no safety issue related to the vaccine has been identified.” It also said it continues to evaluate all safety information. “The vast majority of adverse events that have been reported to Merck are non-serious,” it said.

Washington times

The vaccination of children as young as nine was recommended by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI). According to NACI, the primary age group recommended for vaccination is females aged 9 to 13.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections and is now known to be the cause of nearly all cases of cervical cancer in women. It is also linked to anal, penile and throat cancer in homosexual men.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says there are over 100 types of HPV and that there is “no treatment which can cure HPV infection.” The recommendation therefore is for prevention, for which the Health Agency says the best way is a vaccine or a condom. However, no mention is made on the Health Agency website of abstinence from sexual activity or monogamy within marriage as a means of prevention.

The Agency says only, “Other ways to reduce your risk of infection are to delay sexual activity (waiting until you are older), limit your number of sexual partners and to consider your partners’ sexual history as this can create a risk to yourself.”

The HPV vaccine, called Gardasil, has only been approved by Health Canada for use in women to prevent cervical cancer. Gardasil is as yet only approved for use on women.

The push for a mandatory vaccination of young women and girls was backed by the drug company Merck and Co. that developed Gardasil. The company has admitted channelling funds to change state-level laws in the US for similar mass vaccination programs.

In February of this year, however, Merck and Co. cancelled lobbying efforts to push for mandatory vaccination in the United States after it was revealed that Gardasil had numerous adverse side effects, including possible death.

Legislation has been introduced in at least five states that would make vaccination for HPV mandatory for young girls, including Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jul/07072411.html

New Zealand has a similar program…

New Zealand girls aged 12 to 18 years will be offered a free vaccine to prevent the most common infections that can lead to cervical cancer.

New Zealand’s HPV (human papillomavirus) Immunisation Programme will start in September 2008, and will be initially offered to:

* Young women born in 1990 and 1991
* Younger girls who have left school

This group can get HPV vaccine from their family doctor or practice nurse.

In 2009 and 2010 the programme will be available through schools for girls in years 8-13. The vaccine will be offered each year to year 8 girls (aged 12 to 13 years) through nurses in schools.

The HPV programme aims to reduce cervical cancer in New Zealand by protecting girls against HPV infection. Currently, each year around 160 New Zealand women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 60 women die from cervical cancer.

http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/immunisation-diseasesandvaccines-hpv-programme

HPV Vaccine Causes 21 Deaths and Counting – CDC Study Launched
New England Journal of Medicine claims that only about 10% of drug induced side effects are reported

OTTAWA, August 14, 2008 (http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08081405.html) – Critics say that the reasons to avoid using the HPV vaccine, Gardasil, continue to pile up in the form of thousands of instances of severe side effects, including numerous deaths. In response to the mounting evidence that the vaccine may not be safe for widespread use, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) is slated to release a study in October that will attempt to determine the validity of these reports.

Judicial Watch, a public interest group, has closely monitored Gardasil since it was released by creator Merck in 2006, periodically detailing statistics on the numerous side effects users have experienced. The most recent report alleges that the drug has been responsible for 21 deaths and 9,749 adverse reactions, including 78 outbreaks of genital warts and 10 miscarriages.

As daunting as these current statistics are, it seems that even they may be gravely underestimating the health risks associated with using Gardasil. A study by the New England Journal of Medicine claims that only about 10% of drug induced side effects are reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

Furthermore, FiercePharma.com claims that experts have criticized the actual effectiveness of the cervical cancer vaccine, saying Merck has exaggerated the drug’s usefulness.

Despite the alleged dangers of using Garasil and concerns about its actual medical success, Merck is continuing to push the drug into state mandatory vaccine lists and schools.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Gardasil – 18 Dead, Thousands Suffer Complications
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jul/08070809.html

Why Medical Authorities Cannot be Trusted on Gardasil HPV Vaccine By Gwen Landolt
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/dec/07121905.html

Ontario Catholic School Board Rejects HPV Vaccine on School Premises
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/oct/07101806.html

Controversial HPV Vaccine Causing One Death Per Month: FDA Report
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jul/08070316.html

Couples are increasingly citing use of the drug methamphetamine or “P” as a reason for seeking protection orders, divorce and sole custody of children.

Family Court judges have told the Sunday Star-Times that allegations of P use in such cases were prevalent and rising.

Two judges said that a quarter of current applications for protection orders under the Domestic Violence Act involved the perpetrator of violence using P.

Problem areas included New Plymouth, Wanganui, West Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, Palmerston North and Wellington.

Principal Family Court judge Peter Boshier said the trend was a “huge concern”. “[This] is particularly ominous because it’s such a hard drug to conquer in terms of rehabilitation… Where meth is involved it produces such volatility that [judges] don’t want to put children at risk, whereas some other forms of drugs and alcohol don’t necessarily have the same alarming consequences.”

Out of 66,500 cases dealt with by the 45 Family Court judges last year, 4351 involved protection orders and 21,391 were applications for care of children.

Several family lawyers said they had noticed an increase in the number of P-related family break-ups over the past five years, including affluent families who seemed to “have it all”. In most cases, both parents had tried P socially but one had become addicted.

In one case, an Auckland couple in their early 30s started using P recreationally at a cost of $500-$800 a week. He gave up but she got addicted, which caused arguments and led to their break-up. She took their four-year-old child and lived transiently with friends, and started a relationship with a P dealer, which became violent. The woman’s neighbours and family became concerned at her dishevelled appearance and and reported her to Child, Youth and Family.

In another case, an Auckland woman in her late 20s, who was separated and shared custody of her two-year-old, developed a P habit. Her ex-husband found out and sought sole custody. At the same time, staff at the child’s crèche notified CYF over the woman’s appearance. She failed a drug test and lost custody of her child.

Boshier said judges usually granted protection where P use was alleged or proven in many cases grandparents stepped in to care for children.

“I do not want to suggest there’s anything wrong with grandparents bringing up children, but as a society we have a norm of the parents…”

Many judges direct parents accused of having a P habit to take a hair follicle test, which detects the drug months after it is taken. ESR carries out an average of three hair tests a week for Child Youth and Family, most for custody cases.

Boshier said alcohol was still regarded as the number one drug in protection orders, and cannabis was also often present.