Ads shape teenage drinking habits

Young adults as well as teenagers drink more under the influence of advertising for alcoholic beverages, say researchers. A survey of young people aged 15 to 26 found that for each additional alcohol advertisement viewed per month, there followed a one per cent rise in the average number of drinks consumed, according to study author Leslie Snyder of the University of Connecticut. The findings counter industry arguments that only adult drinkers heed alcohol advertising, Snyder has written in the journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. In the study ' released around the New Year’s holiday that is often associated with toasts and excessive imbibing ' the researchers conducted four rounds of interviews between 1999 and 2001 among a group of young people, with the initial 1,872 subjects selected randomly.

Sinusitis affects sex life

Symptoms of itchy, tearing eyes and nasal congestion due to seasonal allergies interfere with individuals’ ability to enjoy sex, results of a study conducted in Turkey suggest. However, successful treatment with an antihistamine or anti-allergy can help. Researchers at the Celal Bayar University Hospital in Manisa surveyed 27 women and 16 men with seasonal allergies and 40 healthy adults (20 women and 20 men). They observed that women with untreated seasonal allergies had reduced sexual desire, arousal, ability to reach orgasm and intercourse satisfaction, compared with the healthy control subjects. Allergies affected the men’s erectile function, intercourse satisfaction, sexual desire and overall satisfaction with sex.

Electric cure for early birth

Researchers report that application of a weak electrical current inhibits uterine contractions in pregnant rats and rabbits and therefore may serve as a new method of preventing pre-term delivery. Electrical inhibition of uterine contractions offers several potential advantages over currently used medical therapies to prevent pre-term birth, say the investigators. It targets just the uterus and can be started and stopped rapidly, says a report in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Doctors from a New York hospital found that the electrical therapy cut intrauterine pressure by 80 per cent and dramatically delayed the birth of rat pups, particularly when given directly.

Image therapy for smokers

Some smokers may be able to quit by seeing themselves do it in their minds. A study of 71 smo-kers found that those who went through guided imagery therapy ' in which participants visualised themselv-es performing activities such as exercising and not smoking ' had more than twice the abstinence rate two years later as their peers who received only standard counselling.