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The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Caffeine craze warning after pouches gain in popularity with teens
While the use of caffeine pouches among teenagers remains relatively rare, experts and educators are concerned that may be about to change. Marketing aimed at teenagers of such products is spreading on social media. A school resource officer for the Boise County Sheriff's Office in Idaho, David Gomez, began noticing the use of caffeine pouches last spring, according to NBC News. The pouches can contain more than 200 milligrams of caffeine, and students have been using them along with nicotine pouches such as Zyn. Gomez noted that students would use the pouches as a disguise for nicotine pouches or they'll use both. 'They'll use the Zyn pouches that they put in their lip, and then they'll take a caffeine pouch,' said Gomez. 'They don't care what it is they're putting in their lip.' Richard Mumby is a marketing executive who was part of the launch of the e-cigarette Juul, which has been accused of initiating a wave of teen vaping. He's now back with a caffeine pouch startup known as Wip. A growing market is now trying to sell Americans on pouches as an alternative to caffeinated beverages. Mumby told NBC News that caffeine is part of 'the fabric of many Americans' everyday lives.' But he said there's room to improve. Wip and other companies are marketing caffeine pouches as a portable and affordable alternative to caffeinated drinks. It's a mix between nicotine pouches and energy drinks, placed between the lip and the gums to deliver the caffeine. Pouches, most of which do not contain nicotine, tend to last between 20 minutes and an hour, but their effect can go on for longer. Wip's flavors include mint, strawberry kiwi, and sour cherry, and each comes with 100 or 200 milligrams of caffeine, which is the same as about two cups of coffee. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, that's half the amount of caffeine an adult can safely consume in an entire day. 'We take responsible caffeine consumption and responsible marketing of our product seriously,' a spokesperson for Wip told NBC News. 'While there are no legal age restrictions on caffeine products, we have adopted marketing guidelines that exceed the age-related standards set by the American Beverage Association for most common energy drinks. Wip is not intended for use by anyone under the age of 18, and our guidelines ensure the product is marketed responsibly.' Exercise and nutrition sciences professor at George Washington University 's Milken Institute School of Public Health, Rob van Dam, studies caffeine. He shared concerns about the potency of some of the pouches being sold. 'It may be a bit different than coffee,' he told NBC News. 'It may hit faster, and you may overdose, in a way, more quickly.' Another worry is the possible popularity among teens, as nicotine pouches and energy drinks are already widespread. Zyn maker Philip Morris has previously told NBC News that 'Zyn's marketing is directed toward legal age nicotine users who are 21+.' The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that teens don't consume more than 100 milligrams of caffeine per day. The chair of the AAP's Committee on Nutrition, Dr. Mark Corkins, told NBC News that it would be better if teens avoided caffeine altogether. 'Caffeine, in general, is an area we are very concerned about,' he said. 'Pouches are just another delivery form.'
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Almost half of NHS England waiting list patients yet to have initial appointment
Around three million people in England have had no further health care since being referred to a hospital waiting list, new data suggests. NHS England figures last month estimated 7.36 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of May, relating to just under 6.23 million patients – with the analysis from MBI Health suggesting almost half of those have been left in limbo. Referring to the issue as a 'frontlog' that contributes to increasing NHS waiting list times, MBI said the problem 'has gone unchallenged for too long', with an estimated 2.99 million people waiting for their first clinical contact. MBI's analysis found that around 70% of referral to treatment pathways fall into the category of being 'unseen' since the patient's GP referred them to a specialist. Delays in making a first assessment can lead to late diagnosis, worsening symptoms and pressure on emergency services. The analysis found that ear, nose and throat (ENT), trauma and orthopaedics, gastroenterology, ophthalmology and gynaecology and obstetrics departments were consistently the specialist departments with the greatest number of patients not seen for the first time. As part of the Government's 10-year health plan, the NHS is expected to meet its target of carrying out 92% per cent of routine operations and appointments within 18 weeks by March 2029 – a target that has not been achieved for almost a decade. The latest figures show how challenging that target will be given an estimated one million of the three million unseen patients have already gone more than 18 weeks without receiving any care. 'If accurate, three million people are trapped in an invisible waiting list crisis, stuck without basic diagnostic tests of first appointments while their conditions worsen,' Rachel Power, the chief executive of the Patients Association, told the Guardian. 'The scale is staggering, as nearly half of all patients on a waiting list haven't been seen by anyone. That's not a healthcare service; that's a breakdown. 'These aren't just statistics. They're people checking their phones daily for hospital calls that never come, unable to plan their lives while their symptoms deteriorate.' Last month it was found people of working age are making up a growing proportion of those on the NHS waiting list for treatment in England. Data tables published for the first time by NHS England also show people in the most deprived parts of the country are more likely to wait more than a year to start hospital treatment than those in the least deprived. The figures, analysed by the PA news agency, showed 56.1% of those on the list at the end of June this year were of working age (defined as age 19 to 64), up from 55.8% a year ago and 55.0% in June 2022. At the same time, the proportion of people on the waiting list under the age of 19 has fallen, standing at 10.8% in June this year, down from 11.2% a year earlier and 11.9% in June 2022. The proportion who are over 65 has remained broadly unchanged at around 33.1%. People of working age are also more likely to have to wait more than a year to start treatment (3.0% of patients in this age group at the end of June) than those over 65 (2.5%). However, the proportion is the same as those under 19 (also 3.0%).
Times
4 hours ago
- Times
How I cut out ‘food noise' and lost 40lbs
Over the past six years I've lost more than 40lb (almost three stone). It has been a long road to find 'peace' with food and my body, and at the age of 47 I have done it at long last. Healing a complicated relationship with food that involved years of binge eating and yo-yoing weight was difficult — but it is beginning to feel less of an achievement now that everyone else seems to be doing it with ease. Watching the pounds melt off people around me thanks to a relatively quick course of Mounjaro or Ozempic, I feel like someone who made careful investments and earned a modest amount of money just as others around me enjoy a lottery win. I've spent most of my life trying to manage my weight and now that I've finally done it, at a time when everyone seems to be getting teenier and teenier, it sometimes feels daft to have done it the 'hard way'. Perhaps it irks me because overcoming disordered eating and yo-yoing weight isn't something that just happens with an injection. It's a huge undertaking and for me it's a process that never really ends.
