Latest news with #Gaviscon
Telegraph
07-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
This group is set to clean up in the long term, but there is trouble ahead
Questor is The Telegraph's stock-picking column, helping you decode the markets and offering insights on where to invest. Reckitt's latest quarterly results were not well received by investors. Shares in the FTSE 100-listed global consumer goods company – which owns brands such as Dettol, Finish and Gaviscon – slumped by 6pc on the day of its results release last month. This response was unsurprising given that the firm, formerly styled as Reckitt Benckiser, delivered disappointing top-line growth during the period. Like-for-like sales growth, for example, amounted to just 1.1pc. Volumes declined by 1.9pc, with price increases of 3pc being the reason for positive sales growth overall. Of course, investors are also likely to be concerned about the company's future prospects amid an uncertain period for the world economy. The imposition of tariffs on US imports is, after all, set to have a detrimental impact on global growth. This could prompt a challenging period for consumers at a time when inflation remains above central bank targets and cost-of-living pressures remain. With Reckitt generating 10pc of its core revenue from China, as well as 30pc of its total sales from the US, the firm has substantial exposure to the very heart of the global trade war. In Questor's view, further share price volatility is therefore relatively likely in the short run. Developments regarding US trade barriers could have a significant impact, either positively or negatively, on the company's market valuation in the coming weeks. Over the long run, though, the prospects for the stock could be far more upbeat than many investors currently anticipate. While US tariffs will almost certainly negatively affect global GDP growth, they could encourage a faster pace of monetary policy easing that catalyses economic activity. This may have a positive impact on wage growth that equates to a gradually improving outlook for consumers. Given the world economy has always recovered from even its very worst setbacks, the long-term outlook for Reckitt's operating environment remains positive. The company's shift in strategy could act as a further catalyst on its financial and share price performance. It is seeking to exit its essential home division and is also considering the future of its Mead Johnson infant formula segment. Although it will inevitably take time for the business to reorganise its operations, especially given current heightened economic uncertainty, the company's focus on its fastest-growing major brands could pay off. In the first quarter of the year, for example, the firm's core operations delivered like-for-like sales growth of 3.1pc. Of course, the company's strong fundamentals mean it is well placed to overcome a period of economic turbulence and capitalise on a subsequent growth period. Its net interest payments were covered over seven times by operating profits in its latest financial year, for example, while its return on equity amounted to 19pc. Its competitive position is also improving. The firm reported market share gains among its core brands in the first quarter of the year, while its operating profit margin rose by 140 basis points to 24.5pc in its latest financial year. Its plans to reduce fixed costs as a proportion of revenue by 280 basis points to 19pc in the four years to 2027, while focusing to a greater extent on highly profitable core brands, should have a further positive impact on profit margins. Higher profits could lead to additional dividend growth. The company raised shareholder payouts by 5pc in its latest financial year, with its yield currently amounting to 4.1pc following its recent share price decline. With dividends covered over 1.7 times by profits last year, the firm is well placed to pass on a substantial part of future profit growth to investors. Since being tipped as a 'buy' in this column during March 2021, Reckitt's share price has fallen by 19pc. This is 42 percentage points behind the FTSE 100 index's return over the same period, which represents a hugely disappointing performance. A falling share price means the company now trades on a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.3. In Questor's view, this represents good value for money given the economy's upbeat long-term growth prospects and the firm's capacity to take advantage of them via a revised strategy. Although the company's near-term prospects remain uncertain amid an ongoing global trade war, its solid financial standing, excellent competitive position and wide margin of safety mean it offers significant total return potential over the coming years. Questor says: buy Ticker: RKT Share price at close: £49.88
Daily Mail
23-04-2025
- Daily Mail
Police smash shoplifting gang using DNA to trace 5,000 stolen items: Officers raid corner shops selling £150K worth of goods swiped on order from major supermarkets
Fifteen people have been arrested after police investigating an organised shoplifting gang marked thousands of stolen items with synthetic DNA. Metropolitan Police detectives tagged 5,000 commonly stolen items such as alcohol and chocolate with SelectaDNA, a fluid only visible under ultraviolet (UV) light that is almost impossible to remove. Items were then stolen from shops including Waitrose and the Co-op - and turned up at eight off licences and newsagents across two London boroughs. In a series of targeted raids on April 9, 100 police officers stormed eight corner shops, a barber's shop and a residential property. Stolen items were identified with the use of UV torches to spot the telltale DNA. Around £150,000 of goods have been recovered. Among the items found were supermarket own-brand products that should not have been available elsewhere, being sold onto unwilling shoppers. Others included chocolates such as Dairy Milk bars and Guylian seashells, Gaviscon indigestion tablets, Sensodyne toothpaste and booze such as Smirnoff vodka and Gordon's gin. The force believes gangs been stealing the items to order and selling them onto businesses at lower prices, who would then try to shift them quickly for pure profit. A total of 10 men aged between 23 and 64 and three women aged between 39 and 45 were arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods. Later police activity on April 17 resulted in two further arrests of two men aged 48, on suspicion of the same offence. All 15 suspects have been bailed pending further enquiries. Where did the Met Police carry out raids? The Met targeted shops across two London boroughs - Wandsworth and Mitcham - in its targeted raids earlier this month. They were in: Fernlea Road, Mitcham Balham High Road Kingston Road, Wimbledon London Road, Tooting (x2) Christchurch Road, Wimbledon Church Road, Mitcham Tooting High Street A barber shop in Tooting High Street and a residential property in Sandy Lane, Cheam were also searched. Among those understood to have been arrested was a 48-year-old suspected to be the ringleader of the operation, as well as a number of shopkeepers. One man, aged 64, was also arrested on suspicion of having a Taser and another, 39, of owning a machete. The operation came following months of planning to identify the pattern of offenders, working with retailers and analysing crime reports to see where shoplifters were most likely to strike. Officers' use of SelectaDNA, meanwhile, allowed them to inscribe each item with a unique and traceable identifier that could link it to the shop it was stolen from. The force is now carrying out enquiries at those stores to gather further evidence such as CCTV in order to bring prosecutions forward. It's a landmark piece of detective work by the Met, which has been trialling the use of the DNA technology since the start of the year. Many shops make use of it and other similar marking schemes such as SmartWater - and it can be bought by the public to protect their property and valuables. It is also a win for the force in the face of allegations that it is not taking shoplifting seriously despite the damage it wreaks to the economy. Sergeant James Burke, from the Met's neighbourhood policing team in south-west London, said: 'Shoplifting pushes up prices for customers and often results in retail workers being verbally and physically abused. 'It also funds the drug trade and contributes to anti-social behaviour and violence. 'The local officers in my neighbourhood team have put in months of hard work alongside impacted businesses to trial new tactics to drive down shoplifting in the area and have delivered impressive results here. 'The Met is focussed on targeting those involved in coordinating this activity and by disrupting their operation we are confident we can reduce offending and the impact it has on communities across London.' Handling stolen goods carries a sentence of up to 14 years in custody depending on an individual's culpability in the crime, as well as the value of the goods handled. Shoplifting offences rose by 23 per cent to more than 490,000 in the year to last September - prompting warnings from industry figures that retail theft is 'out of control'. There were a total of 492,914 offences recorded by police in the year to September, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) found - the highest figure since current police recording practices began for the year ending March 2003. This was despite businesses paying a record £1.8billion on prevention tactics such as CCTV, more security guards and body worn cameras.
Telegraph
21-04-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
The best – and worst – medication for acid reflux
If you've ever reached for a Rennie after dinner you are not alone. Heartburn or acid reflux after a blow out meal is increasingly common. Anyone bothered by this unpleasant condition will be all too familiar with the sour taste and uncomfortable burn from their stomach contents being regurgitated back up their oesophagus and into their throat. According to the NHS, an astonishing 20 per cent of the adult UK population have problems with severe acid reflux, with rising rates of obesity thought to be behind some of these cases. In the past decade, Ben Disney, a consultant gastroenterologist at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, and Nuffield Health has noticed a growing number of patients presenting with symptoms of acid reflux. 'More and more people are becoming obese, and obesity increases abdominal pressure because of the excess weight, meaning that acid will come up more easily,' says Disney. But this isn't the only cause. While certain foods can exacerbate acid reflux, it can also be triggered by smoking, excess drinking and a condition called hiatus hernia where part of the stomach slides upwards into the chest, pushing it through a hole in the diaphragm. The combination of hormonal changes and a growing baby also mean that pregnant women are also more likely to develop the condition. Specialists like Cormac Magee, a gastroenterologist at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Princess Grace Hospital say that it is vital to keep acid reflux under control, because repeated surges of stomach acid can damage the oesophagus over time. This can predispose people to a complication called Barrett's oesophagus where the cell lining begins to grow abnormally, impacting digestion, as well as oesophageal cancer. 'Acid reflux is very common and can be really uncomfortable for patients,' says Magee. 'Medications can be very good at controlling the symptoms and are generally well tolerated. But as with all medications, you want to be on the lowest dose and for the shortest period of time as possible.' This latter point is particularly key, because while acid reflux medications can play a vital role, they are far from benign. In the last year, various studies have linked long term use of certain proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) – the most widely used class of drugs for severe acid reflux – to worsening symptoms of osteoarthritis and waning cognition, although the evidence for the latter is very mixed. So let's take a closer look at the most common types of acid reflux drugs, how well they work and the possible risks. Skip to: Antacids H2 blockers PPIs FAQs Antacids Pretty much every pharmacy and supermarket comes stocked with Gaviscon, Rennie and Pepto-Bismol, some of the UK's most common brands of antacids. They work by coating the oesophagus with a protective barrier, preventing it from interacting with the stomach acid, and have the advantage of working with near immediate effect. Disney recalls various dinners with friends where someone has had to make a quick post-meal supermarket dash to pick up an emergency bottle of Gaviscon. 'The antacids tend to be very safe for pretty much everyone which is why they're so readily available over the counter,' says Magee. But at the same time, Dr Semiya Aziz, a north London-based NHS and private GP, points out that these drugs don't address the root cause of the excess acid production or why it's working its way into the oesophagus. Their ingredients, particularly the presence of various minerals or electrolytes, can also initiate side effects if the drugs are taken in excess or over prolonged periods of time. For example, the magnesium within Gaviscon can lead to diarrhoea, while too many Rennie can lead to constipation. 'Due to the ingredients within the antacids, potential electrolyte imbalances or mineral overload may occur, which can have various effects with long-term or excessive use,' says Aziz. 'Lifestyle measures such as dietary changes, avoiding smoking and alcohol must be discussed in any GP consultation [around acid reflux]. This may potentially reduce the necessity for long-term antacids in the first place.' H2 blockers First introduced in the late 1970s, H2 blockers like Pepcid and Tagamet were initially considered miracle drugs for their ability to actually decrease the amount of stomach acid produced, and research suggests that they work in around 70 per cent of acid reflux cases. Nowadays, they are less widely prescribed by specialists because they aren't quite as effective as PPIs, particularly when it comes to tackling severe cases. 'H2 blockers are this older class of medications,' says Disney. 'Before PPIs came around, you'd have patients developing gastric and duodenal ulcers through excess acid, because H2 blockers weren't as effective.' At the same time, Aziz points out that H2 blockers may actually be a safer option than PPIs for long-term use. However, they aren't completely safe either, especially for people who are taking multiple medications, meaning it's important for anyone considering starting on a H2 blocker to discuss any current and ongoing prescriptions with their GP or specialist. 'Because H2 blockers affect stomach acid levels, they can influence and impair the absorption of other drugs that require an acidic environment,' says Aziz. 'Some H2 blockers affect the activation of blood thinners for example, while others reduce the clearance rates of certain drugs, allowing them to remain in the body for longer periods of time.' PPIs Effective in tackling acid reflux in around 90 per cent of cases, PPIs stem from the discovery of enzymes in the stomach lining which are responsible for producing acid. As a result, drugs like omeprazole (known under the brand names Losec, Losec MUPS and Pyrocalm) and esomeprazole (better known as Nexium), target this enzyme activity, diminishing acid production. This reduces the extent to which reflux aggravates the oesophagus and helps it heal. However in some cases, patients with particularly severe or chronic acid reflux can find themselves taking PPIs for many years or even decades. While specialists are keen to emphasise that PPIs are overall very safe drugs, epidemiological studies have linked their use over this longer timeframe to a range of chronic health conditions. 'Patients on them for a very long time have a slightly increased risk of osteoporosis,' says Magee. 'This is probably because by changing the acidity in the stomach, you have an effect on calcium absorption.' Aziz also points out that because stomach acid plays a role in absorbing vitamin B12 and the mineral magnesium from food, long-term use of PPIs can lead to deficiencies, while the drugs have also been associated with kidney problems and disruptions to the gut microbiome, including a heightened risk of being infected with the hospital superbug Clostridium difficile. 'Any reduction of acid due to medications may trigger an overgrowth of certain bacteria which may not only be harmful to the gut, but increase the likelihood of various infections in the body,' says Aziz. Because of these risks, Aziz feels that anyone placed on PPIs for conditions such as mild reflux or ulcers should have a review every two months, reassessing whether or not the medication can be stopped. 'These individuals would ideally be offered a trial period tapering off the PPI, then swapping to a H2 blocker, and finally an antacid,' she says 'Gradual weaning can help individuals come off these medications completely, and avoid long-term use and future complications.' However, Disney says that some people with particularly severe symptoms, such as Barrett's oesophagus or inflammation of the oesophagus, who likely need to be on PPIs on a lifelong basis. He also feels that some of the risks associated with these drugs have been overstated because the people taking them for a long time have other health conditions. 'A lot of the patients on [long-term] PPIs often have other health problems, such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes,' he says. 'So they're a sicker group of patients, and so they're already more likely to develop things like kidney problems.' Can you become dependent on acid reflux medications? One particular condition which has been observed with all acid reflux medications, from antacids to PPIs, is a form of drug dependence known as rebound acid hypersecretion, where patients experience more acid production and stronger reflux symptoms after attempting to cease the drugs. Disney says that this can be avoided through gradually tapering off the drugs, slowly reducing the frequency of the doses. 'A small proportion of people will get that rebound of excess acid and perhaps have to go back on them,' he says. 'But I'd try and gradually wean off. So if the patient is taking the drugs twice a day, drop down to once a day and then gradually come off them that way.' Are newer medications coming? Gastroenterology specialists are also optimistic about a new range of acid reflux treatment options which are starting to emerge. Disney points to an emerging class of medications called potassium-competitive acid blockers (P-CABs) which aren't yet available in the UK, but are already used in the US and Asia. Some research suggests that P-CABs may be even more effective at treating severe forms of acid reflux and may offer an improved long-term safety profile. 'They're even more effective than PPIs,' says Disney. 'They just haven't come into our market yet.' Minimally invasive therapies such as endoscopic procedures, some of which use radiofrequency energy to strengthen the muscle that prevents stomach acid from flowing back up into the oesophagus, are also emerging as a different option to long-term medication. 'It needs careful discussion with a clinician and other tests including pH monitoring of the oesophagus,' says Magee. 'But you could potentially reduce or stop medication use with these treatments.'
Telegraph
03-03-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
I thought I had heartburn because of my stressful job – it was stage three cancer
My life changed in November 2023 with something that was totally ordinary. I was running between meetings and stopped at a café outside Farringdon Tube station in London to grab a panini and a bottle of water, and I was wolfing it down on the escalator as I often would, when a chunk of ham and cheese got stuck in my throat. I realised that I was choking, but by that time I was on the Tube, and watching the doors slide shut behind me. I gulped my water to try and get it to pass, and then – an experience so horribly embarrassing that I'll never forget it – I threw up all over the carriage. Looking back, I'd been having heartburn for years. Problems swallowing are a well-known complication that comes along with heartburn, in severe or persistent cases. I later learnt that I had an undiagnosed hiatus hernia, which led me to develop Barrett's oesophagus, a condition caused by persistent acid reflux, but back then I had never heard of it. I put the heartburn down to my busy lifestyle and to stress, because my life was certainly stressful. On top of a high-pressure career and two small children at home, earlier that year I'd had tenants refuse to leave a flat I owned in London, and I was going through a lengthy court battle to evict them. It's enough to make anyone tear their hair out. In my job as a UK sales director of one of the world's biggest car companies, and among my friendship group of busy 40-somethings with high-pressure jobs and young families, stress and heartburn were accepted as ordinary parts of life. I remember walking into a meeting with my laptop, a notebook and a packet of Gaviscon, the other two guys in the room laughing with me when we saw that we were all doing the same. I'd even debate which brand of heartburn medicine was best, with colleagues and friends alike. Sure, there's a line on the packet telling you that you should speak to a doctor if your symptoms persist for more than a week, but that was something I would never find time to do. After what happened with my panini on the Elizabeth Line, though, I started to take the troublesome situation in my throat more seriously. I phoned up my GP, who simply told me that I had persistent heartburn and prescribed me lansoprazole, a medication that lowers stomach acid. I took it for thirty days, in which time I had no problems swallowing, but over the following months my throat felt tight, like there was something stuck inside it again. The final straw came in the Easter weekend of last spring. I was on holiday in Spain with my fiancée, Mimi, our kids, and my brother and sisters. The five of us grown-ups were having a child-free night at a lovely restaurant, and I ordered a steak, my favourite food. I took an enthusiastic bite, savouring the taste and swallowing it, and then it got lodged in my chest. It was painful, and heavy, like a stone stuck in my throat. My brother and sister couldn't stop laughing at me, and I tried to play along, but my stomach had turned cold and I was terrified. Something was badly wrong. As soon as I got home I phoned my doctor again, who offered me more lansoprazole. I asked how long I'd be on it for and was told that plenty of people take it for life, with no issue. I'm the sort of person who nine times out of 10 will trust a doctor and go with whatever they advise, but I knew it was something more serious. After pushing I was put through to another GP, who just so happened to be a gastrointestinal specialist, and who said that if I was really worried then he'd book me in for an endoscopy, just to be sure that everything was fine. The following month I was sent to Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, where my son was also having a scan, so we made it something of a family day out. Time together was rare and precious, between the pace of my job and my daily commute, so even a day on a hospital ward was a treat. An endoscopy is incredibly uncomfortable, so most people get sedated to have one, but I was so keen to be at work the next day that I went unsedated (you can't drive for 24 hours after sedation in a hospital). Mimi and my son waited outside. Halfway through, as my jaw ached and I wrestled myself to stay still, the room went cold. Dr Ali, the same doctor who'd booked me in, pulled the camera out and turned to me with a worried look. 'I can't give you a formal diagnosis, because we need your biopsy to come back, but I'd be very surprised if you don't have cancer of the oesophagus,' he said. 'You have a huge tumour in your throat.' Sitting there in that booth alone, my world fell out from under me – and my fiancée and my son were outside, waiting for me to drive them back home. Far worse than hearing the news myself was giving it to them, especially since Mimi had lost her stepfather to prostate cancer just two years before. All of us were devastated. I thought I'd have forever to be there for my children. Even though my daughter was only two at that point, I had already been dreaming of the day I'd get to walk her down the aisle. It seemed like some sort of cruel joke, that I'd come in with heartburn and left with a (probable) cancer in my chest. I later learnt that I had stage three oesophageal cancer, meaning that it was advanced and large, and that it had spread to my lymph nodes. It took a fortnight for my biopsy to come back and for me to get a formal diagnosis, and then another month for me to then find out the stage my cancer had developed to. I had a strange set of examinations to check that the cancer hadn't spread to my stomach or anywhere else in my body. Eventually, I was given the green light to go down the only route possible: chemotherapy and then surgery to remove most of my oesophagus. It was a pathway with a 'curative intent', one of those bewildering phrases that you hope to hear when you have a cancer diagnosis. If my cancer had metastasised, I'd have been looking at palliative care. After my endoscopy, I promised myself that I wouldn't Google anything about oesophageal cancer. I lasted about 10 hours before I broke and searched: is oesophageal cancer curable? I learnt then that my odds were not good, with less than one in five people living for longer than five years post-diagnosis. Mimi meanwhile went into project manager mode (she does it professionally), researching the best places for me to get treatment, the latest surgeries and the most advanced forms of chemotherapy. We had the freedom to choose because I had private health insurance through my job. I started chemotherapy six weeks after my diagnosis, on June 27 2024. And then I did something crazy: I went to Glastonbury festival, the day after my first round. Mimi loves Glastonbury, and we'd gone all-out to celebrate her 40th birthday there, with a glamping tent and all the trimmings. There was no way that I was going to miss it. Truth be told, Mimi had really needed to twist my arm to get me to go to Glastonbury with her in the first place, when we'd got the tickets the previous autumn. The end of the quarter was always the busiest time for me at work. But I'd been signed off after my diagnosis, and I've never felt more grateful to be alive – and with my family – than I did that weekend. We spent those days watching Coldplay and dancing until 4am, with my son on my shoulders. I certainly realised then what was truly important to me. I got married before my chemotherapy was done, too. Mimi is the love of my life, and it had always been clear to me that I wanted to marry her, but after she gave birth to our eldest, life really sped away from us and there just never seemed to be time to plan a wedding. Then we were filling out life insurance forms and I realised how ridiculous it was that we didn't share a last name. We had our wedding in the summer at The Windsor Guildhall, a beautiful venue next to the castle, and then we crashed the Soho River House with 30 of our closest friends. Everyone jokes that we had a long engagement and a shotgun wedding, which really was a blessing: we had everything as we wanted it, though I'd never imagined myself wearing a hat with my suit on my wedding day. Not long after that came the surgery, at Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford with an incredible surgeon, Mr Nima Abbassi-Ghadi, and his team, to whom I'm incredibly grateful for doing the miracle work needed to save my life. What I underwent was at the cutting edge. It was a minimally invasive robotic surgery. My surgeon removed the majority of my oesophagus and reconnected what was left to my stomach, so I'm left with very little scarring. It took 11 hours, but I was walking the next day, and I had left the intensive care unit by the end of the week. My life has changed dramatically since that operation. I haven't yet braved steak again, as these days I have to stick to softer foods, eating smaller meals more frequently. At Christmas I stuck to bite-sized chunks of turkey and pigs in blankets, with heaps of bread sauce and gravy. I've lost 10kg since my surgery, and it's hard to put any weight back on with my current restricted diet, but with each day I'm recovering and getting more adventurous with food. The other week, to celebrate Lunar New Year, I had a takeaway with friends, where I ate duck pancakes – a favourite of mine – for the first time since my surgery. I got the all-clear in January, so now I'm in remission. People usually imagine that to be a joyful, champagne-popping moment, but I'd never allowed myself to entertain the idea that I might die, so getting the news felt like the culmination of a long journey, one that had left me truly exhausted, physically and mentally. Telling people that I'm cancer-free, though, has been something special: first my family, my friends and the many people who have helped me along the way, and eventually my colleagues, though I'll need some time yet to recover and process what I've been through before I return to work. I've always been fit and active, but getting back on my feet and running has been another mental and physical boost in my recovery. Now I'm training to run an ultramarathon in October, to raise money for the heartburn and cancer charities that have supported me along the way. I'll be running the Oxford Town and Gown 10k this May, marking a year since my diagnosis. I want people to know what oesophageal cancer is and to raise awareness of the symptoms of it, like the heartburn I wrote off. I've been told that my persistent heartburn likely did cause my cancer, because the constant damage that heartburn causes to your oesophagus makes it more likely that a tumour will grow there. Heartburn is both a symptom and cause of oesophageal tumours. I'd wish I'd known this years ago, but I was still lucky. Had my cancer not been caught when it was, thanks to that panini, I might not be here to tell the tale.
