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West Australian
5 days ago
- Sport
- West Australian
PCYC boxer Eric Kyanga returns home with Australian Club Championship title around his waist
Geraldton boxing star Eric Kyanga is now a title-holder after a stunning performance at the Australian Club Championships in South Australia last month. The PCYC boxer flew home from South Australia with a title belt around his waist after beating his opponent in the final after the very first round. The 20-year-old fought arguably the best fighter in WA in the semifinal, to whom he lost by decision. With the tournament looking as though it had wrapped up for Kyanga, luck prevailed, with his semifinal opponent pulling out of the final. The tournament organisers let Kyanga fight in the final, with the Geraldton resident jumping at the opportunity to have a crack at bringing home the Australian Club Championships title. Kyanga excelled in the final, dominating the first round of the bout, with the fight coming to an end after the first round as Kyanga's hand was raised. Kyanga's coach at PCYC, Jake Peacock, said he was immensely proud of the efforts put forward by his young fighter. 'Look, I am very proud of him to do what he did,' he said. 'To bounce back from a tough loss in the semi to then jump at the chance to fight in the final and do as well as he did was unreal. 'He showed a lot of character to stand up and do what he did.' Peacock said the ever-improving Kyanga continued to impress and shine in the ring at training, and at bouts across Australia. 'He (Kyanga) is a star. He is always looking on how to improve,' Peacock said. 'Like I say, that's just a big improvement, because Eric fought that guy probably four to six weeks earlier, and Eric won a split decision, which is close, but Eric just totally dominated this time and came away with the title.' Kyanga travelled to the Institute of Sport in Canberra last year and was able to train with some world-class athletes in boxing — among them Commonwealth Games silver medallist and Olympian Callum Peters. Peters and Kyanga hit it off, with Peters becoming a mentor to Kyanga. On that weekend in South Australia, Peters was in attendance as Kyanga's hand was raised. Peacock said Peters had been a massive influence on Kyanga's boxing career and it was a nice moment to see the two together with their titles. 'It was cool to see him there to see Eric after his fight,' Peacock said. 'Callum has been huge for Eric, and proved that in South Australia. 'It all went right for Eric and all played out nicely when he was given the chance to fight in the final. 'They say in boxing you need three things: hard work, talent, and a bit of luck along the way.' Kyanga now prepares to fight in Perth on Saturday, June 14 at Boxing WA's 5RD Pound 4 Pound Champions Show.
Gulf Insider
24-02-2025
- Health
- Gulf Insider
First Study Reveals Deadly Vaping Side Effects
Vaping may be more dangerous to the body than cigarettes – putting long-term users at risk of dementia, heart disease and organ failure, according to the author of a bombshell nicotine vapour from E-cigarettes has been described by the NHS as 'substantially less harmful than smoking.' But Dr Maxime Boidin, leader of the world's first controlled study into vaping's long-term effects at Manchester Metropolitan University – which concludes in March – believes the health threat to vapers is even worse. He adds: 'Smokers tend to go outside and smoke, and once a cigarette is finished they have to light up another to keep going. But with vapes, you just keep going and it's much harder to know how many puffs you've had. It's much easier to vape continuously because you can do it in places where smoking might be less acceptable.' Shocked by his own findings, he says: 'What we have found is the dangers for someone who keeps vaping are no different from smokers. 'At the beginning (of the study) I also believed that vaping was more beneficial than smoking. You see a lot more people vaping these days because they don't think it's too bad. Many will be horrified to know the truth.' During the study at the university's Institute of Sport, participants – aged between 18 to 45, with an average age of 27 and similar levels of fitness and physical activity – were given regular stress tests to measure the elasticity of their blood vessels and the speed of blood flow to their brains. For 12 hours prior to testing, they consumed only water and desisted from vaping, smoking and exercise. According to Dr Boidin, the mediated dilation (FMD) test, in which a cuff is placed on the participant's arm and inflated to restrict the blood flow, before being released to measure how much the artery expands as more blood is passed through it, produced the starkest results. We joined the study in its final weeks and saw that smokers and vapers achieved a flat reading, signalling damaged artery walls that can no longer dilate – an almost certain sign of future serious cardiovascular problems. Further tests proved that the blood flow in smokers and vapers is similarly impaired, making them at risk of developing cognitive dysfunction, including dementia, The Mirror reports. Dr Boidin, senior lecturer in cardiac rehabilitation, believes the damage is due to inflammation caused by nicotine, as well as the metals and chemicals found in vapes, which include propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine. Substances in the chemical flavourings such as carbonyl compound are known to cause inflammation and oxidative stress, which can lead to artery inner wall damage and cell death. He says: 'When you put this mixture of metals and chemicals into your body you can't expect nothing to happen.' Vaping use in the UK has exploded since the first electronic cigarettes arrived here in 2005. There are now 5.1million people aged 16 or over in Britain – about one in ten – using vapes, according to figures last year from the Office for National Statistics. Vaping rates were highest among those aged 16 to 24, at 15.8%. One million people in England now vape, despite never having been regular smokers, a seven-fold increase in three years, according to a University College London study published in The Lancet Public Health Journal. And, despite recent vaping scares, like the death this year of Hollyoaks star Paul Danan, aged 46, who months earlier revealed he'd had to be revived after suffering respiratory failure caused by excessive vaping, Public Health England is still advising that 'vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking'. Other shocking cases have emerged of collapsed lungs, fainting or vomiting ominous green liquid, linked to heavy vaping. Dr Boidin, whose study results will be published soon, says he has evidence that levels of fitness, even in young vapers, can be impaired. One of the study volunteers Adam Petrulevic, a 25-year-old masters student studying strength and conditioning at the university, says he vapes 'without stopping'. 'I never really smoked, but I started vaping two years ago,' he says. 'I always thought it was much less harmful than smoking. 'I take a puff every few minutes and only stop when I go to sleep. A 500-puff vape used to last me a few days but now it's not even a day. Now I'm on 3,500-puff vapes which should be more than a week, but I finish them in three days.' A volunteer known only as Marine, 33, started vaping three years ago to wean herself off smoking and uses a heated tobacco device. She says: 'I didn't smoke in the house but now I vape all day long. I decided to take part in the study because I wanted to know what it was doing to me. I've noticed that I'm out of breath more, I feel that it's not so good for my health.' Both volunteers were alarmed by Dr Boidin's negative findings. Adam says: 'It's definitely an incentive for me to stop.' Many will have been convinced that taking up vaping won't be prejudicial to their health, thanks to oft-repeated advice including from Public Health England which states that 'vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking'. The agency, however, admits that 'evidence is mostly limited to short and medium term effects and studies assessing longer term vaping are necessary.' That advice has not changed despite recent scares, including the tragic death this year of Hollyoaks star Paul Danan, aged 46, who months earlier revealed how he had to be revived after suffering respiratory failure caused by excessive vaping. Other shocking cases have emerged of collapsed lungs, fainting or vomiting ominous green liquid, linked to heavy vaping. Dr Boidin, who intends to publish his results as soon as possible after the study concludes, says he also has evidence that vaping impairs people's levels of fitness, even in young vapers. He believes vaping can actually be more dangerous than smoking because it's much harder to know when to stop. 'Smokers tend to go outside and smoke, and once a cigarette is finished they have to light up another to keep going. But with vapes you just keep going and it's much harder to know how many puffs you've had. Also read: Daily Omega-3 Supplements May Slow Down Aging, Study Finds Marine adds:'I'm going to quit. I never expected vapes to be as bad as cigarettes.' The Government has announced that disposable vapes – colourfully packaged devices that come in candy-like flavours and have been blamed for an increase in teenage users – will be banned from June. Source Manchester Evening News
