Mass advertising campaigns on assisted dying spark anger among MPs

Mass advertising campaigns on assisted dying, including billboards at Westminster station and targeted Facebook adverts, have sparked anger among MPs.Amid an increasingly fractious debate on assisted dying before a vote on Friday, MPs have raised concerns about “inappropriate” tactics used by both camps.MPs have objected to a billboard campaign featuring terminally ill patients promoted by Dignity in Dying, which is in favour of the legislation. One MP said the billboards, some of which have been covered by Samaritans posters, were inappropriate in a tube station.Meanwhile, Care Not Killing, one of the main groups campaigning against assisted dying, has used photographs of more than 50 MPs in Facebook adverts targeted at voters in their constituencies

Is the China-US fentanyl pipeline really responsible for the US opioid crisis?

Donald Trump has said that his favourite word is tariff, which he describes as “the most beautiful word in the dictionary”.So his announcement on Monday that he would be imposing 25% tariffs on imports from China, Mexico and Canada was perhaps to be expected. He also separately outlined “an additional 10% tariff” on imports from China, which – even if enacted – would be well below the 60% rate that Trump had threatened on the campaign trail.More surprising is the US president-elect’s claim that the tariffs are a response to China’s failure to curb the flow of fentanyl into the US.“I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular fentanyl, being sent into the United States – but to no avail,” Trump wrote

Whistleblowing doctors need better protection | Letters

We are encouraged to note that Wes Streeting is taking serious steps to stop NHS managers persecuting whistleblowing doctors just because they have raised patient safety concerns (NHS bosses who silence whistleblowers face sack under government plans, 24 November). The unwarranted and widely publicised detriments to some doctors who have spoken up about safety matters over the past 20 years have had serious consequences, despite laws intended to protect them. Trusts must be banned from dismissing doctors who raise patient safety concerns, and obliged to investigate their concerns, which at present are frequently covered up.The employment tribunal system, which some doctors may forlornly engage with to save their careers and livelihoods, is heavily biased against them. If dismissal was banned, most of the massive legal costs borne by the taxpayer would be avoided

Share your experience of buying weight loss jabs privately in the UK

Weight loss jabs like Wegovy and Mounjaro are becoming increasingly prevalent in the UK, and are available from many online pharmacies – including those run by high street companies. Yet concerns have been raised over whether these medications are being advertised or promoted.We’d like to hear from readers who have purchased these jabs privately, to discuss how you chose the pharmacy and your experience of adverts.You can tell us about weight loss jabs you have bought and any adverts you have seen by filling in the form below.Please include as much detail as possible

‘Deaths of needless poverty and despair’: homelessness report reveals surge in fatalities in Australia

Almost 1,500 people are dying in homelessness every year, with new research from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showing a 63% surge in preventable deaths.The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare today released an analysis of a decade of data, showing 12,500 people who had accessed homelessness services died over the 10-year period to 2022.The death rate of those people was 1.8 times the general population, and the annual death toll rose from 914 in 2012-13 to 1,489 in 2021-22 – a 63% increase.While over half the deaths (46%) in the study period were people aged 35-54 years, over 1 in 10 (or 1,500 in total) were people aged 25-34 and 1 in 100 (160 total) were children under 14

Assisted dying could have major impact on courts, says ex-chief justice

A former lord chief justice has warned that assisted dying could have a major impact on the court system, saying “no one has grappled with the detail” of the impact of the legislation on family courts.Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, who held the role between 2013 and 2017, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the process of the assisted dying requests coming before the courts needed “working out precisely.”The private members’ bill from Kim Leadbeater has safeguards including sign-off from a high court judge.Proponents of the bill have argued that the process can be done swiftly, as is the case with some terminal cases and life support requests currently, but say it will also be rigorous and include the potential to hear from doctors, the patient and their families.Thomas told the Today programme: “It seems to me that the one really difficult question that hasn’t been addressed in this is how is the judge to proceed, as it cannot possibly be a rubber stamping exercise