Public Health Recommendations

POLICE have warned anyone who “values their life” not to take ecstasy amid fears the deaths of two men in the west of Scotland was linked to a super-strength batch of the drug. Lee Dunnachie, 22, and Steven Kelly, who was 19, died hours apart at separate locations in Ayrshire.Detectives investigating the deaths of the two men said the victims were not connected to each other, but said that the drugs they had appeared toADVERTISEMENT have taken were six times more potent than normal.Social workers and addiction teams have been put on alert amid fears other drug users could take the pills in question.Strathclyde Police, which issued a public warning about the drugs, are still awaiting the results of the post-mortems for Mr Dunnachie and Mr Kelly, but believe their deaths are linked to the tablets.Detective Inspector Craig McArthur, who is leading the investigation, said: “Our inquiries have revealed that prior to the boys’ deaths, they both had taken ecstasy tablets. Read more…

The American Dental Association (ADA) is hosting the 2011 Conference on Dentist Health and Wellness to provide dentists and their staff with tips to maintain, improve or enhance their quality of life inside or outside of the office. The nationally-recognized conference is scheduled for Aug. 18-19 at ADA Headquarters, 211 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, Ill. The conference has continually expanded its scope to provide attendees with the latest research and techniques to keep pace with increased awareness of the health and wellness of not only the dentist and the dental team but their patients as well. Read more…

Threats of radioactive disaster from what is shaping up to be the largest wildfire in the state’s history are escalating, as heavy winds and plenty of dry brush have fueled flames to within 50 feet of New Mexico’s Los Alamos National Laboratory , home of the first atomic bomb.Crews claim there are currently no fires burning on the lab’s 36 square mile property, but the entire town of Los Alamos, population 11,000, has been evacuated, and the US Environmental Protection Agency is now on radiation alert in the area.As of Sunday, the massive wildfire had already burned up nearly 145 square miles of land across New Mexico, or 92,735 acres, which is just a few hundred acres short of the massive Dry Lakes fire that swept Gila National Forest in 2003.But the current wildfire’s proximity to the nuclear facility is particularly troubling because there are about 30,000 55-gallon drums of radioactive plutonium waste on the site that, according to some reports, are not particularly well-protected.”The concern is that these drums will get so hot that they’ll burst,” said Joni Arends, executive director of Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety. Read more…

This week I have the honor of interviewing Tim Farrington, the acclaimed novelist of Lizzies War, The California Book of the Dead, Blues for Hannah, as well as the New York Times Notable Book of 2002, The Monk Downstairs.

Guess what? Hes one of us! And he articulates his journey through the hell of depression in a beautifully crafted memoir of sorts called A Hell of Mercy: A Meditation on Depression and the Dark Night of the Soul. Since that topic surfaces often on Beyond Blue, I thought Id ask Tim to share his thoughts on both (depression and the dark night) with us.

Hi Tim, and welcome!

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Evidence strongly suggests UN peacekeepers from Nepal were the source of a cholera epidemic in Haiti that has killed more than 5,500 people, according to a new report published by the U.S.

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