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The Committee adopted by consensus a positive opinion for a variation requiring assessment for Solensia (frunevetmab) to implement the outcome of the MAH’s signal management…

• In the UK, households collectively throw away an estimated 100 billion pieces of plastic packaging each year.
• In 2020, the UK government banned the sale of several single-use plastic products in England including straws, stirrers and cotton buds – but with exceptions for medical use.
• From October 1 2023, businesses in England are prohibited from selling several other single-use plastic products including plastic cutlery, balloon sticks and polystyrene cups.

What will the ban change?

• Plastics that are particularly difficult to recycle like polystyrene cups also have stricter rules, but with a few exceptions too.
• The new ban also doesn’t cover single-use plastic packaging.
• Single-use plastic packaging is one of the leading sources of plastic pollution in the UK.

How effective will the ban be?

• The new ban is a step towards tackling the impacts of pollution caused by single-use plastics.
• However, for such a ban to be genuinely effective, several key elements must be in place.
• This ensures that those affected understand the ban’s purpose and how its progress will be assessed, while also promoting accountability.
• The government’s new ban lacks any specific or measurable objectives.

Improving awareness

• For example, businesses were given several months after the consultation on the ban to prepare and use up excess stock.
• Adequate public awareness is also necessary to ensure everyone understands the reasons behind the ban, how it affects them, and what the available alternatives are.
• In Rwanda, where a ban on plastic bags was introduced in 2008, announcements were made on airlines and at ports of entry to inform visitors.
• In a similar way, the UK government’s recent ban is accompanied by official guidance explaining the ban’s implications.
• Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue.

• Food can affect how well your lungs function, how often you have asthma attacks and how well your puffer works.
• Here’s what we know about which foods to eat more of, and which are best to eat in smaller amounts, if you have asthma.

Asthma and inflammation

• This makes it difficult for them to breathe during what’s commonly known as an asthma attack (or exacerbation).
• Researchers are becoming increasingly aware of how someone’s diet can affect their asthma symptoms, including how often they have one of these attacks.
• Read more:
  Passive smoking, synthetic bedding and gas heating in homes show the strongest links to asthma

Thumbs up for fruit and veg

• The Mediterranean diet – a diet high in fruit, vegetables and oily fish – is linked with less wheezing in children, whether or not they have been diagnosed with asthma.
• Some, but not all, of the studies found this was regardless of the children’s body-mass index (BMI) or socioeconomic status.
• However a review looked at five studies that investigated omega-3 intake (through the diet or with a supplement) in adults with asthma.
• Of course there is no harm in eating foods high in omega-3 – such as oily fish, flaxseeds, chia seeds and walnuts.

Thumbs down for saturated fat, sugar, red meat

• Diets high in saturated fats, plus sugar and red meat, can worsen someone’s asthma symptoms.
• Foods high in saturated fat can have an impact in as little as four hours.
• People who ate the meal high in saturated fat had reduced lung function within four hours.

What about dairy?

One food type you don’t have to avoid, though, is dairy products. Although many people with asthma report eating dairy worsens their asthma, evidence shows this to be untrue. In fact, one study in adults with asthma found drinking milk was linked to better lung function.

Read more:
Monday's medical myth: dairy products exacerbate asthma

• Research suggests that carbohydrates are meant to come packaged in nature-balanced ratios of total carbohydrates to fiber.
• Your microbiome transforms fiber into signals that stimulate the gut hormones that are the natural forms of these drugs.
• The research is clear – fiber is important not just for happy bowel movements, but also for your blood sugar, weight and overall health.

Carbohydrates without their wrappers

• In fact, only 5% of Americans eat the recommended amount of carbohydrates with enough of their natural packaging intact.
• One popular approach to mitigating some of the ill health effects of low fiber and high refined carbohydrates has been to limit carbohydrate intake.
• Each diet is a variation on a similar theme of limiting carbohydrates to varying amounts in different ways.
• Research shows that limiting carbohydrates induces ketosis, a biological process that frees energy from fat reserves during starvation and prolonged exercise.

Is a carb a carb?

• Limiting simple sugars and refined carbohydrates may improve certain aspects of metabolic health, as these are some of the most easily digested and absorbed calories.
• They come in ratios of total carbohydrate to fiber that rarely exceed 10-to-1 and are often 5-to-1 or lower.
• Eating mostly whole foods is a simple way to ensure you’re consuming quality carbohydrates with the right ratios.

Listen to your body

• While almost all fiber is generally good for health in most people, not all fiber affects the body in the same way.
• Consuming a range of different types of fiber generally helps ensure a diverse microbiome, which is linked to gut and overall health.
• Listen to how your body responds to different high-fiber foods.