The provision of smoking cessation counselling and therapy during routine HIV care increases the chances that patients will quit smoking and stay stopped, according to Swiss research published in HIV Medicine.

Physicians at the Zurich HIV clinic received training about smoking cessation counselling and the use of medication to help those wanting to quit.

Compared to other patients in the Swiss HIV Cohort, individuals who received their care in Zurich were more likely to stop smoking and also less likely to restart smoking after they had quit.

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I’m not sure how old I was when I was first instructed that boys don’t cry – at a guess, maybe six or seven. Once it began, it came at me from all angles: family, teachers, friends, the myriad voices of media and culture. Like pretty much all boys, I learned that tears and sobs were markers of failure. Whether facing up to playground beatings, bullies or teachers, the rules of the game were simple: if you cry, you lose. As little boys begin to construct the identities of grown men, the toughest lesson to learn is toughness itself. Never show weakness, never show fragility and above all, never let them see your tears.

With such beliefs (literally) beaten into us from an early age, it is easy to be shocked by the candour of the former footballer Dean Windass. I

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updated 10:37 PM EST, Mon January 9, 2012 STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) — A 61-year-old man was sentenced Monday to 15 years in federal prison for helping engineer a $14.2 million Medicare fraud, including hiring parishioners at the church he co-lead to help with the scheme, the federal government said.

Christopher Iruke was convicted in August — along with his wife, Connie Ikpoh, and one of their employees, Aura Marroquin — of conspiracy and health care fraud.

Besides the prison time, U.S. District Judge Terry Hatter on Monday ordered Iruke to pay back $6.7 million with his conspirators and serve three years of “supervised release” once he gets out of prison, the U.S.

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Researchers believe sleep problems may compromise the physical and mental health of Type 1 diabetics.

A new study suggests sleep disorders among young diabetics can contribute to misbehavior, worse control of their blood sugar and poor school performance.

Despite adhering to recommendations for good diabetic health, many youth with Type 1 diabetes have difficulty maintaining control of their blood sugars, said Michelle Perfect, Ph.D., the principal investigator in the study.

We found that it could be due to abnormalities in sleep, such as daytime sleepiness, lighter sleep and sleep apnea.

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