Filthy or fashionable? Young people's perceptions of smoking in the media.

Research has shown that the media over-estimates smoking rates and often associates smoking with favorable attributes or situations. Given that the media plays a large role in influencing youth culture, portrayal of smoking in the media is of concern. In order to explore young people's perceptions of smoking imagery in the media, 16 focus groups were conducted with 117 school students. Participants were asked to rate smoking images selected from audio-visual and print media, and to discuss their perceptions of these images. The results showed that young people perceived smoking in these media selections to be normal and acceptable. They identified with the stress-relieving and social aspects of smoking, despite being well aware of the harmful health effects. Its acceptability as part of a 'cool' image was also noted. Positive images of smoking in the media have the potential to down-play the serious health consequences of smoking by portraying it in a way that young people interpret as a normal part of everyday life. They may also encourage a more neutral or tolerant attitude towards smoking among young people and therefore act to counteract other health promotion efforts to reduce teenage smoking.

Creating smoke-free environments in recreational settings.

To facilitate the banning of tobacco industry sponsorship, Australian health promotion foundations were established to provide health sponsorship to sport, arts, and racing organizations. Health sponsorship dollars procure health sponsorship benefits such as naming rights, signage, personal endorsement of a (health) product by a performer or player, and structural controls such as smoke-free policies. Data are presented from surveys and observations of spectators attending events sponsored by the West Australian Health Promotion Foundation (Healthway) and surveys of Healthway-sponsored organizations and the community. The results demonstrate that by using health sponsorship, Healthway increased the prevalence of smoke-free policies in recreational settings, and there was growing support for these policies. There was evidence of good compliance with smoke-free policies, thus reducing exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. The introduction of smoke-free policies in recreational settings has involved working collaboratively with sectors outside of health, taking an incremental approach to change, and gaining the support of stakeholders by communicating evaluation results.

Prostate cancer testing: behaviour, motivation and attitudes among Western Australian men.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the proportion of Western Australian men aged 40-80 years who had been tested for prostate cancer, their experiences of screening and perception of its benefit. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional survey (random telephone survey) of Western Australian men conducted in February 1998. PARTICIPANTS: 400 men aged 40-80 years from 670 eligible households (60% response rate from contactable households with eligible men). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Proportion of respondents tested for prostate cancer (by prostate-specific antigen [PSA] test or digital rectal examination); reasons for having been tested; information provided by the doctor before testing; reasons given for and beliefs about the benefits of testing. RESULTS: Of 391 asymptomatic men, 220 (56%) recalled having been tested for prostate cancer and 167 (43%) had had a PSA test. Of those tested, 86% had their first test in the previous five years. The two most common reasons for testing were media publicity and general practitioner recommendation. Thirty-eight per cent of men tested during the previous five years reported that the doctor did not discuss the "pros and cons" of the test; 39% reported a discussion of less than five minutes' duration; 17% were given printed information before undergoing the test for the first time. Half were "very convinced" of the benefits of testing for prostate cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Men are being tested for prostate cancer with minimal pretest counselling or written information.

Metallothionein and copper in liver disease with copper retention--a histopathological study.

We have examined the relationship between (a) histochemically demonstrable copper using rubeanic acid, (b) copper-associated protein (CAP) using orcein, and (c) immunoreactive metallothionein (MT) using DNP hapten sandwich staining and have correlated these with histological lesions in 95 liver biopsies from patients with conditions associated with hepatic copper retention, 4 fetal livers, and 25 histologically normal adult controls. No copper or CAP was present in normal adult liver but periportal CAP was present in fetal liver. MT was present in hepatocytes of normal livers with a predominantly perivenular (centrilobular) cytoplasmic distribution varying in staining intensity; all fetal hepatocytes stained strongly for MT. Fifty-two of 95 (55 per cent) abnormal livers contained CAP and 42 (44 per cent) contained both CAP and copper. In CAP-positive livers, the commonest histological lesions were piecemeal necrosis and cholestasis. CAP was present in (a) 15/15 cases of primary biliary cirrhosis including early cases with minimal pathology; and (b) 5/5 cases of Wilson's disease, 6/6 cases of biliary atresia, and 3/9 cases of sclerosing cholangitis. In other conditions, it was present in 25-50 per cent of cases. MT distribution was abnormal in most CAP-positive livers. Necrotic hepatocytes were intensely MT-positive and in Wilson's disease had a characteristic appearance.

Correlation of plasma zinc and ileal enterocyte zinc in man.

Blood samples and ileal mucosal samples were collected from 25 patients requiring intestinal resections. Plasma zinc levels were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry and enterocyte zinc levels were measured using electron probe X-ray analysis. Plasma zinc values showed a positive correlation with mean enterocyte zinc values, supporting the hypothesis that exchange of zinc occurs between these two compartments as part of the homeostasis of this metal in the body.

Histological demonstration of immunoreactive metallothionein in rat and human tissues.

Antibody to rat liver metallothionein prepared by the method of Brady and Kafka (1979) was used to localise immunoreactive metallothionein using a sensitive DNP hapten sandwich technique applied to formalin fixed wax embedded tissues. Rat tissues examined were liver, kidney and small intestine, taken from normal animals, from animals fasted after receiving either an oral dose of water, or 1 ml zinc acetate solution either orally or by intraperitoneal injection, (3-4 mg Zn++/Kg body weight). Human tissues examined were 6 histologically normal liver biopsies and small intestine including histologically normal jejunal biopsies and samples of ileum obtained at operation. Pathological tissue including liver from cases of Indian childhood cirrhosis with copper retention and ileum from cases of inflammatory bowel disease were also examined. Immunoreactive metallothionein (IMT) was found in both rat and human liver localised in the hepatocyte cytoplasm, nucleus, sinusoids and canaliculi. In some livers IMT was found in the portal and hepatic veins. In the small intestine the IMT was localised consistently in the enterocyte cytoplasm and nucleus, and in the basement membrane region. The rat kidney IMT was localised in the cytoplasm of the distal convoluted tubules the collecting tubules and the ducts of Bellini. The distribution of IMT in rat tissues showed changes associated with fasting, stress and zinc administration. In man, inflammatory bowel disease appeared to decrease the intestinal IMT and no significant difference was seen when patients had received steroid therapy. The greatest amounts of IMT were seen in the control group of patients. The distribution of IMT in human liver in Indian childhood cirrhosis did not correspond with that of copper associated protein.

Histological demonstration of immunoreactive zinc metallothionein in liver and ileum of rat and man.

A sensitive immunohistochemical technique was used to demonstrate zinc metallothionein in rat and human liver and ileum. In the liver, immunoreactivity was observed within the hepatocyte nucleus and cytoplasm, in sinusoids, canaliculi and blood vessels. In the ileum, immunoreactivity was present in the enterocyte nucleus and cytoplasm, and in the lamina propria. The effects of fasting alone and fasting with zinc injection were studied. In the liver, maximum staining was observed after 6 h fasting in the sinusoids, canaliculi and hepatocyte cytoplasm, and this pattern was not present in zinc injected animals. In the ileum, the greatest staining in the enterocyte cytoplasm and basal region was in control animals and after 6 and 12 h fasting. A similar pattern was observed in zinc-injected animals. Decreased staining was seen after 18 h fasting in both liver and ileum. In human ileum, the patients with colitis had less metallothionein immunoreactivity and those on steroid therapy had more immunoreactivity than the controls. We suggest a physiological transport and short term storage function for zinc metallothionein in rat and man.

Histological demonstration of immunoreactive metallothionein in sections of human and rat tissue.

Immunoreactive metallothionein has been demonstrated in formalin fixed sections of rat and human tissue using a DNP hapten sandwich staining procedure and antibody to zinc-induced rat liver metallothionein II.MT was found in rat liver, duodenum, jejunum and ileum and in human liver and ileum both intracellularly in hepatocytes and enterocytes and extracellularly in portal vessels, sinusoids and canaliculi in the liver and in the lamina propria of the intestine.Changes in intensity of staining were related in the rat to the feeding/fasting status of the animal and whether exogenous zinc had been administered. In man least MT was found in the ileum of patients with Crohn's disease and most in patients with non-inflammatory bowel disease.These results confirm that MT is an important physiological metal-binding protein in man and animals and is concerned in zinc transport and binding in rats.

Plasma zinc and jejunal mucosal zinc in gastric carcinoma.

The plasma zinc in both gastric carcinoma and in other malignancy requiring surgical treatment was significantly higher than in patients with non-malignant disease but there was no difference between the gastric carcinoma and other malignancy levels. The jejunal mucosal zinc levels showed similar results with both gastric carcinoma and other malignancy requiring surgery being higher than non malignant disease but no difference between them. It was not possible to correlate plasma and jejunal mucosal zinc levels overall. This increased level of body zinc does not appear to be specific to gastric carcinoma and may be associated with non specific mucin changes.