Dementia risk for people who quit smoking in middle age ‘same as someone who never smoked’

People who stop smoking in middle age can reduce their cognitive decline so dramatically that within 10 years their chances of developing dementia are the same as someone who has never smoked, research has found.Kicking the habit halves the rate of decline in verbal fluency and slows the loss of memory by 20%, according to a study of 9,436 people in England, the US and 10 other European countries.The findings add to a growing body of evidence that quitting smoking can slow the rate of mental deterioration that ageing brings and thus help prevent the onset of dementia.“Our study suggests that quitting smoking may help people to maintain better cognitive health over the long term even when we are in our 50s or older when we quit”, said Dr Mikaela Bloomberg of University College London, the lead researcher.“We already know that quitting smoking, even later in life, is often followed by improvements in physical health and wellbeing

Education cuts in prisons ultimately endanger the public, watchdog says

Cuts to education in prisons are derailing offenders’ work and training and ultimately endangering the public, the prisons watchdog has warned.Repeat offenders “cause mayhem” in their communities because of the failure of prisons to provide education, training and work that could help to break the cycle of offending, the chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, said.A thematic report from the inspectorate said “this already unacceptable situation” was only likely to get worse as real-terms cuts began to “eat into already stretched education provision”.The Guardian disclosed last month that prisons were cutting frontline spending on education by up to 50%, despite promises from Keir Starmer to improve “access to learning” in last year’s general election manifesto.The spending cuts are being introduced as the government rolls out new education contracts across prisons in England and Wales

Woman, 53, becomes UK’s longest survivor of heart and lung transplant

At the age of 15, Katie Mitchell was told by medics that she was nearing the end of her life after suffering irreversible lung damage and heart failure from a rare congenital disease.But she defied the odds thanks to a heart and lung transplant, and at the age of 53 she has become the UK’s longest-surviving recipient of such a procedure.Mitchell was diagnosed with Eisenmenger syndrome when she was 11. She had high blood pressure in her pulmonary arteries, which caused an increased resistance to blood flow through the lungs, which led to irreversible lung damage and heart failure.Mitchell had her combined transplant at Royal Papworth hospital in September 1987, a procedure so rare that only about five are carried out in the UK each year

Two years after school phone bans were implemented in Australia, what has changed?

Phone bans are now well-established in many Australian primary and secondary schools. Have they made a difference?Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWhen Australian Christian College, a high school in the Melbourne outer suburb of Casey, implemented a phone ban on its campus, there were multiple reasons for the crackdown. Peer conflicts between students were escalating online, students were struggling to focus and teachers observed “notification-driven code-switching” in their students.“When a phone is within reach, a student’s mind is only ever half in the room,” the school’s principal, Caleb Peterson, says. “We wanted their whole attention back

Georgia’s story: how a domestic abuse victim’s suicide was ruled an unlawful killing by her partner

On 26 April 2020 Georgia Barter, a long-term victim of domestic abuse, died in hospital after taking a fatal overdose of painkillers. Last week, in an extraordinary verdict, a coroner ruled that Georgia, 32, was unlawfully killed by her abusive partner.A court heard how GPs, nurses and police officers all had chances to intervene in Thomas Bignell’s violent campaign against Georgia, but failed to do so.At the conclusion of the hearing, there were gasps in the courtroom. It is believed to be only the second time in English legal history that a coroner has reached such a conclusion in the case of a suicide following domestic abuse, and the first time without a jury

Revealed: Labour-run council using legal loophole to serve families with no-fault evictions

A Labour-run council is using a legal loophole to issue dozens of families with no-fault evictions, despite Keir Starmer’s manifesto pledge to outlaw the practice.Scrapping no-fault evictions “immediately” was one of Labour’s main manifesto pledges before its 2024 election win, but more than a year on, the party’s flagship renters’ rights bill has not been made law.Local authorities cannot normally carry out no-fault evictions – known officially as section 21 evictions – as they apply to tenancies issued by private landlords.However, Lambeth council in south London has been able to start eviction proceedings against 63 households because it created an arm’s-length body to manage some of its housing stock.Five families have already been issued with possession orders via the courts and two of those have had their homes repossessed by bailiffs