Category: Health EN

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) views with concern the plans of the Sabah government to push ahead with the building of a private hospital. Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman is quoted in the press saying that, “although it is a private hospital, we do not have to think of how to profit first”. By right, there should be a very clear separation between the public and private sector when...

Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) views with concern the recent outbreak of leptospirosis at a detention camp for illegal immigrants in Bukit Mertajam. The disease is caused by the Leptospira spp. bacteria. Infection in humans is said to be rare and is usually through coming into contact with water, food or soil that has been contaminated by an infected animal’s urine. Rats and mice are...

Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) and other concerned groups have protested the Health Ministry’s move to allow healthcare services to be promoted in order to boost the tourism industry. Finally, some medical professionals are coming out publicly in opposition of medical or health tourism. At the Health Systems in Transition workshop, health experts have warned that the overall quality of...

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) welcomes the news that the Penang state government is going to beef up enforcement on smokers in public places - beginning with civil servants in government departments and agencies. The state government is also planning to extend the areas where smoking is prohibited, including Penang’s most popular recreation areas such as the Botanical Gardens, the...

Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) welcomes the news that the graphic warnings placed on cigarette packs and in local dailies are working - especially if these shocking pictures are deterring youngsters from taking up the smoking habit. The magnitude the smoking epidemic in Malaysia cannot be downplayed.  More than 50% of Malaysian adult males are smokers. About 50 Malaysian children below...

Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) is disturbed that a second person has lost her life at a beauty salon in the space of just a few months. Puan Noraini Ghazali died following a botched liposuction procedure - apparently as a result of an allergic reaction to the anaesthetic that was administered to her. The Director-General of Health, Tan Sri Dr. Ismail Merican, was quoted saying that...

A recent report of a life-threatening heart attack in a young healthy male suggests care is needed with caffeinated energy drinks. Caffeinated energy drinks are widely promoted to give people the buzz and lift needed to get through a tough day. One such tough day became even more “arresting” for a healthy 28-year-old male. As reported in the Medical Journal of Australia (2009;190:41-43), a...

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) welcomes the recent Government move to take out full-page colour advertisements in the press warning the public of the serious consequences of smoking. Among others, these advertisements include a graphic picture of one of the deadly results - lung cancer - and warns the public that smoking does not pay, and not to be fooled by tobacco companies. However,...

The 6 sampled products together emitted nearly 100 different Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). 10 of these VOCs turned out to be restricted or regulated by US laws because they are toxic: chemicals such as ethanol, 1,4-dioxane, ethyl acetate, alpha­pinene, 2-butanone, acetaldehyde, and chloromethane. There are over 3,000 chemicals used in the manufacture of fragrances in common household...

A 78-year-old woman was found unconscious on the floor of her apartment by a neighbour who checked on her. The woman could not remember falling but told doctors that before going to bed she had abdominal pain and nausea and had produced a black stool, after which she had palpitations and felt lightheaded. Her medical history included high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, atrial...