FRIENDS tell me they were alarmed by the Swedish findings that pregnant women
taking folic acid supplements to cut the risk of birth defects may be more
likely to have twins. What鈥檚 more, according to 快猫短视频, twins
have an increased risk of developing birth defects
(28 July, p 3
and p 7). The
researchers鈥� conclusion that sometimes the health risks of taking folic acid
tablets may be greater than those of not taking them is very worrying.
Hazel Blears, the new junior health minister, told me that the Department of
Health and the Food Standards Agency held a joint public consultation on this
very issue last year. They were considering a report, Folic Acid and the
Prevention of Disease, from the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and
Nutrition Policy.
She said the results of the consultation are now being assessed and added
that the Department of Health is aware of the Swedish report and will be
considering its implications.
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鈥淲e propose to keep the public fully informed of developments regarding folic
acid supplements and any advice we received from our independent expert
committees,鈥� Blears said. I sincerely hope so.
I REMAIN deeply interested in the inquiry headed by Detective Superintendent
Gerry Luckett of the Wiltshire Police into events during the 1950s at Porton
Down, the government鈥檚 chemical and biological defence centre in Wiltshire.
After half a century, I am not in favour of criminal charges against
individuals, most of whom are long since dead. But it is a cautionary tale.
It began when notices went up on the boards of various military units in
Britain asking for volunteers to take part in experiments on 鈥渢he common cold鈥�.
The carrot of 拢15 and a fortnight鈥檚 leave seduced some of my
contemporaries. Believe you me, for servicemen in those days it was a
temptation. The trouble was that these experiments involved the nerve gas sarin,
and at least one young serviceman鈥擱onald Madison鈥攄ied from the
effects.
Now Lewis Moonie, the minister for veterans at the Ministry of Defence, has
confirmed that the Medical Research Council has begun an epidemiological study
of ex-servicemen who were guinea pigs in the Porton Down experiments. The MRC
has called for submissions from researchers. This is good news. It should help
make sure that nothing of the kind ever happens again.
WITH hindsight, politicians can be very eloquent and censorious. The future,
however, is more of a challenge.
I have a hunch that one of the big issues in the next few years will be sea
defences. And who could be more qualified to ask the government about spending
on sea defences than John Gummer, MP for a coastal constituency in Suffolk and a
former Secretary of State for the Environment?
Gummer received a reply from Elliot Morley, whose responsibilities at the
Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs include floods and coastal
defences. Morley said it was sometimes difficult to compare annual figures,
since what was granted in a particular year was not always spent in the same
year. But this did not hide the fact that there has been a drop in expenditure
on coastal defences in Britain in recent years. Does this mean that much of what
has to be done, has been done? I doubt it. There is a huge amount still to be
done, if anecdotal evidence from people living on the east coast is to be
believed.