Painkiller ads under UK scrutiny, surgery ‘best’ for prostate cancer and bus service relieves A&E pressures

The UK advertising watchdog is investigating a drugs company about its over-the-counter ibuprofen, The Independent reports.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is looking at complaints around claims that the over-the-counter ibuprofen ‘targets head muscles’, the paper reports.

An ASA spokeswoman said: ‘Complainants have challenged whether the ad is misleading because it implies the product directly targets muscles in the head.

‘They’ve also challenged whether the claim “gives you faster headache relief than standard paracetamol or ibuprofen” is misleading.’

Elsewhere The Times reports that a study has found that prostate cancer patients who ‘go under the knife’ are much more likely to survive than those who undergo radiotherapy.

Researchers said this held true even after taking into account the type of radiation and how aggressive the cancer was.

Study author Robert Nam, from the University of Toronto, said: ‘Comparing surgery and radiotherapy, the results are pretty conclusive; in general, surgery results in better mortality rates than radiotherapy.’

And a charity in Northern Ireland has launched a new ‘alcohol recovery bus’ to help alleviate pressures on A&E.

The Belfast Telegraph reports that the new £145,000 alcohol recovery centre bus has an overnight facility which includes eight client beds, full showering and toilet facilities.

The service has already been running eight years, with some 260 volunteers, helping thousands of drunk, drugged and vulnerable people, the paper says.

Joe Hyland from the charity SOS NI said the bus ‘isn’t about judging people but it is about providing a much-needed and very practical service to vulnerable and frightened people’.