Good morning, wonderful Other Siders!

Can you believe it's already June? Summer is finally here, and it's time to turn up the sunshine vibes in our healthcare world! ☀️ Grab your stethoscopes and put on your fun hats because we're diving headfirst into another wacky edition of "The Other Side of the Care"! 🥳

In this edition, we're serving up a refreshing blend of laughter, insights, and all things healthcare. We've got the juiciest news from the Canadian healthcare industry and beyond because we love keeping you in the loop. 🌍

But wait, there's more! June 7th isn't just another ordinary day. It's National Chocolate Ice Cream Day! 🍦🍫 So, let's celebrate by indulging in our favourite frozen treat, while we dive into the exciting world of healthcare together.

News that impacts you!

🚫🚬 Sayonara, Smoke! Cigarette Warnings Go Personal!

We've got some smoking-hot news for you! So, get this: Canada is taking a puff ahead of the rest of the world by becoming the FIRST country to require health warnings to be printed directly on individual cigarette sticks. No more playing hide and seek with those nasty side effects, eh? This bold move aims to make smokers more aware of the risks and encourage them to kick the habit. Now, you might be wondering, "How does this impact me?" Well, my fellow Canadians, this move aims to make smoking less appealing and raise awareness about the health risks associated with tobacco. It's a bold step towards reducing smoking rates and improving public health. But will this initiative have the desired impact? Will smokers finally kick the habit? Tell me, folks, what do you think about this groundbreaking decision? Is it a game-changer or just a flashy move?

💭Let us know what you think by writing to us at [email protected]

Calling All Manitobans: Win Big with Healthy Habits! 💯🎁

Do you want to live healthier? Doctors Manitoba has your back! They've launched a cool new online resource called GettingHealthy.ca to encourage Manitobans to prioritize their well-being this June. This website has everything from fitness and nutrition tips to info on routine medical screenings and immunizations. But wait, there's more! You can enter a contest and stand a chance to win one of 36 amazing prizes. Just fill out a form, share your commitment to healthier living, and you're in! Now, I know healthy living can be tough, especially with the rising cost of living, but fear not! The website also has tips to get healthy on a budget.

🚨 Alarming Reality: Food vs. Feminine Hygiene Products

This will make you both outraged and motivated to take action. According to a recent survey, a shocking one in four Canadian women are forced to make an impossible choice between buying meals or period products. Can you believe it? No one should have to face this dilemma in a country as prosperous as Canada.

This survey sheds light on a deeply concerning issue: period poverty. It's a stark reminder that access to menstrual products is still an unaffordable luxury for many women in our nation. The struggle to maintain basic hygiene during menstruation should never be a burden anyone has to bear. This problem affects not only the women directly impacted but also our society as a whole. Lack of access to period products can lead to health issues, missed work or school, and perpetuate inequality. It's time to break this cycle and create a Canada where no woman has to choose between her dignity and survival. We need better support systems in place to ensure affordable and accessible period products for all Canadian women.

🙅‍♀️ Hands Off Our Hospitals! Ontario Defends Public Care ✊

Big news from Ontario! The Ontario Health Coalition recently released some eye-opening survey results. In a cross-province "people's referendum," a whopping 98% of participants voted against privatizing Ontario's public health services. Yes, you heard that right - only a mere 2% were in favour of privatization. The coalition is determined to protect public hospitals from being gutted and dismantled, and they're ready to wage a relentless campaign. But here's the question: Will the government listen to this overwhelming rejection of privatization? Let's hope they're paying attention because the people have spoken, and they won't back down.

Tools & Tech to Keep a Tab On!

🥊 Rocky's Rockin' Telehealth: Dude, Health On Demand! 💪😎

Prompted by the personal experience of the founders, a first-of-its-kind anonymous hotline has been launched for men with the mission to normalize men's health and eliminate the stigma that prevails. The purpose of the hotline is to encourage men to seek care through the provision of a safe and anonymized process for medical issues that they would otherwise be reluctant to talk about. This situation is just exacerbated by the misguided information available online. Therefore, the hotline, which is personally managed by the co-founder, Anton, offers fact-based support and educates callers on erectile dysfunction, hair loss and soon-to-be-launched, mental health. The hotline is accessible 24/7 and callers need not provide any personal information and there is no need to fill out any forms.

Rocky owns its own medical clinic which is staffed with full-time medical professionals and its own OCP-accredited pharmacy. Therefore, callers can also benefit from free & discrete delivery within 72 hours across Canada and same-day delivery in GTA.

🐝 Buzz Off Allergies with Flappd! 🚫🤧

Inspired by his son, Sumit Chhabra, a pharmacist & researcher has created an app to support allergy sufferers. Based on consumer needs and feedback from Canadians affected by food allergies and dietary preferences, the app named Flappd, aims to help makers of consumer-packaged goods and the consumers themselves with allergy-friendly products and related information. Makers of packaged products can share social proof and show product-related information such as FAQs, store availability, product reviews and ratings. The yet-to-be-launched, consumer side will enable search for allergy-friendly products with detailed information along with the ability to bookmark products and receive alerts if a recall is announced. The app is set to increase brand loyalty by improving transparency around product-related information and will enable consumers to make informed decisions about their purchases. For the longest time, consumers have had to rely on US-based apps for such benefits, but Flappd is set to give Canadians one of their own (woohooo!) and those interested can sign-up online and join the waitlist.

💊 You're Never Alone When You Have DORS and NORS by Your Side

Alberta's Digital Overdose Response Service (DORS) which launched in 2021 has been successfully used to prevent drug poisoning in Alberta. The app enables people using drugs alone to input their address along with emergency contact information and when activated a countdown begins. Although the countdown can be refreshed, however, if it ends then an alarm is triggered. The alarm keeps getting louder to ensure the user is awake and can respond. If there is no response, the app connects to an operator with STARS to check in on the user. The operator asks questions and if the user is still not responsive, the operator will dispatch EMS services to the user's location. DORS has already seen over 1,400 registered users and 200 users have initiated at least one session. 86 situations have been escalated to STARS and 18 resulted in EMS being dispatched. In addition to DORS, National Overdose Response Service (NORS), a hotline is also being worked on for users to receive a response from within their community or the EMS service. Although physically supervised consumption sites are the best way to prevent overdose-related deaths, NORS & DORS help those that are unable to access such sites. The app is available on Apple Store and Google Play and the hotline can be accessed at 1-888-688-6677.

Evolving Global Health

🧠 A Step into the Future of 'Musking & Masking'

Elon Musk's brain implant company, Neuralink, just got the green light from the FDA to test their brain-computer interface, the Link, on humans. This tiny computer chip can be implanted in your brain and connected to external devices. Exciting, right? The goal is to help people with conditions like blindness, paralysis, and depression. But hold on a sec, Neuralink has already faced backlash for animal testing and allegations of cruelty, plus worries about data privacy, and safety of the chip removal process. What changed since their previous rejection? Well, we might never find out. But this is just the first step towards Musk's wild vision of connecting our brains to supercomputers and even storing our thoughts- “as a backup drive for your DIGITAL soul”! 😳 Better keep your thoughts clean. 😜 

🥃💨 Cheers or Coughs: Love 'Em or Leave 'Em?

The fight against smokers is in full swing globally! While Canada is on the path to becoming the FIRST country to require health warnings to be printed directly on individual cigarette sticks. Sweden, which already has the lowest rate of smoking in the EU is on its way to becoming Europe's first "smoke-free" country with fewer than 5% daily smokers in the population. Factors that have led to this include anti-smoking campaigns, bans in restaurants/bars and public places, taxation, strict restrictions on marketing as well as the consumption of "snus". Snus is a smokeless tobacco product not available elsewhere in the EU and might be part of the catch here. It is known to be an addictive nicotine product and therefore, has not been endorsed as a safe alternative to smoking by Swedish health authorities. Regardless, with a smoking rate of only 5.6% as reported by the Public Health Agency of Sweden in 2022, it seems like Sweden is well on its way to achieving its smoke-free target.

On the other hand, Ireland is set to be the first in the world to have cancer warning labels on alcohol bottles, along with other health information, such as the risk associated with drinking while pregnant, liver diseases, fatal cancers, and calorie count. The government is set to implement these warnings by May 2026. Therefore, if you are one that finds such images disturbing then you might want to rethink your next purchase of Whiskey or Guinness while in Ireland. No matter where you live in the world, we want to know your opinion on such approaches used to curb the consumption of alcohol and tobacco. Would you stop? 🤔 

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