Shock tactics in heart attack awareness campaign

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has launched a poster campaign to highlight the dangers of ignoring the early symptoms of heart attacks. The poster shows a man with his chest contracting as if under a tightening belt and the tag line: ‘A chest pain is your body saying call 999’.

Rather than calling an ambulance immediately, a survey carried out by the Foundation found that people waited on average 90 minutes before calling 999, with the majority preferring to consult a friend, relative or GP before picking up the phone to the emergency services.

‘Every two minutes someone in the UK suffers a heart attack and one in three dies before reaching hospital,’ said the Director of Policy and Communications at the BHF, Betty McBride. ‘We’re confident we have produced an iconic image that will stick in people’s minds.’

The image, published in newspapers, shown over the internet and displayed on over 2500 billboards throughout the UK is part of the BHF ‘Doubt Kills’ campaign.
The Guardian, 20 November 2006

No more burger ads for youngsters’ TV
Fast food chain Burger King has imposed upon itself a ban on advertising during children’s television programmes and will no longer target promotional activities at young people.

The announcement came just days before the official Ofcom report banning all advertisements during children’s shows for products high in fat, sugar and salt.

Burger King North West Europe Vice-President Giorgio Minardi said, ‘During the past 6 months we have carefully considered this and other broad-spectrum initiatives regarding our marketing and brand positioning.’

The move was scorned by Paul Lincoln, Chief Executive of the National Heart Forum: ‘The real issue is will they stop advertising such foods before the 9pm watershed, not just around children’s programmes.’
BBC News, 14 November 2006

CARDIO LITE
Great reasons for ditching the diet just keep on coming. The results of US research has found that two tablespoons of dark chocolate can have a similar effect on blood clotting as aspirin. Cardio Lite is awaiting a head-to-head trial of the two, with particular interest in the gastrointestinal adverse events.
Metro, 15 November 2006