Drug
Can the media survive without Porimoni… ?
It’s impossible not to see Porimoni on every screen or page. She is all encompassing and truly total. Everyone is gorging on her and the hungry public is reading and hearing and either wishing she was here with them or thank god that woman and her gang aren’t destroying the innocence of Dhaka’s lumpen men who are oh.. so helpless.
But the crisis is not in the sexual threat that Porimoni poses to many. Certainly not in the liquor and yaba shaba which anyone who matters takes but media… The Porimoni episode has exposed that Bangladesh’s media is unable to survive unless its force fed with news and sources call them up and tell them what has to be written in many cases…
Also read: Dhallywood actress Pori Moni detained from Banani residence
Corona reporting exposed the crisis
Quality reporting on the pandemic is very low and one reason is that most media workers are unable to access quality information. The reasons are many. They are not the top layer of the class in many cases. Their skill in English is weak which prevents them from info access. And nobody ever trained them in the complex issues of public health reporting. So what they did was stick to numbers and figures. Highest infection rate in three months…highest infection since last week.. highest death.. higher death .. death…
At least nobody can accuse them of serious reporting but the problem is deep.
Also read: Is it tackling dengue or tackling Porimoni?
Can crony media survive without cronies?
An odd media crisis is that there are more media outlets than media workers so a decline in standard was inevitable based on over demand and low supply. Media investors are not investing to gain prestige like before which has now become impossible given the infighting within the crony media world but clout against each other.
So media A is saying to media B that if you print anything against me, I will print something against you.. it’s this tit for tat policy that is leading to more media outlets and hence the need for more workers.
So it doesn’t matter if the media is of minimum quality or not. Essentially if they can get it uploaded its media never mind what it says. Crony media is about cronies not media.
Also read: Hello yaba, hello liquor, hello Bangladesh
The Porimoni threat and dividend
The night Porimoni walked into the club and did whatever she did, and then went public with her accusations, her days were numbered. She had violated a sanctified space and the hit back was inevitable. She and her troupe live off the rich’s money so threatening them doesn’t work and it didn’t.
But what she did was provide sensational stories that everyone loves to read but no one believes because it’s so one sided. People are asking who were the people who were close to her, patronized her and so on.. But of course it doesn’t matter because the entire matter is neither about her nor wine and yaba but making sure everyone knows where power lies and how it can act if threatened.
Meanwhile on with Porimoni and all the stories including about the poor policeman whose investigations went a little too deep and landed in the zones of the heart.. or at least that’s what media is saying
Hello yaba, hello liquor, hello Bangladesh
Every time there is a police raid, bottles of foreign liquor, yaba tablets and other sundry items are found. Having them are criminal acts but one wonders how many well off and even not so well off homes have them. In a country, where the police have to say that anyone who fails the dope test will be sacked means it is more pervasive than we can even think.
We have around 10-15 million drugs including yaba addicts most people estimate. It’s an entirely smuggling based sector that has grown so large that we don’t even know how big it is. Millions make their money from the many income sources , both ferrying on protection. And yes, almost every social segment is involved. That was the point Sinha was trying to make and he paid with his life. This is big business and the deals are in the million dollar level so the crime part is small compared to the economic one.
Also read: Man held with 9k Yaba pills at Dhaka airport
How old is yaba ?
Yaba arrived in Bangladesh in 2000 and then slowly took off. It’s basically methamphetamine but has since arrival thrived. Initially it was in competition with phensedyl but the India produced cough syrup slowly over time lost the market and yaba from Myanmar took over. It’s much easier to smuggle in, carry and sell so naturally a winner. The result is the yaba explosion, in growth terms probably much bigger than the rmg sector. Bangladesh is simultaneously a transit and destination country of the drug trafficking network.
Yaba flows despite Bangladesh’s war on drugs because killing a few hundred street traders is considered good news because hundreds more are ready to join. And the business is a business of the influential. So though a few may die, the trade is not affected at all. Each Yaba pill is sold for around 100- 300 . Estimates vary.
The Narcotics Control Bill in Oct 2018 which sort of made encounter killings halal along with other punishments has not worked. The smugglers have always been smarter and following alternative routés are easy in a country bordering very difficult terrains. It’s not just Mtyanmar which traditionally supplies but India is a route too now. Yaba is now coming in larger quantities from India, through the Kurigram District located in north Bangladesh. From the sea route, smugglers use the southern districts mostly Patuakhali to push the drugs in.
Also read: SI of PBI held with Yaba
But yaba is a socio-economic issue not a law enforcement one
It provides an easy if risky life for many unable or unwilling to enter the labour market. The addiction often begins much earlier as “youth gangs” have become great introducers of yaba to children. For many it’s also a high income no matter how risky.
The consumers come from all levels so it has a broad market. If Dhaka is full of fancy clubs, kids have clubs too and many are doing the same. If dinghy clubs are supplying foreign liquor, kids clubs supply foreign yaba.
Neither the liquor nor the tablet that is making so much media noise can impact on the drug economy, the narco trade is bigger than ever. And maybe the capacity to control is limited too. For some it really is no problem, after all you make money and you can get a high so who cares?
FDA approves much-debated Alzheimer’s drug panned by experts
Government health officials on Monday approved the first new drug for Alzheimer’s disease in nearly 20 years, disregarding warnings from independent advisers that the much-debated treatment hasn’t been shown to help slow the brain-destroying disease.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug from Biogen based on study results showing it seemed “reasonably likely” to benefit Alzheimer’s patients. It’s the only therapy that U.S. regulators have said can likely treat the underlying disease, rather than manage symptoms like anxiety and insomnia.
The decision, which could impact millions of Americans and their families, is certain to spark disagreements among physicians, medical researchers and patient groups. It also has far-reaching implications for the standards used to evaluate experimental therapies, including those that show only incremental benefits.
The new drug, which Biogen developed with Japan’s Eisai Co., did not reverse mental decline, only slowing it in one study. The medication, aducanumab, will be marketed as Aduhelm and is to be given as an infusion every four weeks.
Read:Justice Dept. says it’ll no longer seize reporters’ records
Dr. Caleb Alexander, an FDA adviser who recommended against the drug’s approval, said he was “surprised and disappointed” by the decision.
“The FDA gets the respect that it does because it has regulatory standards that are based on firm evidence. In this case, I think they gave the product a pass,” said Alexander, a medical researcher at Johns Hopkins University.
The FDA’s top drug regulator acknowledged that “residual uncertainties” surround the drug, but said Aduhelm’s ability to reduce harmful clumps of plaque in the brain is expected to help slow dementia.
“The data supports patients and caregivers having the choice to use this drug,” Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni told reporters. She said the FDA carefully weighed the input of people living with the “devastating, debilitating and deadly disease.”
Under terms of the so-called accelerated approval, the FDA is requiring Biogen to conduct a follow-up study to confirm benefits for patients. If the study fails to show effectiveness, the FDA could pull the drug from the market, though the agency rarely does so.
Biogen said the drug would cost approximately $56,000 for a typical year’s worth of treatment, and said the price would not be raised for four years. Most patients won’t pay anywhere near that thanks to insurance coverage and other discounts. The company said it aims to complete the FDA-mandated follow-up trial by 2030.
Biogen shares jumped 38% in trading Monday on the news, with analysts forecasting billions in future sales. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company plans to begin shipping millions of doses within two weeks.
The non-profit Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, which studies drug value, said Biogen’s drug would have to halt dementia entirely to justify its $56,000 per-year price tag.
Some 6 million people in the U.S. and many more worldwide have Alzheimer’s, which gradually attacks areas of the brain needed for memory, reasoning, communication and basic daily tasks. In the final stages of the disease, those afflicted lose the ability to swallow. The global burden of the disease, the most common cause of dementia, is only expected to grow as millions more baby boomers progress further into their 60s and 70s.
Read:Facebook suspends Trump for 2 years, then will reassess
Aducanumab (pronounced “add-yoo-CAN-yoo-mab”) helps clear a protein called beta-amyloid from the brain. Other experimental drugs have done that but they made no difference in patients’ ability to think, care for themselves or live independently.
The pharmaceutical industry’s drug pipeline has been littered for years with failed Alzheimer’s treatments. The FDA’s greenlight Monday is likely to revive investments in therapies previously shelved by drugmakers.
The new medicine is manufactured from living cells and will be given via infusion at a doctor’s office or hospital.
Researchers don’t fully understand what causes Alzheimer’s but there’s broad agreement the brain plaque targeted by aducanumab is just one contributor. Evidence suggests family history, education and chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease may all play a role.
“This is a sign of hope but not the final answer,” said Dr. Richard Hodes, director of the National Institute on Aging, which wasn’t involved in the Biogen studies but funds research into how Alzheimer’s forms. “Amyloid is important but not the only contributing factor.”
Patients taking aducanumab saw their thinking skills decline 22% more slowly than patients taking a placebo.
But that meant a difference of just 0.39 on an 18-point score of cognitive and functional ability. And it’s unclear how such metrics translate into practical benefits, like greater independence or ability to recall important details.
The FDA’s review of the drug has become a flashpoint in longstanding debates over standards used to evaluate therapies for hard-to-treat conditions. On one side, groups representing Alzheimer’s patients and their families say any new therapy — even one of small benefit — warrants approval. But many experts warn that greenlighting the drug could set a dangerous precedent, opening the door to treatments of questionable benefit.
The approval came despite a scathing assessment in November by the FDA’s outside panel of neurological experts. The group voted “no” to a series of questions on whether reanalyzed data from a single study submitted by Biogen showed the drug was effective.
Biogen halted two studies in 2019 after disappointing results suggested aducanumab would not meet its goal of slowing mental and functional decline in Alzheimer’s patients.
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Several months later, the company reversed course, announcing that a new analysis of one study showed the drug was effective at higher doses and the FDA had advised that it warranted review. Company scientists said the drug’s initial failure was due to some patients not receiving high enough doses to slow the disease.
But the changes to dosing and the company’s after-the-fact analysis made the results hard to interpret, raising skepticism among many experts, including those on the FDA panel.
The FDA isn’t required to follow the advice of its outside panelists and has previously disregarded their input when making similarly high-profile drug decisions.
About 900 U.S. medical facilities are ready to begin prescribing the drug, according to Biogen, with many more expected in coming months. But key practical questions remain: How long do patients benefit? How do physicians determine when to discontinue the drug? Does the drug have any benefit in patients with more advanced dementia?
With FDA approval, aducanumab is almost certain to be covered by most insurers, including Medicare, the government plan for seniors that covers more than 60 million people.
Insurers could try to manage the drug’s costs by requiring strict conditions, including brain scans to confirm plaque, before agreeing to cover it.
Additional scans will be needed to monitor potential side effects. The drug carries a warning about temporary brain swelling that can sometimes cause headaches, confusion and dizziness. Other side effects included allergic reactions, diarrhea and disorientation.
Although Biogen studied the drug in people with mild dementia or early-stage Alzheimer’s, the FDA label approved the drug for anyone with Alzheimer’s, a sweeping population given doctors have broad leeway in diagnosing the condition.
“The FDA is empowering the physician to make the decision on diagnosis,” Biogen CEO Michel Vounatsos said in an interview.
Read:US to swiftly boost global vaccine sharing, Biden announces
For patients already enrolled in Biogen’s trials, Monday’s announcement means they can continue taking a drug many believe has helped.
Phillip Lynn, 63, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in the spring of 2017 after having trouble with conversation and memory, including forgetting a recent vacation to Hawaii.
His husband Kurt Rehwinkel says Lynn’s cognitive ability has stabilized since starting on Biogen’s drug more than three years ago. And his performance on short-term memory tests has actually improved, though the couple acknowledges most patients are unlikely to see similar results.
“But even for those who it has little or no effect, I think hope is a good thing,” said Rehwinkel. “I don’t think there’s such a thing as false hope.”
Govt should enlist tobacco as addictive drug: ADHUNIK President
ADHUNIK, the first anti-tobacco organization in Bangladesh that encourages smokers to quit for good, has said the government should enlist tobacco as a dangerous addictive drug in the country.
"ADHUNIK will strengthen its campaign in demanding tobacco control and gradually push for a complete ban on tobacco products," said its president Amanullah Khan.
Speaking at a recent webinar, he said the World Health Organization (WHO) enlisted tobacco as an addictive drug way back in 1987.
Also read: Tobacco products to become more affordable: Anti-tobacco platforms
"We’ve continuously pressed forward our demand to the Narcotics Control Department of our country to do the same in Bangladesh, but to no avail,“ he said, adding that it is vital to let the government know how much it is important.
Amanullah Khan also stressed the need for making tobacco products pricier through increased taxation.
ADHUNIK (Amra Dhumpan Nibaron Kori) hosted the webinar titled "World No Tobacco Day: Pledge to Quit Tobacco Today” supported by Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
At the event, Amanullah Khan also paid homage to ADHUNIK’s founder President National Professor Dr Nurul Islam, calling him as a ‘Dedicated Tobacco Warrior’.
Launched in 1987, ADHUNIK won WHO awards thrice -- in 1992, 1992 and 2005 (Special Award of WHO Director General) — in recognition of its remarkable role in creating a supportive environment for smokers to give up.
"We may lose the battle, but we’ll win the war,” said the current ADHUNIK president citing Prof Dr. Nurul Islam as a great hero on the war against tobacco.
Khan said tobacco business empires are widening their horizons every day and their lobby is very strong, giving their business a stronger footing.
He said the government should take tougher initiatives to control tobacco products to live up to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s pledge for creating a smoking-free Bangladesh by 2040.
President of Coalition Against Tobacco Tracks and Terrorism (CATT) Ali Neyamat also spoke on the occasion.
Also read: Experts frustrated at NBR's role as calls for specific taxes on tobacco go unheeded
Vice Chancellor of Chattogram Medical College Prof Dr Md Ismail Khan spoke at the webinar as the chief guest, while
Prof Abu Taher, Member of the University Grant Commission (UGC), and Prof Eng Fayyaz Khan, Vice Chancellor of Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT), Dhaka, were present as special guests.
A I Islam, Chairman, BOT, USTC and General Secretary, ADHUNIK, was the main speaker of the virtual event moderated by ADHUNIK Executive Secretary Abdul Jabber.
Dr Ismail Khan said tobacco is one of the most addictive products and the government should immediately enact stricter laws for controlling tobacco.
“Besides, passive smoking is also very harmful. No one has the right to actively harm others. So, authorities should have zero tolerance towards smoking,” he added.
Prof Abu Taher said the anti-tobacco laws in Bangladesh are not enforced properly. "The situation should change.”
Prof Harun-Ur-Rashid, Chairman Kidney Foundation, Dhaka, Prof Hasina Banoo, Senior Vice-President of ADHUNIK, Prof SM Mostafa Kamal, Organising Secretary, Bangladesh Cardiac Society, Prof Dr Prabir Kumar Das, Head, Department of Cardiology, CMCH, Chattogram, Prof AMM Ehtesamul Hoq, Principal, IAHS, and Associate Professor Dr Neena Islam, Social Welfare Secretary of ADHUNIK, joined the webinar as panelists.
Tobacco products to ‘become more affordable’
On Thursday, two anti-tobacco platforms -- PROGGA and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) -- claimed that tobacco products will become more affordable in the upcoming fiscal year (2021-2022).
The proposed budget has kept the prices unchanged for low-tier cigarettes which constitute around 72 percent of the cigarette market.
The per capita income of the country, however, saw a 9 percent increase since last fiscal year, they said.
The proposed budget, if implemented, will considerably reduce the real prices of cigarettes and encourage the poor and the youth demographic to get hooked on the deadly addiction to smoking.
The same goes for bidi and smokeless tobacco (jarda and gul) where the taxes and prices have also been kept unchanged. This will put the low-income people, particularly women, at greater health risks.
Also read: Doctors for raising tobacco tax to protect public health
If the proposed budget is finally passed, tobacco companies will be the only beneficiaries while the government will lose the opportunities of revenue earning, they said.
Such a budget will only encourage tobacco business and ignore hundreds of thousands of deaths, impairment, massive socioeconomic and environmental damage this industry causes, they said.
The proposed budget has kept the prices of and taxes on low and medium categories of cigarettes unchanged. The prices for 10 sticks of high- and premium-tier cigarettes have been increased by only BDT 5 (5.2 percent hike) and BDT 7 (5.5 percent hike), setting the prices at Tk 102 and 135 respectively.
'Drug peddler' killed in Gazipur gunfight
A suspected drug peddler was killed in a reported gunfight with members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) at Hazi Mazar slum in Tongi in the small hours of Tuesday.
The deceased was identified as Rokon Mia, son of Tota Mia of the Pubail Bindan area in the district. He was wanted in several cases.
Read: 2 killed, 10 injured in Cox's Bazar gunfight
Acting on a tip-off, sleuths of RAB-1 raided the slum around 12 am, said sources at the headquarters of the elite force.
"Rokon opened fire at the RAB personnel to escape from the area. But he died after the RAB sleuths retaliated in self-defense," sources said.
Read: 2 ‘muggers’ killed in Dhaka ‘gunfight’
"A pistol and some Yaba tablets were found near the body," they added.
Police have sent the body to the local hospital morgue for an autopsy.
LSD seizure: 5 more placed on 5-day remand
A Dhaka court on Monday placed five people on a 5-day remand each in a Narcotics case filed after their arrest with hallucinogenic drug LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide).
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Atiqul Islam passed the order after rejecting bail plea of the accused.
Those remanded are ABM Shirajul Salekin alias Topu, ASM Monwar Akib alias Anan, Najmus Sakib, Md Saiful Islam and Najmul Islam.
Also read: LSD seized during probe into DU student's death
Earlier, sub-inspector (also investigation officer of the case)of Khilgaon police station Badrul-Al-Amin produced the accused before court and prayed for a 10-day remand for each.
Primary investigation reveals that the accused were involved in drug trading, said police.
On Saturday night police arrested ASM Monwar Akib alias Anan, Najmus Sakib, Md Saiful Islam from Khilgaon while peddling drug. ABM Shirajul Salekin was arrested later from the Mohakhali area.
Also read: LSD seizure: 3 students on 5-day remand
On May 26, police arrested three private university students with LSD during a raid.
Later a case was filed at Dhanmondi Police Station under the Narcotics Control Act.
On Sunday, a Dhaka court placed the three accused Sadman Sakib Rupol, 25, Ashab Wadud Turjo, 22, and Adib Ashraf, 23 on a 5-day remand each.
The ongoing probe into the death of Dhaka University student Hafizur led to the raid, said DB.
LSD seizure: 3 students on 5-day remand
A Dhaka court on Sunday placed three private university students on five-day remand over seizure of psychedelic drug LSD from their residence.Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Baki Billah passed the order during a virtual hearing in the case filed at Dhanmondi Police Station under the Narcotics Control Act.The court also rejected the bail pleas.
READ: LSD seized during probe into DU student's death
On May 27, investigation officer of the case, Sub-Inspector of Detective Branch Md Salauddin Kader produced the accused before court and sought a seven-day remand for each of them.The court sent them to jail after a remand hearing on Sunday.The accused are Sadman Sakib Rupol, 25, Ashab Wadud Turjo, 22, and Adib Ashraf, 23.On May 26, police arrested them during a raid from a Dhaka apartment with 200 pieces of LSD. They used to sell them at Tk 3,000 per piece.
READ: Baba Ram Dass, spiritual guru and LSD pioneer, dies at 88The ongoing probe into the death of Dhaka University student Hafizur led to the raid, said DB.Later, DB Inspector Mahbub Alam filed a case against them under the Narcotics Control Act.
IU staff suspended after being arrested with yaba pills
The Islamic University (IU) in Kushtia Saturday suspended a staff member after police arrested him with 89 yaba pills near the campus on May 24.
The suspended official Bakul Joarder is a computer operator of the Bangladesh Cadet Corps office of the university, the IU acting registrar M Ataur Rahman said. "IU Vice-Chancellor Professor Shaikh Abdus Salam issued the suspension order against Bokul after he was sent to jail through a court order."
Bakul was suspended under the university's employee efficiency and disciplinary act, Ataur added.
On May 30, 2017, he was suspended for the same reason after being arrested with 200 yaba pills.
RAB arrests drug dealers, recovers yaba, hemp
Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested five alleged drug peddlers and recovered 6,250 pieces yaba pills and 20 kgs hemp from the city’s Jatrabari area in two separate raids on Saturday.
The arrestees were identified as-- Md. Nurul Alam (52), Md. Jasim Uddin Ahmed (35), Md. Helal (27), b. Md. Shah Jalal (22), c. Md. Rajiv Talukder (29).
Based on secret information, a team of Rab-2 battalion started surveillance and set up a check post at Dakshin Kajla of North Duniya Biswa Road in jatrabari at around 6:30 am as the elite force came to know that a group of drug dealers was coming to Jatrabari area from the border area via Chittagong.
Also read: 51 arrested in DMP anti-drug operations
When Md. Nurul Alam and Md. Jasim Uddin Ahmed were about to passing the check-post, the elite force members challenged them and found 6,250 pieces Yaba pills searching their bodies at around 7:20 am.
Fluvoxamine can prevent serious complications of Covid-19 patients: Research
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found in a preliminary study that the drug fluvoxamine seems to prevent some of the most serious complications of COVID-19 patients and make hospitalization and the need for supplemental oxygen less likely.