Cancer Overtaking Heart Disease - Number 1 Killer

Cancer has become the leading cause of death in rich nations, overtaking heart disease, according to the results of two landmark, decade-long global surveys of health trends released on Sept 3, 2019.

Heart disease remains the leading cause of mortality among middle-aged adults globally, accounting for more than 40% of deaths, the data showed.

It was thought to have been responsible for around 17.7 million deaths in 2017.

But in richer countries, cancer now kills more people than heart disease, according to the twin studies published in The Lancet medical journal.

“The world is witnessing a new epidemiologic transition among the different categories of non-communicable diseases, with cardiovascular disease no longer the leading cause of death in high-income countries,” said Dr Gilles Deganais, emeritus professor at Laval University in Quebec, Canada.

He said his team’s study showed that cancer was the second most common cause of death globally in 2017, accounting for just over a quarter (26%) of all deaths.

Emeritus Prof Deganais said that as heart disease rates fell globally, cancer could become the leading cause of death worldwide “within just a few decades”.

The study followed more than 160,000 adults, in high-, middle- and low-income countries over the course of a decade.

It determined that people in poorer nations were on average 2.5 times more likely to die from heart disease than those in richer ones.

It conversely found that non-infectious diseases such as cancer and pneumonia, were less common in low-income states than in richer ones.

A second study, also by researchers in Canada, and looking at data from patients in the same 21 countries, found that so-called “modifiable risk factors” accounted for 70% of heart disease cases globally.

These included diet, behavioural and socioeconomic factors, they said.

Metabolic risk factors – high cholesterol, obesity or diabetes – caused more than 40% of all heart disease, and were by far the biggest determinant of disease in richer nations.

But there was also a strong link between heart disease in developing countries and household air pollution, poor diet and low education levels.

“A change in tack is required to alleviate the disproportionately high impact of cardiovascular disease in low- and middle-income countries,” said Dr Salim Yusuf, professor of medicine at McMaster University, Canada.

“Governments in these countries need to start investing a greater portion of their gross domestic product (GDP) in preventing and managing non-communicable diseases including cardiovascular disease, rather than focusing largely on infectious diseases.”

Is Vaping Safe

Is it safer than smoking?

The truth is, we don’t know. Unlike tobacco cigarettes, e-cigarettes don’t “burn”. The devices, available in the United States since 2006, work instead by heating a liquid that turns into vapour and is inhaled.

Therefore e-cigarette smokers are not exposed to the estimated 7,000 chemical compounds in regular cigarettes, and there is no known link between vaping and cancer.

The liquids however contain highly addictive nicotine.

There are also a variety other compounds classed as “potentially harmful” according to a 2018 study compiled by the US National Academy of Sciences.

And there is “substantial evidence” that the vapour contains traces of metals, either from the coil used to heat the liquid or from other parts of the device. Some flavourings also contain diacetyl, a chemical linked to a serious but relatively rare lung disease.

While most of existing scientific literature holds that vaping is less toxic than smoking, “the implications for long-term effects on morbidity and mortality are not yet clear”, and would require decades of more data and studies to know for certain, said the NAS report.

But the bulk of this research was carried out before the current outbreak of severe lung disease in the United States, with more than 450 cases currently under investigation.

The US investigation

The patients’ initial symptoms included breathing difficulty and chest pain before some were hospitalised and placed on ventilators.

Several teens were placed in medically-induced comas, including one who may need a lung transplant if he recovers, according to his doctors.

New York’s health department is focusing its probe on counterfeit cannabis cartridges containing vitamin E oil, which is harmful when inhaled. Federal authorities however have yet to identify a single substance common to all cases.

Some medics have reported seeing patients developed acute lipoid pneumonia, a non-infectious form of respiratory ailment that occurs when oils or fat-containing substances enter the lungs, a potential clue for what is driving the illness.

That said, it’s unclear why these cases have only been reported in the United States, and whether they are even new, or only being recognised after earlier misdiagnoses.

Local authorities acting

In June, San Francisco became the first US city to ban the sale and manufacture of electronic cigarettes, and has since been followed by Richmond, Virginia.

Market leading maker JUUL’s response to the San Francisco ban was that it would “drive former adult smokers who successfully switched to vapour products back to deadly cigarettes”.

That claim is true, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine on 886 patients in Britain’s National Health Service published in February.

The one-year abstinence rate among e-cigarette users was 18 per cent, compared to 9.9 per cent among a group who used other nicotine replacement products like gum or patches.

But the conversions are not all in one direction.

Recent studies have found that, among adolescents, e-cigarettes provide a gateway toward full-fledged smoking.

Regulation or prohibition?

The vaping industry is adamant that it doesn’t want underage people using its products, and says that more must be done to prevent their sale. E-cigarettes are already illegal to sell in the US to people under 18 or 21, depending on the state.

But bans also deprive adults addicted to smoking of a valuable tool to quit, the industry says.

“To deprive those smokers from access to e-cigarettes, which we know are substantially less harmful, I think is a terrible decision,” Neil McKeganey, of the UK-based Centre for Substance Use Research — which is partly funded by the industry 

Traveloka Launched Insurance Products

Indonesia’s OTA unicorn Traveloka has launched insurance products under Traveloka Protect, which is aimed at capturing Indonesia’s largely untapped insurance market. 

Traveloka Protect offers two types of insurance products: Travel Insurance, which includes comprehensive insurance and Schengen visa insurance; and Life Insurance.

Traveloka Protect offers users “an easy purchasing process” sans health checks and complicated administrative processes, said the company, adding that it “guarantees acceptance for all users aged 18 to 69”.

The level of market penetration for insurance in Indonesia ranges from two to three per cent, making Indonesia the second-lowest in insurance penetration among South-east Asian countries, according to the Indonesian General Insurance Association (AAUI).

This low penetration rate is due to lack of insurance literacy, said AAUI. Hoping to tap this market, Traveloka Protect presents a variety of insurance products for Indonesians. Besides offering protection, Traveloka wants to educate the Indonesian people on the importance of insurance.

Asuransi Sinarmas Tieup PingAn OneConnect

PingAn’s OneConnect has entered an agreement with Indonesian insurer Asuransi Sinarmas to bring the former’s technological advancements to the fast-growing Southeast Asian market. The memorandum of understanding was signed by Bi Wei, CEO of OneConnect’s insurance division and Njoman Sudartha, director of Asuransi Sinarmas.

In the first phase of the collaboration, Asuransi Sinarmas will launch OneConnect’s ‘Smart Auto Claims’ solution for its motor insurance products, which will improve operational efficiency and reduce costs, according to a statement by Ping An. The end-to-end auto claims technology uses image recognition, big data and AI to conduct the car damage claim assessments rapidly, thereby improving efficiency and reducing the risk of leakage and fraud, the statement added. 

Asuransi Sinarmas is the insurance arm of Sinarmas, one of the largest conglomerates in Indonesia. The group was founded in 1962 by Huang Yucong, an Indonesian businessman of Chinese descent. The group’s portfolio involves four core industries – pulp and paper, agriculture and food, finance, and real estate.

In succeeding phases, the partnership will roll out OneConnect’s Smart Agent ​​app to help Asuransi Sinarmas with agent training and agent incentive programs. According to the statement, the agent management app effectively improves the retention rate of talents and increases the per capita production capacity.

IT Replacing Bank Workers

The Malaysian Commercial Banks Association (MCBA) warns that jobs will be eliminated or changed in nature as banks head further towards digitalisation and automation. In an article in Suara NUBE, the newsletter of the National Union of Bank Employees, MCBA said it is necessary for banks to move in such a direction in order to remain relevant.“The major concern and challenge is for all employees to be on the same page, understand the challenges ahead and the need to embrace change and create value for them to stay relevant. Change is a constant and history has consistently proven that those who fail to adapt will perish over time,” it said.

About 30,000 people are employed in the country’s banking sector. MCBA said while some jobs may be eliminated or changed, new jobs which require a related or entirely different skill set may be created as well.

“As far as banks are concerned, we understand that a significant amount of budget has been allocated and expended to support efforts to create awareness of digitalisation among employees, and this includes continuous initiatives to re-skill and up-skill them,” it said.

It also urged employees to take the initiative to seek opportunities to learn, and to be prepared to adapt to changes. Last December, Social Security Organisation CEO Mohammed Azman Aziz said the majority of people who had lost their jobs over the past year had held clerical positions or worked in factories or machine operations where automation is gradually taking hold.

While the worst hit were those in the manufacturing and construction industries, Azman noted that even the banking industry was moving towards automation, where financial technology and online banking is being encouraged.

Pluang By GoVentures

Indonesian fintech startup Pluang has raised US$3 million in a series A round led by Go-Ventures, the investment arm of Indonesian tech giant Gojek. 

Formerly known as EmasDigi, the company provides its users with digital microsavings services and access to curated financial products. Its gold savings platform allows its users to invest in gold starting from 0.01 grams or roughly US$0.50. 

Pluang – which means opportunity in Indonesian – said it plans to use the fresh funds to launch other financial services, such as US dollar savings and fixed return products. It also looks to further improve its existing offerings and expand distribution. 

Among the 167 fintech startups in the country, 38% are in the payment sector and 31% are in lending, according to a statement from the company. Pluang has built itself up to tackle the difficulties of improving savings in Indonesia. 

“In terms of investment solutions, Indonesians are underserved, and there is a lack of access to financial products that have people’s interest at heart,” said the firm’s founder Claudia Kolonas. “We want to help Indonesian consumers see that better possibilities exist for growing their savings.” 

Prior to leading the funding round for Pluang, Go-Ventures most recently invested US$5 million in Indian cloud kitchen startup Rebel Foods. It has also co-led a US$35.5 million round for Indian mobile gaming company Mobile Premier League in April. Late last year, it invested in digital media startup Kumparan as Gojek expanded into online content.

My Boss Is A Bully

Assertive people–even aggressive people–thrive in American workplaces. If your boss is intimidating or a coworker has a temper, even the most well-meaning business experts will often tell you to “toughen up” or move on. As the old saying goes, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen,” right?

Not when you have a workplace bully on your hands. According to a 2014 survey of employees in the U.S. by the Workplace Bullying Institute, more than a quarter of respondents reported that they had experienced bullying, harassment, or verbal abuse at work–and the actual number may be much larger. Unfortunately, our pervasive “tough love” work culture makes it hard for employees to acknowledge that they’re being bullied - even if they have a boss who regularly yells at employees. It’s even harder to know what to do next when you do realize that it’s bullying, and it needs to stop.

However, there is a silver lining. Two years after high-profile stories about harassment and bullying in the workplace - like Travis Kalanick's resignation as Uber's CEO and the arrest of Harvey Weinstein - these issues in the workplace have gained more national attention. October is National Bullying Prevention Month, which means there’s no better time to talk about how we can prevent more situations like this from happening. Here are some tips on how you can diffuse common bullying situations that you might encounter in the workplace. 

WHEN YOUR BOSS OR COWORKER IS YELLING AT YOU - We get it–it’s normal to get emotional at work, and you can’t control how your boss or coworker reacts to confrontation. However, if you notice that yelling is their de facto response to conflict and irritation (and they do it regularly), that’s unacceptable behavior.

In this instance, the best course of action is not to yell back. Truly, the best thing you can do during an outburst like this is resisting the urge to fight fire with fire. Wait patiently until your boss or coworker has finished, and then acknowledge and summarize what you have heard them say to you. You should note that this doesn’t mean you agree with them, but you’re relating what you just heard.

Next, take time before you respond. During this pause, ask yourself: “How can I tell them what I need in a way that they will hear it?” This could be immediate (a calm request for them to lower their voice, with the right body language) or longer-term (“I have a lot of projects on my plate right now, and I need more time to complete this one.”) This conversation could take place in the moment or later, in a private meeting–depending on the context and your relationship with this boss or coworker.

Above all, in all of your communication with this person, focus on respect. No matter what you are doing to de-escalate the situation (and no matter what the other person might be doing in response), you’ll benefit more by communicating from a place of respect and being the bigger person. After all, most people don’t change their minds about something because someone yells at them, but they’re more likely to be receptive to hearing your views when they feel like you’re listening to what they have to say. Of course, if this behavior is ongoing even after attempts to de-escalate the situation, you need to report it to HR. 

WHEN YOU WITNESS AN ACT OF BULLYING OR HARASSMENT IN REAL tIME - Many of us have been in situations where we see someone at work get yelled at, belittled, intimidated, sexually harassed, or made uncomfortable. These colleagues may not be speaking up for themselves, and it might be hard to determine what to do (especially if there are office politics involved). However, as a bystander you can speak up, and often should. Here are three things you can do during the interaction:

1. Distract. This is a temporary action you can take in a situation where something needs to be done immediately, but you don’t have time to plan or go to someone else. For example, if you are concerned about two people in an isolated space, find a reason to go in that space and make your presence known.

2. Delegate. If you don’t feel that you have the ability to confront the situation, go to someone with more power who can stop the action and take appropriate steps. This could entail speaking to the offending person’s supervisor, department head, or HR.

3. Direct. Taking a direct approach means confronting the situation openly through effective communication that stops the action in the moment.

As a bystander, there is a fourth communication technique that is as important, or even more so, as the first three. That is the dialogue you have with the target or person responsible after the harassment has occurred. This is, by far, the hardest and least appealing step for bystanders to take.

If you don’t take this final step, you would have put a bandage on the situation, but not addressed the underlying issues. Of course, how you do this depends on what’s happening, and your relationship with the people involved. You should, however, continue to employ basic principles of respect. Be sure to open with lots of “I” statements, for example–“I noticed Jane looked uncomfortable when you two were alone earlier,” or, “You seemed pretty emotional in the meeting, especially when it came to Joe’s numbers.” Even simply stating that you observed what happened, after the fact, can make the offending person more aware of their behavior.

Bullying in the workplace doesn’t benefit anyone–and it’s unfortunate that office bullies continue to exist (and in some cases even thrive) in the workplace. However, one small step that we can take to stop them from inflicting further harm is to hold them accountable for their actions and refuse to accept their behavior. Over time, we can start to create a healthier work culture as a whole.