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Smokers urged to kick the habit for good

Smokers have been urged to kick the habit for good as health chiefs insist the benefits begin just 20 minutes after stubbing out the last cigarette.

HSE research shows 79% of smokers want to give up and the vast majority (83%) regret starting. 20-a-day smokers can save almost €5,000 a year.

Smoking is a major risk factor in cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke.

One in two smokers in Ireland will die of a tobacco-related disease and nearly 6,000 people in this country die each year from the effects of smoking. Irish Heart Foundation’s seven tips to give up:

Change your routine: If you’re used to a cigarette after a meal, try chewing some sugar-free chewing gum or go for a walk/fresh air. Reduce your caffeine and alcohol: When you stop smoking, caffeine and alcohol will affect you more than when you were a smoker.

Learn to deal with cravings: Some people experience withdrawal symptoms when they quit but these are positive signs that your body is ridding itself of the toxins and poisons from smoking.

Get regular exercise: Getting more active will help you deal with your cravings. Aim to be active for at least 30 minutes five days a week. Make your home and car smoke-free.

Choose healthy snacks: Some people find they eat more when they quit. Try to snack only when you are hungry and choose healthy snacks such as fruit, natural yoghurt or plain popcorn.

Avoid substituting cigarettes for sweets, cakes and biscuits: Eating three meals a day is good for your health and eating breakfast has been shown to help with quitting smoking.

This on- line life

On-line art appreciation course at National Gallery of Ireland

Join the National Gallery of Ireland on an online journey through the centuries at Cities and Suburbs: Life, Leisure and Landscape, a new art appreciation course beginning on 30 March 2021. This 8-week online course with art historian Dr Kathryn Milligan takes a broad view of artists’ depictions of ‘city and suburb’, via paintings, drawings, prints and archival collections at the National Gallery of Ireland. Incorporating Dutch, French, Italian and Irish art, the course covers the seventeenth to twentieth centuries. Walking in the footsteps of the urban observer, participants will follow the expansion of the city into its hinterlands, taking time to relax at suburban beauty spots.

Taking place on Tuesday evenings, each week’s session will cover something different: from panoramas and maps to hawkers and street markets, urban calamities to the social city. Participants will receive a recording of each week’s session, allowing flexibility in these extraordinary times. The course is suitable for beginners and experts alike.

COPD research pioneer wins Health Research Board award

The Health Research Board (HRB) has announced Gerry McElvaney, Professor of Medicine at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, as the winner of the HRB Impact Award 2021.

The award recognises the lasting impact Prof McElvaney has had on people’s health and patient care by applying his respiratory medicine research in practice. His work has informed local, national and international guidelines including European and World Health Organisation developments. Throughout his career Prof McElvaney has consistently demonstrated the benefits that can be achieved by proactively integrating research into policy and practice. His work focused on a specific genetic disorder called alpha 1 anti-trypsin deficiency (AATD) that leads to an increased risk of developing lung complications such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD accounts for 5 per cent of all deaths globally and is the second most common cause of lung-related deaths in Ireland. Prof McElvaney’s research group have developed diagnostic and screening tools for alpha-1 anti-trypsin deficiency which are now replicated globally. He has also played a major role in the development of the only specific treatment currently available for COPD arising from this disorder, called AAT augmentation therapy.

Selection of rehearsed readings at Everyman Cork Healthwave launches first digital Viagra service

Digital pharmacy Healthwave, based in Dublin, has launched Ireland’s first Viagra dispensing service.

This follows the announcement that Pfizer ‘Viagra Connect’ is now available ‘over-thecounter’ without the need for a prescription from a doctor in Ireland for the first time. The new Healthwave digital dispensing service will incorporate a digital pharmacist consultation and nationwide delivery, same day for Dublin, of the ‘Viagra Connect’ medication for a single fee of €25.

Given the sensitive nature of erectile dysfunction, many men have used online doctor services for prescriptions to access Viagra for dispensing in an Irish pharmacy. However due to Brexit, prescriptions issued by online doctors, often based in the UK, to Irish patients are no longer valid.

Patients using the new Healthwave service can complete their consultation online which will be reviewed by a pharmacist prior to the dispatch of the medication. Erectile Dysfunction is the first condition available through Healthwave’s digital pharmacist prescribing service for medicines that no longer require prescriptions. Visit healthwave.ie

The Everyman has announced the upcoming release of Made in Cork l Play It By Ear: a selection of rehearsed readings from its successful audio broadcast programme, all with a very Cork flavour, which will be made available for the month of March.

The Everyman launched Play it by Ear, a programme of live audio broadcasts from The Everyman stage in October 2020. Since then, the theatre has presented 15 live rehearsed readings – performed and streamed live from the stage - as well as 3 live music events, attracting close to 5,000 listeners locally, and globally. Due to the success of their digital programme, The Everyman has now launched Made in Cork l Play It By Ear Rehearsed Readings allowing audiences to purchase one digital theatre ticket to gain access to the full collection of nine rehearsed audio readings. Made in Cork l Play It By Ear Rehearsed Readings is available until 31st March. Tickets: €18 to access the full compilation for the month of March. www.everymancork.com

€650,000 social fund launched for Mid-West

A new €650,000 social innovation fund has been launched by Rethink Ireland for innovative projects in Clare, Limerick and Tipperary ‘that empower communities, tackle poverty, and promote social inclusion’.

The Ignite Midwest Fund, the first of its kind specifically for the Midwest, has been created by Rethink Ireland in partnership with several private donors from the region including the Parkes Family Limerick, the Community Foundation for Ireland, and is matched by the Department of Rural and Community Development via the Dormant Accounts Fund. There will be a minimum of five awardees with the fund now open for applications until 29th March 2021.

The Ignite Midwest Fund is the latest social innovation fund created by Rethink Ireland (formerly Social Innovation Fund Ireland), which has launched over 30 funds in the past five years totalling over €65 million.

For further details on the Ignite Midwest Fund and to apply, visit rethinkireland.ie/current_fund/ignite-midwest-fund-2021/

Paddy Cole reveals his sax exploits in new autobiography

One of Ireland’s greatest and best-loved entertainers, Paddy Cole, has recently published his autobiography, Paddy Cole, King of the Swingers.

From Las Vegas to New Orleans and across the globe, Paddy has played with Irish musical legends such as Brendan Bowyer, Dickie Rock, Joe Dolan, Twink, and is a perennial presence on TV and radio. From his first performance in his native Castleblayney at age twelve, billed as ‘Ireland’s youngest saxophone player’,

Paddy Cole been playing on stages around the world for almost seventy years. With The Capitol Showband, The Big 8 to The Paddy Cole Band, he has played with Irish legends such as Brendan Bowyer, Dickie Rock, Joe Dolan and Twink, and has more recently been a regular highlight of the Cork Jazz Festival. As well as music, he has done valuable charity work at home and abroad. One of the works in the sale: the artist is a secret

The largest ever on-line art sale in Ireland, in aid of the Jack & Jill Foundation, will go live on-line Thursday April 22 at 10am. The key attraction behind Incognito is that each original postcard-sized artwork costs just €60, but purchasers won’t know the identity of the artist until the sale has closed. For many lucky purchasers, the value of the artwork will likely far exceed the €60 donation made to Jack & Jill to buy the piece. Incognito features a Who’s Who of the Irish art scene, including Adrian+Shane, Robert Ballagh and Ange Bell. Among the perhaps more familiar faces taking part this year are Bob Geldof, fashion designer Paul Costelloe, comedian Jason Byrne, and artist Don Conroy. For more information on Incognito 2021, visit www.incognito.ie or follow us on Instagram @jackandjillcf, on Twitter @jackandjillcf, and on Facebook @2021Incognito, using the hashtag #Incognito21 For more information on the work of the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation, visit www.jackandjill.ie.

Kilkenny is offering a host of outdoor active and adventure get-aways for when you can travel again. From zip-lining, paddle-boarding to adventure and fairy trails, there are so many opportunities for the family to get outdoors and have an action-packed escape. Outdoor

Kilkenny has a round-up of some of the best places to stay – and play.