October 2011 Issue - Costa Calida Chronicle

In association with Costa Cálida International Radio and www.angloINFO.com
Convenience stores now allowed to sell
cigarettes
Shops which open for 18 hours or more per
day will now be able to sell cigarettes and
loose tobacco. A new law has been passed
which means that, in addition to petrol stations,
convenience stores will also be allowed
to set up cigarette machines on the premises.
It means shops such as the chain stores which
never shut will be permitted to have vending
machines in store, but they will not be
allowed to sell cigarettes off the shelf, since
only tobacconists are authorised to do so.
The law will rule out 7/11 stores and most
internet cafés, since these are only open for
between 12 and 16 hours daily. Convenience
stores will be obliged to apply to the Commission
for the Tobacco Market, and register
the vending machine number as well as the
tobacconist who supplies them.
This measure is designed to maintain strict
controls over cigarette sales.
Spanish scientists develop vaccine to
prevent Alzheimer’s
A group of scientists from the Euroespes biomedical
research centre in Galicia, lead by Dr
Ramón Cacabelos, have developed the fi rst
preventative vaccine against Alzheimer’s, and
have applied for a patent with the US Patent
Offi ce.
“It’s another step forward in the fi ght against
the illness”, said Dr Cacabelos in today’s press
conference.
The vaccine, known as EE-AD-SP1 and tested
on genetically modifi ed rats, allows the process
of brain death, which begins as soon as
the brain reaches maturity at the age of 30,
to be intercepted, thus preventing it from
developing again in old age. The vaccine has
also shown itself to be effective in reduce
pathogenic features of the disease in animals
with signs of cerebral degeneration.
The vaccine, which is given in two separate
doses, introduces a new immunogen which
promotes the generation of antibodies to
fi ght the amyloid plaques where beta-amyloid
proteins accumulate in the brain of Alzheimer
patients. The drug, presented in sphingosine-
1-phosphate rich liposomes that contribute to
the regeneration of neurones, also impedes
intracranial haemorrhages and side effects of
other Alzheimer medicines.
Page 56
This twin purpose - therapeutic and preventative
- makes this vaccine a new weapon in
the fi ght against the disease and could benefi
t both people at high risk of developing the
illness, as well as those who already show
symptoms of it.
Once it has been accepted by the US Patent
Offi ce, the vaccine will be clinically developed
overseas, most probably in the United States.
“Europe is slow when it comes to developing
new drugs”, said Cacabelos. The Euroespes
group, which has spent 20 years developing
drugs to treat Alzheimer’s, believes that the
vaccine could be ready for dispensing in six
to eight years.
Alzheimer’s is currently the third biggest
health problem in the world and the fi fth largest
cause of death amongst the over 65s in
the United States. In the European Union,
dementia care and treatment costs taxpayers
160 billion euros a year, with an average cost
of 22,000 euros per patient.
EC says Spanish economy will grow
0.8% in 2011
The European Commission (EC) maintained
that the Spanish economy would grow 0.8%
in 2011, the same fi gure it forecast in May
of this year and well below the government’s
latest forecast of 1.3 %.
The quarterly fi gures, however, show a deceleration
in Spain’s GDP, with the EC expecting
just 0.1% growth between July and September,
a rate they forecast to continue then until
the end of the year. During the fi rst quarter of
2011, the Spanish economy grew more than
expected, reaching 0.4%, spurred on by an
increase in exports, which is why the 0.8%
fi gure has been maintained, despite the fact
that between April and June it slowed to just
0.2%.
The EC Executive has nevertheless warned
that the imbalances in the private sector that
built up during the real estate boom and the
high level of unemployment are still major
burdens for the Spanish economy.
Infl ation will sit around the 2.9% mark across
the year, compared with the 3% forecast in
May and the fi gure of 1.8% recorded in 2010,
as a result of the quarterly drop in prices. According
to the EC, the evolution of the rate of
infl ation is due in the main to the higher oil
prices during the fi rst half of the year, which,
in turn, were due to the social and political
unrest in northern Africa.
The EC forecasts little
change in consumer
spending will remain
cautious because of
widespread personal
debt and unemployment,
whereas public
spending will rise, after
the increase seen
in the fi rst quarter,
as a consequence of
the “ambitious” programme
of tax consoli-
dation.
During the fi nal months of 2011, the EC expects
infl ation to keep falling as the infl ationary
impact of the increase in VAT and the
price of electricity gradually wear off.
Less than one per cent of driving fi nes
used to support traffi c accident victims
Spain’s ministry of traffi c netted 457.8 million
euros in fi nes last year – but only spent 0.09
per cent of it on helping accident victims.
A law passed in 2009 now makes it compulsory
for every cent in fi nes collected by the
Dirección General de Tráfi co (DGT) to be
spent on accident prevention, road safety and
supporting victims of road crashes. Representatives
from Spain’s Association of Road
Traffi c Accident Victims say they are grateful
for the benefi ts they receive, but are disappointed
that this is only 450,000€ a year –
despite the DGT’s having amassed more than
26 million over budget in fi nes and a further
523 million euros in taxes.
The Association has only been receiving funds
since 2007 – when they got 180,000€, but
say the fact they are only given a tiny slice
of the DGT’s income from fi nes means they
are unable to offer vital fi nancial assistance
to most of their members.
For each person killed on the road, numerous
others are left severely disabled either
temporarily or permanently meaning they are
unable to work, and their meagre disability
pension – assuming they are entitled to one
– does not even stretch to cover the cost of
living, let alone paying for carers or adapting
their homes to be able to live in them. The average
monthly disability pension ranges from
450€ to 700€, depending upon region, and
those claiming must have worked and ‘paid
into the system’ for a certain number of years
prior to becoming incapacitated.
The law does not state what percentage of
fi nes collected should be paid to accident victims,
meaning that last year, out of the 822
million euros spent by the DGT, nearly half
went on ‘promoting responsible driving’; another
86 million was invested in ‘improving
traffi c fl ow’, and 253 million on making it easier
and quicker to fi ne people.
Association representatives explain that they
are run entirely by volunteers, many of whom
give up their jobs to help, and receive nothing
from the DGT. The DGT is self-fi nancing
and budgets for annual fi nes according to its
needs. To pay its 10,000 staff members, it
needs to collect 453 million euros a year in
fi nes from motorists.
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