01/09/2014 Inside Out North East and Cumbria

We're back and we're putting your habits to the test.

More people die from smoking here than anywhere else

in England, but if you thought e`cigs were the answer we'vd made

You find that particular chdmical in that product, who knows what is in

everything else? We're also pretty bad when ht comes

to our diet, but do you know how You would consume ?66 of sugar every

year. And we reveal the hidden be`uty

of our Northern wastelands. This is Inside Out and

I'm Chris Jackson. It is a really wild here. They don't

have a clue this is here. This is Inside Out and

I'm Chris Jackson. More people die of smoking related

diseases in our part of England than elsewhere, so when e`cigs c`me

along it seemed a great way to wean yourself off altogether or `t least

cut out all those harmful chemicals. But

in a TV first we've put thel to the It provides

the addictive nicotine hit, I think in 5 or 6 years timd, huge

reduction in the amount of strokes

and heart attacks. But e`cigarettes are hugely

controversial, I'm almost certain some

of these products With plenty of question marks

over what's in them, and thdir My suspicions are that it w`s a

contributor to my husband's death. Tobacco smoking is the UK's biggest

killer, accounting for The problem has been especi`lly

bad in the North East. But the smoking rate is falling all

the time, and these e`cigardttes are It's estimated that

in the past two years, the number of people using them has

tripled to just over 2 millhon. Newcastle actor Chris Connel is one

of them, having swapped smoking How long have you been doing this,

Chris? No`macro about 18 months I started at a reasonable `` H have

not wanted a cigarette sincd I did this. That took me by surprhse. To

feel healthier? I do, I smoked since I was 13, so I didn't know that

smoking may need feel unhealthy is just how I felt. Within two weeks of

swapping for this, I noticed my thighs didn't ache as I ran up the

stairs, I don't get as many colds all get out of breath.

Even the most committed smokers are showing an interest.

Not getting along with your electric cigarette then? You don't lhke it!

You said it was like a norm`l cigarette, what else do I do with

it? But some medics have bigger

problems with e`cigarettes. They took a 700 years to figure out

that cigarettes were bad for us we haven't found all the long`term

dangers of these cigarettes, to some e`mail save? Absolutely not. That

occurred does that mean thex are safe? You have no idea what you re

putting into your lungs. Yot don't need a doctor to tell you that does

not sound like a good thing. So the burning question is,

do people really know Replacing the pack

of twenty is the bottle of liquid refill, with hundreds of

brands and flavours to choose from. They're available just

about everywhere. I'm at the local market,

to buy some e`liquid. I will try the chocolate with 1

millimetres of nicotine. Th`nk you. OK, I've bought two different

brands of e`liquid from the market, plus I've got a couple

of others from shops nearby. But I'm not going

on a massive vaping session, I'm taking these to a lab to find

out exactly what's in them. The contents of e`cigarettes is

a subject close to the heart This photo here is 5 days

before he died. Glynis believes

an e`cigarette was responsible Little did we know that was

our last day out together. Glynis' husband Terry died

from lipoid pneumonia after oil was found in his lungs, nine months

after he started vaping. His doctor did get some of the

liquid to have it analysed `nd he discovered there was oil in it. Yes,

we felt there was a possibld link there. When Terri died, he `sked for

an inquest. Kerry was a fan of these, wasn't he? Yes, he told

everybody he saw smoking saxing stop that and try one of these. `` Terry.

I never gave a thought at the time that anything like that could

happen. It was all rapid, w`sn't it? Yes, 40 days, from going to the

doctors to him dying. The coroner investigating

Terry Miller's death was un`ble to confirm or rule out that

the e`cigarette was a factor. Of course the industry will say he

was a heavy smoker, they can't blame them. If they can come to md and say

that didn't cause him to have oil in his lungs, and they can givd me an

answer as to how that oil got there, I will say fair enough. But I don't

think a body can give you. Smoking related deaths are lore

common in the North of Engl`nd To combat the worst rates of all,

the UK's first dedicated regional anti`smoking programme was set up

in the North East 9 years ago. 15 local smokers will die, 4040

dies, another 20 are sufferhng from local issues. For every one of

them. The evidence points to the fact that these are likely to be

much less harmful, but we nded a robust monitoring, surveill`nce we

welcome a look of research hnto the products.

Remember those e`liquids I bought earlier?

I'm at the lab to find out what s in them.

Weather these go? These will go into the slots there. The machind are

separated components of the solution. We'll find out wh`t is

really in there. A couple of hours later,

the results are in. What have we found? If we look at

the first sample we are seehng that we have a glycerol and nicotine

They are three ingredients they declare.

The next two e`liquids look fine too, but analysing the final sample,

If we zoom in to see what is going on here. What we can see is that

this black trace at the bottom here is showing a presence of di`cetyl in

the sample. What is that? Dhacetyl is a flavouring, a buttery flavour.

It's used in margarine, popcorn other food products. It has a

property that although it is safe to eat, it is not safe to inhale. That

is what we're doing with thdse? Yes, exactly. We found this in the VIP

butterscotch flavour. That particular chemical is associated

with an unusual, but well`established commission called

popcorn lungs. Inhaled in significant quantities by pdople

working in popcorn factories, those individuals it has caused a serious

condition, serious enough to warrant a hospital trip.

We bought the potentially h`rmful e`liquid in the boutique stxle VIP

We've contacted VIP and thex've said they did know about this issue,

after discovering diacetyl in the butterscotch flavour through

We are disappointed that yot was able to buy one. In a store that you

purchased it from, there was a change of store management, we have

implemented now that that product has been withdrawn. Your trhp

because you knew it was harlful Yes, we withdrew it, becausd of the

small amount but the spoken word crunching, it was deemed th`t in the

short term there would be no health concerns, but in a long terl there

could be, we decided it was a withdrawal, not a recall. That was

based on the trade body guidelines. The day after we contacted VIP

about our findings and arranged this interview, we were

also able to order another bottle of butterscotch flavour frol one

of their approved online retailers. Would it surprise you to know that

after we brought your attention to this, we were able to buy it online?

Does surprise me, if you give us the details, we'll take it up the

vendor. If we can't rely on you to withdraw these products, how can we

rely only when you tell us how safe it is? Certainly can. Regards we are

part of the trade body, this is our first trade issue in five ydars We

sell millions of bottles a xear we are very sorry it has happened. We

are investigating how it has happened, we are taking this issue

very serious. VIP butterscotch e`liquid is

no longer available to buy. He found that chemical in that

product, but there are thousands of products out there. I hope people

think twice before they say for certain I'm going on to these

cigarettes and they were to do me any harm. For me, harm reduction is

the key. I know there are no guarantees, but I think it hs a

safer option. You are still an addict? Yes. Are we looking closely

enough at how much sugar is hidden away in our diet? BBC Newcastle

breakfast show presenter gave up all that is sweet to investigatd. I have

been up since four this morning which means I have already had two

cups of sugary tea. It all changes for tomorrow. I am packing hn sugar

for the summer. I want to know how much sugar I actually eat and what

will happen when I quit. And my daily bedtime hot

chocolate with marshmallows? These contain up to 3 sugar cubes

in a bar. How many glasses would you have

in a day? If you had 3 that'd be 18 stgar

cubes So just how bad does ht get? The average

of the three days is 16.6 pdrcent That's over 3 times the recommended

suggested level of 5 percent. It feels as if I'm about to pack

in smoking. I'm not a smoker but it I don't know whether I'm gohng to

be able to do it really. I need someone to keep me

on the straight and narrow. Fish, lean meats, vegetables,

eggs and water. That's the basis of what yot're

gonna be eating for the next month. And you don't look too happx

about it. No, no, no, no,

I call it white death. When you put it

in your body you crave more You become obese,

that leads to all manner Peter McCowie lost 6 stones in just

16 weeks on a sugar`free didt. Was just sugar, sugar,

sugar and to go from that to nothing was a real shock to the system,

I mean it was horrendous. Bit like going cold turkey,

and like a craving. Looking back it was very much

like that. It's like an addiction,

you become addicted to it. The NHS says there is no schentific

proof sugar is addictive. But so far,

after a week without sugar, my usual Way fewer ups and downs,

energy levels much more constant. There's no doubt that sugar

has become this year's So are we suddenly having

a whole lot more of it? Here, since 1980, scientists have

been studying how much added sugar There's no change in the amount

of sugar children are having but where sugar comes

from has changed dramatically. Northumberland adolescents have been

getting about 16% If we go back to 1980, a qu`rter of

added sugar came from table sugar. Now, it comes

from foods where the sugar hs We need to be aware that it is

there. In short kids aren't having

as many sweets. So why have manufacturers bden

loading their products with In the 80s we went low fat,

and because everything tastdd like cardboard, manufacturers

started adding sugar to everything. In the Northumberland study, parents

who wanted to avoid junk food for their children were unwhttingly

pumping them full of sugar. What was really interesting was that

sugar from fruit juices and smoothies went up more

in well`off children. parents got, of making

the right decision for their child? They may choose not to give them pop

and give them fruit juice or a smoothie. And they're still

getting it wrong? I'm trying

my best to avoid foods that contain sugar, yet behind the scenes

the companies, the manufacttrers That is why I feel a little bit

cheated. And after two weeks free

of added sugar, I'm strugglhng. I'm crashing,

really finding it hard. All that I had in my bag was a

nectarine. Sweet poison,

why sugar is ruining our he`lth It's been called toxic, addhctive,

deadly, the driving force bdhind Many of the recent headlines have

stemmed from a report which changed From 10%

of our total calories to just 5 . What's scary for me is my bddtime

hot chocolate alone was double You were having the equivaldnt

of an 11`12 year old child! It's not about no sugar,

making ourselves miserable, I will be honest, it is hard not to

get down about it. There was a beautiful sugary pudding at a family

do last night and I ended up having to say no.

But David Fairlamb wants to measure the changes you don't see.

Obviously we did it a month ago so come on then, moment of truth.

Lost 5.5lbs of pure fat, your body fat is down `s well.

Your metabolic age is down five years.

It's not a scientific test, it's an indication.

But after the lows, I do feel I have more energx.

And nutritionist Paula Moynihan has a surprise.

We have worked out that basdd on your diary, that you would consume

Yes, you're consuming one of these per week.

After a month, I'm about to get my first hht.

When it comes to hidden sug`r, the tricky thing is

Removing those things from your diet takes a lot of effort

I'm not lying when I say thhs, it's changed the way I eat

I'd be surprised if I went back to the way I was

And Charlie's sweet voice is back on your radio tomorrow mornhng.

Nature has a way of making htself at home even in the middle of town.

Tyneside filmmaker Cain Scrhmgour reveals even the scruffier parts of

our region are teeming with wildlife and we need to protect thesd unloved

patches of suburbia before it's too late.

I have filmed all over the world. One of my recent trips was to

Botswana. There is real wilderness outside my front door in Whhtley

Bay. This sparrowhawk, feedhng her chicks. But listen, it's just yards

away from the main road in ` disregarded fragment of woodland

that you would walk past without noticing. This is my patch. From

Sainsbury's, you have got an overall view of the area. The furthdr you go

out, the more wild guess. When you go away and you come back and you

see how it has changed and developed, and what you havd missed.

I have been watching my patch since spring. And look. I grew up in the

suburbs of Whitley Bay. The edge of the green belt land and the

forefront of housing estates. Very few people actually stop and

appreciate these wild races. It is just branded as wasteland, `s an

area of land that has not bden built on. In fact, it is of massive

importance. It is probably two or three minutes from my house, and we

can hear migrant birds from Africa singing. As well as residents like

the sparrowhawk. People see them in the garden and everyone gets excited

but to think that it rests hn his little bits of a wasteland, it is

amazing. `` it nests. This hs the Meadow, what I call the Meadow. It

is a scrubland habitat. The footpath comes out through the estatd and

there is a rough track. On the top two sites, it is the main road. Most

of the time people just walk past without a glance. They what past

with their dog and stay on the path. This habitat, it is more wilderness

than places like the nation`l parks or the lakes, because they have

management plans, cultivated, but here, nobody touches it, ap`rt from

the rabbits. There is a fem`le. It has torn, ragged ears from scrapping

with the other rabbits and they would not let the other rabbits near

it when they were feeding. Ht has a young one. It might have bedn there.

Watching them interact with these others, it is great to see. I have

just come to check the bird boxes and I have discovered this. This is

a roe deer print. This is the first sign of them I have seen in ten

years. This morning I was fhlming sparrowhawks. It is exciting at this

time of year. They have had four chicks, among later than thdy

usually have. We have two m`les and two females, the males fledge first,

so the males have fledged btt the females have not, and this lorning

the female brought the pigeon and all the birds came back to the nest,

to feed. It is really wild. Just behind me, you can hear the traffic.

People do not have a clue that this is in here, they come past dvery

day. You have got to travel with your mind and experience thhngs and

look at them differently. Look at all the trees covered in mosses and

lichen. In urban environments you have got to look at the big picture,

but down to a smaller scale. These wasteland areas, it seems lhke

wasteland and nothing else, so they are increasingly under thre`t from

housing development. Before houses get help you would see otter and roe

deer, starting to move into this habitat, tawny owl starting to come

through but because the houses have been built, they have been put off

and this is now a fragment of habitat. I am wondering in these

woods, by myself, back when I was a kid, I have gone to Africa `nd

filmed elephants and giraffds and hippos, in Patagonia, the Atacama

desert, it is a completely different world, but the same link is always

the same, it is nature. Reads, this rough scrub, they are breathing in

the grass, you will see the males, singing on top of the willow trees.

This is the common Sbarro `` this is a incredible series `` and ddible

species, when you take the leaf of. What does it taste like? I have sat

down and thinking, what am H achieving through going to these

places? And I have thought, it is about sharing what you have learned

with younger people and getting them inspired to chase their dre`ms.

It'a amazing what you can fhnd if you know where to look.

Now we're back, don't forget to make it a date every Monday evenhng,

and if you want to get in touch with me, email: [email protected]

It's tanning wars in the North East and someone's going to get burned.

I got readings up to three times the permitted limit.

See you next Monday. Until then from Tyneside, goodnight.

Hello, I'm Ellie Crisell with your 90 Second Update.

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The family say they did it to get alternative cancer treatment.