In the news: Trust in social media falling, energy drink ban and edible plastic bags

‘Embarrassed women avoiding smear tests’

A recent survey has highlighted that young women are avoiding getting smear tests because they are ‘embarrassed by the look and smell of their public areas’. The charity, Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust surveyed 2,017 British women and a third said embarrassment was the reason for delaying getting a smear test. The test can prevent 75% of cervical cancers which is the most common cancer in women under 35 with a total of 220,000 British women diagnosed with ‘cervical abnormalities’ each year.

The plastic bag is edible, compostable, even drinkable

Avani, a company from Bali has addressed plastic pollution ‘through better design rather than waiting for a behavioural shift in consumers’. Avani has designed a line of fully biodegradable food products, including a plastic bag because they are the ‘worst culprit’ for plastic pollution. These new bags are made from cassava root starch and other natural resins, using no petroleum products. Depending on soil conditions, these bags fully biodegrade within 3 to 6 months leaving no toxic residue. The bags are ‘safe’ for animals to eat and Avani claims they’re even safe for humans to drink when dissolved in hot water.

Call to ban sale of high energy drinks to under-16s

Theresa May has been asked to consider a UK-wide ban on the sale of high energy drinks to under-16s. This comes after Conservative MP Maria Caulfield said a constituent’s ‘daily intake of 15 energy drinks may have contributed to his suicide’ by increasing his anxiety. Following these recent events, several supermarkets have agreed to ban the sale of high energy drinks to under-16s. All of this comes after the recent news that from April 2018, companies that produce sugar-sweetened drinks will have to pay the tax in an effort to tackle the nation’s obesity problem.

Only one in four trust social media, says survey

According to the annual Edelman Trust Barometer, it has been revealed that only one in four Britons trust social media. On the contrary, two-thirds of Britons believe popular social media sites are lacking in their ability to prevent ‘illegal and unethical behaviour, including cyber-bullying and extremism’. Edelman also revealed that trust within traditional journalism ‘rose sharply’ in the last year, adding that it ‘was time social media companies sat up and listened. This change in faith could be due to the fact more than half of Britons worry about fake news, while 64% said ‘they could not distinguish between paper journalism and fake news’.

Hinds says schools face digital challenge

Damian Hinds, in his first public speech as England’s new education secretary, has stated that schools ‘needed a mix of traditional academic subjects and a sense of “resilience” and skills such as public speaking'. He also highlighted the importance of teaching digital skills and improving vocational training for adults. This is all due to ‘industries being changed by artificial intelligence and the arrival of technologies such as autonomous vehicles’ increasing the need for new skills to be taught in schools to ‘make young people more employable’.

In the news: Trust in social media falling, energy drink ban and edible plastic bags

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