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North West England Places 3rd On UK Junk Mail League Table
ACCORDING to
research findings from The REaD Group; the UK’s leading data asset
management specialists; North West England has placed 3rd on the
Company’s inaugural UK Junk Mail League Table, receiving an
estimated 441 million items of unsolicited post over the past 12
months. "North Western residents can be forgiven for feeling like
they’re drowning in a veritable junk mail tsunami. This ranking will undoubtedly come as
cold comfort to already junk mail-besieged householders. Joining the
North West on the UK’s most junk mailed Top 5 are: (1) South East
(527 million items); (2) London (485 million items); (4) East (357
million items); and (5) West Midlands (344 million items).
Adding further insult to injury, we believe an additional 6 million
items of junk mail were sent to deceased North West residents in
2007. Whilst the distress caused by these unsolicited mailings to
grieving family members and friends is incalculable, these figures
do, unfortunately, support earlier research undertaken by The REaD
Group in 2006, which found that upwards of 1/3rd of direct mail is
regularly dispatched by companies without any name or address
checks. It’s little
wonder then that an estimated 25% of UK household paper waste is
comprised of discarded direct mail items." commented The REaD Group’s CEO, Mark Roy, in announcing the
Company’s findings.
A recently released survey from OfCom, the UK’s independent
communications regulator, indicating that 70% of consumers are
concerned about the amount of personal information companies hold
about them is also contributing to the growing ‘perfect storm’
surrounding junk mail. Add to this the 31% of complaints relating to
charity direct mail received of late by the Fundraising Standards
Board as well as Government inaction on tougher sentences for
mail-related crimes such as identity theft and impersonation of the
dead, and the ‘letterbox lament’ of the average UK
householder becomes an ever-bleaker one. "We’re not out to be direct mail kill-joys. Like many of us I enjoy receiving the occasional
discount offer or voucher. But I believe we fast need to affect a
paradigm shift in the uses and abuses of direct mail, to the
benefit of consumers, the economy and the environment alike."
said Mr Roy.
It’s not all bad news, however. Suggested tips for householders from
The REaD Group to better control junk mail include:-
· Registering with a junk mail control service such as
www.itsmypost.com or
www.mpsonline.org.uk.
· Registering a deceased loved one or friend with
www.thebereavementregister.org.uk
to prevent junk mail being sent after their death
· Displaying a ‘No Junk Mail’ sign on their letterbox or door
· Tearing up or shredding discarded junk mail items so that name,
address, bank account and/or other personal information cannot be
used by ID fraudsters. |
Second hand smoke increases risk of meningitis in infants
INFANTS and
children who are exposed to second hand smoke in the home could be
at risk from deadly diseases such as meningitis, a new study has
revealed.
Passive smoking weakens the immune system in babies
and toddlers which puts them more at risk from infectious diseases
including meningitis and septicaemia.
The study was carried out by scientists in Hong Kong and now
Meningitis UK is warning UK parents to be aware of potential
problems.
The study, published on the Tobacco Control journal
website, looked at 7,402 children who were born in 1997 until their
8th birthday. Those exposed to fumes within a 3 metre range were
associated with a higher risk of hospital admission, and premature
babies or those less than 3 months old were most at risk.
Kate Rowland, Head of Development at Meningitis UK, said:- “We
welcomed the cigarette bans in public places throughout the UK but
now this research shows how important it is to avoid smoking around
young children in the home as well.
Here at Meningitis UK we
represent thousands of families who have suffered the devastation of
meningitis and our sole focus is to find a vaccine to eradicate the
disease completely.
In the absence of a vaccine it is
imperative that measures are taken to reduce the risk, including
avoiding smoking around babies and young children.”
Parents who smoke increase the risk of their babies catching
meningitis because cigarette smoke helps the bacteria adhere to the
tissues lining the throat.
Kate added:- “To ensure we reach our goal even faster and save
more lives, many of our research projects add value to work already
being undertaken by industry.
Last year we launched our Search 4 a
Vaccine Campaign to raise £7million to support the breakthroughs
which are currently being made.
Great advances have been made
in the last 20 years including vaccines against Hib, Meningitis C
and Pneumococcal Meningitis and our scientists believe that with
enough support, a vaccine against Meningitis B could be found within
the next few years.”
For more information about Meningitis UK, or to support the
charity’s Search 4 a Vaccine Campaign, call 0117 373 7373 or visit
www.meningitisUK.org.
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