A customer selects toothpaste in Beijing Tuesday, May 29, 2007. The U.S. government has stopped all imports of Chinese toothpaste after reports that some products sold in Australia, the Dominican Republic and Panama were tainted with diethylene glycol, a chemical commonly used in antifreeze and brake fluid. [AP]

WASHINGTON - The government warned consumers on Friday to avoid using toothpaste made in China because it may contain a poisonous chemical used in antifreeze. Out of caution, the Food and Drug Administration said, people should throw away toothpaste with labeling that says it was made in China. The FDA is concerned that these products may contain diethylene glycol.

The agency is not aware of any poisoning from toothpaste in the United States, but it did find the antifreeze ingredient in a shipment at the U.S. border and at two retail stores: a Dollar Plus store in Miami and a Todo A Peso store in Puerto Rico.

Officials said they are primarily concerned about toothpaste sold at bargain retail outlets. The ingredient in question, called DEG, is used as a lower-cost sweetener and thickening agent. The highest concentration of the chemical found in toothpaste so far was between 3 percent and 4 percent of the product’s overall weight.

“It does not belong in toothpaste even in small concentrations,” said the FDA’s Deborah M. Autor.

The FDA increased its scrutiny of toothpaste made in China because of reports of contamination in several countries, including Panama.

The agency is particularly concerned about chronic exposure to DEG in children and in people with kidney or liver disease.

Agency officials said they had no estimate of how many tubes of tainted toothpaste might have made it into the U.S.

“Our concern today is potentially about all toothpaste that comes in from China,” Autor said. “Our estimate is that China makes up about $3.3 million of the $2 billion U.S. toothpaste market.”

The agency also issued an import alert Friday for all dental products containing DEG. The alert means toothpaste from China will be stopped at the border, she said.

Companies that make brands previously found with DEG will have to prove the toothpaste is free of the chemical before it’s allowed into the country. Meanwhile, all other brands of Chinese-made toothpaste will be stopped for testing, something the agency has been doing since May 23.

The import alert posted by the government says DEG has been improperly used in a variety of sedatives, syrups and cough medicines worldwide. Most recently, a cough syrup containing DEG resulted in more than 40 deaths in Panama last September.

The alert says the agency found DEG in three products manufactured by Goldcredit International Trading in China. The products are Cooldent Fluoride, Cooldent Spearmint and Cooldent ICE. Analysis of the products revealed they contained between 3 percent and 4 percent DEG.

The agency also found the chemical in one product manufactured by Suzhou City Jinmao Daily Chemical Co. in China. Analysis of that product, Shir Fresh Mint Fluoride Paste, found it contained about 1 percent DEG.

China’s food safety problems have in recent months become a matter of international concern, a situation reflected in trade talks between Chinese and U.S. officials in Washington last week.

Most notably, on March 15, FDA learned that certain pet foods were sickening and killing cats and dogs. FDA found contaminants in vegetable proteins imported into the United States from China and used as ingredients in pet food.

Smokers were warned today that they face on-the-spot fines for littering if they drop cigarette butts in the street. It means that smokers trying not to be penalised for breaking England’s ban on smoking in enclosed public places from next month could be hit by a different fine.

Alan Woods, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: “Smokers will think they are avoiding a fine by lighting-up outside.

“If they don’t dispose of their cigarette stub responsibly, by putting it in a bin or portable ashtray, they are risking being issued with a fine of up to ¡ê80 for littering instead.”

Nearly 80 per cent of streets are blighted by cigarette stubs - 20 per cent more than five years ago, according to KBT.

The annual clean-up bill stands at ¡ê200 million just for cigarette ends.

An estimated 122 tonnes of cigarette ends, matchsticks and other bits of smoking litter are dropped every day.

KBT is now urging smokers to bin their butts.

Tesco is to start selling portable ashtrays.The Ashcan, is the size and shape of a cigarette, fits into a cigarette packet where it can be used to extinguish stubs.

From 1 July it will be against the law to smoke in virtually all enclosed and substantially enclosed public places and workplaces.

Premises will be considered enclosed if they have a ceiling or roof and are wholly enclosed either on a permanent or temporary basis.

The law also applies to public transport and work vehicles used by more than one person.

“No Smoking” signs will have to be displayed in all smoke-free premises and vehicles.

Managers of smoke-free premises and vehicles will be responsible for preventing staff and customers from smoking. Failing to comply with the law is a criminal offence.

The fixed penalty notices and maximum fine for each offence are:

. Smoking in smoke-free premises or vehicles: fixed penalty notice of ¡ê50 - or a maximum fine of ¡ê200 - imposed on the person smoking.

. Failure to display “No Smoking” signs: fixed penalty notice of ¡ê200 or maximum fine of ¡ê1,000 imposed on whoever manages or occupies the premises or vehicle.

. Failing to prevent smoking in a smoke-free place: a maximum fine of ¡ê2,500 imposed on whoever manages or controls the premises or vehicle.

Of all the juices in the market, the pink grapefruit juice is the one that provides the most nutrients per calorie, a new study has found.

Author Gail Rampersaud, a researcher at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida, who conducted the study found that pink grapefruit juice not only has a high vitamin C content, but it is in fact better than orange, white grapefruit, pineapple, prune, grape and apple juices.

And, to top it all, pink grapefruit juice also provides potassium, folate, thiamin and magnesium.

“(It) is an excellent source of vitamin C. It also provides potassium, folate, thiamin and magnesium, as well as certain carotenoids that can be converted into vitamin A in the body. Pigmented grapefruit juices, such as pink or ruby, also contain lycopene, a carotenoid that gives pigmented grapefruit its rich color,” Discovery News quoted Rampersaud, as saying.

As a part of her research, Rampersaud focused only on common 100 percent fruit juices, and used six different methods to calculate each juice¡¯s nutrient density.

Nutrient density was defined as either nutrients provided per calorie, or the ratio of the amount of a nutrient in foods to the energy provided by these same foods.

Nutrients included proteins, fats, sugars, numerous vitamins and minerals and other components.

According to Rampersaud, citrus juices rank high “because they generally have higher amounts of a wider variety of nutrients compared to the other juices included in the analysis, coupled with the fact that the citrus juices are lower in calories.”

She found that pink grapefruit juice provided an entire day¡¯s recommended vitamin C amount in a single 8-ounce glass.

The findings are published in the current issue of the Journal of Food Science.

The fad for low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets could be putting Kiwi lives at risk, say dieticians. A study published in last month’s European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found prolonged consumption of such a diet was associated with a higher mortality rate, particularly from cardiovascular problems and cancers.

The study, of 23,000 Greek men and women, also found those with a higher intake of carbohydrates had “a significant reduction of total mortality”.

Dietetic Association president Jan Milne said people who cut carbohydrates out of their diets missed out on an important source of nutrients, including B vitamins and iron.

“If a parent goes on a low-carb diet, the rest of the family sometimes ends up on it by default,”she said.

“This is particularly dangerous for children, who typically get a lot of their iron from bread.”

High-protein diets such as the Atkins diet ¨C which encourages adherents to eat large amounts of saturated animal fats, including bacon, eggs and butter ¨C were dangerous in the long term because of the increased risk of heart disease, she said.

Robert Atkins, whose 1972 book Dr Atkins’ Diet Revolution inspired dieters all over the world to go on a bacon binge, died in 2003 at the age of 73 after developing a heart condition three years previously.

However, the low-carb craze has continued unabated, with US celebrities, including Jennifer Aniston, Stevie Nicks and Al Gore, testifying to the reductive benefits of avoiding fruit and pasta, and instead opting for hamburgers, steaks and cheese omelettes.

Mrs Milne said many foods marketed as “low carb” or “low fat” actually contained large amounts of sugar, which was “incredibly dishonest”.

“A lot of these crazes are generated by the ‘white worried well’, who can afford to obsess about what they eat.

“You have to remember that fad diets are usually built on the fact someone wants to make some money.”

To pick up, you need to butt out - that’s the overwhelming view of smokers in a recent survey.

The survey of single Australians found 67 per cent of smokers believed kicking the habit would increase their chances of finding a partner.

In a further hurdle to matchmaking success, 73 per cent of smokers believed their habit made it harder to meet people.

And 61 per cent of non-smokers said they would dump their partner if they took up the puff during their relationship.

The nationwide online survey of 500 people was conducted through rsvp.com.au with Nicotinell Gum in the lead-up to World No Tobacco Day tomorrow.

Andrew Phillips from Nicotinell maker Novartis Consumer Health Australia said many smokers felt forced to lie about their habit when it came to getting a date.

“Smokers are stuck in a frustrating catch-22: keep the habit and lose a date or lose the habit to keep a date,” he said.

The survey found 98.5 per cent of non-smokers preferred their partner to surrender the smokes while 90 per cent believed smoking was a relationship turn-off.

Most smokers - 62 per cent - agreed, and 75 per cent preferred their own partner to be a non-smoker.

Meanwhile, 83 per cent of smokers wanted to quit while 65 per cent admitted they were not happy being a smoker.

Research showing that teenagers who watch three hours or more of television a day are at higher risk of flunking school should have lessons for New Zealand parents, education psychologists say. A United States study, published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine this month, found a link between excessive television viewing and persistent attention and learning difficulties.

Interviews held over a 21-year period with 678 mothers and children found television viewing time of three hours or more a day at age 14 indicated academic failure, attention problems, low homework completion and negative attitudes about school.

Assessment at age 16 showed increased television viewing was associated with a higher risk of academic failure, and those pupils who had cut down on their viewing got better grades.

A senior lecturer in psychology at Victoria University, Paul Jose, said the study did not prove that television viewing caused academic failure, but excessive viewing was likely to be a “selective factor”.

“If you have difficulty reading, you watch more television because it’s something you can do.”

A study last year by University of Auckland and Otago academics for the Agencies for Nutrition Action found the average New Zealand child watched television for more than two hours a day, rising to an average of four hours a day for teenagers.

Massey University educational psychologist Tom Nicholson said local studies had found children who watched more television were poorer readers.

“If they’re watching TV or playing mindless computer games, they’re not engaging in more constructive activities that are going to prepare them for life … They’re just wasting time.”

Professor Nicholson has put his money where his mouth is - bribing his nieces and nephews $5 for every book they read.

“But I haven’t had to spend too much yet because they don’t read enough!”

He said it was worrying that 25 per cent of children surveyed watched television after 8.30pm.

Only four of the top 60 programmes watched by children were screened during designated children’s viewing hours.

“Parents have to put limits on children’s television watching because kids won’t … A lot of the TV they’re watching is not educational. It’s pretty mindless stuff.”