Carboxyhemoglobin concentrations in smokers of sheesha and cigarettes in Saudi Arabia.

dominant fingers, or the sharp edge of the opened base injures the palmar aspect of the non-dominant fingers if the base is held too close to the unprotected edge. Thus the dorsal aspects of the dominant fingers and the palmar aspects of the non-dominant fingers will be selectively at risk when opening a corned beef can, while injuries from other types ofcan are random. Corned beefis almost uniformly sold in tapered, key opened cans, the design of which is over 100 years old. These cans were originally chosen for their robustness and easy opening. Although the inevitable expense of redesigning corned beef cans may result in higher prices and initial consumer resistance, the design of the can should be reviewed. The cost of the resulting morbidity from these injuries is difficult to quantify, but added to costs of treatment must be those of enforced absences from employment. This study shows that corned beef cans cause a disproportionate number of injuries to the hands of their users and that such injuries are common. We have had the impression that psychogeriatric patients seem more prone to recall Margaret Thatcher correctly than has been the case for other prime ministers. We tested the hypothesis that in demented patients Mrs Thatcher would be recalled more easily than other prime ministers who had served a similar period in office and that she is now recalled more easily than the Queen. A retrospective study was performed on consecutive admissions to the psychogeriatric wards of the Bethlem and Maudsley hospitals for the years 1961-2, 1968-9, and 1983-4. These correspond with the fourth and fifth years of the terms of office of Mr MacMillan, Mr Wilson, and Mrs Thatcher, respectively. Eligible patients were aged 65 and over and had a main diagnosis of organic dementia on admission. The total score on either the Felix post questionnaire (for some patients in years 1983-4, scored out of 20) or the Gresham ward questionnaire (for all patients in the years 1961-2 and 1968-9 and for some in 1983-4, scored out of 43) was recorded. The responses to the question concerning the identity of the reigning monarch and current prime minister were recorded separately. Results Those subjects too severely demented to register any score on either questionnaire-that is, 0/20 or 0/43-or to allow the administration of the questionnaire were excluded. For the purposes of analysis this gave 43 The mean age, cognitive …