News 
February in numbers
3 million
Health and Social Care Information Centre data show that prescriptions for NICE-approved dementia medicines rocketed from 502,000 in 2004 to 3 million in 2014, as the disease became more prevalent. But, the cost to the NHS of prescriptions for these medicines has risen by only £2.9 million to £45.7 million.
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37.8%
Vaccination coverage for 70 year olds against shingles fell 2 per cent from 39.8 per cent down to 37.8 per cent, according to data released by Public Health England. Anyone aged 70 on 1 September 2015 is eligible for the vaccination. Shingles, or herpes zoster, is most common in people over 70 years of age.
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440,000
Up to 440,000 adults may have atrial fibrillation (AF) but haven’t been diagnosed, according to a NICE estimate. AF is a contributing factor for one in five strokes. Around 8,000 atrial fibrillation related strokes could be prevented if appropriate management was received, says the NHS.
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£500m
Cancer Research UK’s ‘Cough up’ campaign argues that a new levy on manufactuers of just 1p per cigarette sold in the UK would raise an extra £500 million in funding, which could be streamed directly into public health services and mass media quit campaigns that would save thousands of lives.
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