Daily Digest 17 November 2009

By Ian Quinn

Miracle cures come thick and fast in today's papers, from tooth braces which boost your hearing to a new jab to stop smoking from being addictive.

But, presumably cooked up in the lab by that well known Bristol research scientist Belle de Jour, the most significant health news is surely the discovery of a female Viagra.

Billed as the holy grail for drug companies by no less an organ than the Guardian, it came by accident after doctors discovered unexpected side-effects from trials of a new antidepressant.

It may have failed in its original purpose but, according to The Mail, the Germans are already poised to unleash the new drug, flibanserin, which is said to make women want to make love more often and what's more have more fun when doing it - and it could be on British bedside tables by 2011.

In with the female sex drug, out with the fags, as the Mail also carries the story of a new vaccination that could help patients give up the evil weed for good.

The vaccine, called NicVAX, which stops the addictive impact of cigarettes by preventing nicotine from reaching the brain, may be on the market within a year it says, after proving successful in 50% of cases, it reports.

The Telegraph also gets in the miracle cure spirit, reporting-just in time to boost Nintendo's profits by a few more billion this Christmas - that its Wii Fit exercise can be as good as the real thing.

Surely it's only a matter of time - if it is not happening already - that patients will be able to spend their direct budgets on the games console and self refer themselves to a few strenuous workouts in the comfort of their front room, without even having to bother going out of the front door.