By Edward Davie
Our round-up of the health headlines on Thursday 19 May.
'Open warfare' over the future of the NHS has been declared, reports the Guardian, after Andrew Lansley praised competition as a legitimate way to improve standards, and Nick Clegg's adviser Dr Evan Harris told Pulse that blocking Monitor's new role as competition promoter was just the start of Lib Dem demands on the bill.
According to the paper the health secretary is determined not to see his reforms gutted and was greeted with sustained applause at a meeting of the Conservative backbench 1922 committee. One Tory MP was heard shouting: 'We've had enough of those yellow bastards.'
The Mail reports that a study by Edinburgh and Glasgow universities has found that infants are being prescribed too much paracetamol by 'overconfident GPs' putting them at risk of liver damage.
In a separate study reported by the Telegraph (not on website) scientists have found that pregnant women smoking increases the risk of their children having asthma.
If all of that has left you feeling glum there's good news in the same newspaper that American university research claims being 'too happy' can lead to a shorter life.
Professor June Gruber, co-author from the department of psychology at Yale University, said of people who actively tried to be happy: 'When you're doing it with the motivation or expectation that these things ought to make you happy, that can lead to disappointment and decreased happiness,' and contribute to premature death.'
Spotted a story we've missed? Let us know, and we'll update the digest throughout the day...
Daily Digest
