04/07/05

"I am so excited to be pregnant again!" Pop sensation Jamelia talks exclusively about her surprise pregnancy and the joys of motherhood, only in the Summer 2005 issue of the NHS magazine Your Life! in Cheltenham and Tewkesbury.

Also in Your Life! in Cheltenham and Tewkesbury:

. Strictly Come Dancing star Jill Halfpenny reveals how she foxtrotted her way to fitness

. Coronation Street's Candice (Nikki Sanderson) discusses living with asthma

. And sexy footballer Joe Cole has a message for the ladies: ''Girls who smoke make me choke!"

Plus plenty more gripping real life stories, including 'From Brownie to Junkie' - the story of what happened when an angelic school girl got caught up in the world of hard drugs (you won't believe the 'before' and 'after' pics).

Independent research has shown that the magazine really can change people's behaviour - for example, prompting them to give up smoking or take up exercise. It also helps readers to know that the people they see on the telly have health problems too, so this issue contains lots of celebrity interviews and features.

The magazine's publication follows growing concern that many young women simply ignore or throw away traditional NHS leaflets. Your Life! in Cheltenham and Tewkesbury engages readers with celebrity interviews and fascinating real life tales, which aim to educate these women about vital public health issues such as binge drinking, teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

Dr Shona Arora, Director of Public Health, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury PCT, said:
"The PCT is concentrating the main distribution of Your Life magazine in our 'Priority Neighbourhoods' in Cheltenham and Tewkesbury: Hesters Way and Springbank, Whaddon, St Mark's, St Paul's and Tewkesbury Priors Park. We hope the positive public health messages contained in 'Your Life' will help people who live there to make more informed choices about their health and lifestyle."

Copies of 'Your Life' will also be available at GP practices, neighbourhood resource centres, main libraries, sports facilities, supermarkets, larger beauty salons, nail bars, and tanning shops, pharmacists, some petrol stations and newsagents. Distribution will begin week commencing 4 July 2005.

Local NHS Primary Care Trusts use the magazine as a platform to highlight the health priorities in their area - from teenage pregnancy to local stop smoking services. Each issue includes an eight page supplement featuring locally sourced case study interviews and information and contact details of local NHS services that readers might not otherwise be aware of.