Swedish News:

200 Swedes die from work related stress every year. Insulted high school students. Ikea in the hotel business. Increased sales of painkillers. Stockholmers take the most antibiotics. Ikea soon to open in India. Record number of weapons in Stockholm. 

  • 200 Swedes die from work related stress every year
    Every year 200 Swedes die from work related stress, according to a fresh report. In the official statistics, 50 to 60 people die in work-related accidents every year. However, according to the new report produced by Professor Bengt Järvholm and his colleagues at Umea University, work kills more than that. “There’s a dark number when it comes to diseases caused by the work environment,” says Järvholm. “The death toll due to asbestos alone is about 50 percent of deaths caused by accidents.” Cancer makes up about half of all work-related deaths, according to the report. Heart attacks as a result of highly stressed occupations will hit around 200 Swedes.

  • Insulted high school students
    Nearly two out of five high school students report they often suffered insults during the past year, according to a foundation called Friends, in its first annual report on the topic. Many children also don’t feel safe in school, especially in restrooms and changing rooms, which seem to be the most unsecured areas of a school. Only 63 percent among students ages 12-15 report they always feel secure during school. More than one-tenth of the children polled said they don’t have anyone among the school personnel to turn to when they feel violated or insulted. Almost as many as that say staff doesn't react when students are mean to each other. For more information: www.friends.se

  • Ikea in the hotel business
    We like Ikea because of its flat-pack furniture and—let’s admit it—cheap meatballs. But the furniture giant is now getting into the hotel business as well, with plans to launch a budget hotel chain in Europe. Owner of the Ikea concept, Inter Ikea, says it's planning hotels in 100 locations across the continent, with the first one to open in 2014. Harald Muller, business development manager of the company’s property division, says although the chain won’t use Ikea’s name or furniture, it will infuse the Ikea philosophy of ‘‘good quality at a reasonable price.’’ Inter Ikea, which already owns a handful of hotels in Europe, will work with another company to operate the chain. The name of the hotel chain was not yet revealed but is expected to be released in an official announcement in September.

  • Increased sales of painkillers
    The sales of over-the-counter pain killers like Alvedon and Ipren (both of which include paracetamol) have increased nearly 40 percent in the county of Kalmar during the past five years, according to new statistics from Apoteket (the national pharmaceuticals company in Sweden). On average, each household in the county spends 214 SEK ($32) on these medications every year. A certain amount of the increase is related to the fact that prices have gone up, but according to pharmaceutical researchers, it's also because we decide to take action over our pain ourselves, rather than seek out a doctor.

  • Stockholmers take the most antibiotics
    Decreasing the use of antibiotics in Sweden in order to avoid resistance has been a hot topic for several years. Yet, according to estimates done by Strama (Samverkan mot antibiotic resistance or the Swedish strategic program against antibiotic resistance) up to four out of ten prescriptions of antibiotics are not medically motivated. In Stockholm, the use of antibiotics has increased in the past year by 3.5 percent, and Stockholmers were already the biggest users of antibiotics in Sweden. A campaign is about to be launched by the County Council, directed foremost at parents of young children, since prescriptions for young children are increasing the most. In 2011, 31 percent of all children under the age of 5 were prescribed antibiotics. Åke Örtqvist is a doctor specializing in infectious disease. He says the use of antibiotics has somewhat declined through the years, but there is still some way to go. “We must reach out with the fact that many of the infections that are treated with antibiotics today don’t necessarily have to be treated that way. It would be better for the body to heal by itself,” he says. “There are several areas where one could be a bit more careful in diagnosing and tell patients that their specific infection doesn’t have to be treated with antibiotics. Today antibiotics are being prescribed early on, when someone coughs or has sinus problems.” In total 870,000 prescriptions were collected during this past year, and every cure taken increases risk for resistance. Also, there are no new types of antibiotics in sight. Add to that the fact that our bodies’ own bacterial flora is affected with negative results whenever we take antibiotics. “It’s not about people not going to see their doctor,” Örtqvist continues. “You might need a correct diagnosis, but it’s important to be open to the fact that most of the infections we get heal on their own. What’s needed is an element of education, both for people in the medical business and people in general.”

  • Ikea soon to open in India
    Ingvar Kamprad is waiting for the green light to open Ikea stores in India, the world’s most populated nation. In June it was confirmed that Ikea is working on a deal for opening 25 stores in India, an investment worth 13 billion SEK ($1.9 billion). India has a demand that 30 percent of Ikea’s products must come from Indian companies, and the government wants Ikea to reach that goal within a year from the production start. Ikea wanted 10 years to accomplish this goal, but both parties seem to have agreed on seven years, according to Indian Economic Times. Ikea is already buying Indian products for $450 million, a sum they hope to double in the next few years. Ikea is already doing business in China, where they are also planning on building new stores. As of now there are nine.

  • Record number of weapons in Stockholm
    170 guns and several submachine guns are to be inspected in Stockholm. This number of shooting weapons taken by police in the municipality is reaching record status, and the users are getting younger and younger, according to Svenska Dagbladet. New statistics show that fewer weapons are being found in Malmö, compared to Stockholm, where the reports of illegal guns have increased in number by 25 percent from last year. Jörgen Olsson, director of the youth section in Västerort believes it is still unusual for minors to carry guns, but there is an increase. “Those who have begun with a more advanced criminality and have allied themselves, begin to have enemies and must create a capital of violence. Those who have contact with criminal gangs also have access to weapons,” he says. There are two reasons for the increase in weapons, Olsson says: The number of gangs with young criminals is growing and shop owners have begun to understand that young criminals are often using soft air guns. “They see that it’s nothing but kids coming in, and they are beginning to resist. So these kids have to prove themselves, prove they carry real weapons.” Ted Hedengrahn, from the Nova-grupp, an action group and a special unit at Stockholm’s county police, which works against serious organized crime, says: “Most have access to weapons. We only manage to lay our hands on a fraction of them, so we know that the access is good. But the risk to be in danger is relatively small unless you are a criminal.”