Grandmother speaks of ill-effects of smoking

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the progressive lung condition that makes it hard to breathe, kills one patient every 10 seconds and is fast closing in on women, Pink magazine finds in tomorrow’s issue.

Stopping smoking is considered to be the basis for avoiding COPD, which is projected to be the world’s third largest killer by 2030 and leaves sufferers feeling like they are drowning in air.

As more women have become smokers, their risk of COPD has increased substantially and, although still more common among men, cases are rising three times as fast in females, the magazine’s health section highlights, speaking to a grandmother, who shows what cigarettes reduced her to.

As the divorce debate heats up and takes on a variety of twists, Pink, which is distributed with The Times, gets the women on the opposing sides of the pro and anti campaigns to confront their points of view. They meet head-on in its InFocus section to highlight why they are so passionate about the topic and ready to take time out to fight for and against it.

Other features delve into women at the workplace and whether they make nightmare bosses as well as the benefits of equality and family-friendly measures for both males and females.

The working-girl theme continues in the ShowStopper fashion shoot, which gives a preview of the state-of-the-art Progress Press at Mrieħel as its new printing machines get going.

The creation of a local line of facial creams is the subject of the beauty pages, while books, food, psychology, home interiors, history, horoscopes and humour fill the rest of the magazine.

For a dose of fitness, check out the story of how 250 women, driven by one crowd-pulling mother, have signed up to run a marathon for a good cause – a cure for cystic fibrosis, which a 10-year-old girl is living with and wants to put an end to.

Two readers with obesity issues also have the opportunity to experience the Pink-alli weight-management programme that offers a holistic, step-by-step solution to the shedding of kilos, sharing their trials and tribulations on their journey to a fitter self.

Published by Allied Newspapers Ltd and printed by Progress Press, Pink is produced by Mediamaker. Its executive editor is Fiona Galea Debono and it is designed by Helen Cassar Torreggiani and Joseph Schembri.