The population in Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and many other nations are having a hard time being dissuaded that the consumption of the old liquid amber stuff can boost immunity from SARS. Yesterday, Singapore boss cockies had to resort to a public government statement to convince a slightly bleary-eyed lot that both beer as well as smoking and/or abstaining from pork will help in the slightest. Though many are preferring to ignore the advice, publicans are muttering into their own beers yet again...

Unfortunately the beer remedy was one of the few pieces of good news for our long suffering Singapore bretheren in recent weeks. Let's hope things get better soon

Meanwhile an article in the the well respected medical journal Lancet published yesterday states that the death rate from SARS is around 20% overall, in contradiction to the common assumption that it was around 4 to 5%. The reason is simple. It takes a while from onset to death, and the 'life span' of the virus gets longer every day while new cases decrease in all but China. Around 50% of those SARS cases of 60 years of age and over have succumbed in Hong Kong. Younger people have a much better chance of survival of around 5 to 7%. While new cases are reducing fast in most places there are new hotspots of new infections in Taiwan and Northern China.

New research just out confirming that Japanese "greys" or the senior retired market segment continues to grow. Part of this is due to the longer life expectancy of the Japanese due to a more fish-based diet, and economic disincentives for having larger families. A demographic well worth keeping an eye on...