# Diabetes UK - Tesco?s national charity partner for 2013/2014



## JoeFreeman (Mar 4, 2013)

Hello. We have some great news to announce this morning that we wanted to share with everyone:

"We have some brilliant news this morning. We?re excited to announce that we have been chosen as Tesco?s national charity partner for 2013/2014.

Why are we so excited? Quite simply, this is the biggest partnership that we?ve ever had and we aim to raise up to ?10million over the coming year.

To find out more, visit www.diabetes.org.uk/tesco

All this will be used to make a life changing difference to the lives of children and adults affected by all types of diabetes. By working together we will:

Fund research into a vaccine that makes a future without Type 1 diabetes a possibility and has the possibility to break new ground in diabetes research.

Run an awareness campaign that could help thousands of people avoid a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes.

Provide life-changing support to people who are just diagnosed or already living with all types of diabetes, helping them feel better equipped to manage the condition.

Working with Tesco provides a fantastic opportunity to raise the profile of diabetes in the UK. Even more importantly, it gives us the opportunity to change lives - for the 3.8 million people and their families who live with diabetes every day, and also the 7 million people at high risk of developing Type 2.

We look forward to keeping you updated as we kick off and develop the partnership."


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## Northerner (Mar 4, 2013)

This is great news Joe  My niece is a manager at Tescos and told me about this last week. They really do an effective job in raising awareness and cash from what I know of previous hook-ups


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## JoeFreeman (Mar 4, 2013)

They do indeed. They helped raised ?10million+ for Cancer Research UK over the last year, and we're aiming for the same this year. Lots of hard work ahead but we're looking forward to the amazing opportunity!

Thanks


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## Caroline (Mar 4, 2013)

Great news, hope lots of money and awareness is raised...


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## Vix (Mar 4, 2013)

Yay, that's great news! xx


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## DeusXM (Mar 4, 2013)

Any chance of that cash going towards funding cure research? It's just I noticed that didn't appear to be on your list of goals and I'd have thought that'd be the number 1 priority for a diabetes charity. I don't want to 'manage' my condition; I want it gone.


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## Abi (Mar 4, 2013)

Call me cynical but I wonder how well Tesco's treat employees with diabetes if for example they need to test, treat a hypo etc or basal injection time happens to fall during that shift- or time off is needed to attend an appointment
Never worked there but suspect not a happy healthy working culture
( Although probably no where near as bad as a certain company who deal in just about every known commodity to man, online- from the recent publicity I've read about them. Will have to look at alternative ways of sourcing glucose tabs as I was buying the crates of 6 pots of 50 glucotabs at a very reasonable price)
Oh well I'm sure we' re all guilty- wanting goods as cheaply and quickly as possible


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## Northerner (Mar 4, 2013)

Abi said:


> Call me cynical but I wonder how well Tesco's treat employees with diabetes if for example they need to test, treat a hypo etc or basal injection time happens to fall during that shift- or time off is needed to attend an appointment
> Never worked there but suspect not a happy healthy working culture
> ( Although probably no where near as bad as a certain company who deal in just about every known commodity to man, online- from the recent publicity I've read about them. Will have to look at alternative ways of sourcing glucose tabs as I was buying the crates of 6 pots of 50 glucotabs at a very reasonable price)
> Oh well I'm sure we' re all guilty- wanting goods as cheaply and quickly as possible



I would imagine if there are any problems like you suggest then they will be rapidly addressed - hard to run an awareness campaign without being made fully aware of the issues!  I know my niece has enjoyed working there for many years, and whilst she doesn't have diabetes she does have other health issues. In such a large organisation though, there are bound to be managers that implement policy badly and perhaps any such failings will be exposed and addressed as a consequence of the campaign 

I believe the online firm you are talking about have addressed the problem which caused them such bad recent publicity, although they were obviously turning a blind eye to it before it was exposed.


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## Phil65 (Mar 4, 2013)

DeusXM said:


> Any chance of that cash going towards funding cure research? It's just I noticed that didn't appear to be on your list of goals and I'd have thought that'd be the number 1 priority for a diabetes charity. I don't want to 'manage' my condition; I want it gone.



......have to agree!


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## Twitchy (Mar 4, 2013)

Phil65 said:


> ......have to agree!



Here here!

Although a vaccine to protect my children would be awesome.


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## everydayupsanddowns (Mar 4, 2013)

However much I long for the announcement, I can't believe any 'cure' stuff would be relevant to me personally any more. Too long in the D tooth!

Some sort of treatment to stamp out T1D from future generations though, that would be brilliant!


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## AlisonF (Mar 4, 2013)

I blogged about this a few months ago. If a cure was simply a matter of money, I'd agree. But in reality, the human body is a very complex thing and we've been successful at curing very little. 

My preference is to focus on helping people today to live well with diabetes, because there's so much scope for improvement in that area and great progress can be made with relatively little effort, to maximum effect. Yes, let's look into a cure, but my priority is to help people live well with diabetes today.

Full blog post at http://www.shootuporputup.co.uk/2012/10/should-we-go-all-out-for-a-cure


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## mcdonagh47 (Mar 4, 2013)

JoeFreeman said:


> Hello. We have some great news to announce this morning that we wanted to share with everyone:
> 
> "We have some brilliant news this morning. We’re excited to announce that we have been chosen as Tesco’s national charity partner for 2013/2014.
> "



if you sup with the devil you are going to need a long spoon.

there is no justification imho for DiABETES UK comprising its independence and integrity by hooking up with a commercial organisation such as this especially one involved in the food industry.

Of course Tesco has to restore its image by working for chaaaaarity after the horseburger debacle and using the good name and reputation of DiABETES UK to help restore their own image looks like a soft touch for them if the DUK is prepared to roll over and have its tummy tickled by them.

I wait with trepidation to see what totally inappropriate food choices are pushed at us  by Tesco with the DUK's imprimatur on them. The bread aisle designated as "diabetic friendly " ?


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## Northerner (Mar 4, 2013)

everydayupsanddowns said:


> However much I long for the announcement, I can't believe any 'cure' stuff would be relevant to me personally any more. Too long in the D tooth!
> 
> Some sort of treatment to stamp out T1D from future generations though, that would be brilliant!





AlisonF said:


> I blogged about this a few months ago. If a cure was simply a matter of money, I'd agree. But in reality, the human body is a very complex thing and we've been successful at curing very little.
> 
> My preference is to focus on helping people today to live well with diabetes, because there's so much scope for improvement in that area and great progress can be made with relatively little effort, to maximum effect. Yes, let's look into a cure, but my priority is to help people live well with diabetes today.
> 
> Full blog post at http://www.shootuporputup.co.uk/2012/10/should-we-go-all-out-for-a-cure



Pretty much sums up how I feel about things. From recent things I have been reading it seems a vaccine is a big possibility, which would be effectively a cure for future generations. And there is a lot of money being put into a cure, whether funded by this campaign or others from other charities or institutions, so it's not like the possibility is being ignored.

What I would like to see come out of the campaign is a better understanding of what diabetes is and entails. I would hate to see just a rehashing of the simplistic and misleading 'avoid/cure Type 2 by eating well and getting more exercise' message. It may be true of a very large number of people at risk, but it is certainly not all. It needs to be emphasised that weight and activity levels can be important factors, but not the only factors. People understand generally that there are many causes of cancer - with most people accepting that there is a big genetic link for many types of cancer, or environmental/lifestyle factors for others - sometimes a mixture of all of these, so why is it felt that the diabetes message needs to be massively over-simplified?


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## DeusXM (Mar 4, 2013)

I don't think Tesco is necessarily a bad fit for Diabetes UK - there's no suggestion that certain products are going to be labelled 'diabetic-friendly', particularly as Tesco sells everything anyway. I also think we're less likely to see 'interference' as I certainly haven't heard anything from Cancer Research to suggest otherwise. ?10 million isn't to be sniffed at, I just think some of the funding goals are a little redundant.

Besides, you're worried about Tesco? Have a look at the list of Diabetes UK fundraisers. I'd be far more concerned that both Pfizer and Kellogg's are major doners. These are the world's biggest statin and cereal manufacturers. What medication does every doctor try to foist on someone with diabetes regardless of their cholesterol level? And what food choices are the most recommended for breakfast? 

Frankly Tesco looks like a much more impartial step forward - long may that continue.


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## DeusXM (Mar 4, 2013)

> And there is a lot of money being put into a cure, whether funded by this campaign or others from other charities or institutions, so it's not like the possibility is being ignored.



No, but I think it's certainly lower down on the agenda that most of us would like. I had a look through Diabetes UK's research booklet. I managed to identify approximately ?3.1m worth of research projects that on the face of it could feasibly lead to a cure (oh, and only one of those was T2). The total number of projects on the Research Directory exceed ?21m, so in the unlikely event all these projects are funded, just 14% of the research budget will be on cure-related activities.

I appreciate there's a real need for Diabetes UK to fund other projects that support everyone who's got the condition. I just think the balance isn't quite right at the moment and if you're a T2 there's little in the way of hope being offered.


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## HOBIE (Mar 4, 2013)

Good news Joe.


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## FM001 (Mar 4, 2013)

AlisonF said:


> I blogged about this a few months ago. If a cure was simply a matter of money, I'd agree. But in reality, the human body is a very complex thing and we've been successful at curing very little.
> 
> My preference is to focus on helping people today to live well with diabetes, because there's so much scope for improvement in that area and great progress can be made with relatively little effort, to maximum effect. Yes, let's look into a cure, but my priority is to help people live well with diabetes today.
> 
> Full blog post at http://www.shootuporputup.co.uk/2012/10/should-we-go-all-out-for-a-cure





Couldn't agree more Alison, this is fantastic news for the UK's largest diabetes charity


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## Lauras87 (Mar 4, 2013)

DeusXM said:


> Any chance of that cash going towards funding cure research? It's just I noticed that didn't appear to be on your list of goals and I'd have thought that'd be the number 1 priority for a diabetes charity. I don't want to 'manage' my condition; I want it gone.



I agree but we can't find a cure for the common cold so what chances are there for a cure for diabetes? And if we do cure it, what problems is it going to store up for future generations?


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## Tina63 (Mar 5, 2013)

I'm just pleased to read this because at least it means a MASSIVE boost to DUK's funds.  That HAS to be good news.  People carry on spending in Tesco regardless of who the charity is, so it's nothing but good news for DUK.

One thing I felt early on in my son's diagnosis was related to the labelling on food.  It used to rattle me that on the front of a product was all the calorific information, fat content, sugar content, but no TOTAL CARB CONTENT.  Wouldn't that be amazing if they could do that too?  I had just started wearing reading glasses, but would invariably go to Tesco without them, then struggled to read that information in the tiny print on the back.  As they go on and on and on in the press with negative comments about diabetes why don't they try and do something really practical to help?


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## everydayupsanddowns (Mar 5, 2013)

Unfortunately Tina they have just ha a big shake-up if food labelling (with a public consultation etc) but the thing they are focussed on is the (largely useless) 'of which sugars'.


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## Andy HB (Mar 5, 2013)

I hope progress is made towards the cure for both T1, T2 diabetes plus their variants. So I welcome this link-up between Tesco and Diabetes UK. Congratulations Joe. 

However, I sense a certain negativity on this thread.  

Whilst I agree that we haven't sorted the common cold out yet, it is conversely true that major strides have been made in the treatment and, as recently reported, 'cure' for HIV (a baby in the US is apparently clear of it after initially being infected). So seemingly intractable diseases are being dealt with (albeit slowly).

It also depends on their relative 'importance'. On that basis, the common cold isn't _that_ important.

Things may not happen quickly, but we will get there in the end! Assuming we don't all blow each other up first (darn it! I've hit the negativity button too!!).

Andy


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## Northerner (Mar 5, 2013)

everydayupsanddowns said:


> Unfortunately Tina they have just ha a big shake-up if food labelling (with a public consultation etc) but the thing they are focussed on is the (largely useless) 'of which sugars'.



My complaint about food labelling isn't what they don't put on the front, but the fact that they generally choose to print the complete table in tiny letters on the back. I'm totally opposed to 'the small text' on any document, to me it is a case of 'we have to put this here by law, but since we don't want you to really read it then we'll put it in tiny letters to dissuade you from actually trying'. It is pure deception.

I spy with my little eye,
A hundred food labels that just pass me by
Perhaps, Mr Food Man, you could explain why
The writing?s so small as if hiding a lie.

In bright coloured letters, and bold as can be
The packet says ?I?m healthy! And almost fat-free!!
But in tiny black letters you can hardly see
Is an excess of sugar that?s harmful to me.

Oh please, Mr Food Man, I?m not being rude!
Why can?t you be honest in labelling food?
If this was America, you?d likely be sued
For hiding the facts with a method so crude.

So, buck your ideas up and please make it clear
That your food?s really healthy, we?ve nothing to fear!
It would make our lives easier and fill us with cheer,
And perhaps, if you did it, we?d buy you a beer!

(c) Northerner 2009


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## DeusXM (Mar 5, 2013)

> I agree but we can't find a cure for the common cold so what chances are there for a cure for diabetes?



Pretty good, actually. 

There is no such disease as 'the common cold'. A 'cold' is basically a catch-all for all the symptoms caused by a rhinovirus - there are over 200 of these at least, so to cure a cold requires finding at least 200 cures in the first instance - and in any case, because most colds only last a week or so, there isn't acutally any real pressure to find a cure.

Whereas diabetes (or T1, at least) is one set, standard medical condition. There's at least 6 cures currently under testing or showing promise at the moment (BCG vaccine interactions with the immune system, combining Exendin-4 with lisfyllene, basic islet transplant, stem cell research, islet cell with chitin shell transplantation, high-dose GABA administration) and the likelihood is if these could be fully funded, we'd be talking about cures in less than 30 years.



> And if we do cure it, what problems is it going to store up for future generations?



Probably far fewer than the ones caused by not curing it!

However, in fairness to Diabetes UK, their research into T1 is grimly about numbers and makes a lot of cold, hard, logical sense. Vaccination against T1 is likely to be easier than reversing it. So why not pump a lot of cash into it? Then, at least we can prevent new cases ever happening again. The flipside of this is of course those of us who already have it will end up like glum historical relics, like those living today who survived Polio in the 1940s. 

And you can bet once a vaccine is discovered, you'll see funding for T1 switched off - what's the point in spending all that money to either find a cure or even bother developing better treatments for the tiny number of people who'll be left with the condition, eh? Once that vaccine comes out, we can all kiss goodbye to any development of CGMS, closed-loop pumps, better insulins and I wouldn't be too surprised if we'd actually see a closing of basic care facilities like T1 clinics. It's a sad state of affairs, but from a logical and indeed medical point of view, it definitely makes sense.


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## mcdonagh47 (Mar 5, 2013)

JoeFreeman said:


> Hello. We have some great news to announce this morning that we wanted to share with everyone:
> 
> "We have some brilliant news this morning. We?re excited to announce that we have been chosen as Tesco?s national charity partner for 2013/2014."



Opinion piece in the Daily Mail today by Blythman ....

"The big retailers, including the supermarkets and fast-food chains, know this. They have a vested commercial interest in feeding our addiction to sugar, pretending that they are doing us a favour by deluging us with their special offers and phoney marketing ploys.   

Sugar is in itself addictive. Just like a junkie or an alcoholic, the more we have, the more we want

If they really had a sense of social responsibility, they wouldn?t be so eager to hype up their sugar-laden products.

It is telling that the supermarkets constantly boast of their diversity of choice to cater for every type of customer, with their gluten-free and wheat-free products, yet they never seem to have a sugar-free aisle.

And for sheer cynicism dressed up as public service, it is hard to beat Tesco?s announcement this week that it is to give ?10 million to the campaign group Diabetes UK in order to raise awareness about the disease.

If Tesco really cared about the problem, it would transform the type of stock it holds and the layout of its stores. Removing all the confectionary at the checkouts might be a start, as would the withdrawal of buy-one, get-one-free offers on multi-litre bottles of carbonated drinks."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/a...kets-pushers-addictive-drug-called-sugar.html

Its a big black mark DiABETES UK, you have effectively delivered your own members and the whole British diabetic community, bound and and foot, to TESCO on the promise of a bit of jam tomorrow.


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## Northerner (Mar 5, 2013)

Supermarkets would find it hard to stay in business if they unilaterally chose to sell only what the latest furore told them they should. I wonder if the same person lambasted Tesco on their sponsorship of Cancer UK? They also seem to think that Tesco is giving DUK ?10m, rather than helping them raise the money.

I actually think it's a good thing that a major food retailer is putting diabetes  at the forefront of people's minds when they are shopping. Tesco's doesn't sell exclusively unhealthy food - it will be interesting to know if shopping patterns change as a result


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## LeeLee (Mar 5, 2013)

Wouldn't it be nice if they set up a low-carb section in each store.  Manufacturers could use it to display their 'good' wares.


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## rachelha (Mar 5, 2013)

My view on this is that if the companies want to give their money away to charities to try and look good then take it.  It is not just D-UK doing this, alot of wildlife trust etc take money from oil companies, mining companies who are trying to "green" themselves.


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## DeusXM (Mar 5, 2013)

> Its a big black mark DiABETES UK, you have effectively delivered your own members and the whole British diabetic community, bound and and foot, to TESCO on the promise of a bit of jam tomorrow.



I think that's missing the point a bit. It wouldn't matter a damn if there a 'no-sugar' aisle because it would be filled with all sorts of 'diabetic' products that simply swap out the sugar for another, blood-sugar-raising carbohydrate. Demanding no-sugar aisles is frankly, the sort of consumer laziness that has led to obesity in the first place. I don't get what's wrong with having a store full of choices of all kinds and then making people think their choices through for themselves. 

As for the BOGOFs on fizzy drinks...last time I checked, there were plenty of sugar AND carb free choices of drinks also on the same offer. Noteably, Tesco also do their own-brand versions of Dr Pepper, Lilt and Fanta which are ONLY available in sugar-free forms.

Tesco just want to see you more food. They couldn't care less what exactly you buy, as long as you buy from them. So in terms of charity impartiality, funding from Tesco shouldn't compromise what Diabetes UK recommends.

Pfizer, however, want you to buy more drugs and the only way they can do that is to make you iller in the first place. Why do you think so much emphasis is placed on putting people with D on high-carb (ie. high-cholesterol producing) diets? Why do you think the NHS indulges in a bit of double-think where it asks people with D to achieve far stricter cholesterol targets than the general population - but seems to think people with D shouldn't aim for stricter BG targets? 

The theory goes that people with diabetes are more at risk of CVD. Rubbish. People with high blood sugar levels are at risk of CVD. If the NHS told people to aim for normal A1cs (ie. 4.5-6%, not this 6.5-7.5% rubbish), then our risk would be exactly the same as anyone else and we'd be fine on the same cholesterol targets as everyone else. But then we couldn't be prescribed loads of statins.....and so it goes.


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