Background: Observing fast during Ramadan is obligatory for every healthy adult Muslim and a significant number of diabetic patients observe fast during Ramadan in Bangladesh. The objectives of this study were to find out the life style changes and also to assess the patients' awareness during Ramadan fasting.

Endoscopic palliation of tracheobronchial malignancies I read with interest the review by Drs M R Hetzel and S G T Smith (May 1991;46:325-33). I think that cryotherapy is almost unknown in England, and used in only one centre.' There are some errors regarding cryotherapy. The bronchial probes now use nitrous oxide and not liquid nitrogen. The temperature obtained on the tip of the probe reaches-700 (or-80'C) but the tumour or tissues are frozen at-40'C. No cases of perforation have been reported with this technique. Flexible probes were not described by Sanderson;' he used rigid cryosurgical probes (I was the first to use flexible probes in 1985). The authors say that no comparative studies of laser treatment and cryotherapy have been published but there is one study in a French journal,' and others."°T his technique is well known in France and used more widely than laser therapy. There are at the moment 75 cryotherapists and 1500-2000 patients have been treated.