Health
Tanning beds face new taxes and restrictions
Growing
concerns about the dangers of indoor tanning beds are leading to new
taxes —
and possibly new restrictions — designed to curb the practice among
young
people.
A Food and
Drug Administration advisory panel recommended Thursday that the agency
consider actions such as requiring that teenagers get parental consent
before
using a tanning bed or even banning the use of tanning beds among teens.
The
advisers also recommended reclassifying tanning lamps from Class I
medical
devices — a category that includes tongue depressors and elastic
bandages — to
a Class II or Class III device, which would permit the agency to impose
greater
restrictions.
Health bill gains ground but release delayed
President Barack Obama's sweeping health care
legislation won precious support from a longtime liberal holdout in the
House
on Wednesday and from a retired Catholic bishop and nuns representing
dozens of
religious orders — gaining fresh traction ahead of a climactic weekend
vote.
"That's a good sign," said Obama, two weeks
after taking personal command of a campaign to enact legislation in what
has
become a virtual vote of confidence on his still-young presidency.
But Democrats delayed the planned release of formal
legislation at least until Thursday as they sought to make sure it would
reduce
federal deficits annually over the next decade.
At the White House, Obama met with Richard Trumka, the head of the AFL-CIO. Officials said the labor leader raised concerns over the details of a planned excise tax on high-cost insurance plans as well as other elements of the as-yet-unreleased legislation.
Diabetes Drug's Big Catch? A Fishy Odor
The dead fish
smell of a popular diabetes drug may cause some people to
discontinue its use.
Metformin, an
oral drug commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes,
generally has few serious side effects, but gastrointestinal upset and
nausea
are common. Although these effects have been well documented in studies,
researchers say one unique characteristic of the pills may have been
overlooked
as a potential cause of the nausea: their strong fishy odor.
Researchers
say adverse reactions to the smell of metformin (sold
generically and under the brand name Glucophage), have not been
documented in
medical literature, but hundreds of postings to message boards on the
Internet
note the strong fishy smell of the drug.
Cervical cancer vaccine debate heading to the Legislature
The debate
over making cervical cancer vaccines available to young women
is coming to the state Legislature today.
A group of
anti-vaccine activists plans to attend this morning's Senate
Codes Committee hearing to protest a bill that would let health care
professionals
give the vaccine to women younger than 18 without parental consent.
The
measure, sponsored in the Senate by Liz Krueger and in the Assembly by
Amy
Paulin -- both Democrats -- aims to protect women against preventable
cervical
cancer. The legislation also notes that Planned Parenthood clinics have
been
seeing teenagers coming in and requesting the vaccine.
Krueger
said such vaccines have a proven track record. "It has a direct
correlation to preventing cancer," she said, adding the legislation
wouldn't
make such vaccines mandatory.
Monroe County plans another H1N1 clinic
The
unpredictability of the H1N1 virus has the Monroe
County Health Department
likely to hold another vaccination clinic this month.
The virus
first struck last spring and returned in the
fall. "We still don't know whether there will be a third wave," said
health department spokesman John Ricci.
Higher copays raise health costs in U.S. aged: study
The research,
published in the New England Journal of Medicine, questions the wisdom
of
raising co-payments to save money, at least among the elderly.
That might be a
way
to cut health care costs among younger people, but not for people age 65
and
older, Dr. Amal Trivedi of Brown University, who led the study, said in a
telephone interview.
"It's a
lose-lose proposition for most health plans," Trivedi said.
Kids get skin infections from toilet seat
"Toilet seat
dermatitis
is one of those legendary conditions... seen in underdeveloped
countries, but
one that younger paediatricians have not come across in their daily
practice," says Bernard Cohen, director of paediatric dermatology at
Hopkins Children's.
Analysing
cases
from the US and India, Cohen and colleagues attributed it to harsh
cleaning
chemicals and exotic wooden toilet seats, making a comeback as bathroom
decor
-- especially seats covered with varnishes and paints.
Cervical cancer vaccine will cut cases by two thirds
The cervical
cancer vaccine will reduce rates of the disease in women under 30 by two thirds
within 15 years, experts have predicted.
Based on current uptake rates of the cervical cancer
vaccine, cases of the disease will be cut by around 63 per cent by 2025.
L.A. bars medical marijuana shops next to residences
The Los Angeles City Council decided Wednesday to
prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries next to residences, but rejected a
proposal to keep them at least 500 feet away, which would have drastically
limited the available locations.
The council, however, put off a vote on the last
contentious issue until Tuesday, when it will decide whether dispensaries must
be 500 feet or 1,000 feet from so-called sensitive uses, such as schools, parks
and religious institutions.
After a monthlong hiatus from the issue, the council
had been expected to vote on the ordinance Wednesday.
Washington considering legalizing marijuana
Joining
Legalization bill was introduced
in the
Further, about two dozen states in
the nation like