The nation’s long war on one of its leading preventable killers has taken a surprising tactical turn, as the head of the federal Food and Drug Administration has declared that tobacco companies will face new regulations aimed at slashing nicotine in cigarettes. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb argues that cutting the noxious and addictive nicotine will….
Continue ReadingArchives for July 2017
After GOP fails to repeal Obamacare, what’s next for U.S. health care?
As the late, sultry diva Peggy Lee used to croon: Is that all there is? The Republicans in Washington, after seven years of trying and dozens of faux earlier votes, have failed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Obamacare, the signature legislation of the previous Democratic administration, persists as the law of the….
Continue ReadingFitness fans: Don’t spin your way into dehydration or muscle damage
Although many sports enthusiasts relish the summer as a peak time to train hard to get especially fit, wise athletes for safety’s sake may wish to build their way up to exhausting workouts, and to ensure they’re staying hydrated in healthful ways, while also recognizing that endurance competitions may alter their bodies in ways that….
Continue ReadingAmericans waste hundreds of millions annually by tossing ‘expired’ drugs
Americans each year needlessly toss hundreds of millions of dollars in costly, valuable, and still potent drugs, a wasteful practice driven by a “myth,” the mistaken belief in and scrupulous adherence to already debunked product expiration dates. Drug discards, including of medications that may be in short supply nationwide, occur all along the distribution chain,….
Continue ReadingFame, reputation and a med school dean’s secret life
Although smaller community hospitals may provide treatments that are as good and as safe, Americans flock to academic medical centers for specialized care and complex procedures. They’re lured to the big, pricey institutions by their stellar reputations, state-of-the-art facilities, and top-line specialists. These tall, shiny complexes, combining medical education, research and clinical care, also have….
Continue ReadingAs Trumpcare founders, GOP offers harsh paths for government on health
The Republicans haven’t waved a white flag—yet. They may never formally surrender. But the GOP’s seven-year, take-no-prisoners campaign to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, has foundered. For good? Political prediction is a knucklehead’s sport. It’s never safe to predict what’s going to happen, especially when unpredictable tragedies rear up like Sen. John….
Continue ReadingWhy you will see many fewer erectile dysfunction ads this fall: a story of crazy costs
This fall’s National Football League games will be markedly different in an unexpected way that also offers insight into the nation’s skyrocketing costs of medical care. The makers of the erectile dysfunction drugs Viagra and Cialis are yanking $50 million in advertising from TV broadcasts of NFL games, their top contact point with male consumers. Indeed, the….
Continue ReadingDon’t give medical device makers more time before disclosing product woes
Pro-business and anti-consumer lawmakers in Congress are racing to slacken rules for medical device makers to report problems with their products. This move may imperil more patients, many of whom already have been harmed and some even killed already by defective and dangerous medical devices. The dispute focuses on a provision to triple the time….
Continue ReadingAnesthesia residents offer eye-opening insights on drowsy MD perils
Some of the very medical specialists who are supposed to put patients to sleep experience big problems themselves staying awake, with more than half of anesthetic trainees reporting in a new national survey in Britain that they had crashed their cars or nearly done so while headed home after long night shifts. American doctors’ social….
Continue ReadingKeeping our kids from toking on poison
Tougher ratings for movies targeting teen-agers and higher cigarette taxes may be two good ways to crack down on Big Tobacco’s persistent and harmful peddling of its poisonous wares, health experts say, based on information flowing from the sprawling Golden State. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has just assessed Hollywood’s progress in….
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