Parents, educators, politicians, federal regulators, and advocates for Americans’ better health all should pause and consider the prime takeaways from a company’s willingness to strike a $439 million settlement with three dozen states figuratively shutting a barn door long after the nag has bolted. Hint: Big Tobacco is relentless in its efforts to addict regular….
Continue ReadingWhen Big Pharma opens its big checkbook, life-saving disclosures vanish
Big Pharma loves to blast away at opposition lawyers and their clients, criticizing them for seeking justice in the civil system over claims of significant harms. But, c’mon, man, as a certain top political leader likes to say to express his flabbergasted skepticism. Wealthy corporations and their counsel marshal enormous, costly legal resources to bully,….
Continue ReadingHospital shielded heart surgeon with 21 malpractice claims, probe finds
He cut a dashing figure in ads and billboards for a New England community hospital, which had an administration desperate for a lucrative heart care program in a region with famous academic medical centers. Dr. Yvon Baribeau, a Canadian-trained heart surgeon, seemed a perfect fit for the Catholic Medical Center, a place where he told….
Continue ReadingU.S. judge cites religious freedoms in striking down insurance coverage for HIV drugs
While increasing numbers of Americans tell pollsters that they are forgoing religion and seeing its practice diminish in importance in their lives, those with religious fervor are finding a federal judiciary willing to delve into the complexity of faith and medicine in deeply polarizing ways. The looming midterm elections, pollsters say, already have been upended….
Continue ReadingWhite House conference, first in 50 years, will focus on diet and nutrition
The Biden Administration this month will tackle one of the major, persistent challenges that perplexes and damages the health and well-being of most regular folks: what they eat, as well as their regular sources of food. The scheduled Sept. 28 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health will be only the second of its kind….
Continue ReadingRisks rising for little kids ingesting button- and lithium coin-batteries
As manufacturers press to shrink electronic devices, small children across the country are getting put at high risk of big harms by swallowing small button- and lithium coin-batteries, research shows. The round, shiny, and ubiquitous batteries have proven to be irresistible to the pint-sized and curious, who gulp them down after they find them scattered….
Continue ReadingMedicine struggles with hype, disinformation, and miscommunication
The quality of medical-scientific information is strained — and patients should know this, be warned, and watch for ways to protect themselves from bungled communication, bluster, hype, misinformation, and disinformation. Although regular folks may have unprecedented access via the internet to resources on medical services and developments, a trio of recent news articles underscore the….
Continue ReadingWith Omicron vaccines approved, U.S. pushes for fall flu and Covid shots
As summer ends, millions of Americans should pop around the corner for a healthy double — that is, a pair of vaccinations, one targeted against the latest, widely circulating coronavirus Omicron variants and the other shot to fight the seasonal flu, federal health officials say. The newest booster for the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron variants….
Continue ReadingDon’t get in an injury pickle by overdoing trendy games
The newly familiar thwack, pop, and crack of the pastime of pickleball, alas, is increasingly accompanied by some other sounds — the moans and groans of picklers who find themselves with injuries that can be more than annoying for older aficionados of this trendy sport. Noe Sariban, a pickleball instructor, former pro player, and a….
Continue ReadingGen Z becomes stoner generation with record-high pot and hallucinogen use
Generation Z and young millennials have become the nation’s leading group of stoners, setting record highs for their use of marijuana, hallucinogenic drugs, nicotine, and booze. This has occurred even as federal regulators have gotten called out for failing to crack down, after chest-thumping promises to do so, on the noxious but popular practice among….
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