The federal Food and Drug Administration punted on a scheduled showdown over e-cigarettes, delaying decisions on whether to allow Juul and other market-dominating firms to keep selling trendy “smokeless” devices while also banning millions of vaping products from other, mostly smaller manufacturers. The agency argued with a defensive and defiant tone that it had acted….
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With $ billions but no apologies or remorse, notorious opioid bankruptcy settles
In a landmark opioid painkiller case, a federal bankruptcy judge has approved what potentially may be a $10-billion settlement. It included a plutocratic clan winning sweeping protections from further civil lawsuits by pledging to fork over $4.5 billion from their family fortunes. Despite the seeming bounty in this case, the Purdue Pharmaceutical payout also may….
Continue ReadingBig Pharma is hard to rein in. Just look at two drug cases grabbing headlines.
Consumers have gotten eyebrow-raising views of Big Pharma’s ugly business practices and the tough and sometimes sketchy efforts to rein in the industry’s ravenous pursuit of profits — in settling claims over distributors inundating the country with lethal painkillers, or with a maker’s behind-the-scenes campaign to win U.S. approval of an Alzheimer’s medication based on….
Continue ReadingWorse than feared: Drug overdoses rose 30% to record levels during pandemic
“It’s huge, it’s historic, it’s unheard of, unprecedented, and a real shame. It’s a complete shame” That quote, reported by the New York Times and made by Daniel Ciccarone, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, tragically summarizes the latest federal data on the opioid abuse and drug overdose crisis. As….
Continue ReadingAs opioid drug-case settlement advances, fentanyl deaths spike in D.C. area
Just as attorneys generals for more than a dozen states inch toward a multibillion-dollar settlement with a drug maker faulted for its big role in the start of the opioid abuse and drug overdose crisis, that health menace is taking a new, deadly turn in the region around the nation’s capital. In Washington, D.C., Maryland,….
Continue ReadingCongresswoman discloses her health emergency to warn against OTC drugs
Just because myriad drugs and supplements are sold over the counter does not mean these pills are safe. They can pose serious health risks and cause major damage, a prominent Midwestern congressman has reminded by sharing her own near-disaster with a well-known OTC drug. Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, told the Washington Post that she….
Continue Reading‘The Crime of the Century’ documents our lethal opioid tragedy
When accomplished folks who have racked up awards like Oscars, Emmys, and Pulitzers provide their frank appraisal of the roles of Big Pharma, federal regulators, and law enforcement in the opioid abuse and drug overdose epidemic, they don’t mince words. Just consider the title of their new, four-hour, two-part documentary running on HBO: “The Crime….
Continue ReadingU.S. will ban targeted health menace of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars
The Biden Administration will ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars with new regulations to be issued within the next year — actions that Big Tobacco is expected to battle but which proponents say could have big health benefits for those who have been targeted to buy and use these products. Smoking is a leading cause….
Continue ReadingU.S. ends confusion and expands prescribing of opioid-fighting medication
Health workers with legal prescribing privileges have gotten newly revised federal guidelines — once again — making it easier for them to help those addicted to powerful opioid painkillers by prescribing buprenorphine, another powerful medication. This action could be beneficial in battling the opioid abuse and drug overdose crisis that ebbed in recent times and then….
Continue ReadingDrivers are speeding with dire consequences. And a crackdown is coming fast.
Motorists nationwide, having acquired a taste for speed during the coronavirus pandemic, need to get that pedal off the metal — or the consequences can be legally dear, shockingly costly, and deadly. And that includes car owners who let computers navigate their vehicles. Look out, drivers, because the alarms have grown so much for traffic….
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