Lack of progress in recent years worries health officials
Washington Post Jun 28, 08 10:04 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
The number of teens who smoke has stopped declining, and anti-smoking activists worry that complacency is setting in, the Washington Post reports. The latest survey shows that 20% of kids between the ages of 13 and 17 light up, a figure that has generally held steady since 2003. It remains a marked improvement from the figure of 36.4% n 1997, but the leveling off has health officials worried.
More »
Officials remind of their limited role, year after salmonella outbreak at popular festival
Chicago Tribune Jun 27, 08 1:56 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
With news still coming of people stricken by tomatoes tainted with salmonella, health officials say they're taking full precautions to prevent another outbreak at this year's Taste of Chicago, the Tribune reports. Booths will be inspected four times a day for sanitary conditions at the event, which begins today—though authorities warn they don't test actual dishes for safety.
More »
Bid to tackle highest AIDS death rate in NY
New York Times Jun 26, 08 3:50 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
City officials aim to test every Bronx adult for HIV by 2011 under an ambitious initiative to tackle the high rate of AIDS deaths in the borough, the New York Times reports. The voluntary testing would become routine in emergency rooms and storefront clinics and would pare down consent requirements into a 5-minute presentation health care providers could quickly run through.
More »
Increase may be due to closer scrutiny, rather than new outbreak
Associated Press Jun 18, 08 7:31 PM CDT
(AP)
-
Federal health officials have learned of 106 more cases of salmonella linked to tainted tomatoes, putting the outbreak's total to 383 and counting. Most of this newest influx of cases were people who got sick weeks ago but had not been counted previously. Some states began doing closer checking for salmonella as the outbreak has dragged on. The last known sickness occurred on June 5.
More »
PVC products linked to wide-ranging and long-lasting ills
Los Angeles Times Jun 12, 08 5:40 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Ever wonder about that smell given off by new shower curtains? Well, according to a new study, it’s poisonous. An independent organization has found that PVC shower curtains on shelves at Wal-Mart, Target, Sears and others may give off measurable amounts of dangerous, volatile organic compounds that could linger for up to a month, the Los Angeles Times reports.
More »
Tough new regs shift burden to proving products are safe
Washington Post Jun 12, 08 1:57 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
The European Union has passed a series of tough new laws requiring companies to prove that the chemicals in their products are safe, the Washington Post reports. The rule is the exact opposite of US law—which requires proof that a chemical is dangerous before it can be regulated—and manufacturers say it will add billions to their costs.
More »
Malaria solution is hands-on way to help
New York Times Jun 2, 08 9:11 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Mosquito nets, at $10 a pop, are a low-cost, effective way to prevent malaria—and they've become a cause célèbre for young people across the country, who've raised millions in donation drives, the New York Times reports. “You can say $10 saves a life,” says one young fundraiser. “That makes students feel they can help a lot. And every student has $10.”
More »
Los Angeles trails in measures of healthy living, environment
USA Today May 30, 08 12:50 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
San Francisco has narrowly edged out Seattle for the distinction of being America's fittest big city, says a new study released by the American College of Sports Medicine. Judging 16 large metropolitan areas on factors ranging from exercise frequency and fruit intake to the availability of parks and public transportation, the study put Los Angeles near the bottom, reports USA Today.
More »
Risks, costs skyrocket for premature infants, new research notes
Los Angeles Times May 29, 08 11:56 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
The number of US babies born before reaching normal gestation jumped by a third from 1996 to 2004, the Los Angeles Times reports, with Cesarean sections accounting for much of the rise. With health risks and high costs associated with premature babies, the trend presents "a serious problem," the March of Dimes Foundation's medical director warns.
More »
Study says social networks strongly influence behavior
Washington Post May 26, 08 4:48 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
If your friends all jumped off a bridge, you'd probably listen to your mom and not follow them, but how about if they started exercising? New research into social networks—in 3D, not on MySpace or Facebook—shows people are more likely to quit smoking or lose weight if someone close to them does likewise. The search for other applications is on, reports the Washington Post.
More »
'There is no safe way to use' love drug that upsets heart rhythms
Associated Press May 23, 08 9:25 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
New York City officials warned people today to avoid a toad venom-based aphrodisiac that recently killed a man, the AP reports. The illegal love drug, often sold as Jamaican Stone or Chinese Rock, is harmful whether ingested or applied to the skin. "There is no definitely safe way to use it,” one official said. Similar drugs have killed at least five New Yorkers since the early 1990s.
More »
Recipe for popular brand includes tooth-rotting sucrose
New York Times May 19, 08 11:40 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Although it controls more than a third of the organic baby formula market, Similac Organic also carries a less coveted distinction: It is the only brand in the category that contains cane sugar, or sucrose. The company says its is FDA approved, but many parents and doctors worry about starting babies on the extra-sweet formula, the New York Times reports.
More »
Farm workers without health care shun doctors, hospitals
New York Times May 10, 08 12:50 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Faced with high medical costs and fearing deportation, many illegal immigrants avoid doctors and instead seek their cures among traditional healers, the New York Times reports. With an estimated two-thirds of illegal immigrants uninsured, visits to a doctor are often reserved for emergencies. Instead, the immigrants—most of whom toil in demanding jobs where injuries are common—turn to herbal remedies and incantations, or substitute massages for more substantive care.
More »
UPDATED
Woman who died on Via Rail not infectious; quarantine to be lifted
CTV May 9, 08 4:39 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Canadian authorities are set to lift the quarantine on a train en route from Vancouver to Toronto after determining that the 60-year-old passenger who died aboard earlier today "most likely did not have an infectious disease," CTV reports. Ten other passengers came down with flu-like symptoms; "we do not believe they're related,” an Ontario police officer told the Globe and Mail.
More »