Health Supreme NewsGrabs - 8 September 2006

Health Supreme's News Grabs - alternative health news and other interesting bytes of information ...

... in this issue - fen phen lawsuits, US rice farmers sue Bayer, FDA on dental amalgams, Michael Moore's upcoming film 'Sicko', Vitamin E and asthma, acne drug accutane causing suicides, a court ruling on ephedra affecting supplements, more poly pill insanity, an official 'depleted uranium' denial and pharma's experiments on children in the developing world.

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Wyeth Suffers Onslaught of Fen Phen Lawsuits
On August 18, 2006, Bloomberg News reported that Wyeth has faced more than 175,000 claims since fen-phen was removed from the market, and that over the past 9 years, the company has settled many claims without forcing fen-phen users to file a lawsuit. All total, the company has set aside more than $21 billion to cover legal costs and settlements since the diet drugs were withdrawn, according to Reuters News on May 24, 2006. As for how long Wyeth can stay afloat under the tidal wave of lawsuits, financial experts say the answer could boil down to insurance coverage.

US rice farmers sue Bayer CropScience over GM rice
August 28, 2006, Reuters
Rice farmers in Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and California have sued Bayer CropScience, alleging its genetically modified rice has contaminated the crop. The farmers alleged that the unit of Germany's Bayer AG failed to prevent its genetically modified rice, which has not been approved for human consumption, from entering the food chain. As a result, they said, Japan and the European Union have placed strict limits on U.S. rice imports and U.S. rice prices have dropped dramatically. U.S. agriculture and food safety authorities learned on July 31 that Bayer's unapproved rice had been found in commercial bins in Arkansas and Missouri. While the United States is a small rice grower, it is one of the world's largest exporters, sending half of its crop to foreign buyers. Japan, the largest importer of U.S. rice, suspended imports of U.S. long-grain rice a week ago. U.S. rice growers are responsible for about 12 percent of world rice trade.

This story, although on the Reuters newswire, appears to have been snubbed by the major US press.

FDA says dental amalgams not harmful
The Food and Drug Administration reviewed 34 recent research studies and found "no significant new information" that would change its determination that mercury-based fillings don't harm patients, except in rare cases where they have allergic reactions.

Consumer groups opposed to its use disputed the FDA's conclusions. The groups plan to petition the agency for an immediate ban on use of the cavity-filler in pregnant women.

Drug Companies Worry About Michael Moore's Upcoming Movie
Moore, who directed such documentaries as "Roger and Me," "Bowling for Columbine" -- which won an Academy Award -- and "Fahrenheit 9/11," says on his website that he asked the public to send him letters about their healthcare system experiences, and received more than 19,000 of them. "To read about the misery people are put through on a daily basis by our profit-based system was both moving and revolting," Moore writes.
also: Michael Moore Film Project Rattles Health Care Giants

Low Vitamin E During Pregnancy Increases Baby's Asthma Risk
Among women who had the lowest vitamin E intake, their children were over five times as likely to develop early persistent asthma than children whose mothers had the highest intake.

Roche puts Accutane profits over Lives of Consumers
In 1985, Accutane's package insert directed at doctors first mentioned reports of depression in patients taking the acne drug, which means that more than 20 years ago, Hoffman-LaRoche at least suspected there might be a risk of depression and suicide by persons taking the drug.

However, Roche's financial records show that the company is not about to let a little thing like the death of its customers get in the way of corporate profits, because the drug is still a best seller and young people with no history of depression who take it are still killing themselves.

Ruling could boost cost of supplements
The 1994 Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act exempts supplement companies from testing products before putting them on the market. As a result, there is little incentive to conduct clinical research. But a recent court ruling in Denver might change that.

The Aug. 17 decision not only upheld the federal ban on the diet aid ephedra, it also sanctioned a new standard for evaluating the safety of supplements - a risk-benefit analysis. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who authored the 1994 bill, insists Congress never contemplated that.

Polypill raises its head again
3-in-1 heart pill could save millions
The polypill would work by reducing future crippling events such as heart attacks and strokes. The World Heart Federation is currently working to promote this initiative, and believes that a pill could be ready in the next year or two.

What ever happened to proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle as primary prevention?

Perhaps they aren't profitable enough...

FDA in Third World Drug Trial Scandals
Experimental tests are conducted in developing countries on sick and vulnerable children under the guise of free and ethical treatments sanctioned by the FDA and complicit medical institutions.

As John Le Carre said about The Constant Gardener ... "As my journey through the pharmaceutical jungle progressed, I came to realise that, by comparison with the reality, my story was as tame as a holiday postcard."

 

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posted by Sepp Hasslberger on Friday September 8 2006
updated on Tuesday November 30 2010

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