Consumerist
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settlements
Target Pays New Jersey $375K To Settle Fraud Charges
Target has agreed to pay New Jersey $375,000 to settle charges that it sold baby formula and non-prescription drugs that had expired, and that it charged higher prices on some products than what was displayed on the shelves. More » -
absurd
Brooke Shields Has Hypotrichosis
Oh no! Brooke Shields used to have stringy, stick-figure eyelashes! I figured this out after watching Consumer Reports' video dissection of a new commercial for Latisse, the glaucoma medication that has been rebranded as an expensive, temporary eyelash enhancer with side effects. More » -
drugs
Excreted Tamiflu Found In Rivers; Flu-Resistant Superbirds Coming Soon
You know all that delicious Tamiflu we humans have been taking in order to reduce our suffering as various strains of regular, swine, and bird flu fly around the globe? Yeah, um, turns out that it doesn't break down in our bodies and can't be removed by water treatment plants. The combination of Tamiflu-polluted waters and wild birds may result in resistant strains of avian flu. More » -
meth laws
Grandmother Arrested For Buying Cold Medicine Twice In One Week
Last March, Sally Harpold bought a box of Zyrtec-D cold medicine for her husband, then a few days later bought a box of Mucinex-D cold medicine for her grown daughter. That put her over the limit for how much pseudoephedrine-laced cold meds you can buy in a week in her small Indiana town, so she was arrested along with 16 other potential meth makers earlier this month. More » -
pill popping
What's In Your Herbal Remedies and Supplements?
In the wake of FDA warnings about steroids in nutritional supplements, federal officials are studying ways to improve safety in dietary supplements. Mean time, we've got a few consumer tips for those of you who take supplements, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal: More » -
pharmaceuticals
Got Side Effects From Drugs? Report Them To the FDA
Over the past few years, the numbers of recalled pharmaceuticals has grown as new drugs are rushed to market before their safety is proven. Want to help improve drug safety? If you experience any serious side-effects from pharmaceutical or suspect drug interactions be sure to report these instances to the FDA. Here's how: More » -
drugs
Lexapro's Marketing Plan Shows How Drug Maker Pushes New Drugs
The Senate just released 88 pages of a confidential 270+ page marketing plan by Forest Laboratories, created in 2004 and focused on how to get doctors to prescribe the antidepressant Lexapro over similar but cheaper alternatives such as Celexa. The New York Times notes that the line between marketing and education seems to be heavily blurred, which may not surprise you. There are, however, two interesting notes for consumers who may be taking Lexapro. More » -
sugar pills
Why Are Placebos Getting More Effective?
Wired Magazine reports that drug companies' are facing a new obstacle in clinical trials: over the past few decades, the placebo response has gotten stronger. Some drugs, like Prozac, would have had trouble getting FDA approval if their effectiveness against placebos were as insignificant as tests now show. More » -
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munchies
This California K.F.C. Sells Marijuana Instead Of Chicken
We just love obvious conversions of former fast food restaurants, but this has to be the best one we've ever seen. A former Kentucky Fried Chicken has been replaced with "Kind For Cures," a marijuana dispensary, says LA Weekly. More » -
restless congressmen syndrome
Congress Tries To Bottle Up Prescription Drug Ads
One reason health care is so expensive is pharmaceutical companies spend so much money buying TV and magazine ads to teach us about our health problems we weren't even aware of (restless leg syndrome, anyone?) then provide the wonderdrugs to cure the maladies. More » -
readyfill
CVS Will Automatically Refill Your Prescription, Consent Be Damned
CVS pharmacies apparently don't need consent to enroll customers in ReadyFill, a program that signs customers up for the maximum allowable number of prescription refills and then robocalls them when their drugs are ready. According to a veteran pharmacist, the automatic enrollments began after CVS' corporate office set specific performance targets that would affect bonuses for managers and pharmacists. Inside, the pharmacist tells us what ReadyFill is, how it works, and how to escape those annoying robocalls... More » -
forgetful druggies
Teen Finds Cocaine In CVS Candy Aisle
A 14-year-old in Middleburg, Florida, went to buy some Skittles at a CVS and found a small bag of cocaine next to the candy. Police have reviewed the security tapes, but say the store's cameras don't cover the candy aisle. As if sugar doesn't make them hyper enough already.
"Bag Of Cocaine Found In CVS" [News4Jax] (Thanks to Snarkysnake!)
(Photo: gbeckleyl) -
simplicity
Help Remedies Delivers Medicine To The WebMD Crowd
A company called Help Remedies is offering basic drugs and first aid supplies with simple explanations. Sounds good, provided they remain focused on simple maladies. More » -
drugs
FDA: Hey America, Stop Overdosing On Painkillers!
Look, we know this recession is tough and all, but you've gotta lay off the NyQuil and Theraflu or the FDA will stuff them behind a counter, ok? Seriously, an advisory panel is meeting today, and already voted to reduce the maximum daily dose of Tylenol and other painkillers. They might even slap scary "black box" warnings on all over-the-counter painkillers to dissuade you acetaminophen addicts from overdosing. More » -
marketing
Sams Club Giving Kids Candy In Pill Bottles
The Sam's Club in Salisbury, Maryland, is promoting its pharmacy by handing out pill bottles filled with candy to kids. I guess that's better than filling Dots boxes with Vicodin. Or handing out gallon-sized jugs of Nerds. Update: Sam's Club has ended the promotion and apologized for it. More » -
orlistat
Have You Taken Alli Or Xenical? We Want To Hear From You
Have you or someone you know taken the weight loss drug Orlistat, marketed as Alli (OTC) and Xenical (prescription)? Our colleagues at Consumer Reports would like to know what kind of side effects you've experienced for a future article, no matter how disgusting. More » -
Say no to Flomax, save up to $3,000 a year "For most men, doxazosin-a generic alpha-blocker-works just as well and is as safe as the heavily advertised drug Flomax (a brand-name alpha-blocker). But the kicker here is the difference in price: doxazosin can cost $10 or less a month, whereas Flomax can set you back up to $246." [Consumer Reports Health]
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chinese poison train
Counterfeit Drugs Made In China Relabeled "Made In India"
The Chinese poison train makes plenty of stops outside of the United States. When those stops are in developing countries, bad things can happen. Even worse things happen when dangerous products from China are intentionally mislabeled as being from another country. Say, India. More »
drugs
New York, 3:17 PM
Sun Nov 22
7 posts in the last 24 hours
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