A Food and Drug Administration study found that those who suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can take medications without increasing their risk of heart problems. The study focused on patients ages 2 through 24. [More]
Pharma Medicine
Drunkenly Groping A Cardboard Display Woman Will Get You In Trouble
By 10.31.11
Can we just say right off the bat it’s a better a cardboard woman than a real one? A convicted sex offender in Pittsfield, Mass., has been fined after he reportedly kissed and fondled a cardboard cut out of a woman at a Rite Aid. [More]
Copper Traded For Crack
By 10.26.11
Some enterprising drug dealers are helping copper thieves cut out the middleman. They’re accepting copper pipe as legal tender in exchange for crack cocaine. [More]
Federal Judge Blocks Florida's Plan To Drug Test Welfare Recipients
By 10.25.11
Earlier this year, Florida enacted a law that requires welfare recipients to pass drug tests to qualify for benefits. A federal judge stepped in and stopped the law in its track marks over concerns that it violates the Fourth Amendment, which bans illegal searches and seizures. The law would have forced recipients to pay for their own drug tests. [More]
Drug Maker Adds Line To Pill's Surface To Delay Generic Versions
By 10.7.11
There are numerous ways for makers of pricey brand-name drugs to delay the release of generic copies and hold on to the market for even a few months longer. They could make slight changes to the doses or even go so far as to buy a company that supplies a needed ingredient. But one pharmaceutical company is taking a new approach to putting off the release of generic versions — etching an additional score into the pill’s surface. [More]
Walgreens Now Lets You Refill Your Prescription By Texting
By 10.6.11
Ordering a refill on your prescription meds at Walgreens can now be as easy as texting a single word. [More]
4 People Get Pot From Government In Old Federal Program
By 9.29.11
At one point, 14 people in the United States received medical marijuana regularly from the government. Started in a 1976 court ruling, the program that facilitated the unorthodox treatments stopped accepting applicants in 1992, but four surviving patients still count Uncle Sam as their drug dealer. [More]
Rite Aid Sells Video Chats With Doctors
By 9.27.11
Drugstores are fast becoming outlets for quick, relatively cheap medical care. Many CVS stores have MinuteClinics inside, and now Rite Aid has started offering video chats with doctors in a service called NowClinic Online Care. For $45, customers get 10 minutes of virtual face time with medical pros. Patients can also opt for voice chats or instant messages. [More]
Store Attempts To Dissuade Customers From Trying On Condoms Before Buying
By 9.13.11
There is already a great deal of information for consumers printed on boxes of condoms, covering everything from proper use to possible allergic reactions to effectiveness in preventing pregnancy and transmission of infectious disease. But one store felt the need to post its own advisory about condoms: That you shouldn’t crack open a box to try one on without paying. [More]
Nasal Spray Gives Hope To Alzheimer's Patients
By 9.13.11
Researchers have found the daily dose of an insulin nasal spray may hinder the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in patients. A four-month study in Seattle found that the treatment improved memory and protected cognition and functional abilities of patients. [More]
Diabetic Walgreens Staffer: I Was Fired For Eating A $1.39 Bag Of Chips Before I Paid For Them
By 9.12.11
A former San Francisco-area Walgreens worker with diabetes says she was fired from her job of nearly two decades because, feeling a hypoglycemic attacking coming, she chose to eat a $1.39 bag of potato chips before she had the chance to pay for them. [More]
Copper Thieves Disable 40 Blocks Of Street Lights, Leading To Near-Fatal Car Crash
By 9.9.11
Miami police are placing partial blame for a car crash that threw a woman through a windshield on a recent spree of people stealing copper from street lights. In the neighborhood, there are 40 straight blocks where all the street lights are dark because of copper thieves. [More]
Video Released Of Walgreens Pharmacist Fired For Shooting At Armed Robber
By 9.8.11
Last May, a pharmacist at a Michigan Walgreens was dismissed from his job at the drugstore chain after he fired his own handgun at an armed robber. Now the man is suing Walgreens and his lawyers have released footage of the incident to defend their client. [More]
Yet Another Tylenol Recall: 2.5 Million Cold Multi-Symptom Nighttime Rapid Release Gelcaps
By 9.1.11
The fifth recall of a Tylenol product this year is “Tylenol Cold Multi-Symptom Nighttime Rapid Release Gelcaps.” McNeil, a division of Johnson & Johnson, a family company, said the caps had “slightly higher than expected” levels of chlorpheniramine ammonio acetate (CPAA). The recall encompasses roughly 2.5 million packages. [More]
Friday Tipster Round-Up: Holiday Creep Edition
By 8.26.11
Sifting through this week’s submissions, it looks like users of the free Consumerist Tipster App had the holidays on their brains. Of course, it appears they didn’t have much choice as stores have already begun packing the aisles with Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas items. [More]
Drug Scalpers Target Hospitals
By 8.18.11
The nation is facing a shortage of critical pharmaceuticals. Enter the price gouger. He stockpiles hard to find medications, then turns around and offers to help hospitals solve their prescription drug shortage problems, at 4,533% markup. [More]
Late-Stage Melanoma Sufferers Have More Treatment Options Thanks To Drug Approval
By 8.18.11
The Food and Drug Administration is bringing in reinforcements for those who suffer inoperable forms of melanoma. Zelboraf, which was recently approved by the government, joins Yervoy — approved in March — as new drugs that doctors believe will help patients live longer after treatment. [More]
Walgreens To Start Selling Health Insurance
By 8.9.11
Come this fall, when you go to your local Walgreens to pick up your prescription, you may also be able to shop for a health insurance plan, as CNN reports that the country’s largest drugstore chain is about to get into the insuring business. [More]
