The health blog at the New York Times points out that there are all sorts of behavioral changes you can adopt to fight insomnia that have been proven to work—they just sound so ordinary and common that people either don’t think they’re effective or assume pills will work better.
Pharma Medicine
Popular Australian Toy Filled With GHB
By 11.6.07
A toy that won the Australian Toy of the Year award this year has been recalled because it contains small beads that are filled a glue the body metabolizes into GHB. As in gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid, a party drug popular among ravers.
Fake Med Promoted Via Fraudulent Government Health & Drug Watchdog Site
By 11.6.07
The Chinese government has discovered a fake diabetes medicine on a fake research institute website, which then links to a fake version of the official government health and drug watchdog agency’s site. If you’re paying attention to urls, it’s hard to not notice that something’s wrong—but we’re sure there’s more than enough people who don’t notice that little detail.
Pfizer Launches Campaign To Warn Users Away From Generic Competitor
By 11.5.07
Pfizer is in panic mode about its rapid decline in Lipitor sales—in the last 18 months, it has dropped from 40% of the market for cholesterol-lowering drugs to 30%, and likely to drop further—so it’s launched a big media-blitz to convince people not to switch to simvastatin, the generic version of its name-brand competitor, Zocor. Zocor was more expensive than Lipitor, so Pfizer had nothing to worry about for years—but then Zocor lost its patent protection last year, and now doctors are switching patients from Lipitor over to Zocor’s generic twin to save money.
Drug Company Raided For Manufacturing Drugs In "Grossly Unsanitary" Secret Rooms
By 11.5.07
We hope you have not been using any drugs or vitamins from General Therapeutics Corp., because they’ve been busted for manufacturing the drugs in “grossly unsanitary” conditions, says the FDA.
Insurer Says, "Turn Medical Costs Into Holiday Gifts!"
By 11.5.07
Nothing says “I love you, Mom,” like some more medicine for her diabetes, or “You’re the best, Dad,” like a refill of nitro tablets. That’s why the health insurance company Highmark is offering new Healthcare Visa Gift Cards—for about $5 plus an unspecified shipping and handling fee, you can load it with anywhere from $25 to $5,000 to be used exclusively on medical expenses. After the first 9 months, the card emerges from the womb of “I already paid for this!” and starts charging you a monthly $1.50 maintenance fee. Won’t your kid be excited come Christmas morning when she finds out her staph infection is going to get treated?!
Did Rite-Aid Kick Out A Gay Couple For Hugging?
By 11.2.07
Washington, D.C. is actually a pretty gay-friendly place—hell, even a few closeted types seem to find a way to make a living there. (Just a few.) But in early October a gay couple was thrown out of a Rite-Aid a few blocks away from the city’s traditional gay neighborhood for allegedly hugging each other in the store. According to them, while they were shopping, one of them hugged the other one from behind, and the store manager ran up and shouted, “Get out! Get out!” A few seconds later, the security guard told them they had to leave, although he said he didn’t know the reason why. The manager, Denny Getachew, won’t comment, and Rite Aid spokesperson told the local gay magazine, “We are looking into this matter, and we will take disciplinary action if need be.”
By 11.2.07
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Walgreens is doing very well for itself. Same store sales up 6.9%. Do you like Walgreens, or did everyone get a cold at the same time? [Reuters]
FDA: Consumers Are Buying Expensive Foreign Drugs Instead Of $4 Generics At Home
By 11.1.07
Everyone knows that people buy Viagra over the internet, but the FDA says that people are buying commonly prescribed drugs with cheap generic equivalents from foreign pharmacies.
By 10.24.07
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Here’s a frequently updated list of the top 100 blogs focusing on health and medicine. The site uses rankings from Google, Bloglines, and Technorati, along with its own editorial ranking, to create the list, and it makes a good starting point if you want to fatten up your RSS reader with some…
Lawsuit: Walgreens Substituted Chemo Drug For Prenatal Vitamins
By 10.19.07
A woman who suffered a miscarriage after taking chemo drugs that were supposed to be prenatal vitamins is suing Walgreens, according to the Chicago Tribune.
FDA Requiring Hearing Loss Warnings On Viagra, Cialis, Levitra
By 10.19.07
Stop doing that or you’ll go deaf! That’s the new warning (sort of) the FDA will require on popular anti-impotence drugs, spurred after a published report of a man who suffered sudden hearing loss after taking Viagra. The FDA took a look at side effect data and found 29 cases since 1996 where men suffered from similar hearing loss after taking one of the three drugs. “In two thirds of the cases, the hearing loss was ongoing, the agency said.” A drug to treat pulmonary hypertension, Revatio, will also receive the warning because it contains the same ingredient as Viagra.
Corrupt JFK Baggage Handlers Are Uncool
By 10.18.07
Ladies and Gentlemen, the NY Daily News brings you a photo of the corrupt baggage handlers who were busted for running a drug smuggling ring at JFK airport.
Free $5 Tylenol Coupons
By 10.17.07
Because of recent recalls of useless and potentially deadly children’s cold medicines, Tylenol is giving out $5 coupons. Be advised though that you have to install a special coupon printing program to take advantage of the offer. Turn on your printer, disable popup blocks, hit the red button, install the program, and a $5 coupon good for TYLENOL, MOTRIN, PediaCare, Benadryl, SUDAFED, St. Joseph, or Immodium pops out.
U.S. Marshals Seize Supplements Illegally Marketed As Treatments For Various Diseases
By 10.16.07
U.S. Marshals have seized approximately $71,000 in shipments of supplements that were being illegally marketed as treatments for a variety of diseases, including diabetes, anemia, and hypertension.
Doctors Say Too Many Patients Can't Name The Drugs They Take
By 10.12.07
Too many patients don’t remember the names of the medications they’re on, posing problems for doctors who are trying to treat them, warn researchers at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. About 40% of the patients surveyed “could not accurately recall what drugs they were taking,” and among those with “low health literacy,” the rate jumped to 60%.
Lilly Caves, Agrees To Add Warnings To Schizophrenia Drug
By 10.6.07
Zyprexa, Lilly’s best-selling drug to treat schizophrenia, has been shown to cause “cause weight gain, high blood sugar, high cholesterol and other metabolic problems,” but until now, the company has refused to add any warnings about these side effects to the label. Now, sparked in part by lower sales, Lilly has announced that Zyprexa will warn consumers that it can cause high blood sugar. The American Diabetes Association claims that Zyprexa causes diabetes, but this isn’t addressed on the new warning labels.
FDA Might Create A "Behind-The-Counter" Drug Category
By 10.3.07
Next Month, the FDA will hold a public meeting to discuss whether or not they should allow certain drugs to be sold “behind-the-counter”—that is, after consultation with a pharmacist, but without the need for a prescription. If they move ahead with the plan, a new BTC category will be created, although what drugs will fall under it have not been determined.
