Bad news for people who were enjoying Publix’s policy of price-matching Walmart’s $4 generic drug plan—they’ve discontinued it, opting instead of offer free antibiotics.
drugs
By 7.17.07
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Now this is what you call a “higher” level of customer service… [Pizdas]
Get Your $100 Paxil Refund
By 7.12.07
US Citizens have until August 31 to claim a $100 refund if you bought Paxil for someone under the age of 18.
People Are Stealing Alli, The OTC Weight Loss Drug
By 7.11.07
Walmart blog “Behind the Counter” has some interesting anecdotal evidence to present to the internet: People are stealing the new weight-loss drug, Alli, like crazy. BTC wants his Walmart to lock up the drug, but they refuse…claiming that they’ll lose sales if people can only buy it during pharmacy hours.
FDA Bans Import Of Chinese Seafood
By 6.29.07
The FDA is detaining all farm-raised catfish, basa, shrimp, dace, and eel from China over concerns that the fish may be on drugs. Tests since last October repeatedly revealed the presence nitrofuran, malachite green, and gentian violet – antibiotics that are not approved for human consumption in the United States. Though no general recall has been issued, the “FDA is concerned about long term exposure as well as the possible development of antibiotic resistance.” Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Wang Xinpei responded in classic form, saying:
Hospitals: Staph Infections Are Rampant
By 6.28.07
The Chicago Tribune reports that 1.2 million hospital patients are infected with dangerous drug-resistant staph infections every year—10 times more than previously estimated according to a new study. The paper also reported that 48,000 to 119,000 hospital patients a year may be dying from methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, far more than previously thought. Great!
The Tribune obtained the results during the weekend from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control & Epidemiology (APIC), which is releasing the report publicly on Monday. The author is Dr. William Jarvis, former acting director of the hospital infections program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Senate Proposal To Allow Generic Versions Of Biotech Drugs After 12 Years
By 6.25.07
A Senate proposal would strip biotech drugs of their patent-protected status after twelve years, opening the door to competition from generic drug makers. Patent protection determines how long obnoxious pharmaceutical CEOs can spend outside their competitor’s offices dancing with their drugs to MC Hammer’s 1990 hit, “U Can’t Touch This.” Unlike regular drugs made by chemical synthesis, biotech drugs are derived from human proteins.
Should Crack Pipes Be Sold At Convenience Stores?
By 6.5.07
The Boston City Council has proposed a ban on the sale of “four-inch glass tubes featuring fake mini-roses” commonly sold at convenience stores, because they’re actually crack pipes. From BostonNow:
They look like novelty items, but they’re not. For sale at convenience stores in Boston, four-inch glass tubes featuring fake mini-roses inside of them are actually crack pipes.
Air Traveler With Drug Resistant TB Quarantined By CDC
By 5.30.07
Drug-resistant TB is both extremely contagious and potentially fatal, and the CDC would like to speak with anyone who sat near a passenger who has since been quarantined with the illness. The passenger was on a May 13, Atlanta to Paris, Air France 385 flight and another Czech Air 0104 from Prague to Canada on May 23.
FDA Approves Birth Control That Eliminates Periods
By 5.23.07
The FDA has just approved a new type of birth control pill that totally eliminates your period, according to the WSJ. Trouble is, that idea freaks some consumers out. According to the WSJ Health Blog about half of women polled “agreed with the statement that their period comforts them because ‘it lets me know I am not pregnant.'” Poppycock, we say! Buy a pregnancy test.
FDA Knew About Potentially Lethal Diabetes Drug Since Last August, Said Nothing
By 5.22.07
The study was outed yesterday on the New England Journal of Medicine’s website. The editors of the journal and the study’s lead author both warned that the research methodology left the “findings open to interpretation.”
Get Ready To Show ID When Buying Cough Syrup
By 5.17.07
In a move that we still haven’t processed the logic behind, Stop and Shop will now require young people to prove they are 18 by showing ID before buying cough medicines that contain Dextromethorphan. Cough syrups, for example Robitussin, will produce a hallucinogenic experience if, say, one was to drink the entire bottle. Also, you might die.
McDonald's Employee Hides Pot Stash In Happy Meal Box, Gives Happy Meal To Child
By 5.16.07
“Daddy, I got two toys in my happy meal!”
Fen-Phen Lawyers Run Off With $126 Million of $200 Million Settlement
By 3.27.07
W. L. Carter knew there was something fishy going on when he went to his lawyers’ office a few years ago to pick up his settlement check for the heart damage he had sustained from taking the diet drug combination fen-phen.
Doctors Who Have "Close Relationships" With Drug Makers Prescribe Newer, Pricier Drugs
By 3.21.07
“When honest human beings have a vested stake in seeing the world in a particular way, they’re incapable of objectivity and independence,” said Max H. Bazerman, a professor at Harvard Business School. “A doctor who represents a pharmaceutical company will tend to see the data in a slightly more positive light and as a result will overprescribe that company’s drugs.”
In Minnesota, a state in which drug company payouts are disclosed to the public, “More than 250 … psychiatrists together earned $6.7 million in drug company money — more than any other specialty. Seven of the last eight presidents of the Minnesota Psychiatric Society have served as consultants to drug makers, according to the Times examination.”
Generics Aren't Always That Much Cheaper
By 3.15.07
Generics meds are supposed to be a cheaper alternative to name-brand drugs, but a recent Wall Street Journal found that there wasn’t as much difference as you might think. — BEN POPKEN
Mythbusting: Does Home Depot Have A Meth-Lab Aisle?
By 3.5.07
I have no proof of this, but it comes from a reliable source (well, someone I consider reliable).
FDA Approves Drug For Carsick Dogs
By 3.1.07
The FDA said the drug, Cerenia, is the first to prevent and treat vomiting in dogs. When used in tablet form, the Pfizer Inc. drug can prevent vomiting associated with motion sickness, the FDA said. The agency also approved an injectable form of the drug, known generically as maropitant citrate, that it said can prevent and treat acute vomiting due to chemotherapy, parvovirus, kidney disease, pancreatitis and other causes.
