Public Health

Scots to Scotch (Cheap) Whiskey?

By |

In a move to curb alcohol consumption and reduce public health problems, the Scottish government plans to ban lower-priced liquor in supermarkets — but not before critics have their say. With the eighth-highest rate of alcohol consumption worldwide, and more than 42,000 alcohol-related hospital admissions per year, Scotland hopes to ban lower pricing deals on alcohol, reports the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. If the ban goes through Scotland will be the first country in the world with a minimum price on alcohol. Yet one industry representative said that the plan is unworkable, claiming that although the expense of alcohol will not deter an addict, higher prices will punish lower-income communities. Whiskey distillers say the ban may violate international trade laws, while health advocates note that deaths from alcohol abuse have doubled in the last 15 years, the Financial Times reports.

Public Health

In Kyrgyzstan, Stigma Trumps Hippocrates

By |

Some doctors in the central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan are refusing to treat people with a history of drug use, incarceration and HIV infection. EurasiaNet reports that such individuals are “regularly denied treatment at hospitals around the country.” Scarce medical resources are partially to blame, but social stigma also drives the problem. According to a report funded by the Soros Foundation, one doctor said that drug users “made a personal decision to choose such a lifestyle” and should therefore be denied care even in life-threatening situations. –Julia Hengst/Newsdesk.org

Source:
“Kyrgyzstan: Doctors Deny Treatment To Undesirables”
EurasiaNet, February 20, 2009

Public Health

HIV Evolution Challenges Vaccine Push

By |

An international study found that HIV is evolving rapidly, targeting different populations and challenging efforts to create a universal vaccine. According to the Los Angeles Times, researchers found that the virus has developed an “escape” mutation that enables it to evade key defensive molecules, and becomes less recognizable to some human immune systems, depending on national origin and genetic heritage. The study, published in the journal Nature, was an international collaboration and involved 2,800 participants. Though the news sounds discouraging, one researcher said that frequent mutations can make a virus weaker. Another told the BBC that future HIV vaccines would be constantly changing to keep up with viral evolution, much like the flu vaccine today.

Nation

L.A. Targets Health Insurance Revocations

By |

The Los Angeles City Attorney’s office is investigating whether insurance companies have unfairly or illegally revoked the health-insurance policies of more than 8,000 Californians. California Lawyer Magazine reports that the practice may also threaten about 3 million middle-class Californians. In some cases, sick and dying patients lost their health insurance due to alleged “misstatements” made on already-approved applications. These include weight changes or the omission of prior conditions sometimes unrelated to a patient’s costly illness. Insurance companies said they are protecting their businesses against consumer fraud, and that their side of the story is not well publicized due to privacy laws for patients.

Environment

Salmon Imports May Bring Banned Chemicals

By |

The Pew Environment Group recently obtained documents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration showing that Chilean salmon farmers are using chemicals and medications banned by regulators in the United States and Europe. Chile is America’s biggest suppliers of salmon and the second largest exporter of salmon in the world, reports PR Newswire. The farms — including Chile’s two largest salmon producers — are using the antibiotics flumequine and oxolinic acid, plus emamectin benzoate, a pesticide, to treat salmon destined for foreign markets. People who eat fish treated with antibiotics may develop resistance to the drug, making them vulnerable to certain types of bacterial infection, according to the report. Emamectin, the pesticide, is known to be “very toxic to aquatic organisms” and harmful to the environment.

Public Health

Scientists Fault 'Off Label' Pharma Marketing

By |

A major drug distributor used “deception and misinformation” to promote the unapproved, “off label” use of an epilepsy drug, two researchers from the University of California-San Francisco claim. What’s more, they claim the practice is widespread in the pharmaceutical industry, while other sources say the side effects of off-label prescriptions can be deadly. Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, the UCSF researchers say their review of a 1995 lawsuit against Parke-Davis revealed a “systematic” marketing campaign by the company to promote Neurontin, approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat epilepsy, for unapproved conditions such as pain, migraines and bipolar disorder. The company, now owned by Pfizer, pleaded guilty in 2004, and paid over $430 million in fines for trying to suppress publication of unfavorable peer-reviewed research, allowing sales reps to pitch “off label” uses to doctors, and providing gifts and financial compensation to doctors to attend presentations about Neurontin. The researchers say the extensive marketing and influence campaign was “disguised” as educational programming for researchers, and amounted to a manipulation of the medical establishment that pushed Neurontin sales from $93 million to $3 billion in a decade.

Environment

Wurst for Worse as Germans Ponder Less Meat

By |

Risking the wrath of its wurst-wolfing citizens, Germany’s government is asking them to eat less meat in an attempt to curb the effects of climate change. The government’s environmental advisor is urging citizens to adopt a more Mediterranean diet and limit meat consumption to once a week or special occasions, reports the Guardian. The Federal Environmental Agency said agriculture accounts for 15 percent of Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions, and meat production is a huge part of that. Agency head Andreas Troge said eating less meat “hardly means sacrificing quality of life,” but the advice may be hard to swallow for most Germans, who eat a great deal more meat than their European neighbors. Vegetarianism is not widely practiced and meatless dishes are “frowned upon” according to a Germany vegetarian association.

Environment

Year's Top Issues: Water

By |

Access to clean water is one of the defining issues of the 21st century, and while the problem is global, much of the action is playing out at the community level. Drought is only deepening in Australia and Ukraine. In China, shortages caused by drought and heavy use are profound — the Yellow River rarely reaches the sea anymore, and the Yangtze dropped to a 140-year low last January, according to reports. Add pollution to the mix, and you have a burgeoning crisis for vulnerable populations in the developing world and beyond. Advocates say market forces will effectively deliver clean water to those most in need; some tout the concept of “virtual water” as a means of facilitating water importing and exporting at the national scale.

Public Health

Child Abuse Underreported, but Questions Linger

By |

Child abuse in high-income countries is widely underreported, according to a recent study — though some critics doubted the research as well as proposed solutions. The British medical journal The Lancet reports that an eight-year study found up to 16 percent of children suffer physical abuse, and roughly the same amount endure neglect or emotional abuse. The journal, collaborating with the Royal College of Pediatrics, found that only one-tenth of abuse cases are confirmed and addressed. Experts in an Australian ABC radio interview suggested that even one in ten was a conservative estimate — and social-service professionals acknowledged that overwhelmed, understaffed child protection agencies lack the resources to deal with so many cases. The staggering abuse statistics and a dearth of solutions left several news sources asking questions.

Democracy & Civics

Abortion Stirs Passions in Jamaica

By |

A committee of Jamaica’s Parliament is hearing both protest and advocacy around abortion. Although an advisory panel convened by former Health Minister John Junor called for legalization to lower the rate of maternal deaths, one doctor denounced the move as creating a “license to kill.” Currently, Jamaicans who aid or abet an abortion can receive a life sentence in prison; a reformist measure would provide medical training and facilities, as well as abortion counseling and education. The World Health Organization estimates that non-professionals perform 35 illegal abortions per 1,000 Jamaican women annually. In May, The Ministry of Health and Environment launched a campaign to reduce the maternal mortality rate by 75 percent births by 2015 — however, critics said there was no such data to warrant the group’s suggestions.