Just as U.S. regulators are set to decide on approving Gardasil for boys and young men, a new study is questioning the cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccination for that group. The study appeared online today in The British Medical Journal.

According to a press release from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), researchers there found that if HPV vaccine coverage and efficacy are high in girls, a universal recommendation to vaccinate young boys is unlikely to provide comparatively good value for resources, compared with vaccinating girls only. (more…)

The Chinese drywall debacle has highlighted some serious problems in the U.S. legal system. According to a report in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, those flaws make it likely that many Chinese drywall manufacturers will ignore the product liability litigation now underway in New Orleans.

According to the Time-Picayune article, international trade agreements treat health and safety regulations as barriers to commerce. This makes it possible for foreign firms to import products to the U.S. that don’t meet safety standards. That can be a problem when products like drywall are coming from China, a country that has imposed few health and safety regulations on its manufacturers. (more…)

A consumer safety group has called for a recall of Jeep Grand Cherokees, claiming that the vehicles have defective fuel tanks that are prone to causing fires.

In a letter to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Center for Auto Safety said a search of the NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System revealed that 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees were involved in 172 fatal fire crashes with 254 fatalities between 1992 and 2002. With an additional known fatal fire crash in 2009, there have been at least 44 crashes with 64 fatalities where the “Most Harmful Event” was a fire, the group said. Nearly all of the fires and fatalities occurred in Grand Cherokees made before the 2005 model year. (more…)

Prague Duet movie download Life Insurance Company of North America has reached an agreement with the California Department of Insurance to settle charges of disability claims handling violations. Under the terms of the settlement, Life Insurance Company of North America will pay a $600,000 fine, make changes in its claims handling policies and procedures, and review previously closed claims to determine if additional benefits are due.

The settlement stems from an onsite examination of Life Insurance Company of North America’s claims handling practices conducted by the California Department of Insurance. According to a press release issued by the Department, instances were found where Life Insurance Company of North America had made claims determinations prior to requesting medical records and examples of the company’s adjusters ignoring substantial new information after a claim had initially been denied. As part of the settlement, Life Insurance Company of North America has agreed to make significant improvements to its claims handling practices in order to avoid future violations, the press release said.

In addition to the $600,00 penalty, the settlement calls for Life Insurance Company of North America to cease and desist from engaging in any acts or practices in violation of California law. Life Insurance Company of North America’s revised claims handling practices are designed to avoid the type of violations alleged. The Department will provide oversight to assure that this goal is being met. Under the agreement, Life Insurance Company of North America will also review all California resident closed denied claims for the period January 2005 through December 2007 using the agreed upon quality standards outlined in the settlement.

“Individuals purchase long term disability insurance to protect themselves and their families in the event they become disabled and are unable to work,” said California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. “When insurance companies fail to follow the law in fairly and expeditiously adjusting these claims, it has a devastating impact on policyholders and their families. I am pleased that LINA (Life Insurance Company of North America) has taken responsibility for its actions and has implemented changes in its policies, procedures and practices. The Department will continue to monitor the actions of all insurers selling and marketing disability insurance in the state of California.”

New York’s 9/11 emergency workers now have more time to file compensation claims. Earlier this month, New York Governor David Paterson signed “Jimmy Nolan’s Law” which extends the time that 9/11 workers can file claims against the City of New York and private contractors for injuries resulting from their participation in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operations.

In the hours and days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, thousands of rescue workers descended on Ground Zero to help with recovery efforts. Sifting through dust and rubble, sometimes with their bare hands, many lacked the clothing and equipment that could have kept them safe from harm. Several studies have confirmed that Ground Zero first responders are suffering from ill health as a result of their exposure to toxic dust at the site. (more…)

C & J Clark America Inc. just issued a recall of about 2,000 Children’s Shoes due to a choking hazard, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced. C & J Clark America does business as the Clarks Companies N.A. of Newton, Massachusetts.

Molded rubber pieces on the sole of the recalled C & J Clark America/Clarks Companies’ Children’s Shoes can detach, posing a choking hazard to infants and young children. While no incidents have yet been reported in the United States, in the United Kingdom, there have been six reports of the rubber pieces detaching, including two reports in which children mouthed the rubber piece. To date, no injuries have been reported. (more…)

Last year we wrote that Dannon Co. was being sued for claiming that some of its yogurts provide a health benefit that other yogurts do not. A class action suit filed in California’s Los Angeles federal court accused Dannon of falsely advertising its Activia, Activia Lite, and DanActive products and claimed Dannon initiated a massive false advertising campaign to convince consumers to pay more for yogurt containing probiotic bacteria.

Now, reports the LA Times, Dannon just settled the false-advertising lawsuit. The yogurt giant also agreed to create a $35-million fund meant to reimburse those consumers who bought Dannon’s Activia and DanActive yogurts. Dannon denied the claims and did not admit to any wrongdoing, said the LA Times, but stated that it settled because it wished “to avoid the distraction and expense of litigation,” quoting spokesman Michael Neuwirth. (more…)

Not many Americans have heard of denture cream poisoning. A rare ailment, denture cream zinc poisoning can cause serious and debilitating nerve damage. The disorder is associated with excessive exposure to zinc in products like Poligrip and Fixodent.

Denture creams like Fixodent and Poligrip contain zinc as a bonding agent. People who ingest too much zinc run the risk of copper depletion. That condition can lead to neurological symptoms, including numbness and tingling in hands and feet, balance and coordination problems, and pain and weakness in the extremities. When it is really severe, the nerve damage caused by denture cream zinc poisoning can eventually lead to neuropathy, a debilitating disorder. (more…)

There has been much controversy regarding the possible links between cell phone use and cancer. Now, Iowa senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, will be looking into the matter, reported Reuters.

Harkin just replaced recently deceased Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy and said he promised to investigate the situation, specifically the issue surrounding why no one has been able to conclusively prove that cell phones no not lead to cancer, according to Reuters. “I’m reminded of this nation’s experience with cigarettes. Decades passed between the first warnings about smoking tobacco and the final definitive conclusion that cigarettes cause lung cancer,” Harkin said, quoted Harkin.

Most recently we wrote that medical professionals attending a congressional hearing called for a large-scale study of the long-term health effects of cell phones, especially in children. During a hearing before the House subcommittee on domestic policy, Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute discussed how cell phones affect adult and growing brains. Herberman is known for making news with his much-publicized memo urging his 3,000 staffers to limit their and their children’s cell-phone use. “We urgently need to do a study [to resolve this question],” he told the subcommittee, which was chaired by Representative Dennis Kucinich (Democrat-Ohio).

Cell phone use continues to increase in younger demographics; a very recent survey of over 2,000 teens by market research and consulting firm Harris Interactive (HPOL) revealed 17 million teens, or 79 percent, use cell phones, up 36 percent from 2005, according to CTIA, a wireless industry association. Reuters noted some 275 million people in the United States alone use cell phones.

The activist group, the Environmental Working Group and epidemiologist Devra Lee Davis of the University of Pittsburgh—Davis authored a book claiming the government has neglected to look into an array of cancer sources—have also expressed concern about possible links, reported Reuters. And, according to a staffer, it was a report by the activist group regarding varying rates of radio wave emissions from one phone to another and possible cancer links that increased Harkin’s concern, said Reuters.

Harkin said he “will pursue this beyond this panel, with NIH (the National Institutes of Health),” quoted Reuters. Harkin also noted that while the appropriations committee does not “have jurisdiction over the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the Federal Communications Commission (FCC),” the Health committee does, said Reuters.

Most prevailing research has not looked at long-term cell phone exposure and experts feel current standards require strengthening. Three huge studies published since 2000 only looked at people using cell phones for an average of three years. Many experts believe cell phone use for more than what has been studied, to date, would point to increases in the risks of developing certain types of tumors and cancers. Congress has not examined wireless exposure for at least 15 years, according to Representative Darrell Issa (Republican-California), and large-scale studies of the health effects of cell-phone use in the U.S. since the 1990s are lacking, said David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health & the Environment at the University at Albany. Other studies have provided inconsistent results, in part because outdated technology was studied.

The labels of Singulair, Accolate, Zyflo and Zyflo CR have been modified to include new information in the “Precautions” section regarding their association with neuropsychiatric events. In particular, the precaution for Singulair says that “suicidal thinking and behavior” were among the neuropsychiatric events seen in that medication’s post-marketing reports.

All of the drugs bearing new neuropsychiatric precautions are approved to treat asthma, while Singulair is also approved to treat the symptoms of allergic rhinitis (sneezing, stuffy nose, runny nose, itching of the nose), and to prevent exercise-induced asthma. Singulair and Accolate are leukotriene receptor antagonists that work by blocking leukotrienes. Zyflo and Zyflo CR are leukotriene synthesis inhibitors which work by stopping the formation of certain substances that cause swelling, tightening, and mucus production in the airways. (more…)