U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (Democrat-California) issued a press release Friday urging the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to follow through on implementing the Consumer Product Safety Commission Improvement Act of 2008 requiring the CPSC to protect America’s children from the toxic chemical, phthalates.

According to the release, the Act contained a provision written by two Democratic Senators from California—Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer—that requires the CPSC to remove toys and children’s products containing phthalates from store shelves by February 10, 2009.  The release explains that phthalate exposure can harm the development of reproductive organs and discusses how experts believe exposure to multiple phthalates presents a risk to developing fetuses and young children. (more…)

A Class I recall has been issued for battery caps included with some varieties of Animas insulin pumps.  According to Animas Corp, the defective battery caps could cause the pumps to stop administering insulin, putting patients at risk of hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia.

The products involved in this recall include:   (more…)

Canadian health authorities are warning that MabCampath, a drug used to treat leukemia, has been linked to infection-related deaths.  According to Health Canada, researchers conducting  a clinical trial in the United States have reported six such deaths among MabCampath patients.

MabCampath, marketed by Bayer HealthCare and Genzyme,  is used after other drugs to treat  B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia have been unsuccessful.  It is one of  a new group of cancer drugs known as monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies recognize certain proteins that are found on the surface of some types of cancer cells. This may then trigger the body’s immune system to attack the cancer cells and cause the cells to destroy themselves. (more…)

USA Today is confirming what many have long suspected — that despite the recent consumer protection act banning phthalates in toys effective February 10, the ban does not apply to those toys manufactured prior to the effective date.  The law was passed over the summer.

This means that toys with dangerous and hormone-mimicking chemicals can continue to be sold.  This is  according to a letter written this week by the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) general counsel, Cheryl Falvey, in which she states that the new law does not contain, “a clear statement of ambiguous intent,” reports USA Today. (more…)

The overuse of antibiotics is making the news again.  This time, a newly released study is indicating that not only does the antibiotic commonly known as Cipro upset the bacterial balance in the digestive system, but those effects seem to be more long-lasting that first believed, reports The Canadian Press.

“You don’t want to be giving readers the impression that we shouldn’t be using antibiotics (when needed),” Dr. David Relman, senior author of the study told the Canadian Press.  However, his study found that digestive effects from Cipro, and the negative symptoms of those effects, were still present in healthy patients six months after cessation of antibiotic treatment. (more…)

China has been making headlines in recent months over  seemingly endless scandals regarding food contamination, specifically with the industrial chemical melamine.  Now, the NY Times’ edition of the International Herald Tribune is reporting that China just announced plans to implement a variety of health reforms, specifically concerning the dairy industry.

The International Herald Tribune states that China’s State Council—China’s cabinet—released regulations for the dairy industry that begin with breeding, include feed, and end with the packaging and sale of milk.  The sweeping move is being made following the melamine scandal that broke in September—but that was covered up for some time prior—in which 54,000 children were sickened and at least four infants died.  Chinese-produced milk formula powder tainted with melamine turned out to be responsible for the deaths and illnesses.  According to Reuters, China’s Health Ministry confirmed yesterday that over 1,000 infants are  still “hospitalized with kidney damage.” (more…)

A prominent lawmaker says financial derivatives like credit default swaps need to be regulated.  Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said yesterday that he plans on introducing new legislation that would force such derivatives onto futures exchanges.

The unregulated derivatives market has shouldered much of the blame for the current global financial crisis.  Derivatives are financial instruments whose value is based on an underlying assets, such as commodities, stocks, residential mortgages, commercial real estate loans, bonds, interest rates, exchange rates, or indices (such as a stock market index or the consumer price index ). (more…)

A shortage of an important childhood vaccine is expected to last until the middle of next year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports.  The Hib vaccine shortage began last year, after a Merck & Co. facility where it was made was closed due to bacterial contamination.

Hib, or haemophilus influenzae type b, is a bacteria that can cause a serious form of pneumonia and a condition called bacterial meningitis.  According to the CDC,  Hib is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in children under five years of age.   (more…)

The maker of Accutane has been ordered to pay nearly $13 million to three people who said the acne medication caused them to develop inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).   The verdict in the New Jersey Accutane lawsuits - which were combined for trial - marks the fourth time Roche AG has lost an IBD case at trial, Bloomberg News reports.

IBD refers to two chronic diseases that cause inflammation of the intestines: ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. These diseases cause the lining of the intestine to become inflamed  and develop ulcers. (more…)

Food poisoning causes about 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and up to 5,000 deaths annually, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Now, Reuters, is reporting that the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that foodborne illnesses are increasing and striking rich and poor countries alike.   The problem of foodborne illness was recently discussed at a WHO “experts meeting”, Reuters said.

The WHO, the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system, said that eradication of food-borne diseases “requires a concerted effort on the part of the three principal partners, namely governments, the food industry, and consumers.”  Meanwhile, WHO Director of food safety, Jorgen Schlundt, cited China’s problems with melamine,  and last summer’s massive salmonella outbreak in the U.S., when discussing the need for more research into the illnesses and deaths associated with tainted foods,  Reuters said.   (more…)