CSPI threatens lawsuit against Coca-Cola for "fraudulent" weight loss claims over Enviga beverageThe Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has decided to serve notice on Coca-Cola and Nestlé -- the companies behind the beverage Enviga -- stating that both companies are marketing the drink using calorie-burning and weight loss claims that are fraudulent.
The CSPI group -- based in Washington in the U.S. -- is watchdog group that has taken legal action against companies such as KFC and PepsiCo over labeling and health issues in the past. This new lawsuit with Coca-Co... (more)
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Bill would ban 'mercury vaccine'The first bill in the legislative hopper for the 2007 session is one near and dear to Lawrence's Linda Weinmaster and a number of parents across the state.
Senate Bill 1 would ban the use of mercury-based thimerosal in childhood vaccines.
"I'm somewhat optimistic that it will pass this session," Weinmaster said. "We're going to give it our best try."
Weinmaster and many others claim that thimerosal, which is used as a preservative in some vaccines, ha... (more)
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Plastics 'poisoning world's seas'Microscopic particles of plastic could be poisoning the oceans, according to a British team of researchers.
They report that small plastic pellets called "mermaids' tears", which are the result of industry and domestic waste, have spread across the world's seas.
The scientists had previously found the debris on UK beaches and in European waters; now they have replicated the finding on four continents.
Scientists are worried that these fragments can ge... (more)
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Negative results of drug trials routinely suppressedResearchers rarely publish negative research results in mainstream medical journals, and even purposely suppress results that fail to prove links between diseases and drugs or genes, according to the Wall Street Journal's Sharon Begley.
To combat scientists' reluctance to publish negative results, new medical journals that are solely dedicated to the publication of negative study results are gaining popularity, with more like-minded journals constantly joining the ranks.
... (more)
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Onions, garlic linked to lower cancer risksNEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who flavor their diets with plenty of onions and garlic might have lower odds of several types of cancer, a new study suggests.
In an analysis of eight studies from Italy and Switzerland, researchers found that older adults with the highest onion and garlic intakes had the lowest risks of a number of cancers -- including colon, ovarian and throat cancers.
The findings, which appear in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, are... (more)
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Wave of raw sewage escapes treatment: Billions of litres dumped into Great Lakes annually from Canada, U.S., report saysTORONTO -- The first comprehensive look at the amount of raw sewage flowing into the Great Lakes from cities in Canada and the United States has found that billions of litres are being dumped untreated every year into the sources of drinking water for communities on both sides of the border.
The largest discharges came from big cities such as Detroit, Cleveland and Toronto, where antiquated sewage treatment systems are regularly overwhelmed when it rains and their contents swept u... (more)
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USDA Approves Genetically Engineered Rice Contaminating Food SupplyThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today granted marketing approval of a genetically-engineered (GE) rice variety following its illegal contamination of the food supply and rice exports, first announced three months ago. The controversial decision was taken despite the insistence of its developer, Bayer CropScience, that it dropped plans to commercialize the variety, known as LibertyLink601 (LL601), five years ago.
"With this decision, USDA is telling agricultural biotechno... (more)
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Laser eye ops could ruin sight Concern has been raised about the long-term effects of laser eye surgery after a new study has shown that tens of thousands of Kiwis are likely to suffer defective vision from the surgery in their later years.
Studies from Otago and Oxford Universities have shown that laser surgery for short-sightedness could cause haze, glare and blurred vision as people reach their 60s and 70s.
Given that around 25,000 New Zealanders have had the surgery, Otago University head ... (more)
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We're Drinking What? Look at photos of the gigantic udders on rBST treated dairy cows and it's not hard to imagine the artificial hormone's role in increasing U.S. rates of breast and prostate cancer, precocious puberty and obesity.
But U.S. milk producers and agricultural officials continue to say Monsanto's Posilac, which has been used unlabeled in much of the U.S. public milk supply since 1994, is safe. [1]
Even as they jump all over each other to ban it.
<... (more)
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Hospital Infections Kill More Than Cars, AIDS, Breast CancerA hospital visit may be more dangerous to your health than you realize. Just ask Ingrid Kwiatek, who came home from the hospital with a serious staph infection.
Kwiatek's husband said what started as a routine hospital visit turned into an 110-day nightmare of pain and suffering in three different Pennsylvania hospitals.
"I would never wish this experience on anyone," he said. "Especially distressing was the closed-ranks attitude at all three hospitals in discussi... (more)
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No Fluoride for Infants, Say DentistsNEW YORK, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- To prevent tooth damage, the American Dental Association (ADA) warned its members that fluoridated water should not be mixed into concentrated formula or foods intended for babies one year and younger, in a November 9th ADA e-mail alert.(1)
"But who will alert parents," asks lawyer Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation (NYSCOF).
Two-thirds of U.S. public water suppliers add fluoride chemicals, base... (more)
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Sleep Deprivation Creating 'Nation of Walking Zombies'Would it scare you to learn that the surgeon who was about to carve into your body had just had a few drinks?
How about if the doc just needed a nap?
Same difference, according to a host of new studies.
We've heard enough about the dire consequences of sleep deprivation in recent weeks to keep us awake at night, but a few institutions are trying to do something about it.
They are mostly in the medical field, where long hours without a... (more)
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Birth control pill linked to breast cancer riskYoung women who take oral contraceptive pills before they become pregnant with their first child run a significantly higher risk of developing pre-menopausal breast cancer, according to new international research.
Researchers from Altoona Hospital in Pennsylvania examined the results of 34 studies from around the world of young women who took oral contraceptives prior to becoming pregnant with their first child.
The researchers, led by Dr. Chris Kahlenborn, found th... (more)
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Drug firms and media outlets push vaccine safety myth for infants and expectant mothersA new, short-term study published in today's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that flu vaccine shots are safe for toddlers and infants, but critics say the short length of the study failed to examine possible long-term health implications.
The study -- the largest ever to examine the side effects of flu shots in young children -- included 45,000 American kids who were given flu shots and examined for side effects over a period of six weeks. The 19 res... (more)
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Men who use mobile phones face increased risk of infertilityMen who use mobile phones could be risking their fertility, warn researchers.
A new study shows a worrying link between poor sperm and the number of hours a day that a man uses his mobile phone.
Those who made calls on a mobile phone for more than four hours a day had the worst sperm counts and the poorest quality sperm, according to results released yest at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine annual meeting in New Orleans.
Doctors believe ... (more)
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Three people die after receiving flu vaccinations Three people have died in the past week after receiving flu vaccines, it was revealed Sunday.
The Health Ministry has instructed health facilities to immediately stop providing the vaccinations.
Army Radio reported that the victims were insured by the Kupat Holim Leumi health maintenance organization, and all three were vaccinated last week at the same branch in Kiryat Gat. The injections were all performed from the same vaccine pool.
... (more)
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FDA Is Set To Approve Milk, Meat From ClonesThree years after the Food and Drug Administration first hinted that it might permit the sale of milk and meat from cloned animals, prompting public reactions that ranged from curiosity to disgust, the agency is poised to endorse marketing of the mass-produced animals for public consumption.
The decision, expected by the end of this year, is based largely on new data indicating that milk and meat from cloned livestock and their offspring pose no unique risks to consumers.
<... (more)
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Diet products "boost appetite"DIET products make people eat more, says nutritional toxicologist Peter Dingle.
He said some sweeteners in diet products were linked with stimulating appetite.
"Aspartame, commonly known as the sweetener NutraSweet, is a neuro-stimulant linked with stimulating appetite, so it can make you hungry," Prof Dingle, associate professor in health and the environment at Murdoch University, said.
"Diet stuff doesn't satisfy hunger like conventional food, because hung... (more)
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GE Technology out of control: Greenpeace discovers contamination from Bayer's Genetically Engineered Rice in Middle EastNEW DELHI, India - October 10 - Test results released today by Greenpeace International establish that rice products being sold in the Middle East region have also been contaminated by Bayer's illegal genetically engineered (GE) rice grown in field trials in the United States. (1) Contamination in the Middle East has serious global implications as the region is the world’s 2nd largest importer of US rice and a major re-exporter of food throughout the Asia region.
Today, Greenpeac... (more)
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Harvard Study: Strong Link Between Fluoridated Water and Bone Cancer in Boys(WASHINGTON, April 5) — Boys who drink water with levels of fluoride considered safe by federal guidelines are five times more likely to have a rare bone cancer than boys who drink unfluoridated water, according to a study by Harvard University scientists published in a peer-reviewed journal.
The study, led by Dr. Elise Bassin and published online today in Cancer Causes and Control, the official journal of the Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention, found a strong link between fluor... (more)
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Open Letter to the FDA to Stop Corporations from Lacing Foods, Body Care Products, & Supplements with Dangerous Nanoparticles Acting FDA Commissioner Andrew C. Von Eschenbach
Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305)
Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, MD 20852
Dear Commissioner Von Eschenbach,
I write to express my serious concerns about the FDA's regulatory oversight of nanomaterials in consumer products. Many consumer products containing engineered nanomaterials are already available on U.S. market shelves, including food and ... (more)
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Nanotechnology Risks Unknown: Insufficient Attention Paid to Potential Dangers, Report SaysThe United States is the world leader in nanotechnology -- the newly blossoming science of making incredibly small materials and devices -- but is not paying enough attention to the environmental, health and safety risks posed by nanoscale products, says a report released yesterday by the independent National Research Council.
If federal officials, business leaders and others do not devise a plan to fill the gaps in their knowledge of nanotech safety, the report warns, the field's... (more)
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Drugs Slip Past FDA, Sell Unapproved by the MillionsOct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Ballay Pharmaceuticals Inc. had a choice nine years ago: seek U.S. approval to sell a prescription decongestant or slip the drug on the market and hope regulators wouldn't order it off.
The company chose to market the medicine, Balamine DM, to doctors and pharmacies without the consent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the agency didn't stop Wimberley, Texas-based Ballay.
Almost 2 percent of U.S.... (more)
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