What’s syrupy sweet, deep purple and entirely hazardous? No, it isn’t this guy. It’s sizzurp, a popular drink made with cough syrup (usually the prescription-strength kind with codeine), 7-Up and Jolly Ranchers candies.
Rapper T.I. (real name Clifford Harris Jr.) and his wife Tameka “Tiny” Cottle were arrested late Wednesday night …
A document released today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concludes that, as critics have claimed since 2006, the hugely popular diabetes drug Avandia (rosiglitizone) increases the risk for heart attack. The 765-page briefing document released today in anticipation of an advisory panel meeting on July 13-14 to determine
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Over at the Ecocentric blog, I wrote about a new policy direction from the Food and Drug Administration on the use of antibiotics in meat production. Antibiotics—often used for growth promotion and given in the feed of animals—are a major part of America’s meat production. The Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), the …
Exactly one year after Congress passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act that gave the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco, a new set of rules is taking effect to curb the use of deceptive marketing terms and limit children’s access to tobacco products. Among the new regulations that
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This Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will hear from an expert panel about the merits of, flibanserin, a drug that has been touted as potentially being the female equivalent of Viagra. Yet, an initial FDA review posted online today already indicates that Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of flibanserin,
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In early May, national pharmacy chain Walgreens indefinitely delayed sales of an at home genetic test kit after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that kit had not been proven safe or effective, and that further inquiry …
A new report released today by the Institutes of Medicine (IOM) and National Research Council suggests that lack of resources, less than optimal organization and a reactive instead of preventive approach are undermining the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) ability to effectively regulate food safety.
After an early May recall of 40 different varieties of liquid medications — including Children’s Tylenol and Motrin — manufactured at a Johnson & Johnson plant in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration criticized sloppy quality control that led to the recall, and prompted a Congressional inquiry. Last
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In a 67-page proposal for a way forward toward more transparency, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration task force suggested broad changes that would increase public access to information about the oversight and regulatory process for everything form pharmaceuticals and food products to medical devices and tanning beds.
An E. coli outbreak has sickened at least 19 people in Michigan, Ohio and New York, resulting in 12 hospitalizations and three cases involving potentially life-threatening complications. The outbreak may be connected to contaminated romaine lettuce products sold to wholesalers and food-service outlets, and for use in in-store salad bars …
After Johnson & Johnson issued a recall of more than 40 different types of liquid medication this past weekend — recalling Tylenol and Motrin-branded over-the-counter cough and cold remedies for children — the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a report criticizing the manufacturer for a series of quality control issues
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said May 1 that it was investigating the products and facilities involved in the voluntary recall of more than 40 varieties of liquid medication for children and infants, including Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl and Zyrtec.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new prostate cancer treatment Thursday. The treatment, which works by turning the body’s immune system against invading cancer cells, is called Provenge and is manufactured by Seattle biotech firm Dendreon. According to a story that ran on the front page of the Seattle Times this past
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