The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s decision to authorize the first menthol-flavored e-cigarettes has drawn the the ire of health advocates who say the decision undermines efforts to end the youth vaping epidemic in America. In its approval of four flavored vaping products made by Njoy, the agency defended its decision. “Based upon our rigorous scientific review, in this instance, the strength of evidence of benefits to adult smokers from completely switching to a less harmful product was sufficient to outweigh the risks to youth,” Matthew Farrelly, director of the Office of Science in the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said in an agency news release announcing the authorization. But that argument did not convince anti-tobacco groups and health advocates. “The FDA’s decision today to authorize the sale of four menthol-flavored e-cigarettes made by Njoy — the first time the agency has authorized the sale of any flavored e-cigarettes — is deeply troubling given the extensive scientific evidence that menthol is a flavor that appeals to kids and the FDA’s repeated conclusions that flavored e-cigarettes, including menthol-flavored products, have driven youth e-cigarette use,” Yolonda Richardson, president and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said in a statement. “The scientific evidence demonstrates that menthol is a flavor that appeals to kids, and the tobacco industry has a long history of using menthol flavoring to attract…  read on >  read on >

A class of blood pressure medications appears to also help lower seniors’ risk of developing epilepsy, a new study finds. The drugs, called angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), might prevent epilepsy in people at highest risk of the disease, researchers reported June 17 in the journal JAMA Neurology. “This is incredibly exciting because we don’t currently have any medicines that prevent epilepsy,” said senior researcher Dr. Kimford Meador, a professor of neurology at Stanford University School of Medicine. “I hope these initial findings lead to randomized clinical trials.” Epilepsy is most often diagnosed during childhood, but more than 1% of people older than 65 are known to develop the recurring seizures associated with the brain disorder. Stroke is the most common risk factor for developing epilepsy as a senior. About 10% of stroke survivors develop seizures within five years, researchers noted. Hardened arteries and chronic high blood pressure also boost epilepsy risk, whether or not a person has had a stroke, the researchers added. “This can be a very debilitating disorder, and it’s much more common in older adults than people realize,” Meador said in a Stanford news release. A 2022 study of more than 160,000 people in Germany found that people taking ARBs for high blood pressure had a lower risk of epilepsy, researchers said. Those drugs block receptors for angiotensin II, a protein that…  read on >  read on >

The number of people severely sickened after consuming mushroom edibles sold as Diamond Shruumz-brand chocolate bars, cones or gummies has risen, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday. “As of June 17, 2024, a total of 26 illnesses have been reported from 16 states,” the FDA noted in an updated advisory. That’s up from 12 cases in 8 states reported a week ago. “Twenty-five of the 26 people have reported seeking medical care; 16 have been hospitalized,” the FDA added, noting that “no deaths have been reported.” The exact cause of the illnesses isn’t clear, but the FDA said its “investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of these illnesses and the appropriate next steps.” Symptoms have included “seizures, central nervous system depression [loss of consciousness, confusion, sleepiness], agitation, abnormal heart rates, hyper/hypotension, nausea and vomiting,” the agency added. The Diamond Shruumz-brand mushroom edible products are being marketed online and at smoke/vape shops, legal CBD/THC shops and other retail outlets nationwide. The FDA is asking retailers to stop selling the products. “FDA has been in contact with the firm about a possible voluntary recall, but these discussions are still ongoing,” the agency noted. The edibles pose a special danger to kids, the FDA added.“This product may appeal to children and teenagers as it is marketed as a candy,” the FDA noted. “Parents and caregivers…  read on >  read on >

After a recall was issued last year for lead-tainted applesauce pouches linked to illnesses in over 500 children, the discount retailer Dollar Tree failed to remove all products from store shelves for too long, federal officials said Tuesday. In a warning letter sent to the company, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said WanaBana apple puree products remained in stores in several states through late December, two months after Dollar Tree was first told about the recall. Officials at the Virginia-based company told the agency that it refused sales of the products at registers, but the FDA said that was “not an effective measure” because at least one child in Washington state ate a recalled fruit pouch in a store before a purchase was made. The recall effort first began in October 2023, when WanaBana recalled its fruit pouches over concerns about lead and chromium contamination. Chromium is a carcinogen, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a seller of the pouches, Dollar Tree was notified of the recall. However, subsequent checks of stores “revealed that you continued to offer the recalled WanaBana Apple Cinnamon Fruit Puree pouches on store shelves well after the recall was initiated, despite FDA’s numerous attempts to bring this serious issue to your attention,” the agency said in its warning letter. “Exposure to lead at the levels found…  read on >  read on >

The number of pregnant women with chronic high blood pressure doubled during the past decade and a half, but treatment remains low among them, a new study found. About 3.7% of pregnant women were diagnosed with high blood pressure in 2021, up from 1.8% in 2008, researchers said. However, prescriptions handed out to pregnant women for high blood pressure remained about the same, with only 60% getting drugs that could lower their blood pressure. “While the rate of hypertension in pregnancy has doubled, the use of medication for treatment remained stable at only 60%, which we believe is likely below what it should be if patients are treated according to clinical guidelines,” said lead researcher Stephanie Leonard, an epidemiologist with Stanford University School of Medicine. For the study, published June 17 in the journal Hypertension, researchers analyzed a database of private health insurance claims for 2007 to 2021, reviewing records for 1.9 million pregnancies during that period. They found that the frequency of high blood pressure diagnosis during pregnancy continued to rise steadily over the past decade and a half. However, the researchers were surprised to find no spike in diagnoses following a 2017 guideline update that lowered the threshold for early-stage high blood pressure. “We had hoped to see some impact from the 2017 guideline, which reduced the blood pressure threshold for treatment of…  read on >  read on >

In countries where gender equality is becoming more of a reality, men’s meat consumption tends to rise relative to women’s, a new study shows. The phenomenon was seen mainly in richer countries in North America and Europe, and was not seen at all in large but less affluent China, India and Indonesia. Why? Researchers believe it’s due to men in wealthier, more gender-equal nations having more control over their meal choices — and choosing meat more often. The trend is “more likely to be driven by more extensive meat consumption among men in developed countries, in which greater wealth creates more opportunities for men to choose meat, than by lower meat consumption among women,” the researchers concluded. The study was led by Christopher Hopwood, a professor of psychology at the University of Zurich, in Switzerland. It was published June 13 in the journal Scientific Reports. The researchers started off with one longstanding statistic: Almost everywhere, men tend to eat more meat than women. But would that carnivore gender gap close once women made gains in equality with respect to men? To find out, Hopwood’s team looked at survey data collected in 2021 from almost 21,000 people from 23 countries in North and South America, Europe and Asia. Participants reported their gender and how frequently they ate meat. As expected, in most countries (with the exception…  read on >  read on >