Health Glance
Four Canadian studies involved about 2,000 people, health officials told CBC News. Researchers found people who had received the seasonal flu vaccine in the past were more likely to get sick with the H1N1 virus.
Seasonal flu shot may increase H1N1 risk
FDA bans flavored cigarettes
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday officially banned cigarettes with candy, fruit or clove flavors, its first action since taking over responsibility for regulating the tobacco industry.
The FDA said the ban is aimed at reducing the appeal for smoking for children and cutting smoking rates in the country.
Exposure to sun 'may help people with cancer survive'
Sunbathing is known to cause skin cancer – but it may also help people survive when they get it, scientists are reporting.Two studies published yesterday showed that vitamin D produced by the action of the sun on the skin may help improve survival for patients with skin and bowel cancer. The bizarre finding suggests that health warnings to avoid the sun have been too simplistic
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American Airlines cancels retired non-union employees' health care
American Airlines has sent letters to its retirees, saying it will be ending its Retiree Standard Medical Plan option for non-union employees.
The health insurance plan will be canceled as of Dec. 31, 2009. Instead, retirees will be able to purchase a supplemental Medicare coverage plan. But under the new programs, retirees will have to pay monthly premiums.
Smoking ban heart gains 'massive'
Bans on smoking in public places have had a bigger impact on preventing heart attacks than ever expected, data shows.
Smoking bans cut the number of heart attacks in Europe and North America by up to a third, two studies report. This "heart gain" is far greater than both originally anticipated and the 10% figure recently quoted by England's Department of Health.
Benefit and Doubt in Vaccine Additive
Wealthy nations have contracted for much of the expected pandemic vaccine production, leaving little for poorer countries. But while Canada and some European nations will use vaccines containing adjuvants, American officials have decided against it for now. They say that they have enough vaccine and that the safety of the additives has not been proved.
The placebo problem Big Pharma's desperate to solve
True, many test subjects treated with the medication felt their hopelessness and anxiety lift. But so did nearly the same number who took a placebo, a look-alike pill made of milk sugar or another inert substance given to groups of volunteers in clinical trials to gauge how much more effective the real drug is by comparison. The fact that taking a faux drug can powerfully improve some people's health - the so-called placebo effect - has long been considered an embarrassment to the serious practice of pharmacology.
The fact that an increasing number of medications are unable to beat sugar pills has thrown the industry into crisis. The stakes could hardly be higher.
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