New FDA label policy includes lawsuit pre-emption assertion
In the preamble of its new policy governing drug labels, the FDA also asserts federal pre-emption that disallows lawsuits in state courts involving agency-approved drugs. The FDA acknowledged it has no legal or regulatory authority to make the assertion but said drugmakers complying with the FDA process "should not be second-guessed by state courts" that do not have the scientific expertise the federal agency has. The Washington Post (free
registration) (1/19), The Boston Globe (1/19)
House approves bill protecting vaccine makers from suits
The U.S. House of Representatives approved an appropriations bill that contains a provision blocking liability lawsuits against makers of vaccines for epidemic viruses, unless a plaintiff can prove the drugmaker was guilty of willful misconduct, a high standard in legal terms. The Senate is expected to take up the measure later this week. ABC News/Associated Press (12/19)
Coffee may stave off alcoholic cirrhosis
The long-term study of more than 125,000 people indicated that for every cup of coffee consumed per day, the chances of developing the liver disease went down 22%. The authors found those in a subgroup who drank both coffee and alcohol had lower levels of a liver enzyme that indicates damage compared with those who drank alcohol and no coffee. Forbes (6/12)
Study: Americans visiting medical providers more than ever
The number of health care visits by Americans is growing at three times the rate of population growth, according to new government statistics. The number of visits to doctors' offices in 2004 was more than 1 billion, an increase of 31% from 10 years earlier. MSNBC/Reuters (6/23)
Diabetes risk predicted according to early obesity
The heavier a person is at a young age, the greater the risk they have of developing diabetes, and experts say they can even predict a person's chances of developing diabetes based on the information. Researchers said the odds of a person who is at normal weight at age 18 of developing diabetes later in life are about 1-in-5, but if a person is very obese at 18, the odds increase to about a 3-in-4 chance. USA TODAY (6/13)
Editor's Note:
The SmartBrief news archive contains content appearing previously in SmartBrief publications. SmartBrief editors were not involved in the selection of these articles for the Sponsored Feature.
|
