Dr. Elizabeth Whelan in Research Media Ltd., November 15, 2011
Research Media Ltd. Interview with Dr. Elizabeth Whelan
New York City s roll-your-own (RYO) cigarette shops are getting attention due to the city s attempt to end what they deem illicit tax avoidance by the RYO makers. At issue is the tax loophole that such businesses happily exploit: The loose tobacco they sell for their high-speed cigarette rolling machines is subject to only a fraction of the taxes that would be fixed on a commercially produced pack.
The pharmaceutical industry has been struggling. How bad is it? A report on Monday from Deloitte and Thompson Reuters reveals that investment returns from the research and development (R&D) of new drugs have fallen nearly 30 percent in the last year alone.
Treatment for HIV-infected patients is more effective than ever before, the United Nations AIDS program (UNAIDS) has just reported. Thus, while the number of new HIV infections worldwide is over 20 percent lower than during the peak of the epidemic, as countries become more successful at keeping these patients alive, more people than ever are living with the virus: 34 million in 2010.
A study just presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases has found that, despite its popularity, milk thistle extract provides no benefit for hepatitis C patients. A randomized trial from the University of North Carolina found that milk thistle (also known as the botanical compound silymarin) was no better than a placebo at improving liver function.
Taking herbal supplements, we ve often observed, is rarely a great idea. Not only do they lack the efficacy of FDA-approved medications, but they re unregulated and can actually be dangerous. Patients suffering from chronic kidney disease, for instance, are particularly susceptible to a host of adverse effects from many approved pharmaceuticals. This is even more of a danger with herbal supplements, whose exact ingredients and dosages are often unknown.
In other nonsense news, a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds that people who eat a lot of unfermented soy products, such as tofu or soy milk, have a 23 percent lower risk of lung cancer than those who eat the least amount. The results were obtained after researchers from the Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine pooled findings from 11 observational studies.
Yet another previously unknown anti-chemical environmental group has issued a scare screed alleging that hidden toxic chemicals in various household cleaning products may be poisoning us without our knowledge.
Two studies on obesity just published in the New England Journal of Medicine both found that primary care physicians (PCPs) can deliver safe and effective weight-loss interventions.
After an FDA advisory panel unanimously voted in June to revoke the approval of the drug Avastin as a treatment for advanced breast cancer, FDA commissioner Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg announced last week that the agency will support the committee s recommendation and rescind approval.
