The FDA approved Optimer Pharmaceuticals’ antibiotic Dificid on Friday, marking the first new medicine in 25 years approved to treat diarrhea caused by the bacterium Clostridium dificile. This is welcome news, since “C-diff” is likely even more of a problem in hospital settings than the antibiotic-resistant Staph, MRSA. C.

Today is World No Tobacco Day, and the media have commemorated the occasion from a variety of perspectives. The New York Times today features an article focusing on new state laws that seek to ban or limit hookah use, which many teens and young adults wrongly believe is a safer alternative to cigarette smoking. Paul G.

Whether you are traveling around the world or relaxing at home, a safe, healthy vacation will add to your enjoyment. Here are some health and safety tips to keep in mind when planning your summer vacation.

On his tobacco blog, Tobaccoanalysis.com, ACSH scientific advisor Dr. Michael Siegel, a professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, addresses the misleading claims of a recent article published in Tobacco Control, in which the authors reprimand the tobacco industry for not doing enough to lower the levels of tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) in cigarettes over the years.

Even though its been decades since numerous international governmental health authorities approved the use of aspartame as a food additive, the European Commission is not satisfied with the abundance of studies on the matter and is asking the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to conduct and expedite yet another re-evaluation of the artificial sweetener by July 2012.

An editorial warning about the alleged dangers of smokeless tobacco — posted on a local South Dakota news website, TheDailyRepublic.com — had ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross riled up this morning since it “contained more falsehoods and misleading statements in the fewest words that I’ve had the displeasure to read recently.”

In a large, federally-funded trial investigating niacin (vitamin B-3), researchers hoping to harness its known ability to raise HDL, or “good cholesterol,” levels to prevent heart disease were once again disappointed. After niacin was administered to patients in conjunction with cholesterol-lowering statin medications, the study was halted 18 months prematurely, due to patients' increased risk for cardiovascular events.

Physicians — and consumers — should be aware of particular Ayurvedic medicine products that have been associated with two recent New York City cases of lead poisoning in adults. This report from the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene offers a full advisory in regard to Pregnita, Vasant Kusumakar Ras with Gold and Pearl and Mahashakti Rasayan.