Weight Loss Drug Linked to Liver Injury

Staff / Truthdig May 27, 2010 The instances in which a popular weight loss drug, orlistat, has been associated with liver damage may be rare, but said damage can also be severe. That would be Alli, as in "my Alli." Not so much, apparently. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Prostate Cancer Vaccine Wins OK

Staff / Truthdig Apr 30, 2010 A new vaccine called Provenge has just been accepted by the FDA, making it the first to be approved by the agency for men fighting advanced prostate cancer. While Provenge is not a cure, it has shown promise in extending the lives of patients. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Salt Kills, FDA Stalls

Staff / Truthdig Apr 21, 2010 It’s bad enough that Americans eat about twice as much salt as they need -- and much more than is healthful -- but most don’t even realize it. Reducing sodium in processed foods like cereal and soup and in restaurant meals could save more than 100,000 lives a year, and medical groups are urging the government to take action. (continued) Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

The Candidate-vs.-President Canard

David Sirota / Truthdig Dec 18, 2009 Every now and then, an insider inadvertently exposes the hideous rationalizations that run the American political grotesquerie. Such is the case with the president's flip-flop on drug imports. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Report: States Slacking on Anti-Smoking Spending

Staff / Truthdig Dec 10, 2009 According to a consortium of anti-smoking organizations, U.S. state governments are raking in more money than ever from tobacco companies but aren't spending as much as they had in recent years on preventing their constituents from starting to light up or on helping them quit. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

FDA Goes After Caffeinated Alcoholic Beverages

Staff / Truthdig Nov 14, 2009 News flash: Adding caffeine to alcoholic drinks may lead consumers to underestimate how drunk they are. The Food and Drug Administration is getting to the bottom of this potential health issue by ordering close to 30 manufacturers of caffeinated adult beverages to prove that their drinks are safe -- or else. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

‘Hillbilly Heroin’ Gets a Makeover

Staff / Truthdig Sep 23, 2009 So many people grind up and inject or snort the powerful painkiller OxyContin that the drug's maker has had to snap a plastic-like coating around the pill. The FDA says the improvement is marginal at best in reducing abuse of the drug, but better than nothing. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Behind the Label

Staff / Truthdig Aug 29, 2009 An industry group of organic and natural food producers is attempting to develop a standard for non-genetically modified and organic food. Existing labels declaring food "organic" are based as marketing devices, not on an actual standard of rigorous testing. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Taking On ‘Big Food’

Ellen Goodman / Truthdig Jul 23, 2009 I don't know that we will ever have a dramatic moment in the annals of Big Food like the 1994 testimony of tobacco executives before Congress. But I have begun to wonder whether this is the summer when the (groaning) tables have turned on the obesity industry. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

If the Cigarettes Don’t Get You, the Meds Might

Staff / Truthdig Jul 2, 2009 As if quitting smoking wasn't hard enough: The FDA is slapping mental health warnings on varenicline and buproprion, two drugs commonly prescribed to help smokers ditch their "cancer sticks," as both medications may cause serious neuropsychiatric problems and could even provoke suicidal behavior among users. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

FDA Experts Recommend Pain Drug Ban

Staff / Truthdig Jul 1, 2009 The Food and Drug Administration's expert panel has recommended the agency ban Vicodin and Percocet. Both drugs contain acetaminophen, which is known to cause liver damage. The panel also recommended reducing the standard doses of over-the-counter acetaminophen products, such as Tylenol. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Poster Addict for Tobacco Law

Marie Cocco / Truthdig Jun 25, 2009 It's all right to be just a bit defensive when you're the addict in chief, but President Obama happens to be, hands down, the best possible spokesman for the new FDA regulation. He should embrace the role. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )