Health
FDA Rule Aims to Stub Out Cigarette and Smokeless Tobacco Marketing to Kids
The FDA wants to make it harder for kids to get their hands on cigarettes. Credit: Matt Cardy, Getty Images
In addition to other restrictions, the new rule, which goes into effect June 22, prohibits the distribution of free samples of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco, and prohibits tobacco brand name sponsorship of any athletic, musical or other social or cultural events.
The FDA says it will work with states, territories and retailers to help them comply with the rule.
"Today, we're addressing a larger public health effort to prevent our children from becoming the next generation of Americans to die early from tobacco-related disease," says HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "This is a great step toward a healthier America."
FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., concurs, noting, "Every day nearly 4,000 kids under 18 try their first cigarette and 1,000 kids under 18 become daily smokers." She adds, "Putting these restrictions in place is necessary to protect the health of those we care most about: our children."
Related: Hey Kids: Smoking Blows; Teen Anti-Smoking Ad Inflames the French
Who Says There's Nothing Good on TV?
I often write about the sad state of television these days, but recently my mom told me about a story she saw on 60 Minutes that was uplifting, inspirational, educational, and entertaining for the whole family. I went to the show's Web site to see for myself. My mom was right. At a time when even Barbara Walters says she's bored silly of celebrity interviews, this profile will not disappoint.
It's the story of Derek Paravicini, a 30-year-old who was born three months premature, physically disabled (he can't button his own shirt), blind, and severely autistic.
Yet, through sheer luck and coincidence, his family discovered when Derek was 3 that he had a remarkable musical talent.
Derek can hear any musical composition one time and play it perfectly on the piano.
That's right. He only has to hear it once.
It's the story of Derek Paravicini, a 30-year-old who was born three months premature, physically disabled (he can't button his own shirt), blind, and severely autistic.
Yet, through sheer luck and coincidence, his family discovered when Derek was 3 that he had a remarkable musical talent.
Derek can hear any musical composition one time and play it perfectly on the piano.
That's right. He only has to hear it once.
Opinion: Parents' Attitudes Contribute More to Autism Than Vaccines
You hear the rooster crow. You see the sun come up.
All hail the chicken god!
That's the problem with observational evidence. It can be very misleading, especially when you're desperately groping for answers to life's most profound mysteries. This is how myths and legends are born.
I understand. Having a son with autism, I bought into much of the folklore swirling around the disorder. It helped that people with initials after their names told me it was caused by mercury in childhood vaccines, food allergies, metal poisoning and just about everything except evil spirits.
CPSC Chief Inez Tenenbaum Says China Has 'Gotten The Message'
CPSC Chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum. Credit: Robert Giroux/MCT
It's the calling card of a staggering percentage of products that Americans buy. And what does that phrase conjure for you? Poorly made? Dangerous? Ask America's top product safety official about Chinese-made products and you're going to get a different answer. She said change is already here -- asserting there's a new awareness among Chinese government officials and manufacturers that has led to a noticeable difference in imports from that country meeting U.S. standards.
Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum said recent law changes in the U.S. and a constant dialogue with the Chinese government is yielding results that should end up with American consumers feeling better about Chinese products.
"They have gotten the message," Tenenbaum said. "And it's very important to the Chinese that the brand 'Made in China' have a positive meaning to Americans, since we are probably the largest consuming nation of Chinese products ... Our economies are tied, but we do not jeopardize safety for trade issues."
She said the Chinese have closed some factories that violated U.S. safety laws.
To watch the interview and read more about this issue, visit WalletPop.com/consumer-ally.
How to Set a Nap-Time Routine
Rubbing eyes? Time for a nap. Credit: jamiesdesigns, Flickr
Figuring out your baby needs more sleep can be a humiliating experience, as anyone with a screaming child in the grocery store or on an airplane can attest. Coming up with a nap time routine has a big payoff: a few hours of peace for mom and dad and a happier baby.
So how do you make it happen? Experts say there are a handful of telltale clues that your child needs a nap before they completely fall apart. Classics like fussiness and rubbing of the eyes are two obvious symptoms. But keep an eye out for when they lose interest in playtime or get frustrated with toys -- both indicators that it might be time for some shut-eye.
They may not be able to tell you themselves, but you can learn to read the signs of a nap calling.
So how do you make it happen? Experts say there are a handful of telltale clues that your child needs a nap before they completely fall apart. Classics like fussiness and rubbing of the eyes are two obvious symptoms. But keep an eye out for when they lose interest in playtime or get frustrated with toys -- both indicators that it might be time for some shut-eye.
They may not be able to tell you themselves, but you can learn to read the signs of a nap calling.
"A lot of what we're talking about is paying attention to your child," says Dr. Jeffrey Cain, chief of family medicine at The Children's Hospital in Denver.
New Study: Parents Stink
Another day, another article on how we parents can screw up our kids with our very best intentions.
I'm getting sick of these things.
Right now, a bunch of people are sending me this piece from the New Scientist because they think I'll love its message -- and headline: "Mom and dad, stop stifling me - it's damaging my brain."
Since I am on record as being anti-helicopter parenting, you'd think I'd be delighted to hear that a team of scientists in Japan scanned the brains of 50 people in their 20s, looking to see whether overbearing parents had literally stunted their kids' development.
Parents, Stop Hovering! You May Be Harming Your Child's Mental Health, Study Says
Helicopter parents, you may want to ease up on all that hovering when it comes to your kids: A new study shows your overprotectiveness may make your children more likely to develop psychiatric disorders.
Kosuke Narita and researchers at Gunma University in Japan scanned the brains of 50 20-somethings, and had them fill out surveys about their relationships with their moms and dads through age 16, New Scientist reprots. The Parental Bonding Instrument survey (PDF) included rating statements such as "Did not want me to grow up," "tried to control everything I did" and "tended to baby me," according to the magazine.
"Narita's team found that those with overprotective parents had less grey matter in a particular area of the prefrontal cortex than those who had had healthy relationships," New Scientist reports. "Neglect from fathers, though not mothers, also correlated with less grey matter."
Mother Gets Friendly Note - From the President of the United States
Stamped signature? Not on this letter. Credit: Courtesy of clickondetroit.com
What?!
Tiffany Smith did a double take. The last thing the Detroit mother expected when she went to the mailbox last week was a personal note from President Obama.
Immunizing Children May Help the Whole Community, Study Shows
Vaccines might have wide-reaching effects. Credit: Noel Celis, AFP/Getty Images
Giving flu vaccines to children can help protect the wider community, a new study shows.
The findings, published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, support the concept of "herd immunity," in which vaccinated members of a community provide a barrier against a disease for those who are unvaccinated.
Researchers, including the study's lead author, Dr. Mark Loeb, of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, say the trial was conducted in 46 Hutterite colonies of a self-confined religious community in Canada. The Hutterites are an Anabaptist group similar to the Amish who live mostly in rural areas in western Canada and have little contact with non-Hutterite people around them.
During the 2008-09 flu season, researchers administered vaccines to 947 children between the ages of 3 and 15. Of those, 502 children in 22 colonies got the seasonal flu vaccine and the 445 children in the other 24 colonies were given the hepatitis A vaccine, the study says. There were more than 2,000 unvaccinated people in the combined communities.
Government Panel Questions 'VBAC Bans'
The National Institutes of Health convened an independent panel this week to re-evaluate so-called bans on VBACs, or vaginal births after cesareans. Many women who have had cesareans currently are not offered the VBAC option, even if they are at low risk for complications.
"Declining VBAC rates and increasing cesarean delivery rates over the last 15 years would seem to indicate that planned repeat cesarean delivery is preferable to a trial of labor. But the currently available evidence suggests a very different picture: a trial of labor is worth considering and may be preferable for many women," says Dr. F. Gary Cunningham, chair of the 15-member panel, in an NIH press release.
The panel also advocates revisiting current VBAC guidelines, addressing malpractice concerns and conducting additional research on the factors that influence how a woman with a previous cesarean will deliver.
Women in Sororities More Apt to Have Bad Body Images, Eating Disorders, Study Says
Do sororities cultivate mean girls or future humanitarians? Credit: Corbis
Women who join sororities are more likely to judge themselves on their appearances and display bulimic tendencies, according to a new study published in the journal Sex Roles.
Each year, thousands of women participate in the rush process to join sororities on college campuses across the United States, and millions of women around the world are already initiated members, according to the National Panhellenic Conference, an umbrella group for 26 international sororities and women's fraternities.
Yet, while sororities were created to provide college women with opportunities for personal growth and enrichment, researcher Ashley Marie Rolnik reports they are often criticized for their potential to lead women to focus excessively and unhealthily on their appearances.
American Academy of Pediatrics: Label Foods as Choking Hazards
Remember putting away all the small, choking-sized toys when your second child was born? Avoiding playthings with labels on their boxes that warned they weren't suitable for children under the age of 3? Turns out, that wasn't doing nearly far enough.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is now turning its attention to the choking dangers of food and has proposed new, comprehensive reforms for the labeling and packaging of food products.
Choking remains one of the leading causes of death for children under the age of 3, and every five days a child chokes to death on food, the statement says. Hot dogs alone account for 17 percent of food-related choking incidents, one study shows.
Mass. Club Pleads No Contest in Boy's Uzi Death
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A Massachusetts sporting club is donating $10,000 to children's charities as part of a deal settling criminal charges in the death of an 8-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself in the head with an Uzi during a gun fair.
Christopher Bizilj's parents approved the Westfield Sportsman's Club's plea deal reached Thursday in Hampden Superior Court, where his mother's description of their grief left the judge visibly shaken.
Christopher, a third-grader from Ashford, Conn., died after the accidental shooting during an October 2008 gun fair at the Westfield club. His father and brother were a few feet away.
Three men who arranged the gun fair and provided the weapons are scheduled to stand trial in June on charges of involuntary manslaughter, including Pelham's former police chief.
More Women May be Dying After Giving Birth
As if the raging health care debate needed any more fuel added to its fire, a recent study in California indicates that the number of women dying from childbirth may be on the rise, having almost tripled in that state over the past decade, reports ABC News.
Maternal mortality is the term used in the yet to be released survey for women who die withing 42 days of giving birth, and is such a serious problem worldwide that the United Nations made reducing it to one of its eight Millennium Development Goals for 2015.
It's logical that impoverished countries where women have little access to modern health care would have high numbers of women dying in childbirth, but surely this country's state-of-the-art health care system performs admirably, right?
Hundreds of Lawsuits Claim Paxil Causes Birth Defects
The makers of the antidepressant drug Paxil are facing an increasing number of lawsuits alleging the medication causes birth defects, and one family has already won a settlement of $2.5 million, online investigative news site The Public Record reports.
Paxil's manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, also has been sued by plaintiffs alleging the drug is addictive and can make people suicidal, The Public Record reports. To date, the company has paid out more than $1 billion to resolve the lawsuits. Paxil was approved by the FDA in 1992.
So far, only one lawsuit alleging the drug causes birth defects has been brought to trial. In October 2009, a jury in Philadelphia awarded the family of Lyam Kilker $2.5 million after it brought forward a suit claiming Paxil caused Kilker's severe heart defects.
