Friday, 8 February 2019
Thursday, 7 February 2019
Walgreens and Circle K Tobacco Sales Blocked By FDA
Today the FDA announced the action taken against Walgreens and a Circle K store, in which the agency asked a federal judge to temporarily block the sales of tobaccos products while mandating a stronger crackdown on sales to minors within the chain of stores.
This push for change is the most tactical action the agency can make and urge big retailers that violate state laws about tobacco and e-cigarette products to change their ways of operating.
The current Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced that he is asking to meet with the Walgreens management about its recent violations and accusations. He expressed his concern saying, “deeply disturbed that a single pharmacy chain racked up almost 1,800 violations for selling tobacco products to minors across the country.”
The actions stem from accusations that focused on a Walgreens in Miami and a South Carolina Circle K that each acquired more than five violations throughout three months.
According to the FDA Walgreens was chief violator among those accused nationwide, with almost 22 percent of inspected stores selling illegally to minors. Thousands of warning letters that the agency had sent along with hundred of fines to Walgreens and Circle K had little to no success, which led to taking the final step of blocking all sales.
The giant pharmacy chain CVS has banned tobacco sales completely, while Walgreen shareholders have repeatedly raised concern about the practices taking place.
A report from Walgreens claimed that it was now training store employees on tobacco sale requirements and strengthening disciplinary actions against those who violate the policy. The pharmacy said it would welcome a meeting with the Commissioner.
The agency’s inspections and the judges focus on no sale orders on cigars, and menthol cigarettes come in time with just recently taking the same action against ” vape pens” or e-cigarettes. Last summer the FDA issued warning letters to thousands of stores for selling vapor products like the “JUUL” to minors.
The agency and commissioner announced that they are evaluating multiple other chains and could take further actions, in stores including Walmart, Dollar General, and Rite Aid as possible suspects.
source http://www.ivdaily.com/walgreens-and-circle-k-tobacco-sales-blocked-by-fda
Wednesday, 6 February 2019
Shocking New Harvard Study Links Smoking Marijuana to Better Sperm Counts
Despite previous findings, a new Harvard study indicates that men who smoke marijuana appear to have a higher sperm count than those who have never used cannabis at all-yet the finds are still very vague.
The study shocks many due to past research, which claimed that marijuana has a harmful side effect of lowering and killing off sperm count along with decreasing the testicular function.
However, the new experiment, published Feb.6 in the issue of Journal Human Reproduction, does not urge men to start smoking the plant to up their sperm count. Authors claim that the findings are far from conclusive, and more studies will need to be conducted to fully understand and prove whether smoking marijuana could, at certain levels, have a positive outcome on sperm reproduction.
Dr. Jorge Chavarro, Study senior author, and an associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, said in a statement. “We know a lot less than we think we know.”
The previous research was done on marijuana, and sperm count suggests that smoking marijuana will lower a man’s sperm count, especially in heavy users. Although the study of moderate marijuana use on sperm count among men is still unclear or “less clear.”
According to the new study, experts looked over information from 663 men who, including with their partners, were checked for infertility from 2000 to 2017 at the Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Center. During the study the participants answered survey questions about how often they consumed marijuana or used other drugs, they also were required to provide blood and urine samples.
In all, little over half of the men (55%) reported never smoking marijuana in their lifetimes, and 11 percent said they are a current user of cannabis and smoke regularly.
The study shows that the men who reported smoking marijuana had an average sperm count of 63 million sperm per milliliter of semen, in comparison to 45 million sperm per milliliter of semen among those who have never used the drug. The findings come after experts took into account that some factors could have affected sperm counts including age, cigarette smoking, and alcohol use.
Also, only 5 percent of the marijuana users had a lower-than-normal sperm count, which is less than 15 million sperm per milliliter of semen. Among men who claimed they never smoked marijuana, 12 percent had lower-than-normal sperm concentrations.
However, each additional year that had passed since a man last used marijuana a slight rise in sperm count would appear.
“Our findings were contrary to what we hypothesized at the start of the study,” study head author Feiby Nassan, a postdoctoral research partner at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, claimed in the statement.
“Overall, the jury is still out on how marijuana impacts a man’s fertility potential,” Vij said in a statement to press, the new study doesn’t provide a conclusive answer.
source http://www.ivdaily.com/shocking-new-harvard-study-links-smoking-marijuana-to-better-sperm-counts
Tuesday, 5 February 2019
Illinois Now Grants Medical Marijuana to People Struggling with Opioid Addiction
Under the new Illinois’ Opioid Alternative Pilot Program it now provides those prescribed opioids access to medical marijuana. Before, patients had to have one of the 40 qualifying conditions, which included as cancer or AIDS, to use medical cannabis.
To qualify for the program, an applicant must have a prescription for an opioid or a doctor must determine that one could be prescribed. However, before a patient can join, they must visit a registered doctor, who will electronically submit a physician certification to the state.
The state offers the option to the patient that allows them to register on the program’s website, or solicit help registering at a dispensary or local health department. Patients are required to provide copies of their driver’s licenses or state IDs and a passport-style photo and pay a low fee of $10.
After the patient has been uploaded into the state’s system, they will be approved for 90 days in the program and receive registration certificates via email or mail. They’ll be able to buy marijuana shortly after registering without any complications.
Industry operators assume the new program will dramatically increase support in Illinois’ broader medical marijuana pilot program. More than 52,000 patients were enrolled in January when the state last provided a count.
According to states records, usually, medical cannabis programs will reach 1 to 2 percent of a normal state’s population. For Illinois, that means 128,000 to 256,000 people. However, with medical marijuana as a legal replacement for prescription opioids, the reach could increase to 3 to 4 percent of the population.
In the past couple of months, the amount of patients approved to use medical marijuana has been increasing at a quicker pace as the stigma circling the drug, which is still federally illegal, begins to weaken.
In just one year the Illinois medical marijuana program will expire, handing over the responsibility to make it permanent to the new governor, J.B. Pritzker, and state lawmakers.
In August the law Rauner it to also denied the demand for patients to give fingerprints and succumb to a background check before enrolling for Illinois’ broader medical marijuana pilot program. Additionally, the Department of Public Health will momentarily give applicants temporary access while their requests are reviewed allowing struggling patients to receive the medication they deserve.
“It’s going to change a lot,” a former opioid patient said. “I’ll know what I’m getting now, and I can now function. ”
source http://www.ivdaily.com/illinois-now-grants-medical-marijuana-to-people-struggling-with-opioid-addiction
100 May Be the New legal Smoking Age In Hawaii By 2024 Under New Bill
2020 and 2024 means a new bill, proposed by Democrat Richard Creagan, would make the smoking age increase rapidly hoping to weed out the deadly substance.
For the bill to pass it would need to go through the state legislature and receive a heavy blow of criticism from the big tobacco industries to become state law.
E-cigarettes, chewing tobacco and cigars have not been included in the bill. However, will be placed in their category.
According to a statement made by Dr. Creagan, who was an emergency room physician before he was elected as state representative in 2014, describes cigarettes as “the deadliest artifact in human history” in the bill.
Back in January 2017, Hawaii became the original US state to increase its smoking age to 21. In the separate US states the legal age is usually 18 or 19. Since then almost half of the united states have increased their tobacco age to 21.
Under the new bill, HB 1509, its primary objective is that the smoking age will most likely go up to 30 in 2020, 40 in 2021, 50 in 2022, and 60 in 2023 – until eventually, in 2024, people would be required to be 100 years old to buy cigarettes.
The Dr. described to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald that a “ridiculously bad industry” had created the cigarette to be “highly addictive, knowing that it is highly lethal.” Just like the new Opioid Health crisis tearing through the country state by state.
“We don’t allow people free access to opioids, for instance, or any prescription drugs,” he stated.
E-cigarettes and cigars have been cut from the bill due to the beliefs of Dr. Creagan who claims they are provenly a safer alternative for smokers than regular cigarettes, despite their complications.
The National Cancer Institute urges that “all tobacco products are harmful and cause cancer.”
“Regular cigar smokers and cigarette smokers have similar levels of risk for oral cavity and oesophageal cancers,” it adds on its website.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US announced that cigarette smoking is the number one cause of preventable disease and death in the country. By making it nearly impossible seems like the only option however addiction will never go away.
Through countless studies, it shows, that about half a million people in the US die every year from smoking-related conditions. The numbers are entirely preventable.
source http://www.ivdaily.com/100-may-be-the-new-legal-smoking-age-in-hawaii-by-2024-under-new-bill