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Changing Perceptions About Student Drinking Reduces Alcohol Misuse
Giving students personalised feedback on their drinking behaviour and how it compares to social norms might help to reduce alcohol misuse, according to a Cochrane Systematic Review.
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Blogs Comment On Women's Health Disparities, Sotomayor Nomination, Other Topics
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries. ~ "Report: Higher Rates of Unintended Pregnancy, Abortion Among Women of Color," Sharon Camp, RH Reality Check: A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation on health disparities between white women and women of color "provides further stronger evidence debunking claims" from antiabortion-rights advocates who "have long argued that high abortion rates among minorities are the result of supposed aggressive marketing by abortion providers to minority communities," Camp, president and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute, writes. In addition to identifying disparities in conditions like heart disease and cancer, the report documents "widespread disparities in access to health insurance and health screenings" and explores growing evidence of the association between social factors and health behaviors, access and outcomes, according to Camp. She continues that research from Guttmacher has consistently demonstrated that "rates among racial and ethnic minorities -- especially blacks and Hispanics -- are directly linked to their higher rates of unintended pregnancy, which in turn reflect pervasive health disparities more generally." Camp writes that the "fundamental question policymakers should be asking is not why women of color have high abortion rates, but rather what can be done to help them have fewer unintended pregnancies and achieve better health outcomes more generally," such as improved access to affordable contraception. Women"s dissatisfaction with health care providers, quality of service and the contraceptive methods themselves also are factors in contraceptive use, as are "[u]nstable life situations," which can make consistent use a low priority for some women, according to Camp. She writes, "By continuing to label abortion providers as "racists" and refusing to support expanded access to contraceptive services, antiabortion-rights activists are by no means part of the solution -- to high rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion among racial and ethnic minorities or to persistent and tragic disparities in health care generally" (Camp, RH Reality Check, 6/15).~ "What"s Next for Women"s Legal Rights in the Supreme Court?" Amy Matsui, Womenstake: Matsui, senior counsel for the National Women"s Law Center, examines several women"s rights issues "that we see peeking around the corner" of the next Supreme Court session. Matsui writes that "increasingly draconian abortion restrictions have begun to work their way through state legislatures." These restrictions include giving personhood rights to fetuses, mandates on the information women are given prior to abortion procedures and "outright abortion bans," she writes. Challenges to laws that expand protections for providers who deny health care services also "are likely to come before the courts," Matsui writes. Challenges to health care reform proposals also are likely, "specifically, the interaction of the federal statute that governs employee health care and pension plans ... and any new requirements for employers to provide health care coverage," according to Matsui. The Supreme Court has "obviously considered the underlying legal doctrines in these cases (the constitutional right to privacy, federal anti-discrimination statutes, Equal Protection guarantees and federal benefits statutes) in the past; some might say that there is a clear roadmap of where the Court should go in some of these cases," Matsui writes, concluding, "But when every vote counts on the Supreme Court, women should be watching what cases come next" (Matsui, Womenstake, 6/12).~ "Antiabortion Groups" Case Against Sotomayor," Dan Gilgoff, U.S. News & World Report"s "God and Country": "With no clear evidence for a pro-abortion-rights position in her judicial decisions, antiabortion groups" case against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor can be summed up in eight words: the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund," Gilgoff writes. From 1980 to 1992, Sotomayor sat on the l
News of the day
FDA Approval For Cetirizine Hydrochloride Tablets (OTC) ANDA - Hay Fever And Other Respiratory Allergies
Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. reported that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") for its Abbreviated New Drug Application ("ANDA") for cetirizine hydrochloride tablets (OTC), 5 mg and 10 mg ("Cetirizine Tablets"). The product will be marketed by Taro"s U.S. affiliate, Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.
Medical Devices

Leave Fireworks To The Professionals This Fourth Of July

Each Fourth of July, thousands of people are injured from using consumer fireworks. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 9,000 fireworks-related injuries happen each year. Of these, nearly half are head-related injuries with nearly 30 percent of these injuries to the eyes. One-fourth of fireworks eye injuries result in permanent vision loss or blindness. July is Fireworks Eye Safety Awareness Month, and through its EyeSmart™ campaign the American Academy of Ophthalmology wants to remind consumers to leave fireworks to professionals. "Too many Fourth of July celebrations are ruined because a child has to be rushed to the emergency room after a fireworks accident," said Marguerite McDonald, MD, a clinical correspondent for the Academy. "Potentially blinding injuries can be avoided if families attend a professional public fireworks display instead of putting on a home fireworks display." Children are the most common victims of firework accidents, with those fifteen years old or younger accounting for half of all fireworks eye injuries in the United States. For children under the age of five, seemingly innocent sparklers account for one-third of all fireworks injuries. Sparklers can burn at nearly 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hot enough to cause a third-degree burn. "Among the most serious injuries are abrupt trauma to the eye from bottle rockets," according to Dr. McDonald. The rockets fly erratically, often injuring bystanders. Injuries from bottle rockets can include eye lid lacerations, corneal abrasions, traumatic cataract , retinal detachment, optic nerve damage, rupture of the eyeball, eye muscle damage, and complete blindness. For a safe and healthy Independence Day celebration, the Academy urges observance of the following tips: - Never let children play with fireworks of any type. - View fireworks from a safe distance: at least 500 feet away, or up to a quarter of a mile for best viewing. - Respect safety barriers set up to allow pyrotechnicians to do their jobs safely. - Leave the lighting of fireworks to trained professionals. - Follow directives given by event ushers or public safety personnel. - If you find unexploded fireworks remains, do not touch them. Immediately contact your local fire or police departments. - If you get an eye injury from fireworks, seek medical help immediately. Find Eye M.D.s in your area or ask an Eye M.D. a question by visiting http://www.GetEyeSmart.org. Consumers can submit questions about eye health to an ophthalmologist at http://www.geteyesmart.org/eyesmart/ask/ American Academy of Ophthalmology


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