Free Republic

Doctors in California say as many as 25 children are suffering from a mysterious, poliolike virus that is leaving them with paralyzed limbs... The cause of most of these cases is not known, health officials say. The average age of the children is 12.

Lawmakers in Utah and Colorado are promoting legislation to raise the legal age for tobacco use to 21, a higher standard than imposed by any other state, saying they want to discourage young people from picking up a lifelong smoking habit. Supporters say keeping tobacco out of the hands of young adults will save thousands of lives, even as critics complain that Americans who are old enough to vote and serve in the military should not be deemed too young to decide on their own if they should smoke. In a dramatic display of the risks of smoking, lawmakers in...

New Castle resident and business owner David Fitzsimmons used to pay $672 a month for health insurance for him and his family. This year, with the implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act that has resulted in the country’s highest rates being charged in Garfield County, he faced a minimum premium of $942 a month. “The insurance rates, frankly, it just comes down to a decision for me and my family, whether we have a roof over our heads or whether we have health insurance. The obvious answer is that we have a roof over heads,” he said Friday during...

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first time on Friday used its authority under a 2009 law to remove cigarettes from stores.The FDA is forcing Jash International to stop selling and distributing its line of Sutra Bidi tobacco products in the U.S., and is giving retailers 30 days to pull the products from shelves. ADVERTISEMENT “Existing inventory may be subject to enforcement action, including seizure, without further notice,” the FDA said in a release. “Companies that continue to sell and distribute these products in the United States may be subject to enforcement actions by the FDA.”The FDA said...

If you're 60 and older, every additional hour a day you spend sitting is linked to doubling the risk of being disabled -- regardless of how much moderate exercise you get, reports a new Northwestern Medicine® study. The study is the first to show sedentary behavior is its own risk factor for disability, separate from lack of moderate vigorous physical activity. In fact, sedentary behavior is almost as strong a risk factor for disability as lack of moderate exercise. If there are two 65-year-old women, one sedentary for 12 hours a day and another sedentary for 13 hours a day,...

Medical offices might have gone high-tech, but some of the advice you'll hear there these days rings more nostalgic: Complain of constipation or congestion and you may get an Rx for dried plums (née prunes) or a saltwater gargle. "The more that old remedies pan out in studies, the more likely physicians are to suggest them," said Dr. Philip Hagen, vice chair of the division of preventive medicine at Mayo Clinic. "Part of the drive is the cost of health care—trying these at home could save you a trip to the doctor." Consider these golden oldies the next time you're...

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is asking the Obama administration to scale back draft regulations under ObamaCare that would force restaurants to post nutritional information on their menus. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is close to finalizing a rule requiring calorie labels on vending machines and at restaurants and “similar retail food establishments.” Proposed in 2011, the regulations stem from the Affordable Care Act and are designed to combat obesity by helping consumers make healthier choices.But the group of 24 lawmakers said the draft regulations, which apply to restaurants with 20 or more locations, go beyond Congress’ intent and...

The Department of Defense (DOD) has just announced that the public will be invited to vote in a video competition called "Fight the Enemy." In this case, the enemy is tobacco. The innovation office of the military's assistant secretary of defense for health affairs is sponsoring the competition among U.S. service members around the world who were invited to film and submit "tobacco countermarketing" videos.

A new report from a top health care industry trade organization contradicts Kathleen Sebelius’ recent claim that no job loss will occur under Obamacare. Obamacare’s medical device tax has already created a job loss of 33,000 in the medical device industry and 132,0o0 more job losses are expected, according to a new report from the industry trade group the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), obtained by the Daily Caller. “There is absolutely no evidence, and every economist will tell you this, that there is any job loss related to the Affordable Care Act,” Sebelius said Monday in Orlando. “Part-time physicians...

Obesity comes with a number of life threatening risks. The condition, for instance, is linked to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and even cancer. However, loneliness is a more threatening killer than obesity, at least among elderly people. The researchers also found that extreme loneliness increases an older person's risks of early death by 14 percent which means that loneliness has a double the impact on early death as obesity. Cacioppo explained that chronic loneliness is associated with higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which raises risks of strokes and heart attacks. It is also linked with high blood pressure and...

ORLANDO, Fla. — U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said not enough of central Floridians are signed up for health care, and she's blaming state lawmakers. A YouTube video featuring Orlando resident Ali Kurnaz is part of the latest push to get uninsured Floridians to sign up for affordable health care. "I'm glad I can share my story about the Affordable Care Act," Kurnaz said at a news conference Monday. "I've benefitted a lot from it. My whole family has." But despite the outcome for Kurnaz, Sebelius said there's a lot of work to do in Florida, where...

Vitamin D ...the researchers found that adults who took vitamin D supplements daily lived longer than those who didn't. Probiotics ...they're useful in very specific circumstances, but it's not necessary to continually take them on a daily basis. Zinc ...the mineral significantly reduced the duration of the cold, and also made symptoms less severe. Niacin ...Also known as vitamin B3, niacin is talked up as a cure for all sorts of conditions (including high cholesterol, Alzheimer's, diabetes and headaches) but in most of these cases, a prescription-strength dose of niacin has been needed to show a clear result. At over-the-counter...

Thousands of San Francisco Bay Area residents may have been exposed to measles last week when an unvaccinated student at the Unversity of California, Berkeley, attended classes and rode the area's BART transit system. Public health officials in Contra Costa County, outside of San Francisco, said anyone riding BART from Feb. 4 to Feb. 7 during the morning or late evening commutes could have been exposed to the highly contagious respiratory virus. The young man in his 20s lives in the county and was confirmed to have measles on Wednesday. He was likely infected while traveling recently in Asia, health...

A director with Colorado’s health-care exchange is on paid leave after it was discovered she has been accused of stealing from a nonprofit housing organization she oversaw in Montana.

It hangs over American politics like a moth-bitten blanket. An old and weary narrative, it crowds out conversation and lets shopworn cheap-shots masquerade as thoughtful critiques. Yes, it’s one more marker of the bad faith and disrespect that pervade our politics, but its costs go beyond hurt feelings. Real Americans pay a price for this poisonous argument. The story in question is “the Republican war on science.” That particular phrase is the title of one 2007 book, but this story’s tentacles stretch far beyond a single volume. For years, a concerted effort has been made to intertwine scientific truth with...

I say “probably” because I haven’t had time to research the factual claims behind the legislation. But if anyone thinks conservatives are against all government action, then this might be a time to set the record straight. If the facts are correct then I think if is quite likely that the NY legislature is doing exactly what it needs to do. In that case, I hope other states, or even the Federal Government follows their example. Here is Newser.com’s summary:

As a physician, it is my duty to assess behaviors for their impact on health and wellbeing. When something is beneficial, such as exercise, good nutrition, or adequate sleep, it is my duty to recommend it. Likewise, when something is harmful, such as smoking, overeating, alcohol or drug abuse, and homosexual sex, it is my duty to discourage it... Back in the early 1980s, while working at Beth Israel Hospital, I vividly remember seeing healthy young gay men dying of a mysterious disease that researchers only later identified as a sexually transmitted disease — AIDS. Over the years, I've seen...

When CVS Caremark Corp. Chief Executive and President Larry Merlo announced that his drugstore chain would stop selling tobacco products , one of the first to respond was the president of the United States. The speed of the president’s statement indicates that CVS’s decision was likely coordinated with the White House. Every day, countless business decisions are made without any comment from the White House. Something unusual was going on. This is troubling. It gives the appearance of preference for those who curry favor with the powerful, and it squeezes out smaller entrants who can supply innovative products and services...

The Food and Drug Administration is laying out new requirements to ensure the safety of infant formula. The rules announced Thursday are designed to make sure that formula manufacturers test their products for salmonella and other pathogens before they are distributed. They would also require formula companies to include specific nutrients, including proteins, fats and vitamins.

INDIANAPOLIS – The American Heart Association, through its Go Red For Women movement, urges everyone to support the fight against heart disease by wearing red on National Wear Red Day – Friday, Feb. 7. American Heart Month is in February, a perfect time to focus on the prevalence of heart disease, America’s No. 1 killer.