Weight-loss drug Zepbound now available at U.S. pharmacies
https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2023/12/06/weight-loss-drug-Zepbound/1501701897797/
Excerpt:
he newly approved weight-loss medication known as Zepbound is now available for patients to take, drugmaker Eli Lilly announced Tuesday.
“Today opens another chapter for adults living with obesity who have been looking for a new treatment option like Zepbound,” Rhonda Pacheco, group vice president of Lilly Diabetes and Obesity, U.S., said in a company news release.
.....It was only last month when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Zepbound as a weight-loss medication. Tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Zepbound, had already been approved by the FDA as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes called Mounjaro.
To trigger weight loss, tirzepatide mimics two hormones, GLP-1 and GIP, which stimulate the release of insulin in the body. It quells appetite and slows the rate at which food moves through the stomach, helping patients feel full. Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss medication, Wegovy, uses semaglutide, which only focuses on GLP-1.
That difference translated to greater weight loss with Zepbound than Wegovy, a recent study found. Zepbound has been found to prompt up to a 20.9% drop in weight at higher doses, while Wegovy patients typically see a 15% reduction in weight.
.....According to the FDA, Zepbound’s most common side effects include nausea, vomiting, constipation and diarrhea.
The drug’s label will also have warnings about the potential for inflammation of the pancreas, gallbladder problems, low blood sugar, acute kidney injury, damage to the retina in people with Type 2 diabetes, and suicidal behavior or thinking.
.....Medicare and Medicaid can’t cover obesity medications, but Lilly said it is offering a savings card for people with private insurance to get Zepbound for $25 for a one- or three-month prescription if their plans cover it. For those whose plans don’t cover Zepbound, the savings card would lower the cost to $550 per month, or roughly half the list price, the company said.
Amid skyrocketing demand for weight-loss drugs, many of these wildly popular drugs have faced supply shortages in recent months.
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Approved for weight loss but still has some potentially serious side effects. But our quick fix nation will rush out to use it if they can afford it or get someone else to pay for it.
If we would take all the crap out of our food we would solve the obesity problem. Even our "diet" food causes more eating because it doesn't satisfy the body with real ingredients.
“According to the FDA, Zepbound’s most common side effects include nausea, vomiting, constipation and diarrhea.”
Constipation AND diarrhea?
Somebody cue-up The Clash!
Did Google Just Defeat Every Geofence Warrant?
https://reason.com/volokh/2023/12/13/did-google-just-defeat-every-geofence-warrant/
Excerpt:
.....Google will no longer keep location history even for the users who opted in to have it turned on. Instead, the location history will only be kept on the user’s phone.
The Timeline feature in Maps helps you remember places you’ve been and is powered by a setting called Location History. If you’re among the subset of users who have chosen to turn Location History on (it’s off by default), soon your Timeline will be saved right on your device — giving you even more control over your data. Just like before, you can delete all or part of your information at any time or disable the setting entirely.
If you’re getting a new phone or are worried about losing your existing one, you can always choose to back up your data to the cloud so it doesn’t get lost. We’ll automatically encrypt your backed-up data so no one can read it, including Google.
Additionally, when you first turn on Location History, the auto-delete control will be set to three months by default, which means that any data older than that will be automatically deleted. Previously this option was set to 18 months. If you want to save memories to your Timeline for a longer period, don’t worry — you can always choose to extend the period or turn off auto-delete controls altogether.
These changes will gradually roll out through the next year on Android and iOS, and you’ll receive a notification when this update comes to your account.
Unless I’m missing something, this will entirely defeat geofence warrants— which, I would speculate, was probably the point of Google’s policy change. If Google doesn’t keep the records, Google will have no records to turn over. If the government comes to Google with a court order for geofence data, Google will just say, sorry, we don’t keep that stuff anymore.
.....It will be interesting to see if we learn why Google made this change. Google is a private company. It has to answer to its shareholders, not to the public interest. And it’s totally plausible that this was just a sensible business decision. If Google can provide location history for those who want it without keeping the records, Google presumably benefits by not having to deal with the privacy headaches of responding to geofence warrants.
If this is what drove Google’ decision, it’s an example of a less-appreciated way that the market regulates privacy. If you’re providing a data service, responding to court orders for user data is not part of your business model. It’s a costly hassle. And it can only lead to bad press. So you might look for ways to avoid keeping records, as records never kept are records that cannot be turned over.