San Francisco passes ban on e-cigarette sales, a US first

San Francisco will become the first US city to effectively ban e-cigarette sales, after the city’s board of supervisors unanimously voted in favor of an ordinance Tuesday. The ordinance says “no person shall sell or distribute an electronic cigarette to a person in San Francisco” unless that product has undergone premarket review by the US…… MORE

Oklahoma’s final witness in opioid trial rips into drugmaker Johnson & Johnson

The final witness for the state of Oklahoma on Tuesday said Johnson & Johnson’s claims that the company bears zero responsibility for the state’s opioid epidemic are “absolutely incorrect” and “is one of the most difficult things to swallow.” “To hear them say that they bear zero responsibility, it’s painful,” said Terri White, the Oklahoma…… MORE

Could the poo of elite athletes provide an ingredient to improve physical performance?

Great athletes not only have heart, they have guts — special guts. Boston Marathon runners and Olympic athletes have higher than usual amounts of Veillonella bacteria in their digestive tract following races, a new study finds. When mice consumed the Veillonella, their treadmill runs were better than those of mice not given the same bacterial…… MORE

Study links common chemical in cosmetics and toothpaste to osteoporosis

Exposure to a chemical commonly used to reduce bacterial contamination in cosmetics, toothpaste and products like toys and clothing may come with an unintended risk — osteoporosis. That’s according to a study in Tuesday’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. The study looked at data from 1,848 women between 2005 and 2010 and found that…… MORE

Most recent American death in Dominican Republic due to heart failure, attorney general’s office says

Vittorio Caruso, the most recent American to die in the Dominican Republic, died from respiratory and heart failure after a long history of related-health problems, the country’s Attorney General’s office said, citing a preliminary autopsy report. Caruso had suffered from hypertension, heart disease and pulmonary disease for a long time, the office said. Caruso is…… MORE

Oklahoma judge approves $85 million settlement with opioid drugmaker Teva

A judge approved a revised $85 million settlement between Teva Pharmaceuticals and the state of Oklahoma on Monday, money that will be used to try to end to the state’s opioid painkiller epidemic. The settlement, initially reached in late May, had been held up over where the money should be sent. Teva, one of the…… MORE

San Francisco could become the first US city to ban e-cigarette sales

San Francisco is on course to become the first US city to effectively ban the sale of e-cigarettes once its board of supervisors votes on Tuesday. The board is expected to pass an ordinance that says “no person shall sell or distribute an electronic cigarette to a person in San Francisco” unless that product has…… MORE

Smoking sharply raises young women’s risk of a serious type of heart attack

Smoking is bad for your heart, especially if you are a young woman. Women under 50 who smoke may face the highest risk of a serious type of heart attack compared to men, according to a new study published Monday in the the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Every 40 seconds someone in…… MORE

‘Crowding diseases’ threaten migrant children held in US border protection facilities, expert says

Widespread hygiene problems at several US Customs and Border Protection facilities pose “a great many health risks” for the children housed in them, according to Dr. Howard Markel, a pediatrician and director of the University of Michigan’s Center for the History of Medicine. In May, nearly 133,000 migrants, including more than 11,000 unaccompanied children, were…… MORE

Half of tobacco and vape shops don’t ID teens, undercover research finds

An undercover operation in California found that half of tobacco and vape shops failed to check IDs for teens purchasing e-cigarettes and other nicotine products, despite a state law raising the legal age for purchasing tobacco products to 21. Researchers sent 18- and 19-year-old “decoys” into stores without ID, instructing them to tell the truth…… MORE