Archive for July, 2007
July 31st, 2007
The city police and the Jakarta Food and Drugs Monitoring Agency announced Monday they had seized Rp 25 billion (US$2.75 million) worth of medicine distributed without permits during a series of raids over the past two months.
Five suspects were arrested and two others remained on the loose, the city police’s director of special crimes Sr. Comr. Sigit Sudarmanto said.
The confiscated medicines included over 15.6 million tablets, 46,000 capsules, 990 bottles, nine sacks of Chinese drugs and more than 13,000 other medical items.
Police also seized vaccines for diseases such as polio, measles and Hepatitis B, as well as food supplements, Calcium and vitamins C, B12, B1, B Complex.
The drugs were for treating infections, pain, allergies, respiratory illnesses, gastrointestinal illnesses, joint problems and sexual dysfunction.
“Some of the medicine may be genuine,” Sigit said.
An official at the agency, Heru Purwanto, said, “The originality of the medicines can only be determined by laboratory checks.”
Police alleged their preliminary investigation revealed the suspects were stockpiling, distributing and selling imported medicines and fake drugs as well as medical equipment, all without licenses from the National Food and Drugs Agency.
Heru urged the public to be cautious of fake drugs and to take a close look at the registration numbers and agency circle marks on medicine packages.
“The printed circle marks and registration numbers show that the medicines have passed the agency’s tests for quality and safety.”
There are three types of circle marks: red for prescribed drugs, blue for semi-prescribed drugs, and green for over-the-counter drugs.
There are also various types of registration number labeling, including “DKI” to indicate imported prescribed branded drugs, “DBL” indicating local over-the-counter drugs and “DTI” and “DTL” to indicate imported and local semi-prescribed branded drugs. For the generic drugs, the letter G is used instead of D on the label.
“The public should also be cautious about buying drugs that are much cheaper than the original prices,” he said.
“Unlicensed drugs can be as cheap as half the price of genuine ones,” he said, citing an example of the price of a blister packet of illegal Ponstan brand pain-killer, which costs as little as Rp 3,000. The official market price is around Rp 15,000.
Heru said, “The wide spread of unlicensed drugs is probably due to drug producers’ aim of accelerating the distribution process.”
Normally, a producer must wait a maximum of 100 days for laboratory testing before receiving a distribution license, Heru said.
The five-year term of registration of a drug officially costs between Rp 500,000 and Rp 1 million. Producers must re-register every five years.
July 26th, 2007
Smoking bans in public places have recently come into effect in several European countries, and Germany is set to join their ranks next month.
There has never been a better time to kick the habit, but smokers should be warned - without professional help the task is likely to be much harder. Statistics show that only 1-2 percent of smokers manage to quit on their own.
In Germany at least, smokers are vanishing fast, mainly because hardly anyone actually takes up the habit.
The number of young people who smoke fell this spring to a historic low, according to officials at Germany’s Federal Centre for Health Awareness in Cologne. The number of 12- to 17-year-olds who regularly light up has dropped to 18 percent, the figures show.
Failure to quit smoking by relying on sheer willpower alone usually means that the smoker is physically addicted.
“Nicotine is a very strong stimulant and one of the most dependency-inducing drugs,” said Karin Joder, a health scientist and psychologist from the northern city of Kiel. “Addiction occurs faster than with heroin or other drugs since nicotine influences the brain’s metabolism.”
The substance activates the brain’s reward mechanisms and releases “feel-good” chemicals. As a result, smokers who do not light up just feel bad.
Studies show that most habitual smokers only need to smoke one cigarette to find their emotional equilibrium. They have become so used to the kick unleashed by the substance that they are no longer consciously aware of its effect.
Smokers usually associate smoking a cigarette with a pleasant experience such as taking a break from work. Before long the brain learns to associate the two actions, telling the person “a pause for a cigarette feels good”.
The brain is unfortunately not adequately aware that the positive feedback is not a direct result of nicotine being inhaled.
Group therapy sessions with such promising titles as “How to finally quit smoking” are seen to be the most effective method of cessation. The group of smokers meets with a counsellor who guides the session. Initially, the aim is to analyse the smoking habits of those taking part.
“The idea is to make it clear to people that they are actually addicted,” said Karin Joder. In many cases this means destroying the illusions associated with the smoking habit.
The counsellor has little time for nicotine substitutes such as patches, sprays and other medicines.
These substances can reduce the craving and headaches, which usually occur as part of the nerve- wracking withdrawal symptoms although the smoker does realize that he no longer needs cigarettes and becomes more amenable to therapy.
Such substitute products are however ineffective in the long-term since they cannot diminish physical dependence and continue to provide the body with the nicotine it so craves.
The same applies to nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) medicines that are usually only available on prescription. Zyban (buspronion and Champix (varenicline) reduce the burning desire for nicotine but their side effects are undesirable.
Those observed in clinical trials include insomnia, panic attacks and dizziness. Vareniclin reduces the withdrawal symptoms and makes people taking it feel sick, if they do smoke a cigarette. The side effects include difficulty sleeping, flatulence, headaches and nausea.
According to expert Christian Kroeger at the Therapy Research Institute in Munich, such medicines are only really suitable for heavy smokers who are likely to experience severe physical and mental repercussions, if they simply give up smoking from one day to the other.
July 25th, 2007
The following is being issued by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation: AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), is hosting a media availability all day today and Tuesday to comment upon a reckless new television advertising campaign for the erectile dysfunction drug, Viagra, premiering tonight during the NBC Nightly News. The campaign, titled, “Viva Viagra!” was created by Pfizer Inc., the world’s largest pharmaceutical company for its erectile- dysfunction drug Viagra (sildenafil citrate). The slick ad features 40-ish year-old men singing “Viva Viagra” to the tune of Elvis Presley’s immortal party anthem, “Viva Las Vegas!”
“Pfizer is clearly dovetailing off of the city of Las Vegas’ recent and enormously successful ‘What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas’ campaign with its own new ‘Viva Viagra’ ad campaign,” said Michael Weinstein, AIDS Healthcare Foundation President. “Unfortunately, as far as Viagra is concerned, what happens in Vegas may NOT stay in Vegas when the use of Viagra as a party drug is encouraged with irresponsible ads like this-there is a real possibility of increased STD and HIV exposure a result of Pfizer’s encouragement of the reckless use of its ED drug, Viagra. ”
A Brief History and Background of Erectile Dysfunction (ED) Drugs, and Pfizer’s Advertising of Viagra
Viagra, the first erectile dysfunction drug on the market, was patented by Pfizer in 1996 and subsequently was approved for use in erectile dysfunction , on March 27, 1998, becoming the first pill approved to treat erectile dysfunction in the United States. It was offered for sale in the United States later that year, and quickly became a blockbuster drug for Pfizer: annual sales of Viagra in the period 1999-2001 exceeded $1 billion. Early advertisements for Viagra included television and print ads featuring septuagenarian and former Senator and Presidential candidate, Bob Dole (R, Kansas), who, as a spokesperson for Viagra, lent significant credibility and gravitas to Pfizer and the drug, particularly as he was widely-known to have suffered from, and undergone surgery for, prostate cancer.
With the introduction of two competing erectile dysfunction drugs in 2003, Eli Lilly & Company’s Cialis (tadalafil), and Bayer AG’s Levitra (vardenafil), Pfizer’s marketing of Viagra changed dramatically. One subsequent campaign for Viagra feature an attractive forty something year-old man sporting an impish grin and airbrushed devil’s horns on his head.
Earlier last year, AIDS Healthcare Foundation criticized Pfizer for running a holiday-themed print ad campaign that AHF believed promoted unsafe sex by encouraging the recreational use of Viagra on holidays such as New Year’s Eve and the Super Bowl. The ads, seen in The Wall Street Journal and The L.A. Daily News, among other publications, depicted a handsome, forty-ish male grinning knowingly at the camera with taglines, such as “What are you doing New Year’s Eve?” and “Be this Sunday’s MVP.” Pfizer continued this irresponsible advertising campaign to withdraw its previous ads, which inferred that men could re-capture their youthful vigor and become a devil-horned “wild thing” by taking Viagra.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the nation’s largest oldest and largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare, research, prevention and education provider, currently provides medical care, including lifesaving antiretroviral treatment, and/or services to more than 50,000 individuals in 15 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia.
July 23rd, 2007
Norwegian researchers have discovered that women who smoke are 59 percent more likely than non-smokers to have an early menopause. The researchers say smokers are more likely to begin the menopause before the age of 45 putting themselves at an increased risk of osteoporosis and heart disease. Dr. Thea F. Mikkelsen of the University of Oslo and her colleagues found that among 2,123 women 59 to 60 years old, those who currently smoked were 59 percent more likely than non-smokers to have undergone early menopause and for the heaviest smokers, the risk of early menopause was almost double.
The researchers also found that women who were smokers, but quit at least 10 years before menopause, were substantially less likely than current smokers to have stopped menstruating before age 45.
Mikkelsen and her team say evidence already exists which shows that smoking later in life makes a woman more likely to have early menopause, while smokers who quit before middle age may not be affected.
However the researchers went one step further and investigated whether exposure to second-hand smoke might also influence the timing of menopause.
They found that almost 10 percent of the women went through menopause before age 45 and of that number around 25 percent were current smokers, 28.7 percent were ex-smokers and 35.2 percent reported current passive exposure to smoke.
The women who had quit smoking at least a decade before menopause were 87 percent less likely than their peers who currently smoked to have gone through menopause early.
When they were compared with married women, widows were also at increased risk of early menopause, as were women who were in poor health.
In general the better educated women were less likely to go into menopause early, but they were also less likely to be smokers.
A good social life also appeared to cut the early menopause risk and the researchers found no link between coffee or alcohol consumption or passive exposure to smoke and early menopause risk.
Mikkelsen and her team say the earlier a woman stops smoking the more protection she derives with respect to an early onset of menopause.”
The research is published in the online journal “BMC Public Health.”
July 19th, 2007
With the increase in obesity among children, some parents are turning to a relatively unexplored solution with their offspring: stomach stapling. Stomach surgeries have been around for years, and its popularity has surged among adults in recent years – going from 12,775 to 70,256 surgeries in the U.S. from 1998 to 2002, according to the monthly Archives of Surgery journal. More recently, that number has increased to more than 120,000 a year.
But what about children? In 2004, only 350 kids in America had such an operation, according to federal statistics. Doctors have been hesitant to do the surgeries for more than one reason: for one, most stomach surgeries cut the stomach to make it operate as smaller “pouch,” which has unknown health risks to a developing child — the death rate among kids who do the surgery is around 1 in 50, which is twice the death rate among adults who have bariatric surgery.
As well, childhood obesity was not nearly as prevalent in American society compared to today. However, while bellies have grown, so has interest in the surgeries.
Mike Adams, a consumer health advocate who has written numerous health books, says the increase in bariatric surgery is a disappointing barometer regarding the future of America’s health.
“It’s disgusting that surgeons are now targeting young teens for bariatric surgeries, given that the real solution to childhood obesity can never be addressed by maiming a child’s digestive system,” Adams said.
“The way to deal with obesity is to teach nutrition, ban junk food advertising, remove vending machines from schools and end the manipulation of our children’s health by food and soda companies.”
In July, the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality hat said four in 10 weight-loss surgery patients develop problematic complications within six months after the surgery.
Incidentally, with the increase in surgeries comes an increase in cost to private health insurance companies – according to the University of Michigan Health System, in the year 2002 hospitals charged roughly $2 billion for the cost for more than 70,000 surgeries. Health insurers picked up the tab for 80 percent of that cost.
These costs are then often spread to other policyholders covered by the insurer.
Going to a hospital for stomach surgery costs an average of $29,000, a study by the UMHS showed.
July 18th, 2007
Question: I have heard a lot about a new over-the-counter weight-loss drug. Is it safe and how do I know if I am a good candidate?
Answer: The new drug on the market is Alli. It is the first over-the-counter weight-loss drug.
However, this new drug has been tested. I still warn you to be cautious since many drugs have side effects and interactions that are not found until the drug has been used for some time.
The drug, Alli, claims to help you lose 50 percent more weight than what you would lose on just exercise and diet alone. It is not suggested for use by those who need to lose only a few pounds. Alli is a drug that blocks the absorption of fat by the body. This can lessen the amount of calories that your body absorbs and thus, helps you lose weight.
It works as an enzyme that attaches to the fat molecules that enter your body. It blocks about a quarter of the amount of fat absorbed as calories.
What isn’t absorbed is carried out of the body. Therefore, if you eat too much fat in your diet, the excess fat can leave your body in a not-too-pleasant way.
There are side effects to this weight-loss plan. These are some of the side effects that lists: Gas with oily spotting, loose stools and more frequent stools that may be hard to control.
Those effects may not be worth the added weight loss. So I highly recommend that you try a reduced-calorie diet and a healthy dose of exercise first. The Alli weight loss plan includes daily pills as well as tailored eating plan found on the Web site.
Once you purchase the package, you will be able to register for myalliplan for free. You can also take a quick quiz on the Web site to see if you are a good candidate.
General questions are if you are: willing to try to lose weight gradually, committed to eating a low-calorie, low-fat diet (15 grams or less a day), committed to eating smaller portions, understand the possible side effects, make more time to be physically active and if you will read the label and follow directions properly. It is also recommended that you only do this program if you have significant weight to lose.
As with any weight-loss program, you should consult with your physician before starting.
There are other fat blocking-supplements and drugs, including Orlistat, that you have to get through a prescription, and chitosan, which is derived from shellfish. Do your research and remember that many weight-loss supplements are not tested and have a greater risk for side effects and improper ingredients.
Another thing to consider is the cost. You can take up to three capsules a day and the starter pack contains 90 capsules. The starter pack costs roughly $60 and the refill container contains 60 capsules at about $50. That between $2 and $2.50 a day.
If you decide to try this plan, then make sure you change your lifestyle habits so that when you quit the program, you can maintain your weight loss and control the things that got you where you are.
It is imperative that you find ways to change lifestyle habits and if a program like this can help you lower your calories and fat intake, then it is helping you gain some control and balance. Make sure that the program leads you be to a healthier person inside and out.
July 16th, 2007
On one hand, GlaxoSmithKline really, really wants you to take their new over-the-counter diet pill, alli. On the other hand, they don’t want you to abandon healthy habits in favor of pill popping.
Unfortunately, according to a recent study, that’s what happens: Consumers considering taking a drug for a condition are likely to give up on the healthy habits that are also necessary to change that condition. They tend to think that they needn’t bother with a healthy lifestyle because the pill will do the job for them.
Even worse, the idea of drugs appears to weaken their conviction that they can actually manage a healthy lifestyle. (Oddly enough, health supplements don’t cause the same erosion of healthy habits, apparently because people take them on faith and see them as natural, not as scientific panaceas.)
So while the company wants to convince you that their pill’s a wonderful thing, they dare not market it as a cure-all for fear that consumers will just rest on the pill’s laurels and head for McDonald’s. They are addressing this by describing alli as a “pill with a plan,” a whole program that “requires a commitment to living your life in a new way as you learn to change your eating and activity habits.”
The study authors, from the Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Wharton School of Business, believe that other pharmaceutical companies may follow Glaxo’s lead, playing up the role of lifestyle changes as a necessary companion of drug-taking instead of marketing their pills as the magic solution to every problem. We’ll see.
July 13th, 2007
A recently approved anti-smoking medication could also serve to repress an alcoholic’s desire for drink, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California-San Francisco.
Varenicline, manufactured by Pfizer and approved as a smoking cessation aid in the United States & Europe in 2006, has been shown to reduce nicotine consumption by affecting the brain’s reward system for addictive substances.
The research team, noting that cigarettes and alcohol are often abused together, wanted to see if the drug had the same affect on drinking.
The researchers tested the impact of varenicline — know by its trade names Chantix in the United States and Champix in Europe — on laboratory rats which had consumed high amounts of ethanol over a long period.
Rats were trained to drink ethanol in consistent amounts over five months before they were given varenicline. After the drug was administered steadily, the rats consistently showed less interest in the ethanol.
The results suggested the drug helped in modulating the rats’ desire to consume the ethanol or to enjoy its effects, the study said.
The scientists also found that, when the rats were later cut off from varenicline, they did not resume the intake of ethanol at previous levels.
“Chronic treatment with varenicline suppressed the ethanol consumption without any subsequent rebound increase in drinking,” it said.
This finding “suggests that varenicline may serve as a therapeutic treatment to reduce alcohol consumption in alcoholic subjects.”
The study was published in the newest edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
July 11th, 2007
As a patent is about to expire, generic drug makers can request approval for their drug if it is a bioequivalent of the patented version. The brand-name companies obviously do not want the generic drugs to be approved because they will lose money.
One way companies have found to delay the release of generic drugs is through “citizen petitions”. These petitions allow anyone to express safety concerns about a drug and request that their information be further investigated.
The brand-name companies generally file the petitions to look over when the brand-name drug is set to expire, which is when the generic companies are seeking approval. No petition that was filed on the eve of a generics’ approval has been approved. During one dispute , U.S. magistrate Judge Rosalyn Chapman said to one drug company about it’s petition, “This is all about money…Maybe they think I think it’s about safety, but I think it’s all about money.”
If the company is successful in delaying the release of the generic drug for only a few months, the drug company has still made millions of dollars from exclusive sales of their drug.
July 10th, 2007
New smoking statistics show what a difference one city can make in a few years in quitting smoking.As of last year, New York City had 19% fewer adult smokers than it did in 2002, according to a study published today in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
That translates to 240,000 fewer adult smokers among New York City residents — and perhaps 80,000 lives saved over time.
“Since one-third of smokers die from a smoking-related disease, when 240,000 people quit, we prevent 80,000 smoking-related deaths,” writes Sara Markt, deputy press secretary for New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, in an email to WebMD.
Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S., notes the CDC.
New York’s Antismoking Efforts
The CDC points out three ways New York City targeted smoking.
In 2002, the city raised its tax on cigarettes a few months after New York state hiked cigarette taxes. That made cigarettes more expensive.
In 2003, the city implemented a smoke-free workplace law covering virtually all indoor workplaces, including restaurants and bars.
Those two steps cut New York City’s adult smoking rate for the first time in a decade. From 2002 to 2004, the city’s estimated adult smoking prevalence fell from 21.5% to 18.4%.
But that trend leveled off in 2005. So New York launched a quit-smoking media campaign in 2006.
In 2006, New York City’s overall adult smoking rate didn’t change. But smoking decreased among men and Hispanics.
Young adults aged 18-24 had the city’s biggest drop in smoking — 35% — from 2002 to 2006.
Smoking data came from annual surveys, conducted by telephone, of about 10,000 adults living in New York City.
Tips to Quit Smoking
No matter where you live, it’s possible (and worthwhile) to quit smoking. Here are 14 tips from the CDC on smoking cessation:
- Set a quit date.
- Get rid of all cigarettes and ashtrays at home, work, and in your car.
- Don’t let people smoke in your home.
- If you’ve tried to quit before, review those attempts. What worked and what didn’t?
- Once you quit, don’t smoke at all.
- Ask your family, friends, and co-workers for encouragement.
- Talk to your doctor or other health care provider.
- Get counseling to help you quit smoking. The CDC notes that telephone counseling is available at (800) QUIT-NOW.
- Try to distract yourself from urges to smoke.
- Do something to reduce your stress.
- Plan something enjoyable to do daily.
- Interested in quit-smoking medications? Ask your health care provider about them.
- Be prepared for situations where you may be tempted to smoke.
- If you start smoking again, don’t give up. Most people try several times before they quit smoking for good.
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