http://www.facr.org RSS feeds for FACR en http://www.facr.org/article-335.html SuperUser 'host' Account 02 Jul 2007 - 05:38 PM http://www.facr.org/article-334.html SuperUser 'host' Account 02 Jul 2007 - 05:27 PM http://www.facr.org/article-333.html Editor's Comments: What would the US healthcare system look like if our government handled situations such as these in our country in a similar way to the Chinese? China's national drug watchdog has revoked Anhui Huayuan World best Biology Pharmacy Co.'s production license for injections and dismissed the company's top management. The manufacture of 'Xinfu' drugs, which allegedly caused six deaths in the country, is banned, spokesman Zhang Jixiang with the State Food and Drug Administration said here on Monday. He said that the 'Xinfu' antibiotic injection was of inferior quality. The company's Good Manufacturing Practice Certificate and its production license for 'Xinfu' drugs have been revoked. The Anhui Provincial Food and Drug Bureau will supervise the destruction of all the recalled drugs. The bureau will seize illegal company funds and impose a fine in line with China's Drug Management Law, Zhang said. Five management staff including general manager Qiu Zuyi, executive deputy general manager Zhou Cang, deputy general manager Pan Wei, Plant II director Yuan Haiyuan and quality supervisor CuiTongxin were dismissed for their responsibility in respect to the suspect killer antibiotic. Another five people including legal representative Sun Ying, production director Liu Jiansong, Plant II vice directors Jia Yiboand Wang Dianlin and technician Chen Ping each were given a 'serious demerit', Zhang said. Director Zhang Guodong and vice director Shang Wenxue of the Food and Drug Bureau of Fuyang City received administrative sanctions. Zhang said that the 'Xinfu' incident had unveiled 'glaring problems' among China's drug manufacturers and 'deficient supervision' by drug authorities. 'Companies should think very seriously about this catastrophe, run their business honestly and stick to the law,' Zhang said. He urged local drug watchdogs to ferret out supervision loopholes and make a list of companies that require special surveillance. The national drug watchdog strongly recommended that local authorities adopt the practice of making sudden unannounced inspections, intended to catch problematic companies red-handed. Since last year, the administration has carried out 35 unannounced inspections of drug manufacturers. As a result, fifteen companies have had their Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Certificates revoked and another 13 were ordered to rectify production defects. The issuance of GMP certificates to seven other drug producers was postponed, Zhang said. He said that all new drugs must receive on-the-spot inspection before being marketed. 'Investigators will go to plants to see laboratory tests at first hand, inspect clinical records, sample products and make sure they are consistent with the materials that figure in the application, ' Zhang said. 'Falsification will be severely punished in line with the law,' he warned. The administration also tightened up technology criteria concerning the production of risky medicines, particularly injections, to better defend the lives and interests of patients, he said. ]]> SuperUser 'host' Account 02 Jul 2007 - 05:16 PM http://www.facr.org/article-332.html So Many Recommendations Can Mask the Basics of Cancer Prevention By Todd Zwillich WebMD Medical News Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD Coffee causes cancer. Coffee prevents cancer. Red wine works, but fiber doesn’t. Or does it? If you’re baffled by the bewildering array of cancer advice, you’re not alone. A study released today concludes that more than seven in 10 Americans are so confused by seemingly wide range of cancer recommendations that they don’t know which to follow. And for many, the response to the puzzle is to simply do nothing. Forty-seven percent of nearly 6,300 adults surveyed told researchers said they agreed that “it seems like almost everything causes cancer.” Meanwhile, three in 10 say, falsely, that there’s nothing they can really do to prevent the disease. Part of the problem, says study author Jeff Niederdeppe, PhD, is the huge volume of news reports on cancer findings bombarding the public. Scientists usually expect contradictory results, but when headlines blare first one finding, then another, without context, the result can be an almost demoralizing mystification. Confusion Reigns Some people respond by throwing up their hands. Others may unconsciously use the confusion to rationalize smoking or eating fatty food. “It can give people justification to do those unhealthy behaviors they want to do already,” says Niederdeppe, a research fellow at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Another source of confusion is that cancer is actually dozens of different diseases, each with dozens of potential influencing factors. What prevents breast cancer may have no effect on liver or lung cancer. That’s also why the relentless search for cancer-fighting properties in foods, dietary supplements, and other commercial products can be misleading. Many findings target only one kind of cancer in only one group of people. Simplifying the Complicated University of Pittsburgh psychologist William Klein, PhD, says the barrage of mixed messages and confusing findings masks the fact that we do indeed know how to help prevent a lot of cancer. “It’s just nibbling around the edges,” says Klein, who also studies the psychology of cancer prevention. “People should just do the basic things. Keep weight down by exercising, don’t smoke, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Those are things we know already, and they make the biggest difference” he says. An estimated 30% of all cancer is related to smoking, while up to 20% more is related to obesity. Whether the latest antioxidant or fish product works or not, it is guaranteed to do a lot less than exercising and eating right. “These three things we know are the best that we can do,” Niederdeppe says. Klein adds one more: regular screening according to schedules recommended by the National Cancer Institute. Still, fewer than 25% of adults exercise three times a week or more, according to the CDC. Just 14% eat the recommended five daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Exercising regularly and eating right can be a lot harder than taking an antioxidant or fish oil tablet. Marketers know this and exploit it, Niederdeppe says. “People like to be able to take a pill and fix things. That’s where a lot of this ‘just do this and you have the answer’ messages have allure and lead to the confusion,” he says. SOURCES: Niederdeppe, J. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, May 2007, vol 15. Jeff Niederdeppe. PhD, research fellow, University of Wisconsin. William Klein, PhD, associate professor of psychology, University of Pittsburgh. National Center for Health Statistics. © 2007 WebMD, Inc. 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