Meridia, a popular prescription weight loss drug, could cause cardiovascular side effects in people with a history of heart disease, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) said today. Because of this risk, the label for Meridia will now bear a contraindication that it is not to be used in such patients.

Patients not to be given Meridia include those with:

• history of coronary artery disease (e.g., heart attack, angina)
• history of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA)
• history of heart arrhythmias
• history of congestive heart failure
• history of peripheral arterial disease
• uncontrolled hypertension (e.g., > 145/90 mmHg) (more…)

It seems resistance to the practice of hydraulic fracturing – also known as fracking – is growing. Many are concerned that the chemicals used in this gas and oil drilling process could contaminate water supplies with toxic chemicals.

According to The Wall Street Journal, some lawmakers have proposed stiffer restrictions on hydraulic drilling. In June, congressional Democrats introduced legislation that would regulate fracturing at the federal level for the first time. The bills remain in committee. In October, the House of Representatives formally asked the Environmental Protection Agency to study the risks posed by fracturing. Several states, including Colorado, Pennsylvania and New York, have either passed or are considering tightening regulations on fracturing and related activities. (more…)

More than 600,000 drop side cribs made by Dorel Asia SRL have been recalled because they pose a suffocation and entrapment hazard. The drop side cribs in this recall are extremely dangerous, and have been implicated in the strangulation death of a 6-month old Cedar Rapids, Iowa child.

There have also been reports of 31 drop side incidents. In six of those incidents, children were entrapped between the drop side and crib mattress. Three children suffered from bruises as a result of the entrapment. In addition, CPSC and Dorel Asia received reports of 36 incidents of slat breakage, including seven reports of bruises and scratches to children and two reports of entrapment that resulted in no injury. (more…)

Giant Eagle, a grocery store chain based in Pennsylvania is recalling frozen hash browns because there is a chance they may be contaminated with Listeria.

This recall involves Giant Eagle and Food Club brand frozen loose hash browns. According to the recall notice, the independent and unrelated manufacturer of the hash browns has been informed of the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in products made in the same facility as the recalled items. (more…)

A U.S. drywall manufacturer is on the defensive, following the filing of a lawsuit that claims its wallboard has caused corrosion and other problems in homes similar to what has been blamed on Chinese drywall.

Currently, more than 3,000 lawsuits over Chinese drywall are pending in a multidistrict litigation underway in federal court in Louisiana. (more…)

Healthcare providers have a new tool to help them prevent dangerous, and often deadly medication errors.

The National Alert Network for Serious Medication Errors will be triggered when a seriously harmful or potentially seriously harmful error has occurred. The alert will include a description of the error, as well as recommendations to prevent the same error in the future. The network was launched in December by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP). (more…)

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston is going after Johnson & Johnson for allegedly paying kickbacks to increase sales of Levaquin, Risperdal and other drugs at Omnicare, one of the nation’s largest nursing home chains.

In a complaint filed last week, prosecutors allege that Johnson & Johnson’s conduct caused false or fraudulent claims to be filed with Medicaid, the public health program for the poor and disabled. (more…)

Motrin, Tylenol, Rolaids, Benedryl and St. Joseph’s Aspirin are being recalled today by Johnson & Johnson unit McNeil Consumer Healthcare because they may be tainted with a chemical that causes a moldy smell, and could cause stomach illness.

Any smell is likely the result of contamination with trace amounts of a chemical called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole. The source of 2,4,6-tribromoanisole is believed to be the breakdown of a chemical used to treat wooden pallets that transport and store packaging materials. The health effects of this compound have not been well studied, but McNeil said that so far, to date all of the reported adverse reactions have been temporary and non-serious. (more…)

According to researchers at the U.S. Gelological Survey (USGS), elevated levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in house dust has been linked to coal-tar-based sealcoat, the black, shiny substance sprayed or painted on many parking lots, driveways, and playgrounds. PAHs are an environmental health issue because several are probable human carcinogens and they are toxic to fish and other aquatic life.

Coal tar is a byproduct of the coking of coal, and can contain 50 percent or more PAHs by weight. Coal-tar-based pavement sealants therefore have very high levels of PAHs compared to other PAH sources (e.g., soot, vehicle emissions, used motor oil). (more…)

A fall and entrapment hazard has prompted yet another call of drop side cribs. Today’s recall involves 1,000 “Diane” drop side cribs distributed by Caramia Furniture and Mother Hubbard Cupboard’s, of Ontario, Canada. These cribs were sold at Buy Buy Baby and juvenile product and mass merchandise stores nationwide from September 2002 through December 2005 for between $240 and $370.

More than 5 million drop side cribs have been recalled over the past two years alone, and such cribs have been connected with the deaths of a dozen young children. Last November, following a massive recall of Stork Craft drop side cribs that had been implicated in the suffocation deaths of four children, the head of the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) advised that parents and caregivers abandon drop side cribs. At the time, Inez Tenenbaum said the CPSC would be proposing new mandatory crib regulations in the next few months, but said she did “not think drop-sides will be a part of cribs in the future.” (more…)