A single cannabis joint may cause as much damage to the lungs as five chain-smoked cigarettes, research has found. Medical examinations of cannabis and cigarette smokers found the drug increased specific lung problems, including obstructed airways and hyperinflation, a condition where too much air remains in the lungs when a person exhales.
TRACEE HERBAUGH
APThu, 19 Oct 2006 12:00 UTC
NEW YORK - More than 10 million people are at risk for lung infection, cancer and shortened life expectancy because they live in the 10 worst-polluted cities in the world, according to a report issued Wednesday.
The report published by the Blacksmith Institute, an international environmental research group, lists 10 cities in eight countries where pollution poses health risks and fosters poverty.
A study of Texas residents suggests that tiny metallic bits of air pollution could account for some cases of lung cancer.
The researchers aren't sure exactly how dangerous the particles are, nor do they fully understand their potential relationship to tobacco smoke.
Still, "It's disturbing that there might be something in the environment causing the problem," said study author Dr. Yvonne Coyle, an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. "It could be these metals, and we need to look at that further."
SUZANNE GAMBOA
APMon, 11 Sep 2006 12:00 UTC
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration proposed easing environmental rules Friday to allow oil refineries and other industries to change how they calculate whether they need pollution control equipment.
The oil refinery industry says the eased regulation would open the way for production of more oil and other products. But environmental groups say the proposed rules are gimmicks and loopholes allowing industry to emit more pollution, evade pollution controls and save money.
Scientists have discovered a groundbreaking drug that could "signal the end to allergies", transform the lives of millions of sufferers and save hundreds of lives a year.
Researchers have discovered a protein that blocks the pathways that cause allergic symptoms such as wheezing, runny nose, rashes and potentially lethal allergic shock.
They believe the new drug, which has almost no side effects, could completely eliminate allergy symptoms - from hay fever to potentially lethal nut allergies - that blight the lives of up to a third of all Britons.
Doctors over-prescribed drugs at the California hospital that is home to the renowned Betty Ford Center for addiction, a pharmacist's lawsuit alleges.
The allegations of reckless dispensing at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage came to light in a little-known lawsuit that was resolved in the past year, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.
Former Eisenhower pharmacist Terry Blasingame contended three doctors prescribed dangerous amounts of addictive drugs to chronic-pain patients through the Eisenhower outpatient pharmacy.
One hundred and five people have been hospitalized already with the suspected diagnosis of pneumonia in the city of Verkhnaya Pyshma in the Sverdlovsk region.
An official of the regional Health Ministry told ITAR-TASS on Monday that the diagnosis of pneumonia had been confirmed in 96 people.
BBCMon, 30 Jul 2007 08:29 UTC
People who spend more time in the sun as children subsequently have a lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), a US study shows.
The University of Southern California team suggest UV rays offer protection by altering the cell immune responses or by boosting vitamin D levels.
An earlier study found women who took vitamin D supplements were 40% less likely to develop MS.
Julie Steenhuysen
ReutersMon, 30 Jul 2007 02:27 UTC
After decades of dead ends, scientists have identified two genes that may raise the risk of multiple sclerosis, lending insight into the causes of the debilitating disease.
The findings, released in two medical journals on Sunday, represent the first genes conclusively linked to multiple sclerosis in more than 20 years, experts said.
A surgeon general's report in 2006 that called on Americans to help tackle global health problems has been kept from the public by a Bush political appointee without any background in medicine or public health, chiefly because the report did not promote the administration's policy accomplishments, according to current and former public health officials.
The report described the link between poverty and poor health, urged the US government to help combat widespread diseases as a key aim of its foreign policy, and called on corporations to help improve health conditions in the countries where they operate. A copy of the report was obtained by The Washington Post.
Three people directly involved in its preparation said its publication was blocked by William R. Steiger, a specialist in education and a scholar of Latin American history whose family has long ties to President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
