In January, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration awarded the U.S. subsidiary of the German luxury car company a temporary exemption from U.S. automobile safety standards, allowing it to sell as many as 5,000 vehicles over the next two years that include brake lights that flash during emergency stops.The NHTSA had originally refused to make a permanent change to its auto safety rule,...
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising consumers of the potential risk of severe liver injury associated with the use of kava-containing dietary supplements. Kava (Piper methysticum) is a plant indigenous to the islands in the South Pacific where it is commonly used to prepare a traditional beverage. Supplements containing the herbal ingredient kava are promoted for relaxation (e.g.,...
The FDA will put a new warning on the Ortho Evra birth control patch in order to warn consumers and healthcare professionals that users may be at a much greater risk of blood clots when using the patch.Dr. Daniel Shames, director of the FDA's division of reproductive and urologic drug products, says updated labeling has been approved for the product to warn healthcare providers and patients that...
With public uproar over taser misuse growing by the day, Taser International, the manufacturer of the controversial stun gun weapon is developing a new product line- a Taser shot gun The nation's largest stun-gun manufacturer has found a new way to deliver electricity to the human body: a 12-gauge shotgun. Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Taser International Inc. is developing the eXtended Range...
Guidant Corp.'s program to pay $2,500 to patients to replace a heart device that has had malfunctions is nowhere near sufficient to cover costs of the procedure. The offer covers only about 10% of the cost of the replacement procedure. How is this fair? How is this the right thing to do?
The popular social networking website My Space, has experienced unprecedented growth in recent months. Kids and teens spend hours browsing the website talking to friends and meeting new ones. However, parents must be aware that sexual predators are using the site to make contact with these kids. As is typical with sexual predators, they use websites popular with teens in order to strike up...
Women who use the Ortho Evra birth-control patch face twice the risk of developing blood clots as those who take the Pill, the patch's manufacturer said late Thursday, citing recent company-funded research.The finding comes from one of two studies comparing the patch and Pill, said Ortho Women's Health & Urology, maker of the once-a-week patch, based in Raritan, N.J.
The Florida Legislature is considering raising the minimum driving age from 16 to 17 years old. Citing the high incidence of crashes for 16 year olds, HB 975 would raise the age one year. Florida became one of the first states to begin placing tougher restrictions on novice drivers when legislators in 1996 passed the "Cinderella bill," establishing phased in licenses that put nighttime...
New limits imposed by the FDA on Guidant, maker of an implantable heart defibrillator found to be defective, will make it difficult for new products made by the company to be approved for commercial sale, as the agency applies pressure to the company to improve its manufacturing procedures. In the letter, sent a week ago, the agency said Guidant had not fully responded to its concerns about...
An Edmonton cop, who was once hailed as a hero for saving a man from a burning building, has been charged with assault after a teen was allegedly Tasered while in a police cellblock. The boy alleged he was Tasered once by a police officer while in the cell. Detectives from police internal affairs investigated and passed their findings to Crown prosecutors in Calgary for review. Const. Todd Hudec...