Smokeless Tobacco Products Cause Cancer
February 23, 2010
Natural News
By S. L. Baker
A recent study published in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology is urging tobacco manufacturers to reformulate a smokeless tobacco product called moist snuff. Researchers from Minnesota have found that the product contains high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are highly toxic, cancer-causing substances.
Used in between the lip and gum, moist snuff has grown in popularity over the years due to increased awareness about the dangers of smoking cigarettes. Commonly thought to be a safer alternative to cigarettes, moist snuff is turning out to have its own slew of dangers. The PAHs found in moist snuff can lead to various cancers including oral, pancreatic, and esophageal. Precancerous oral lesions are typically the first symptoms to appear.
Twenty-three moist snuff products, including samples from the most popular brands, were examined by Irina Stepanov and her team from the University of Minnesota. As many as 28 different PAHs were discovered in the samples, nine of which are known carcinogens. These included naphthalene and chrysene.
Prior to this recent study, trace amounts of only one PAH had ever been found in a smokeless tobacco product. For this reason, the smokeless tobacco products have been marketed as a safer alternative for tobacco users concerned about the toxic effects of cigarettes.
Study researchers hope that the tobacco industry will take action to eliminate these harmful substances from their products. Since many people falsely assume that smokeless tobacco products are safe alternatives to cigarettes, experts insist that findings should be taken seriously by product manufacturers.
Comments by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
The problem with becoming addicted to nicotine is that you always need another hit in some form, and as this report indicates, many people have switched to “smokeless” tobacco products to avoid the carcinogens found in cigarette smoke. But in doing so, they’ve subjected themselves a different profile of carcinogens found in snuff products.
The tobacco industry, of course, has always tried to bamboozle consumers by claiming their products are safe. Cigarettes, remember, were promoted by doctors who said they boost memory and improve your teeth! Big Tobacco has a long history of taking dangerous products and marketing them as safe or even healthy.
The bottom line for all consumers is to avoid processed tobacco products, as they are highly carcinogenic regardless of their form.
In my opinion, it’s probably safer to just smoke natural, unprocessed tobacco leaf than to chew processed tobacco snuff. There’s a considerable amount of evidence to suggest that the really harmful substances in tobacco are added (or altered) by the tobacco companies during manufacturing.
Click here for the full report.
Gas Prices to Top The 3 Dollar Mark
February 23th, 2010
Sun Times
Gas prices are headed up to above $3 a gallon for regular, and experts say it isn’t because of higher demand.
The average per-gallon price of unleaded regular gasoline in Chicago jumped 10 cents in the last week to $2.82, which is 84 cents higher than a year ago, according to AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.
Nationally, the price is $2.65 a gallon, up 3 cents a gallon from last week and 73 cents a gallon higher than a year ago.
Pump prices typically rise this time of year as refineries switch to a more expensive grade of gas. But prices are climbing even after millions of Americans got pink slips and kept their cars in the driveway.
What’s pushing prices higher is the crude oil that’s used to make motor fuel, said Fred Rozell of the Oil Price Information Service. Crude is an international commodity that has become ever more expensive as demand grows in China. As crude prices increase, so do gas gas prices.
Click here for the full report
GlaxoSmithKline Knew of Drug Dangers
February 23, 2010
Natural News
By Mike Adams
GlaxoSmithKline, maker of the diabetes drug Avandia, knew the drug was linked to tens of thousands of heart attacks but went out of its way to hide this information from the public, says a 334-page report just released by the Senate Finance Committee. (http://finance.senate.gov/press/Gpr…)
This report also accuses the FDA of betraying the public trust, explaining that FDA bureaucrats intentionally dismissed safety concerns found by the agency’s own scientists.
The report says that Big Pharma’s drugs “put public safety at risk because the FDA has been too cozy with drug makers and has been regularly outmaneuvered by companies that have a financial interest in downplaying or under-exploring potential safety risks.” Sales of Avandia were $3.2 billion (yes, billion) in 2006.
According to a statistical analysis in the report, if all the diabetics currently taking Avandia were put on a “safer” drug, it would avert 500 heart attacks and 300 cases of heart failure every month in the United States alone. Presently, hundreds of thousands of Americans are still taking this drug, and hundreds will continue to die each month as a result, according to the report estimates.
This report, championed by U.S. Senators Grassley and Baucus, is the result of investigators pouring through more than 250,000 pages of documentation gathered from GlaxoSmithKline and the FDA. The document reveals some rather startling facts about the dangers of Avandia, including evidence from the FDA’s own scientists who concluded that Avandia was associated with 83,000 heart attacks.
GlaxoSmithKline intimidates scientists
This investigative report also reveals that GSK engaged in the intimidation of physicians, saying: “GSK executives attempted to intimidate independent physicians, focused on strategies to minimize or misrepresent findings that Avandia may increase cardiovascular risk and sought ways to downplay findings that a competing drug might reduce cardiovascular risk.”
“Patients trust drug companies with their health and their lives, and GlaxoSmithKline abused that trust.” said Sen. Baucus. (Gee, really? Is anyone really surprised that GSK put its own financial interests ahead of a few thousand human lives?)
A separate letter sent to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg by Senators Baucus and Grassley added, “the totality of evidence suggests that GSK was aware of the possible cardiac risks associated with Avandia years before such evidence became public.”
The FDA’s own research also showed Avandia to be associated with a significant increase in heart attack risk, yet the FDA did nothing to protect the public. The agency’s own scientists wrote in 2008, “There is strong evidence that rosiglitazone [Avandia] confers an increased risk of [heart attacks] and heart failure compared to pioglitazone [a rival drug on market].” This evidence went completely ignored at the FDA.
The FDA’s famous Dr David Graham — the key whistleblower on the Vioxx scandal — concluded from his own research, “Rosiglitazone should be removed from the market.”
Even the American Medical Association — a long-time defender of Big Pharma’s drugs — admitted Avandia was dangerous. Its journal, JAMA, wrote in 2007: “Among patients with impaired glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes, rosiglitazone use for at least 12 months is associated with a significantly increased risk of myocardial infarction and heart failure, without a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular mortality.”
The New England Journal of Medicine also warned about the safety of the drug in an article published in 2007.
Despite these multiple warnings, an FDA panel voted 22 – 1 in favor of keeping Avandia on the market. This is no surprise, of course, to those who know how the FDA really operates (and where its priorities really lie).
To continue reading this report, click here.
Nearly 20% of Workers Underemployed
February 23th, 2010
gallup.com
By Jenny Mariar
Gallup’s daily measure of U.S. employment reveals that 19.9% of the U.S. workforce was underemployed during the month of January, translating to close to 30 million Americans who are working less than their desired capacity. Those who were underemployed reported spending 36% less than those who were employed, $48 per day versus $75 per day.
These results are based on January interviews with more than 20,000 adults in the U.S. workforce, aged 18 and older. Gallup classifies respondents as “employed” if they are employed full time or are employed part time but do not want to work full time. Gallup classifies respondents as “underemployed” if they are employed part time but want to work full time or are unemployed.
As unemployment rates remain high, reduced spending by millions of underemployed Americans has obvious implications for economic recovery. Spending is, however, just one of many ways underemployment costs the U.S. and hurts its workforce. Gallup’s employment measure also reveals further disparities between the employed and the underemployed on vital indicators such as attitudes toward money, access to healthcare, demographics, and wellbeing.
Personal Finances
Underemployment is generally associated with a less-than-desired income, and Gallup data highlight the stark contrast in spending attitudes between the employed and the underemployed. Sixty percent of employed respondents feel good about the amount of money they have to spend, while only half as many (29%) of the underemployed report feeling good. Further, the underemployed are less likely than the employed to say they are able to make a major purchase, such as a car or home repair, if needed (25% vs. 58%, respectively).
Click here for the full report
Study Reveals Benefits of Acupuncture in Pregnancy
February 23th, 2010
The Wall Street Journal
By Shirley S. Wang
Acupuncture designed to treat depression appears to improve symptoms in pregnant women, suggesting it as an alternative to antidepressant medication during pregnancy, a study found.
The study, published Monday in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, is the largest to date examining the effectiveness of acupuncture to treat depression in pregnant women. It was funded by a grant from the government’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. “Acupuncture that we have tested works for pregnant, depressed women,” said Rachel Manber, a study author and professor at Stanford University. However, “no single study is enough to make policy recommendations,” she said.
Depression in pregnancy is a risk factor for postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is associated in some studies with poorer cognitive and emotional development in children. Some have linked depression in pregnancy and low birth weight.
As many as 14% of pregnant women are thought to develop a significant depression at some point during their pregnancy, according to the study authors, comparable to numbers who suffer from postpartum depression. Antidepressants are generally considered safe for use in pregnancy, but research has been limited and concerns continue to grow, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. One study showed that the risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension, a potentially serious lung condition, is significantly greater in newborns whose mother took antidepressants later in pregnancy. The Food and Drug Administration recommends that patients and physicians “carefully consider and discuss together” the benefits and risks taking antidepressants during pregnancy.”Antidepressants are not an attractive option for many women,” said Dr. Manber. “Many women are concerned about using antidepressant medication during pregnancy.”
Acupuncture, based on ancient Chinese medicine, attempts to treat conditions by stimulating points on the body, most often with needles stuck in the skin and moved by hand or electrical stimulation, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
In the study, 150 clinically depressed pregnant women who weren’t previously taking antidepressants were randomly assigned to get either acupuncture for depression, acupuncture not specifically designed for depression, or massage for eight weeks. Those who got acupuncture targeting depression had a significantly greater decrease in depressive symptoms, compared with the other women. Some 63% of women in the acupuncture-for-depression group responded to treatment, compared with 44% in the other groups.
There wasn’t a difference between the groups in full recovery from the depression. Though this study didn’t compare acupuncture for depression with another active treatment, the response rates are comparable to those rates from other depression treatments in studies of non-pregnant individuals, Dr. Manber said. And future work needs to examine how acupuncture for depression compares with standard treatment like antidepressants or psychotherapy, as well as who responds to treatment and what the optimal dose of the acupuncture treatment should be.
Click here for the full report
High Blood Pressure is a Neglected Disease in the US
February 23th , 2010
Reuters
The report by the Institute of Medicine, one of the National Academies of Sciences, urges the CDC to promote policies that make it easier for people to be more physically active, cut calories and reduce their salt intake.
High blood pressure or hypertension is easily preventable through diet, exercise and drugs, yet it is the second-leading cause of death in the United States, said committee chair David Fleming, who directs Public Health for Seattle and King County in Washington.
“Hypertension as a disease is relatively easy to diagnose and it’s inexpensive to treat,” Fleming said in a telephone interview.
“Yet despite that, one in six deaths in the United States is due to hypertension, and it costs our healthcare system $73 billion each year in expenses.
“In that context, hypertension is really a neglected disease in this country. There’s a huge gap between what we could do and what we are doing,” he said.
Fleming said the CDC spends less than $50 million a year for a wide array of heart disease prevention programs that includes hypertension.
Simple steps like consuming less salt and increasing the intake of vegetables, fruit and lean protein could cut rates of high blood pressure by as much as 22 percent, according to the report by the Institute, which advises policymakers.
They cited a recent study that found reducing salt intake to 2,300 milligrams per day — the current maximum recommended amount — from 3,400 milligrams a day could cut U.S. health costs by about $17.8 billion each year.
Helping overweight and obese Americans each lose 10 pounds could cut rates of high blood pressure in the overall population by 7 to 8 percent, the group said.
And a program that gets inactive people to exercise could decrease the rate of high blood pressure by 4 percent to 6 percent.
Doctors typically use generic drugs such as beta blockers and ACE inhibitors to control blood pressure. Lowering blood pressure can cut the risk of stroke, heart attack, heart failure and other conditions.
MANY INSURED PEOPLE NOT TREATED
According to the report, 86 percent of people with uncontrolled high blood pressure have insurance and see their doctors regularly. But Fleming said doctors often fail to follow guidelines, which is why many patients do not know they have the condition and are not taking steps to control it.
The group called for the CDC to research the reasons doctors fail to treat high blood pressure, and consider making blood pressure treatment a quality measure in any accreditation program.
The group also asked the CDC to urge the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs and private insurers to reduce out-of-pocket deductibles and co-payments for blood pressure drugs, and to work with the drug industry to simplify the process for patients to get reduced-cost or free drugs.
About half a billion people worldwide have hypertension.
Risk factors include obesity, a sedentary lifestyle and smoking. Chronic illnesses such as diabetes, kidney disease and high cholesterol also can raise one’s risk.
Click here for the full report
(VIDEO) Kevin in the News!
February 24, 2010 by JP
Filed under *** VIDEOS ***, KT In The News
The Kevin Trudeau Show: 2-23-10
Today, Kevin risks his own freedom to give YOU the truth! Find out why the FTC is going after him and not McDonald’s or Big Pharma and why the first amendment apparently doesn’t apply to him.
Plus, get the headlines you won’t hear from the mainstream media:
Big Pharma Researcher Admits to Faking Research!
GlaxoSmithKline Hid Evidence of Avandia Harm
Pfizer Found Guilty of Criminal Fraud
Hospital Infections Have Killed Over 48,000 People
Acne Drug has Side Effect of Death
Take Trudeau on the Go! Click here to download this show to your iPod, mp3 player, or PC through iTunes!
Click below to hear The Kevin Trudeau Show RIGHT NOW!!!
More People Dying Of Infections Acquired At Hospitals
February 23, 2010
Reuters
Pneumonia and blood-borne infections caught in hospital killed 48,000 patients and cost $8.1 billion in 2006, according to a report released on Monday.
The study is one of the first to put a price tag on the widespread problem, which is worsening and which some experts say is adding to the growing cost of healthcare in the United States.
“In many cases, these conditions could have been avoided with better infection control in hospitals,” said Ramanan Laxminarayan of Resources for the Future, a think tank that sponsored the study.
Sepsis — a blood infection — killed 20 percent of patients who developed it after surgery, Laxminarayan and colleagues reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
They studied hospital discharge records from 69 million patients at hospitals in 40 U.S. states between 1998 and 2006, looking for two diagnoses — hospital-acquired pneumonia and sepsis.
Patients who developed sepsis after surgery had to stay in the hospital on average nearly 11 days extra, at a cost of $32,900 per patient, they found. And just under 20 percent of them died.
Pneumonia patients stayed an extra 14 days after surgery, at a cost of $46,400 and more than 11 percent of them died, the researchers found.
“That’s the tragedy of such cases,” said Anup Malani of the University of Chicago, who worked on the study.
“In some cases, relatively healthy people check into the hospital for routine surgery. They develop sepsis because of a lapse in infection control and they can die.”
The researchers said that 1.7 million healthcare-associated infections are diagnosed every year.
Many are due to drug-resistant bacteria, such as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA, which cost more to treat because only a few drugs can work against them. These infections can also be caught outside hospitals and some studies show that such community-acquired infections are also on the rise.
One estimate from Pfizer Inc suggested that treating MRSA alone cost $4 billion a year.
Measures to prevent infection are simple and include careful handwashing, hygiene and screening patients when they check in. However, these measures are difficult to enforce, many studies have found.
Click here for the full report.
Discussion on message boards
February 23, 2010 by JP
Filed under KT In The News
February 21, 2010
EastwoodCompanies.com
Reg. Date : 10-02-21 10:58
Con King Kevin Trudeau finally arrested!!!!
Author : EBMR View : 79
I read this headline in the internet. I believe that you did too.
Of course, many of his enemies felt totally vindicated. “I told you so” “See? This snake oil sales man is finally arrested!” The enemies of Kevin Trudeau, who are many, are in a festive mood. They seem to be celebrating joyfully. Congratulations to you all.
There is one thing they do not want you to know.
Why was he arrested?
That is what they do not want you to know.
They want you to stay in a happy “Arrested? Bad! No need to check further!” type of peaceful mindsets.
I do not want to blame anybody for not checking. There are many a lot more important things in life.
But, I happened to check why he was arrested.
He was arrested because a judge felt insulted and threatened (contempt…). Why? Because too many of his supporters sent too many e-mails and letters to the judge and overwhelmed the capacity of his e-mail account. I heard that amazingly many (how many? criminally many) e-mails and letters were sent to the judge, supporting Kevin Trudeau, claiming that they got cured due to the information in his books.
Is his arrest a proof of his being fraudulent or a counterproof?
Interestingly, one of the accusations his enemies hurl at him is that Kevin Trudeau ‘falsely’ claimed that University of Calgary studied a diabetes cure. University of Calgary denied such a study. His enemies have been declaring “See? Finally we proved that Kevin Trudeau ‘falsely’ claimed the existence of such a study, but the University denied it! Universities can’t lie. What more evidence do we need? He is proven guilty!!! Which would you trust? A university or a fraud?”
Let me give you my answer.
I do not trust either Kevin Trudeau nor any University.
I trust my own eyes more. I think that you should do so too.
Please go out of this bulletin board to return to the index page of this website. In the lower right hand corner, you will find the photo of the press conference held by the University of Calgary people announcing a product based on their study. Please, click the photo and you will also see the content of their press release.
Now, let me ask you “Which one would you believe?”
The University of Calgary who denies the existence of such a study, or, a Fraud who is arrested and who says that there exists such a study?
Isn’t life interesting?
I think that life is full of surprises.
_________________________________________________________________
EBMR 10-02-21 16:19
Update
1. A higher court stayed the ‘arrest’ judgment.
2. People in the legal profession seem to find this whole incident quite problematic.
3. More and more, Kevin Trudeau’s claim of being persecuted seems to be becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.
By the way, I also checked why he was fined 37 million dollars recently. He was fined for saying that his weight loss method is an ‘easy’ one, while the Judge finds it ‘not easy’….Oh My God…
In the US, nobody is allowed to use any ‘adjectives’. Do not say that an apple tastes good. Later you may be fined and arrested when Judge finds it delicious not good. There are matters we as a society invites the legal system to intervene. Whether a weight loss method is easy or not may not really be such a matter. I think that it is a matter of taste in saying things. Whether a girl is pretty or attractive, whether a day’s weather is good or fine…I want these issues to remain non legal issues. i want a judge to stay out of these areas of my life.
By the way, Vancouver weather today is extremely good, amazingly beautiful, uplifting and balmy…
In the past, I did not think that Kevin Trudeau has any fighting chance against FTC. These days, I began to suspect that with some luck and persistence, who knows?
Click here to read the rest of the posts.
