Health Information

AFP - A US federal appeals court Friday ruled the tobacco industry had deceived smokers by labeling some cigarettes as “light” when they posed just as high a health risk as other brands.

Reuters - The U.S. government said on Friday that it was setting aside $1 billion to help companies develop a vaccine against the new strain of H1N1 influenza that is sweeping the world.

Reuters - Countries should be ready for more serious H1N1 flu infections and more deaths from the newly discovered virus, World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan said on Friday.

Reuters - “The health sector can contribute a lot to reduce the carbon footprint because the health sector in many countries is the second most important user and energy consumption is very high,” Maria Neira, director of the WHO’s department of public health and environment, told a news briefing.

AFP - Global health chiefs warned on Friday that swine flu could soon hit much harder in the world’s poorest countries and its spread in Asia was in danger of accelerating with the change of season.

HealthDay - THURSDAY, May 21 (HealthDay News) –Diabetics who strictly
control their blood sugar levels also reduce their risk of heart attack
and cardiovascular disease, British researchers report.

HealthDay - THURSDAY, May 21 (HealthDay News) — The chances of having to
have a limb amputated because of diabetes were reduced by 36 percent when
people with type 2 diabetes were given the drug fenofibrate to lower their
blood fat levels, new research has found.

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) — Few women would say childbirth is easy. The
amount and type of pain depends on the woman herself, her baby’s size and
its position, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
says.

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) — Head lice are tiny, parasitic bugs that live
in the hair and scalp, and are most common in school-aged children.

HealthDay - FRIDAY, May 22 (HealthDay News) — High levels of vitamin D might
help keep the brain healthy as people age, new research suggests.