Sicko, Avandia and Gardasil Side Effects - NewsGrabs 27 May 2007

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NewsGrabs

Health Supreme's News Grabs are a weekly selection of links to articles, alternative health news and related bits of information. Keep your finger on the pulse of health trends - watch out for NewsGrabs ... every weekend.

In this issue:

Michael Moore's Sicko - 'Supersize me' not - Lung Cancer and Vitamin Use - Healing super-water - GM Food Allergies - Ron Paul Legislation on Supplements - Health Freedom Coalition challenges FDA - PFIZER CFO RESIGNS - US Worst Place for Cancer Treatment - HPV Vaccine linked to sickness - Gardasil 3 deaths and 1,637 Adverse Reactions - Diabetes Drug Avandia like Vioxx - FDA study showed Avandia risk - Risperdal and pop corn - Drug Makers Target Teenagers - Schizophrenia No Drugs is Better - Half of US dentistry mercury-free - Using drugs as weapons - Cancer Risks from Microwaves - Military Question What Happened on 9/11

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A Letter from Michael Moore: 'Sicko' is Socko in Cannes!
... our premiere of "Sicko" at the Cannes Film Festival has been an overwhelming success. The 2,000 people inside the Lumière Theater were alternately in tears and laughing during the two-hour film -- and when it was over, they gave it a standing ovation that seemed to go on for nearly 15 minutes!

In new documentary, Moore lambastes U.S. health care
"We are the richest country in the world," he said. "We spend more on health care than any other country. Yet we have the worst health care in the Western world. Come on. We can do better than this."

'Supersize me' mice research offers grim warning for America's fast food consumers
It's research that may have you thinking twice before upgrading to the large size at your favorite fast food joint. Saint Louis University research presented this week in Washington, D.C., shows the dangers of high-fat food combined with high fructose corn syrup and a sedentary lifestyle – in other words, what may be becoming commonplace among Americans.

Natural Products Association Challenges New Study on Lung Cancer and Vitamin Use
... the Natural Products Association is questioning the findings being reported at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference, on Monday, May 21, suggesting that taking supplemental multivitamins, vitamin C and E and folate do not decrease the risk of lung cancer. "Drawing a conclusion on chronic disease without all the pertinent information available is ill-considered and potentially misleading to the population. Especially considering the potential protective benefit nutrients may have on chronic disease and other forms of cancer," Fabricant said.

Firm makes 'healing super-water'
US scientists have developed "super-oxidised" water which they say speeds up wound healing. The key ingredient of the water, called Microcyn, are oxychlorine ions - electrically charged molecules which pierce the cell walls of free-living microbes. The water can only kill cells it can completely surround so human cells are spared because they are tightly bound together in a matrix. It is made by taking purified water and passing it through a semi-permeable sodium chloride membrane, which produces the oxychlorine ions.

Genetically Engineered Foods May Cause Rising Food Allergies
The huge jump in childhood food allergies in the US is in the news often, but most reports fail to consider a link to a recent radical change in America's diet. Beginning in 1996, bacteria, virus and other genes have been artificially inserted to the DNA of soy, corn, cottonseed and canola plants. These unlabeled genetically modified (GM) foods carry a risk of triggering life-threatening allergic reactions, and evidence collected over the past decade now suggests that they are contributing to higher allergy rates.

Ron Paul Introduces Legislation to Limit the FDA's Authority Over Supplements
The Health Freedom Protection Act would prevent the FDA from censoring truthful claims about the curative or preventative effect of dietary supplements, a popular issue for Americans but not necessarily Congressmen, especially for those receiving donations from the mega-drug company cartel.

National Health Freedom Coalition challenges FDA Draft CAM Guidance
Much has been said about the FDA's request for comments on its proposed guidance document regarding use of certain products in natural medicine. If you are interested in the facts, read this excellent summary and challenge by the National Health Freedom Coalition's Diane Miller, JD. You will see how the FDA tries to sneak around existing laws in its attempt to crush any competition to pharma from the natural products area. An interesting analysis which shows up the specifics of where FDA goes wrong.

PFIZER CFO RESIGNS after PFE finance executive blows the whistle
Mr. Levin's resignation comes after three days of disclosures of corruption in Pfizer's finance department, revealed by former Pfizer finance executive Mr. Ashok S. Idnani, on the Question Authority with Dr. Peter Rost blog. Brandweek wrote that "Rost this week has devoted his blog to an astonishing series of posts which allegedly describe how Pfizer execs in India took kickbacks in connection with the sale of a Pfizer building for far less than it was worth; how Pfizer hires private detectives to spy on rival executives and pay bribes, and how Pfizer India kept a "gift" list for certain Indian government officials."

The US is the Worst Place in the World to Get Cancer Treatment...
Health care in America is not based on the idea "How can we help you get better?" It is based on "How much money is available to us from your insurance, your co-pay, and your net worth?" The very first thing that happens when you go to a conventional health care practitioner is for you to hand them your insurance card. They then call your insurer and get the information on the limits of your policy. At that moment your fate, as a patient, has been sealed. Frankly, if you are diagnosed with Cancer, or some other major disease, you're on the slippery slope. You, and/or yours, are going to die horribly. And, there's going to be nothing left of your net worth. More than half of all personal US bankruptcies are over health care issues - and almost all of those people thought insurance would cover them. It didn't - and it won't cover you, either.

Australia: HPV Vaccine linked to sickness
Natasha D'Souza was one of seven Victorian students taken to hospital after vaccinations this month. Most fainted or complained of feeling dizzy. Sacred Heart Girls' College principal Christopher Dalton said today that 26 girls were taken to the school sick bay after injections. The Royal Children's Hospital said the vaccine was not to blame and tests on the girl were continuing today. Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott and health authorities have urged parents not to panic over reports that dozens of teenage girls have been sickened by a new cervical cancer vaccine.

Gardasil Vaccine: So far 3 deaths and 1,637 Adverse Reaction Reports to FDA
Judicial Watch, a public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, obtained FDA’s adverse event reaction reports under the Freedom of Information Act. It issued a press release noting: “The FDA adverse event reports on the HPV vaccine read like a catalog of horrors. Any state or local government now beset by Merck’s lobbying campaigns to mandate this HPV vaccine for young girls ought to take a look at these adverse health reports."

Diabetes Drug--Avandia--Exposed Much as Vioxx Was Exposed
A meta-analysis of the clinical trial data shows that GlaxoSmithKline's diabetes blockbuster, Avandia, increases the risk of heart attacks and cardiovascular related deaths. Once again the FDA is shown to be asleep at the helm-its approved drug label and cannot be trusted to protect the public from unsafe drugs that kill.

FDA study said to show Avandia risk
The government's own evaluation of the diabetes pill Avandia confirms the heart risks reported in a study earlier this week and suggests that as many as 60,000 to 100,000 heart attacks might be linked to its use since it came on the market eight years ago, a leading member of Congress said Thursday. In a floor statement placed in the Senate record, Sen. Charles Grassley also said that safety watchdogs within the federal Food and Drug Administration "several months ago" recommended a "black box" on the drug's label — the strongest possible warning.

Conclusion: The FDA is actively hiding adverse event data to protect pharma's business at the expense of people's health. See also the article on adverse events on HPV vaccine. The data had to be obtained by FOI action, the FDA was not go