Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of The HealthDay Service:
Canada Govt. Panel Wants Marijuana Legalized
While efforts to allow marijuana use for medical purposes are met with significant opposition in the U.S., that kind of pot use is
already approved in Canada. Now, a top-level Canadian government panel is now calling for legalized marijuana use for adults altogether.
The country's Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs has recommended that the nation regulate marijuana use in the same way
that alcohol is, and do away with criminal records for possession of marijuana, reports the Associated Press.
"There is no good reason to subject the consumers of cannabis to the application of criminal law," said Sen. Pierre Nolin of the
Progressive Conservative party. "In a free society as ours, it's up to the individual to decide whether to consume cannabis or not."
Nolin said that in preparing its 600-page report, the committee had found no evidence that marijuana was a "gateway" drug
leading to the use of harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin.
The report will go to Prime Minister Jean Chretien's Liberal Party, which will decide on the recommendations.
-----
Moms Influence Daughters' Sex Decisions: Study
Many mothers may feel their influence waning as their children grow more independent, but when it comes to teenage girls'
decisions about sex, mothers apparently do know best.
New research suggests that teenage girls who have close relationships with their mothers not only put off having sex for the first
time longer than others, but also are less likely to engage in sexual activity if their mothers strongly disapprove, reports the
Associated Press.
The study, published today in the Journal of Adolescent Health, indicates that boys' behavior was not as strongly
influenced by their mothers and researchers say friends may be more influential in boys' decisions.
The study was based on interviews with 2,006 teens ages 14-15 who said they were virgins. When interviewed a year later, 10.8
percent of the boys and 15.8 percent of the girls had had sex by the second interview.
-----
-
Rhode Island Sues Paint Makers Over Lead Poisoning
The state of Rhode Island this week becomes the first state in the nation to take paint manufacturers to court for making lead
paint that poisoned children.
The state names eight companies in its lawsuit, which claims the companies created a public health hazard by selling the paint. The companies are: American Cyanamid Co., Atlantic Richfield, ConAgra Grocery Products Co., Cytec Industries Inc.,
DuPont Co., Millenium Inorganic, NL Industries Inc. and Sherwin-Williams Co.
Lead paint was banned nationally in 1978 after it was shown to potentially cause such health hazards in children learning
disabilities, neurological damage and even death. The hazards occur if lead paint is chipping and then ingested.
Officials say children in Rhode Island routinely test above the national average for lead levels in their blood, according to the
Associated Press.
The paint companies argue that preventing lead paint exposure to children is the responsibility of landlords who should not let
their properties deteriorate.
-----
Organ Donor Infected 3 With West Nile
A Georgia woman's tainted organs appears to have killed one recipient and sickened at least two others in what is believed to be the first cases of West Nile infection from a medical procedure.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed late yesterday that the donor, who died in a car crash last month, had the virus in her blood. One recipient died in Atlanta on Aug 29; two of the three others have the virus and have developed encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain, reports the Associated Press.
The organ donor may already have been infected or may have gotten West Nile through blood transfusions in the emergency room after the crash, the CDC said. The agency is tracking about 60 blood donors whose products were used in transfusions to the Georgia organ donor before she died to determine if the blood products gave her West Nile, officials said.
Health officials stopped using the 60 donors' blood and said they were searching for about a dozen people who had already received blood products from those donors.
The news came as six potential West Nile deaths were reported in three states: Tennessee, Illinois and Kentucky. If confirmed by the CDC, the deaths would bring this year's toll to at least 37. So far this year, 638 people in 27 states and the District of Columbia have tested positive for West Nile.
-----
EPA: Diesel Exhaust Linked to Cancer
Diesel exhaust inhaled from large trucks and other sources can cause cancer over time, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says in reporting a decade-long study.
The research involved both animal tests and occupational exposure to diesel exhaust, reports the Associated Press. While the EPA acknowledges "uncertainties" about the long-term health effects, the agency says it has "persuasive" evidence that diesel emissions and cancer are linked.
The report also says diesel exhaust has been shown to cause asthma and other respiratory problems. In some cities, diesel emissions account for as much as 25 percent of airborne microscopic soot, the report adds.
A truck industry spokesman points out that the data used in the report was collected during the mid-1990s, and that today's diesel trucks and buses are "more than eight times cleaner than just a dozen years ago." The EPA report acknowledges this, but says slow turnover of older truck engines has kept many of them on the road.
EPA Administrator Christie Whitman has promised repeatedly to enforce tougher air pollution rules -- set to take effect next month -- against trucks and other diesel users, the AP reports.
-----
Smallpox Vaccines Recommended for Medical Workers
Emergency medical workers considered most at risk during a bioterrorist attack should be vaccinated against smallpox, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson has recommended to President Bush.
According to a report in the Washington Post, health officials estimate that as many as 500,000 people could be offered the vaccine under Thompson's proposal.
The vaccine is thought to have potentially serious -- perhaps even fatal -- side effects, including brain inflammation and fever. Thompson tells the newspaper that HHS would assume any liability for the nation's first large-scale smallpox vaccination program in 30 years. He says he's pressing the Food and Drug Administration to act quickly in approving the vaccine for widespread use.
Smallpox was declared eradicated worldwide in 1980. The United States and Russia are known to have small quantities of the virus preserved for research, but experts fear other nations may be harboring supplies including Iraq, North Korea, Iran, and France, Thompson tells the Post.
If Bush approves Thompson's plan, it would be up to the states to decide who would be offered the vaccine, the newspaper reports.
-----
