Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.health From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: health Fri, May 1 1992 Date: Fri, 1 May 92 05:15:09 EDT Message-ID: 05-01 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update May 1-3, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network NICOTINE PATCH ADS MAY MISLEAD: Ads for nicotine "patches" are misleading and prescription-only patches can be dangerous, says consumer group Public Citizen. The patches are only "an aid" but "create the impression" they will alone end smoking, the group's Dr. Sidney Wolfe says. Using the patches while smoking - a double dose of nicotine - can result in abdominal pain, confusion and respiratory failure, he says. NICOTINE-PATCH WARNINGS URGED: Public Citizen petitioned the Food and Drug Administration Thursday to require boxed warnings in printed ads for nicotine patches and nicotine gum. The adhesive patches release nicotine into the blood, weaning smokers from cigarettes. A 30-day supply costs $100-$125. The makers defend the ads by saying they inform smokers about the product and advise that they see their doctors. HOUSE VOTES TO REVERSE GAG RULE: The House voted Thursday to overturn the Bush administration's rule forbidding family-planning clinics from counseling women on abortion. The 268-150 vote was short of the number needed to override a threatened presidential veto. The bill now goes to a House-Senate negotiating committee. A similar measure was passed last year, but the House failed to override a presidential veto. CONCERN FOR HUNGER IS HIGH: Hunger should be as high on the domestic agenda as the economy, drugs, the environment and unemployment, say nine of 10 people in a new study released Thursday. The study of 1,000 registered voters, reported by pollster Vincent J. Breglio to the House Select Committee on Hunger, also found that 67% said they'd be willing to pay $100 or more to help end hunger. The margin of error was 3.5%. STUDY REVEALS WIDESPREAD HUNGER: Nearly 30 million people in the USA suffer from hunger, says a new study by pollster Vincent J. Breglio. The Food Research and Action Center in Washington, D.C., says 5.5 million U.S. children experience hunger. Nearly $10 billion would vanquish hunger in the USA, says Dr. J. Larry Brown, Director of the Center on Hunger, Poverty and Nutrition Policy at Tufts University in Massachusetts. OUTPATIENT CARE GROWS: Outpatient surgeries outnumbered inpatient procedures at community hospitals for the first time in 1990, says a report from the American Hospital Association. Of 22 million surgeries, more than 11 million were same-day outpatient procedures. Cited: Better technology and the lower cost of outpatient care. A recent federal report found that 30 million simple surgeries are done in clinics. IMPLANTS TO BE AVAILABLE SOON: The Food and Drug Administration has given Mentor Corp. approval to begin shipping silicone-gel breast implants, which should be available within a week. Implant maker McGhan Medical Corp. has yet to receive approval. Women needing replacements, some women getting mastectomies and some who had mastectomies before the FDA ban are eligible now. For information, call the FDA at (800) 532-4440. TB FIGHT TO GET MORE FUNDING: The Centers for Disease Control unveiled a plan Thursday to spend more money fighting tuberculosis. Over 200 cases of TB strains resistant to drugs have been reported. The plan calls for programs in high-TB nations with frequent emigration to the United States, such as Philippines, Korea and Mexico, and for guidelines for quarantining patients who won't cooperate with treatment. D.C. DAY-CARE CENTER PLANNED: Washington, D.C., Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly signed an agreement Thursday opening a day-care facility in the Frederick Douglass Community Center in Southeast D.C. The facility will be funded by a $200,000 grant from a private group. The center, set to open in June, will care for up to 20 babies. CHILD ABUSE REPORTS UP IN N.C.: Reports of child abuse and neglect have more than doubled in North Carolina in the past five years, says study by child advocacy group. Other findings: Extreme poverty afflicts 63,000 more children, and rates for teen birth and juvenile crime are up. Eleven counties will participate in a new program to improve the lives of children, the group said. BIG LUNCHES DON'T CAUSE NAPS: The urge to nap in the afternoon has little to do with eating a big lunch, reports the May issue of American Health. Most naps range between 15 minutes and two hours - any more will likely effect sleep at night, says University of Pennsylvania psychologist Dr. David Dinges. Taking a nap before a night of reduced sleep seems to be more effective than taking one after, say Dinges. SLEEPING TIPS OFFERED: May is Better Sleep Month, and the Better Sleep Council's hot line has recordings of Dr. Joyce Brothers offering tips on how to improve your sleeping habits, such as keeping a log of the hours you sleep. Call 800-827-5337. Health Editor: Christopher Goldthwaite. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM