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Risk Factors For Cardiovascular Disease Increasing In Younger Canadians Raise Concern About Future Rise In Heart Disease
The prevalence of heart disease and certain key risk factors - hypertension, diabetes, and obesity - are increasing in all age groups and most income groups in Canada found a new study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/press/cmaj081629.pdf. This study, which looked at national data from 1994 to 2005, encompassed people aged 12 years and older sampling from Canadians of all socioeconomic and ethnic groups. Risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and obesity increased most rapidly among younger people between 12 to 50 years of age.
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Study Finds Many Newborns Of South Asian And East Asian Descent Misclassified As Underweight At Birth
Babies of East Asian and South Asian descent are between two and three times more likely to be misclassified as underweight at birth when compared to their Canadian counterparts, according to a study led by St. Michael"s Hospital physician Dr. Joel Ray. Dr. Ray and a team of researchers, who developed the first-ever sex-specific birth weight curves for these ethnic groups, suggest the need to consider differences across ethnic groups to reduce parental stress and use of health-care res associated with labelling an infant as underweight, or "small for gestational age" at birth.
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FDA Approves Constar's New DiamondClear(R) Technology For PET Containers
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given Constar (OTC: CNRN.PK) the green light for its new DiamondClear® oxygen scavenging technology for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers. Effective today, under this Food Contact Notification (FCN), Constar will begin selling DiamondClear for packaging virtually all oxygen sensitive food and beverage products, including tomato ketchup, salsas, pasta sauces, table sauces, jams, jellies, ready-to-drink teas, juices, dairy, wine, and other alcoholic beverages.
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Study Finds That Tobacco Companies Changed Design Of Cigarettes Without Alerting Smokers

As President Obama prepares to sign a bill giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight of the tobacco industry, a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers shows that tobacco manufacturers have continually changed the ingredients and the design of their cigarettes over time, even if those changes have exceeded acceptable product variance guidelines. The result, say the researchers, is that consumers who buy the same brand of product are not made aware of how that product has been altered and what effect those alterations might have on their levels of addiction or harm. "I hope the FDA requires disclosure of any changes made to tobacco products and that the changes are disallowed if shown to increase appeal, addiction and harm," said Greg Connolly, director of the Tobacco Control Research Program at HSPH. The study appears in the "Online First" section of the Journal of Tobacco Control and will appear in an upcoming print issue of the journal. For their study, Connolly and lead author Geoffrey Ferris Wayne, an HSPH researcher, studied internal tobacco company documents released following the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement. These documents describe significant changes made to commercial products over time, including blend, processing, casing, flavoring and physical design features. For example, new methods were developed to process tobacco, altering the smoke chemistry and the form of nicotine delivery, and the levels of processed tobaccos were regularly adjusted within brands. Despite the constant innovation of tobacco products, which in many cases have exceeded the levels of acceptable variance established within the tobacco industry, for the most part, these changes were not disclosed to consumers, say the researchers. "Even incremental changes that occur over a period of years can result in significant design differences. The resulting product may have altered chemistry or delivery, yet the smoker is largely unaware of these changes. This underscores the need for industry transparency and accountability," said Ferris Wayne. The study builds on earlier research done at HSPH on how products are designed to enhance appeal and addiction. At Senate hearings on the FDA bill last year, Connolly discussed that research, including how tobacco companies have increased nicotine content over time, manipulated menthol and added candy-like flavors to enhance appeal to children. Until regulators have a system in place for assessing product revisions, Connolly and Ferris Wayne advise that all changes to tobacco products be reported to the FDA and that no changes be allowed until they have been scientifically shown to reduce addiction or harm. Notes: The study was supported by the National Cancer Institute. Abstract "Regulatory Assessment of Brand Changes in the Commercial Tobacco Product Market," Geoffrey Ferris Wayne, Greg Connolly, Journal of Tobacco Control, online June 14, 2009. Todd Datz Harvard School of Public Health


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