Thursday, April 11, 2002
FDA Stops Nicotine Lollipop Sales
Last week Al’s Morning Meeting told you about the hot new fad, nicotine lollipops that drugstores said were flying off the shelves. Smokers loved them because they got the buzz without the smoke.
CNN says: “The Food and Drug Administration warned three pharmacies Wednesday to stop selling nicotine lollipops and nicotine lip balm on the Internet, calling the products “illegal.” The companies’ Web sites promote the products as a “convenient, tasty way” to stop smoking and treat nicotine addiction, the FDA said in a statement. The agency said the lollipops and lip balm are “unapproved drugs” that need, but do not have, FDA approval. The FDA also said the “candy-like products present a risk of accidental use by children.” Here is one of the sites Al’s Morning Meeting told you about last week, and it is one of the sites that heard from the FDA.
Check with local pharmacies to see if the pops and lip balm are still available.
Who Should Choose?
The National Law Journal reports, “The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments last week in a case that will require a gut-wrenching answer to a highly emotional question: Who should choose whether to resuscitate a baby born with severe health problems, the parents or a hospital’s medical staff? As 20 disabled activists, 120 law students and one former Texas governor looked on, the high court considered Sidney Ainsley Miller, et al. v. HCA Inc. in a packed lecture hall at the Baylor University School of Law in Waco, Texas, on Wednesday.”
Details from The Associated Press: “Sidney was born Aug. 17, 1990, at Women’s Hospital in Houston, more than four months early. Once Sidney was delivered, doctors moved to keep the child alive. The Millers, who have since had two more sons, decided that ‘no heroic measures’ should be taken to save her. Because she was born without fully developed lungs, doctors used a throat tube to pump oxygen into her body. The family says the treatment resulted in brain hemorrhaging that left Sidney severely disabled and needing 24-hour care that already has cost more than $1 million. Hospital officials say the disabilities resulted from severe internal injuries unrelated to the resuscitation. In appealing their case to the Texas Supreme Court, the Millers say state and common law allowed them to withhold treatment. But HCA argued in court papers that once the child was born, the Family Code entitled her to receive medical care that would allow her to live. Activists for the disabled say a ruling in favor of the parents could lead to the withholding of medical treatment for the handicapped to weed out the imperfect.”
Charm Bracelets are Back
Those little charm bracelets your mother used to wear are more popular now than they have been in 50 years, reports Sarah Collins in The Wall Street Journal. The primary audience is junior high school girls, but thirtysomethings are into it, as well. The main beneficiary (or perhaps driver) of the trend is an Italian company called Nomination, which makes “sleek” bracelets of “stretchy stainless steel links” — not your mother’s noisy, dangly charm bracelet. Nomination says sales have tripled every year since it introduced the bracelets in the U.S. in 1998. The appeal, as always, is the ability to make a statement about who you are by the charms you add to your bracelet. It’s interesting to see which icons are most popular: dollar signs, martini glasses and cell phones.
