Cencora Will Pay $111M To Resolve Claims It Ignored Red Flags On Opioids

Bloomberg: Cencora Directors Reach $111 Million Deal On Opioid Claims
Cencora Inc. directors have agreed to a settlement of more than $111 million to resolve claims by pension funds that they ignored years of red flags about the drug distributor’s handling of opioid painkillers and failed to set up required systems to monitor sales of the drugs. The deal would end litigation accusing directors of turning a blind eye to suspiciously large opioid shipments to reap billions for the firm, which was known until 2023 as AmerisourceBergen Corp. before it changed its name. (Feeley, 8/15)

Minnesota Public Radio: Fentanyl, Synthetic Opioids Have Accelerated Overdose Deaths Among Older Black Men 
Four years ago, JR Graham, 55, had a job he loved in security at Ecolab in St. Paul. Then, he relapsed. “My father passed away and then that led me back into being involved in drugs,” he said. “I gave up on myself.” It’s been more than 30 years since Graham first started using drugs. And as he continues to work toward recovery, he said the drugs of today are unlike anything he’s come across before. (Bui, 8/18)

In other public health news —

The Washington Post: Is Human Hair The New Answer To Better Dental Care?
The next major innovation in dental care just might be a new ingredient added to our toothpaste and mouthwash from an unlikely source: sheep’s wool or human hair. Both contain the fibrous protein keratin, which can repair damaged tooth enamel, according to an international study led by researchers at King’s College London. (Johnson, 8/15)

Bloomberg: Electric Vehicle Fast Chargers Have A Surprising Health Downside
Hundreds of public fast chargers are popping up across the US to serve electric vehicle drivers seeking a cleaner alternative to gas-powered cars. But they come with a surprising risk: Charging stations create air pollution. While EVs contribute vastly less to air pollution than combustion-powered vehicles, fast-charging stations are what a recent study called an “overlooked source of air pollution.” (Alake and Court, 8/15)

The New York Times: Wildfire Fighters, Unmasked In Toxic Smoke, Are Getting Sick And Dying 
The smoke from the wildfires that burned through Los Angeles in January smelled like plastic and was so thick that it hid the ocean. Firefighters who responded developed instant migraines, coughed up black goo and dropped to their knees, vomiting and dizzy. Seven months later, some are still jolted awake by wheezing fits in the middle of the night. One damaged his vocal cords so badly that his young son says he sounds like a supervillain. Another used to run a six-minute mile and now struggles to run at all. (Dreier, 8/17)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Hair Relaxers And Cancer: Hundreds Of Lawsuits Allege Injury
JoAnna Zackery wanted the bone straight hair that flowed flawlessly on the Black women she saw on television. It was 1990 and the 21-year-old went to a salon to put chemical hair relaxer for the first time on her coils. “Everybody was getting it,” Zackery said. “It was beautiful to see straight hair, and I wanted it. I wanted to try it.” (Burns and Hogan, 8/17)

Stat: Culinary Medicine Pioneer David Eisenberg On Food As Means To Health
To understand how David Eisenberg became one of America’s greatest champions of culinary medicine, it helps to know that his childhood is divided into a before and after. Before: He grew up amid neat rows of cream puffs and the warm smell of yeast, learning the alchemy of food at his father’s Viennese-Jewish Brooklyn bakery. Then came the after: His father died at age 39 of a heart attack, and he lost his three grandparents within the same year. Eisenberg was 10 years old. (Todd, 8/18)