Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Don't Swap Your Sunscreen Lotion For Pills, FDA Warns
USA Today: Natural Sunscreen Pills, Capsules Don't Protect Skin, FDA Warning
Federal regulators warned natural sunscreen companies Tuesday that they're illegally marketing pills and capsules that claim to protect against the sun. The Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the companies are "misleading consumers, and putting people at risk." "There’s no pill or capsule that can replace your sunscreen," said Gottlieb. (O'Donnell, 5/22)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Best, Safest Sunscreen 2018: Study Finds 67 Percent Worrisome
According to the nonprofit Environmental Working Group’s 12th annual sunscreen guide, 67 percent of products tested don’t work well or contain potentially harmful ingredients. ...For the EWG report released Tuesday, researchers evaluated more than 1,000 sunscreens, moisturizers and lip balms that advertise sun protection. (Pirani, 5/22)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Legal Drugs More Harmful Than Illegal Drugs, Study Finds
Legal drugs, such as tobacco and alcohol, cause significantly more harm to people globally than illegal ones, a new international study suggests. But researchers say that’s not surprising, considering the varying prevalence of each. (Lemon, 5/22)
WBUR: New Studies Confirm A Surge In Coal Miners' Disease
More coal miners in central Appalachia have suffered the advanced stages of the deadly disease black lung than previous government research has found, and more miners working in the region today have earlier stages of the disease. Those are two of the findings in a bundle of studies released Tuesday and expected to be released soon, which focus on the epidemic of black lung disease first reported by NPR in 2016. (Berkes, 5/22)
Boston Globe: Partnership Based At BU Gets $50M To Help Fight Drug-Resistant Superbugs
A major global partnership based at Boston University will receive more than $50 million to expand its fight against drug-resistant superbugs by developing new antibiotics, vaccines, and diagnostic tools. The partnership, CARB-X, will receive $25 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and $26.8 million from the UK government to come up with life-saving products, particularly for “vulnerable populations” in poor and middle-income countries. (Saltzman, 5/22)
The New York Times: Air Pollution Near Power Plants Tied To Premature Births
Closing coal- and oil-fired power plants is associated with a reduction in preterm births in the surrounding region, researchers report. Scientists counted the number of preterm babies born in regions surrounding eight power plants before and after their closings from 2001 to 2011. The study is in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Based on the mother’s home address, the researchers looked at preterm birthrates within three, six and 12 miles of each plant in the year before and the year after closing. (Bakalar, 5/22)
