Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Lubricant Eye Ointments Are Recalled Because Of Infection Risk
CBS News: Eye Ointments Sold Nationwide Recalled Due To Infection Risk
Multiple brands of lubricant eye ointments are being recalled due to a risk of infection after federal inspectors found unsterile conditions at the Indian plant where the products were manufactured. ... Sold nationwide by retailers including CVS Health and Walmart, the latest recall involves four products by brands Equate, CVS Health and AACE Pharmaceuticals, according to the notice posted Monday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (Gibson, 2/26)
On cigarettes and tobacco —
The Wall Street Journal: Cigarettes Are Losing Their Hold On The Nicotine Fix
Pretty soon, Americans who crave a nicotine hit will be more likely to reach for a vape or an oral nicotine pouch than a cigarette. Few tobacco companies look ready for this milestone. According to data from Marlboro maker Altria MO -1.02crease; red down pointing triangle, cigarettes’ share of the U.S. nicotine industry fell to 60% last year, down from 80% in 2018. Smokers are switching to smoke-free products such as vapes in higher numbers than expected. If the trend continues, it will only take another three years for cigarettes’ share to slip below 50%. (Ryan, 2/26)
Reuters: New Zealand Set To Scrap World-First Tobacco Ban
New Zealand will repeal on Tuesday a world-first law banning tobacco sales for future generations, the government said, even while researchers and campaigners warned of the risk that people could die as a result. Set to take effect from July, the toughest anti-tobacco rules in the world would have banned sales to those born after Jan. 1, 2009, cut nicotine content in smoked tobacco products and reduced the number of tobacco retailers by more than 90%. (Craymer, 2/27)
In other pharmaceutical news —
Axios: Startup Uses AI To Develop Vaccines For Future Pandemics
Base immune, a British startup that uses AI to develop vaccines for future pathogen mutations, raised £9 million in venture capital funding. Lots of the AI chatter right now is "what comes after chatbots," and the most likely (and consequential) answers are in biotech. (Primack, 2/26)
CNN: The Questions Eating Disorder Experts Have About Weight Loss Medications
There is still much researchers don’t know about popular weight loss medications — and those lack of studies could have consequences for eating disorders, according to experts. (Holcombe, 2/26)
Boston Globe: The Harvard Botanist Who Searched For Psychedelics In The Amazon
The Aztecs called it teonanácatl, or “flesh of the Gods.” Some who ate the intoxicating mushroom “saw themselves dying in a vision and wept,” according to an account by a 16th-century Franciscan friar. “Others saw themselves being eaten by a wild beast; others imagined that they were capturing prisoners in battle, that they were rich . . .” (Piore, 2/26)
