U.S. tobacco firm to aid in inquiry
Liggett & Myers Inc., smallest of the big five cigarette makers in the United States, agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department's criminal investigation of the tobacco industry.
Japan's anti-smokers fire a lawsuit at Philip Morris
Akinori Ito, an anti-smoking activist, is angry. While American cigarette makers face tough restrictions at home, they are making a killing selling their deadly products in Asia, he says. So Mr. Ito is doing something never done in Japan: He is suing a subsidiary of a U.S. tobacco company, Philip …
Radiation testing on insane alleged
Norwegians deemed insane or mentally retarded were used in U.S. backed radiation experiments during the Cold War, a retired senior health official asserted. "People were used as research subjects to determine the effect of radiation on humans," said Fredrik Mellbye, a top government doctor from 1950 until 1972.
Painless surgery for acidity and peptic ulcers
Those suffering from acidity and peptic ulcers now have the option of a painless surgical correction, thanks to the revolutionary technique of minimally invasive surgery of the upper gastro-intestinal tract. Leading world experts at a two-day workshop on the management of diseases of the gastro-intestinal tract, which began in New …
- Budgets ignore health care
The India Health Care Federation has suggested the need to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) of nearly $7 billion annually in the country to establish an efficient health care infrastructure.
- New method to detect heart defects
For those "sick" at heart, there is a second chance with the introduction of a new technique for detecting defects more accurately. It is known as "intravascular ultrasournd" or IVUS . This method was first used in the early 1980s in the USA, but it has become popular in the …
Canada confidence vote over hepatitis package
The Liberal government of Jean Chretien, Canada's prime minister, faces a confidence vote over a US$766m compensation package for an estimated 22,000 victims who contracted hepatitis C from tainted blood provided by the nation's healthcare systems.
Smart Dogs to be used to 'sniff' out pollution
The Delhi government is proposing to do away with the present system for checking pollution by vehicles, and bring in laser based "Smart Dog Sniffing System." Accepting that the existing system of issuing "pollution under control" certificates is heavily doctored, transport minister Rajendra Gupta said the government will replace the …
Fewer children now die in slums of Calcutta
A survey covering slum dwellers in Calcutta has shown lesser incidence of infant and maternal mortality and morbidity and decline in cases of communicable diseases and malnutrition in the last five years. Infant mortality has come down from a baseline rate of 43 per 1000 in 1991-92 to 27.2 in …
J&K Govt plans to restore Dal Lake to former glory
The Jammu and Kashmir government has chalked out a comprehensive plan for the restoration of the Dal Lake to its original shape and avert its possible extinction. The lake has shrinked from 48 sq km in 1947 to nearly 15 sq km due to unchecked encroachments and pollution.
- GR to produce lead-free petrol
The Guwahati Refinery (GR), the first public sector refining unit in the country, is all set to manufacture lead-free petrol after completion of the Isosiv project, according to its general manager, C K Raja. Speaking to media persons , Mr Raja said the work on the project has already commenced. …
- '10 maternal deaths every hour in India'
Despite pursuing an 'alternative approach" to planning and development, especially in the rural areas , West Bengal's population is poorly served in terms of trained medical staff. A recent study, by ICMR, on the causes of maternal deaths discovered a horrifying picture of neglect and deprivation.
On the pharmaceutical frontier, looking for keys to quality of life
Find a doctor these days and head down to the corner drugstore with a few prescriptions in hand, and you can walk out with a sack of goodies that promise to make life better. This is the new frontier of drug development : quality-of-life pharmacology. The products on the market …
The rise of bloodless surgery
Once an obscure speciality, bloodless medicine is becoming more common now because of advances in technology. Seventy-six hospitals in the United States now offer bloodless medicine, up from only a handful in 1990. And the practice is spreading because many patients now fear getting hepatitis, AIDS or other diseases from …
Pig parts for people
A medical breakthrough in Australia means that pigs' hearts could soon be beating inside human breasts. Researchers in Melbourne have found a way round the knotty problem of organ rejection that has hindered animal-to-human transplants.
No decision on Yamuna water share
The water problem in the Capital is likely to worsen as the Centre and five other states sharing the Yamuna water have failed to find an amicable solution so far.
Life becoming more difficult in Delhi
With some 2.7-million vehicles plying on the roads of Delhi emitting toxic fumes every day and their number still rising at an annual rate of 10 per cent the twin menace of pollution and growing road accidents are threatening to make life more difficult in the national capital.As per estimte, …
Two Indian firms imported tainted blood
Two Indian companies were among those who imported blood products from an Austrian firm now accused of trading internationally in tainted blood sources, a Health Ministry official in Vienna said.
