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Senate HELP Panel Begins Mark Up Of Bill Placing Tobacco Under FDA Oversight
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday began marking up a bill (S 982) that would allow FDA to regulate tobacco products, CongressDaily reports. The bill would allow FDA to place larger, color warning labels about the health risks of smoking on cigarette packs, as well as to regulate the marketing of tobacco products and advertising to children. The agency could not ban tobacco products or eliminate nicotine from cigarettes, but it could regulate their production and ban flavored cigarettes other than menthol. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said, "Over the years, this bill has been reviewed; it has been vetted; it has been debated, over and over and over again. The time has come to act." The House in April passed its version of the bill, 298-112 (Hunt, CongressDaily, 5/20). The committee by voice vote approved an amendment proposed by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) that would give FDA priority to review products that contain nicotine, such as candies. Committee ranking member Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) proposed two amendments, one that would have given regulatory authority over tobacco to CDC and another that would have ordered FDA to study which flavors to ban, instead of a current provision that bans specific flavors. Both amendments were defeated. Enzi said, "I think the FDA is the wrong regulator. It approves cures, not poisons." The only Democrat who opposed the bill was Sen. Kay Hagan (N.C.), who said the measure would harm the tobacco industry in her home state (Armstrong, CQ HealthBeat, 5/19). The panel"s other member from North Carolina, Sen. Richard Burr (R), said he would filibuster the bill. He said, "I put my fellow senators on notice: This is something that will be a much longer time on the floor than it will be in this hearing" (CongressDaily, 5/20). The committee plans to continue marking up the bill Wednesday and possibly Thursday.The Obama administration has expressed its support for the bill (CQ HealthBeat, 5/19). FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg also has said her agency should regulate tobacco (Armstrong, CQ HealthBeat, 5/18).
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Acupuncture May Be Beneficial In Relieving Indigestion During Pregnancy
A small study published in Acupuncture Medicine reports that acupuncture may be beneficial in easing symptoms of indigestion which are very frequent in pregnant women. The hormonal changes in the body during pregnancy cause heartburn, stomach pain and discomfort, reflux, belching and bloating. Between 45 to 80 percent of women are reported to experience those symptoms.
News of the day
AJPH Releases New Influenza Articles From Experts On Vulnerable Populations Early
In light of interest in the ongoing H1N1 influenza outbreak, several scientific papers are being published online ahead of schedule. A special supplement to the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) on influenza preparedness, in which these and other papers appear, will be published as scheduled later this year.
Endocrinology

Young Black Women Prone To Gain More Unhealthy Abdominal Fat Than Hispanics

Black women ages 20 to 29 are more prone to pack on unhealthy abdominal and visceral fat than Hispanic women the same age, and as compared to their elders, according to researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and colleagues. The new research shows that accumulation of abdominal fat that increases risk of type 2 diabetes is greatest in young adulthood for blacks and Hispanics, said endocrinologist Kristen G. Hairston, M.D., M.P.H., lead author of an article published online June 1 by the American Diabetes Association. The study is the first to look at a large minority cohort using computed tomography (CT) scanning to measure longitudinal changes over time in visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue, which are different types of abdominal fat. The study followed 389 blacks and 844 Hispanics ages 20 to 69, men and women, grouped by age in 10-year increments. The researchers took baseline measurements of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous abdominal tissue (SAT) from 1999 to 2002 with follow-up measurements in 2005-2007. VAT is fat that resides within the abdominal cavity around internal organs and has been linked to metabolic disturbances. SAT is the kind of fat that one can pinch, like "love handles." The study found that the young adult age group (ages 20 to 29) had the largest five-year increase in measured adiposity, or fat, regardless of race or gender. The increase in VAT averaged 18 and 12 square centimeters (cm2) among young black and Hispanic women, respectively, and 13 and 7 cm2 among young men. The five-year increase in (SAT) was 89 and 53 cm2 among young black and Hispanic women, respectively, and 76 and 30 cm2 among young men. In general, fat accumulation declined in the older age groups. Abdominal fat accumulation, particularly the visceral type, is significant because previous studies show that VAT changes of this magnitude differentiate those who develop diabetes from those who don"t. Until this study, this pattern of excessive abdominal fat accumulation in young adults has not been reported using CT-measured "fat depots." The findings, however, are consistent with several other studies that used measurements such as body mass index and waist circumference. In this study, abdominal tissue area was measured at the L4/L5 vertebral region by CT. "Our data may help to further identify unique populations at risk for type 2 diabetes and those for whom behavioral intervention might be most effective," said Hairston, assistant professor of endocrinology and metabolism. Co-authors include Capri Foy, Ph.D., Orita McCorkle, B.A., and Lynne Wagenknecht, DrPH, from Wake Forest Baptist; Ann Scherzinger, Ph.D., and Jill Norris, M.P.H., Ph.D., from University of Colorado-School of Health Sciences; Anthony Hanley, Ph.D., from University of Toronto, Nutrition Sciences; Steven Haffner, M.D., M.P.H., University of Texas-Health Science Center at San Antonio; and Michael Bryer-Ash from University of Oklahoma School of Health Sciences. Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center


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