Archive for 2009

Chantix and the Damage Done

October 27th, 2009. By janem

I’ve interviewed many people who’ve taken Chantix to help quit smoking. They talk about the damage it caused, not only to themselves, but their family and friends. All their stories are upsetting but just now I talked with Tim and his account is heart-wrenching.

Tim’s wife died from cancer a few months ago, but his grief is compounded by the fact that he was never able to apologize to her. “Soon after I took Chantix I was so short-tempered; I would get mad at my wife, Judy, for any little thing,” says Tim, his voice breaking. “Now that Judy is dead, I can’t say sorry for being so mean.”

“Judy and I were long-distance truck drivers, we were a team,” Tim explains. “When I got on the Chantix, we argued constantly on the truck. I just thought it was from nicotine withdrawal, but even our friends asked Judy what was wrong with me. Before Chantix, I was happy-go-lucky…

Judy could just move a pop can and I would get irate.  And I was mad at myself because I was making her so upset but I had no idea why. Sometimes I’d be driving and forget where I was. I’m talking about driving a semi. It was dangerous. It got so bad that I thought of wrecking the truck more than once, then we would both die. I just kept hurting her…

I saw an ad on TV a few weeks ago that explained how Chantix causes mood swings, suicidal thoughts and aggression. I didn’t read the Chantix warning label because my doctor said, ‘Just go ahead and try Chantix; it’s a new drug and pretty much reliable’. I guess that’s the problem with new drugs-you don’t know the side effects until it’s too late.

If I knew of the Chantix side effects, or if my doctor explained them to me, I wouldn’t have tried it. And I won’t be beating myself up now. And I’m smoking again. I’m really irate at the drug company and I’m so upset just thinking about it, knowing how much I hurt my wife.”

Tags: Chantix, chantix side effects, chantix suicide
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 5 Comments »

Yaz, Yasmin, Gardasil: Are Young Women Just Guinea Pigs?

October 27th, 2009. By LucyC

A couple of interesting news releases came across my desk this morning: the first is about two new lawsuits filed against Bayer AG alleging the company’s birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin have caused two young women life-threatening health events. The second is about the Gardasil vaccine—more on that in a minute. 

First the Yaz lawsuits. Short version: Judith M. Woodall and Tasha Marcell allege that they sustained “severe and permanent personal injuries, pain, suffering, and emotional distress as a result of their use of Yaz.” 

To be specific, the news release states: “Ms. Woodall, a resident of Tennessee, first began using Yaz in approximately November 2008. That same month, she suffered a saddle pulmonary embolus and deep vein thrombosis. Ms. Marcell, a resident of Georgia, began taking Yaz in October 2007. She also suffered a pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis shortly after she began using the medication.” Hold that thought. 

Now the Gardasil press release. One of the researchers involved in the development of the HPV vaccine spoke at a medical conference earlier this month, and instead of towing the company line—in this case the company is Merck—she is reported to have said “70 percent of all HPV infections resolve themselves without treatment within a year. Within two years, Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Gardasil, Yasmin, Yaz
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 1 Comment »

It’s [Asbestos] Showtime…at the Apollo!

October 23rd, 2009. By AbiK

Asbestos abatement time, that is.

According to the Gov Monitor (10/23/09), the Apollo Theater Foundation will receive $2.9 million as part of an award from New York’s Downstate Revitalization Fund. The monies will go to helping restore the iconic theater—the one where not only countless legends (Billie Holiday, James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson…) have performed but also where amateurs get judged by an audience that can boo someone off the stage in a manner that makes Simon Cowell look like a pussycat (if you can remember staying up on Saturday nights to watch superstar wannabes give it their all, you know what I mean).

The Downstate Revitalization Fund, which is administered by Empire State Development, will allow the Apollo to continue work on a $72 million capital improvement project which includes roof and wall repairs, asbestos abatement and heating and cooling system replacement.

I’m glad whatever the asbestos situation at the Apollo is, it will be taken care of. And it just goes to show you how much of the stuff still lingers in buildings great and small everywhere.

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Mesothelioma
Posted in Asbestos Mesothelioma | No Comments »

Worst Credit Card Ever? Hint: 79.9% APR (oh, but that is not all)

October 23rd, 2009. By AbiK

Need credit real bad? So bad that you’ll go almost anywhere for it so long as they accept your application? I’ve got the credit card for you: a First Premier credit card. But you also have to be willing to pay a price—a hefty one. I took a moment to read through the fine print over at First Premier and it’s like reading a Dr. Seuss book…”oh, but that is not all…oh no, that is not all!” (thank you Cat in the Hat)…until all hell breaks loose.

The folks at First Premier are not fools. They see a market and they pounce. With phrases like “Application responses in less than 60 seconds!” you can’t help but feel you’re beating the credit bureau bureaucracy when someone’s going to process your credit application in less than one minute flat. But then again, you also can’t help but raise an eyebrow—and you should.

I’m sure you’ve seen the reports lately about First Premier offering a 79.9% APR credit card deal. Outlandish? Yes. But such a rate is so out there that I can’t really give it any credence. Who in their right mind would take First Premier up on such a deal? No, the real eye-opener is when you go to apply for a First Premier credit card. Here’s what you find out…

The APR is listed as 9.9%. Ok. That seems pretty good. But let’s put on some readers and check out the proverbial fine print.

It’s a Fee-for-All!

Here are the fees associated with the privilege of carrying a First Premier credit card: Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: 79.9% APR, credit cards, First Premier
Posted in Emerging Issues, Financial | 2 Comments »

BPA Paper Tigers: “Check The Receipts”

October 22nd, 2009. By Hunter West

As LawyersandSettlements revealed today there is a new and disturbing source of bisphenol-A (BPA). 

Move over, plastic water bottles. Enter the cash register and credit card receipt. Something we handle every day, keep in our wallets, pile on top of our desks…. 

According to John C. Warner, of the Warner Babcock Institute of Green Chemistry in Wilmington, Massachusetts BPA contained in electronic cash register and credit card receipts has been a problem for some time. 

It was about ten years ago when BPA first appeared on the radar screen, a time when Babcock was teaching green chemistry at the University of Massachusetts. His former career with Polaroid taught him a thing or two about thermal imagining papers, a subject he talked about in an interview with ScienceNews published on October 7^th. 

Manufacturers would coat a powdery layer of BPA onto one side of a piece of paper together with an invisible ink, he said. “Later, when you applied pressure or heat, they would merge together and you’d get color.” 

At the time, in the ’90s he thought little about the technology, he told ScienceNews, other than the fact he thought it was clever. However, when the health concerns about BPA began to emerge, he looked into it further—and he was in a perfect position to do so. As a professor of green chemistry at the University of Massachusetts, he had a ready gang Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: BPA, BPA receipts
Posted in Defective Products, Emerging Issues | 4 Comments »