important health news
On this page will be important health news that breaks during the year.
Aspartame July 3, 2023
An artificial sweetener, Aspartame, is being declared “a possible carcinogen” to humans by the World Health Organisation. “This widely consumed sweetener has found its way into thousands of products. Some of these products include soft drinks like Diet Coke, chewing gum, sugar-free cough lollies, dessert mixes, yogurt, gelatine, puddings, tabletop sweeteners and even some toothpaste.
Big Pharma giant, G.D. Searle Company (now Pfizer), patented aspartame in 1965. Aspartame has been in our food since 1981 when the USA FDA approved it for use in food. Aspartame (frequently marketed as NutraSweet®, Equal®, and Amino Sweet®) is the most controversial food additive ever approved. Read More…
Landmark Roundup cancer class action kicks off in court. July 4, 2023
Hundreds of Australians diagnosed with cancer are fighting in court to prove their disease stemmed from a component of a widely used weed killer.
The landmark class action, launched by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers on behalf of more than 800 non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients, alleges a component in the popular Roundup herbicide called glyphosate caused their disease.
Many of the people who have joined the class action used Roundup as part of their work, Maurice Blackburn national head of class actions Andrew Watson said.
Monsanto has settled over 100,000 Roundup lawsuits, paying out about $11 billion as of May 2022. There are still 30,000 lawsuits pending. Read More…
Diet to blame as cancer in under-50s up by 80pc globally since 1990. September 6, 2023
- Experts say diets high in red meat, salt and alcohol are fuelling cancer rise.
- Cancer Research UK says advances in care helped save 1.2 million lives in the UK.
Obesity and alcohol are fuelling a worrying rise in cancer among the under-50s, a study suggests. The number of cases among younger cancer patients has soared by 79 per cent in the last three decades, research found.
The growth is particularly prominent among wealthy countries like the UK, suggesting lifestyle factors are largely to blame. Researchers analysed data from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 Study for 29 cancers in 204 countries and regions.
They looked at new cases, deaths, health consequences and risk factors in people aged 14 to 49, estimating an annual percentage for each year.
In 2019, there were 3.26 million new cancer diagnoses for under-50s, an increase of 79.1 per cent since 1990. The biggest increases were among prostate and windpipe cancers. They rose by 2.28 per cent and 2.23 cent per year respectively – or more than 66 per cent since 2019.
Breast cancer made up the largest proportion of cases – 13.7 per every 100,000 people, according to the findings published in the BMJ. Scientists said that while genetics are likely to play a part, lifestyle factors were also contributing.
Diets high in red meat and salt, and low in fruit and milk alongside alcohol consumption, tobacco use, physical inactivity and high blood sugars are the main risk factors underlying the most common cancers among the under 50s.
Around two-thirds of adults and 1 in 3 children are overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school. This is some of the worst rates in the world. Read More…
TGA weighing up options after US experts say popular nasal decongestant doesn’t relieve congestion. Sep 13, 2023
Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has said it will “take action as required” after a leading decongestant used by millions around the world in cold and flu medicines was found to be no better than a dummy pill.
The findings were made by US government experts who reviewed the latest research on the long-questioned drug ingredient.
Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted unanimously on Tuesday (local time – early Wednesday morning Australian time) against the effectiveness of the key drug found in popular versions of Sudafed, Dayquil and other medications stocked on US store shelves.
“Modern studies, when well conducted, are not showing any improvement in congestion with phenylephrine,” Dr Mark Dykewicz, an allergy specialist at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, said.
What impacts the findings will have in Australia is still unknown. The TGA said it was monitoring the situation and will “take action as required”.
“The TGA is not aware that the FDA has identified safety concerns or made a decision that phenylephrine is ineffective,” a spokesperson for the organisation told 9news.com.au. Read More…
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