Reuters - Health Report

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Monday, August 7, 2017

DEA proposes cutting production of some opioid painkillers

(Reuters) - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Friday proposed a 20 percent reduction in the manufacture of certain commonly prescribed opioid painkillers as well as other controlled substances for next year.

Vernalis hit by fresh U.S. setback for cough and cold drug

LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in Vernalis fell more than 15 percent on Monday as the British biotech company backed by fund manager Neil Woodford and his previous employer Invesco announced a fresh setback for a key new drug in the United States.

Aldi stops selling eggs in Germany over food safety scare

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Discount supermarket chain Aldi is withdrawing all eggs from sale at its more than 4,000 stores in Germany as a precaution, it said on Friday, as a scare over the possible contamination of eggs with insecticide spreads.

Low-nicotine cigarettes: misperceptions may not lessen benefits

(Reuters Health) - When cigarettes contain less nicotine, smokers see them as safer, because they equate the stimulant with smoking-related diseases. But that misperception doesn't cancel out the potential benefits of low-nicotine cigarettes, a new study suggests.

For older breast cancer survivors, unclear when to stop mammograms

Reuters Health - Older breast cancer survivors who may not live long enough to benefit from routine mammograms are still often getting them, while some who do have more years ahead are not being screened, according to a U.S. study.

Free lock boxes tied to safer gun storage in family homes

(Reuters Health) - Giving away free lock boxes for gun storage may lead more families to store firearms safely away from children, a recent study suggests.

High-fat diet linked to lung cancer risk

(Reuters Health) - People who eat a lot of saturated fat - the “bad” kind of fat that’s abundant in foods like butter and beef - are more likely to develop lung cancer than individuals on low-fat diets, a recent study suggests.

Wal-Mart, Walgreens, CVS turn up the heat on generic drugmaker deals

(Reuters) - The largest U.S. retail pharmacies, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc, are wielding more leverage when buying generic drugs, accelerating a decline in prices likely to affect drug companies for some time, industry experts said on Thursday.

Senate reauthorizes FDA to collect fees from drugmakers

(Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a bill allowing the Food and Drug Administration to continue collecting fees from drug companies to review new product applications.

Health insurer Aetna profit rises as Obamacare business shrinks

(Reuters) - Aetna Inc reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday as member health costs were lower than anticipated and it benefited from exiting most of its Obamacare individual insurance markets this year.