Guest guest Posted August 25, 2004 Report Share Posted August 25, 2004 > " HSI - Jenny Thompson " > <HSIResearch > Somewhere North of the Rainbow > Tue, 24 Aug 2004 08:37:53 -0400 > > Somewhere North of the Rainbow > > Health Sciences Institute e-Alert > > August 24, 2004 > > ************************************************************ > > Dear Reader, > > I've got my own personal Homeland Security > color-coded Advisory > System. It goes like this: > > Green: Doesn't register > Blue: Doesn't register > Yellow: Doesn't register > Orange: TV news reporting quickly becomes annoying > Red: Now you've got my attention > > Let's face it; the Green and Blue levels are the > refreshing cool color > levels to which it seems we may never return. Yellow > is where we > mostly live these days. We pop up to Orange every > now and then, which > is where parts of New York City, northern New > Jersey, and Washington, > D.C., are right now. And Red... well, we'll cross > the Red bridge when > we get to it (and hopefully never will). > > At least one regulatory agency has found a way to > put the Advisory > System to use. Earlier this month, just a few days > after the > Department of Homeland Security raised the threat > level to Orange for > the areas mentioned above, Food and Drug > Administration Commissioner > Lester M. Crawford sat down with The Associated > Press to discuss > " cues " that had been picked up " from chatter. " > > And guess what? It turns out that one potential > terrorist target just > happens to be an FDA target too! > > --------------------------- > > Bow wow > --------------------------- > > > For many months (or is it years now?), the FDA has > been discouraging > U.S. citizens from buying their prescription drugs > at a lower cost > from Canada. This is a sticky political wicket, > because most of those > who are purchasing the lower-priced drugs tend to be > seniors who > unfortunately have been led to believe they can't > live without their > expensive cholesterol-lowering statin drugs and any > number of other > prescriptions. > > Naturally, no current office holders want to anger > this huge block of > seniors and lose their votes by strictly enforcing > the laws against > buying drugs from foreign sources. So the > government's attempts to > stop these sales have consisted of mostly barking, > with not much bite. > > For instance, one of the FDA's tactics is to send > out warning letters > to the governors of northern states. Ouch! A LETTER > from the FDA. > That's gotta hurt! > > The letters are designed to warn about the > questionable safety and > effectiveness of illegally imported drugs. But the > fact that Canadians > don't seem to have a problem with safety and > effectiveness of their > drugs sort of takes the bite out of those scary > letters. Especially > because it's widely known that many of the imported > drugs come from > the very offshore factories that produce drugs sold > in the U.S. > > --------------------------- > > Planting seeds > --------------------------- > > > Then Commissioner Crawford came up with what > probably seemed like a > good way to make those " questionable " drugs really > scary. > > He told The Associated Press that he had been > briefed about al-Qaida > threats that were uncovered by the recent raids in > Pakistan and the > UK. When he was asked if the briefing revealed > terrorist plans to > contaminate food or drugs, Crawford said that he > would have to decline > comment. > > Very ominous. > > So while he didn't come right out and say it, the > point was implied: > If you use these illegally imported drugs you may > make yourself > vulnerable to terrorists. But then in the same > article, a spokesman > for Homeland Security admits that there is no > specific information > about any al-Qaida threats to food or drugs. > > Bark, bark, bark. No bite. > > --------------------------- > > The lemon caper > --------------------------- > > > Commissioner Crawford tried to sharpen the edge on > the terrorist fear > by pointing to the Tylenol tampering in 1982 that > led to seven deaths. > He had to go back more than two decades for that > one! And the drugs in > question were obviously not imported. > > But that's not all. A few bottles of baby food were > recently > contaminated in California. No injuries resulted. > And a shipment of > South American lemons was suspected of being > impregnated with a > " harmful biological " agent. A combined investigation > by the Coast > Guard, Homeland Security Department, and the FDA > turned up... nothing. > > --------------------------- > > Nothing to fear but what we tell you to > --------------------------- > > > If it seems like I'm making light of terrorist > dangers, I'm not. > Commissioner Crawford says that drug tampering is a > source of serious > concern, and it should be. But the implication that > there's a specific > threat when he knows that no such threat exists, is > nothing more than > a tactic designed to frighten people out of shopping > up north for > affordable drugs. I guess the thinking is: If nobody > will take our > warning letters seriously, maybe terrorism fear will > do the trick. > > But so far the fear isn't working. Last week, > Illinois Governor Rod R. > Blagojevich announced a plan that will help > residents of his state > purchase drugs from Britain, Ireland and Canada at > savings of up to 50 > percent over domestic drugs. Other states are > pursuing similar plans. > An associate commissioner for the FDA told the New > York Times that > these efforts " will raise serious concerns on the > part of the FDA. " > > Ooooh. " Serious " concerns. My, my, my. Sounds like > someone is getting > ready to fire off another one of those warning > letters. > ************************************************************ > > > ...and another thing > > " Clear! " > > You know what comes next. It's one of the most > dramatic clichés in > hospital dramas: Doctors using a defibrillator > administer an electric > shock to a patient suffering sudden cardiac arrest > (SCA). > > Until recently, the only place to receive that > life-saving shock was > on an operating table or in an ambulance. But thanks > to an advanced > technology, and to the efforts of the Red Cross, > defibrillators have > taken on a new life outside the operating room, as > automated external > defibrillators (AED). > > Now a new study in the New England Journal of > Medicine (NEJM) shows > that these lightweight, portable AEDs may double > survival rates. > > Researchers trained more than 19,000 volunteers in > CPR techniques. > Half of the volunteers were also trained to use > AEDs, and 1,600 units > were supplied to 933 locations. The results: Nearly > 110 patients > received CPR only, and in that group 15 survived. > Meanwhile, 30 > patients survived among 128 patients who received > CPR and > defibrillation from an AED. > > In the e-Alert " Shock to the System " (10/1/03), I > told you how sudden > cardiac arrest occurs when the ventricles of the > heart begin to > contract chaotically and fall out of synch with > their normal rhythm. > Blood flow to the body is halted and within five > seconds the victim > loses consciousness. Because the chance of survival > decreases quickly > for each minute that treatment is delayed, only > about five percent of > SCA victims survive. > > But if CPR and defibrillation are administered > quickly following the > onset of attack, chances for survival rise > dramatically. In the NEJM > study, the rate of survival among the CPR/AED > patients was 23 percent. > > The American Heart Association has now included AED > use in what is > called the " chain of survival " for cardiac arrest. > The four links in > the AHA chain: > > * Call 911 > * Begin CPR > * Restore heart rhythm with defibrillator > * Get advanced care from medical professionals > > The lead researcher of the NEJM study estimates that > a national > program to place AEDs in health clubs, malls, > sporting venues and > other places where crowds gather could prevent as > many as 4,000 SCA > deaths per year in the U.S. But even though AEDs are > fairly simple to > operate, they're even more effective when operated > by good Samaritans > who have been trained to use them. You can help > promote AED training > by talking to your employer about the Red Cross > Workplace Training > program. > > To Your Good Health, > > Jenny Thompson > Health Sciences Institute > > ************************************************************ > > Sources: > > " FDA Warns of Terrorist Drug Tampering " The > Associated Press, 8/12/04, > ap.org > " Illinois State Web Site to Offer Foreign Drugs " > Monica Davey, The New > York Times, 8/17/04, nytimes.com > " Public-Access Defibrillation and Survival After > Out-Of-Hospital > Cardiac Arrest " New England Journal of Medicine " > Vol. 351, No. 7, > 8/12/04, content.nejm.org > " Defibrillators can Double Survival Rates " Reuters, > 8/12/04, msnbc.com > > Copyright ©1997-2004 by www.hsibaltimore.com, > L.L.C. The e-Alert may > not be posted on commercial sites without written > permission. > > ************************************************************ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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