Legal

FDA considers nicotine lollipops illegal

The Food and Drug Administration cracked down on Internet distributors of nicotine-laced lollipops and lip balm, declaring them illegal and ordering that 4 pharmacies stop sales immediately. The lollipops in particular pose a risk to children because they look like regular candy, the FDA warned. "The quantity of nicotine could be potentially dangerous to a small child," said FDA attorney David Ho...

Morality More Effective Than Legality In Preventing Drug Abuse

Illegal substances have become nearly twice as prevalent in high schools in the last three years. 62% of high school and 28% of middle school students admit that drugs are used, kept or sold in their schools. // Teens who attend schools where drugs are widely available are three times more likely to experiment with marijuana and twice as likely to use alcohol than their peers who atten...

Forensic Phonetics – Scientific Solution for Legal Problem

‘Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud’. ~Hermann Hesse Satisfying human curiosity has always remained an unfulfilled task, more so, in the case of sudden mysterious // deaths. In the course of solving practical and legal issues in such situations, the pursuit of forensic medicine has been a promising one. The origin of forensic medicine, t...

Legal Action against Authority Regarding Outbreak of Legionnaires’ Diseas

The outbreak of Legionnaires ’ disease that has been responsible for claiming seven lives in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, in 2002 has created much controversy and confusion as a council official has been charged with manslaughter yesterday in connection//. The design service manager for Barrow borough council has also been charged with breaching health and safety regulations. Those who died...

Illegal Drug Use In England Mounting Up At An Alarming Rate

The trend towards illicit use of drugs is on the rise in England, accounting for more than 1 million visits and 400,000 admissions to the emergency department each year. The findings are based on anonymous interviews with // patients visiting the emergency department of a hospital in South West England. The doctor in charge of emergency care was also asked to assess the need for treat...

Botched Abortions Trigger Concern Over Legal Ambiguity In Britain

In a shocking revelation, a recent survey by the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH) indicates that there are at least 50 cases // a year nationwide in which babies survive abortion attempts. The systematic investigation by CEMACH, which monitors pregnancy deaths on behalf of Britain's six royal colleges of medicine, comes amid growing discomfort among clinici...

Legalization Of Euthanasia Would Not Affect Patient’s Trus

A study conducted at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center shows that patient trust over their doctors would still be strong even if a law to legalize physician-assisted // death were to be enforced in the near future. The study is based on the results of a telephonic survey conducted among a group of 1,117 adults in the United States. The survey was designed to measure attitude...

Rhode Island legalizes use and possession of Marijuana

Rhode Island is situated in the heart of New England and the Rhode Island House and senate has passed the bill giving permission to patients with cancer, multiple sclerosis, AIDS and other chronic // diseases the use and possession of Marijuana to ease pain in these patients. The new bill allows patients to have possession of Marijuana under medical prescription, as earlier the possession of ma...

Archbishop Slams Attempt to Legalize Abortion In Jamaica

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kingston Lawrence Burke has come down heavily on Jamaica's attempts to legalize abortions. The Jamaican government had called for // consultations on the matter and the consultation period if nearing its end. It is thought that there will be certain liberal standards proposed on the delicate issue of abortions and naturally the Catholic Church is upset a...

Punjab Government Told To Explain Illegal Kidney Transplantations

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has called for a report with regard to people allegedly being coerced to sell their kidneys and has issued the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police of the Indian State of Punjab with a notice. // As many as 300 laborers in the state are reported to have lost their kidneys since the year 2001, and about 25 of them are no longer alive. The...

Momentum of Stem cell research impeded by legal challenges

California in the year 2005 planned to begin stem cell research in the state with the approval of 61% of voters passing the Proposition 71. But the legal challenges have impeded the initiative. // The officials now say that it would take spring 2007 before the project will be initiated. Zach Hall, president of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, told his board of directo...

Should Sale Of Organ Be Legalized?

In US two doctors suggested the sale of organs to be legalized. This is due to the rising demand for organs such as kidney. // The number of donors is dwindling whereas the black market in organ sales was booming. Hence they suggested legalization as it would reduce the taboo around this issue. But UK objected to this as it would be a move towards exploiting the poorest sectio...

HIV Infected Body Parts Stolen: Biomedical Tissue Services To Face Legal Action

A New Jersey-based organization, Biomedical Tissue Services has been accused of stealing HIV infected body parts from a funeral home in Brooklyn and distributing it to various hospitals without testing// it. A woman is said to have contracted HIV following transplantation of bone tissue, according to lawyers who have filed a legal case against the company. The victim is believed to ha...

Brinda Karat Receives Legal Notice over Ramdev Issue

The Marxist Communist Party (CPI-M) leader, Brinda Karat has been issued a legal notice on based upon her allegation that medicines produced at Ramdev's pharmacy were contaminated with human bone powder and other animal parts //. The notice issued on behalf of B.D. Sethi, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Faridabad, alleged that Karat's 'mischievous act was supposed to cause gr...

Tobacco industry legally sued by Manitoba and other provinces

The bone of contention between provinces and tobacco industry battle is// the health care costs. The suit is of a multibillion-dollar nature and could kick into high gear within two years. This info was provided by Manitoba Health Minister Tim Sale. Tim Sale said, "This will unfold in a stepwise fashion over the next couple of years. We are putting Manitoba in a position to...

Women Win Legal Battle Over Treatment Of Breast Cancer

For many hundreds of women’s fight against the cancer of breast the ruling by the courts has opened means of treatment. Three senior Court of Appeal judges said // yesterday that the policy adopted by the Swindon NHS Primary Care Trust, of funding treatment with the drug Herceptin only in "exceptional circumstances", was irrational because it was not supported by any personal or clinical distinct...

A nod for legal drug trade in Vancouver

As a plan to reduce illegal trading and as a clean up drive legalisation of drugs is in the pipeline in Vancouver. Vancouver’s mayor is considering providing free drugs to addicts// to help clean up the Downtown Eastside before the 2010 Winter Olympics. According to Sam Sullivan a donation by an anonymous donor of $500,000 to fund an innovative harm-reduction program is the spearhead....

FDA Not In Favor Of Legalizing Medical Marijuana

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has categorically ruled out endorsing the use of marijuana for medical purposes.// This decision contradicts an Institute of Medicine report in 1999, which had said that marijuana, also called as pot, was useful in certain conditions like AIDS wasting, chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting and cancer cachexia. In a statement issued on Thursda...

Cardinal Calls For Legal Response Against 'Da Vinci Code'

A leading cardinal has urged Christians to initiate legal action against the controversial "The Da Vinci Code" book and film as he feels that it offends Christ// and the Church as a whole. 'Christians must not just sit back and say it is enough for us to forgive and to forget,' urged Francis Arinze. The novel is based on attempts to disclose a murder mystery associated with the life o...

Three Arrested For Illegal Export Of Ephedrine Tablets

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence arrested three persons, including the Managing Director of a pharmaceutical company based at Vijayawada//, for alleged illegal export of Ephedrine tablets, a controlled substance notified under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. According to Directorate of Revenue Intelligence here today, the arrested persons have b...

Illegal Drug Trafficking Pose A Great Threat For HIV Epidemic In Northeast

Heroin and synthetic pharmaceuticals illegally trafficked from Myanmar into India's northeast has led to a rise in drug abuse and an HIV epidemic in the region// , says a United Nations study. "Drug trafficking across the common border of Myanmar and the northeastern state of Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland occurs with ease. Despite the existence of heavy security, heroin does transit th...

Euthanasia Should Be Legalised feels An Ethics Professor

The Professor of the London School of Medicine and Dentistry has called for the legalisation of voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia in the UK//. Len Doyal a professor of medical ethics has asked the government to legalise non-voluntary euthanasia. The professor believes that doctors should be able to ends lives swiftly and humanely, and stated so in an article that was published to...

Step up the legal age for smoking, says BMA Scotland

With a view to deterring youngsters from smoking, the Doctors' representative body BMA Scotland has urged the government to raise the legal age to smoke from the present 16 to 18. According to the BMA chairman//, Dr Peter Terry, this would help in putting-off youngsters from smoking. Though the Health Minister Andy Kerr considers this as a beneficial option, yet he feels that the issu...

Over Five Million Illegal Abortions In India Every Year

India records a whopping 5.7 million illegal abortions every year and over 80 percent of pregnant women do not get hygienic antenatal care, say experts//. "Every year 6.7 million abortions take place in India but the sad part is that 5.7 millions are illegal. The place and technique used in most of the illegal cases are unsafe and unhygienic," said Sudha Tewari, president of Parivar Seva...

Vietnam Considering Legalizing Sex Change Operations

Health Ministry officials in Vietnam said the country could legalize sex change operations. A proposal to this effect is to be sent to the government in September //and if cleared will allow people to undergo sex change operations legally. Nguyen Huy Quang, deputy director general of the ministry's legislation department revealed that people who choose to undergo this operation will s...

China Bans Illegal Stem Cell Collection, Transplantation

Close on the heels of banning illegal organ transplants, China has forbidden unauthorised stem cell collection and transplantation//, a panacea for a range of blood disorders. Two sets of the regulations issued by the Chinese Ministry of Health said that the sources of peripheral blood stem cells or stem cells, must be legal, registered sources that can be traced. The regulat...

Quack Couples Arrested for Conducting Illegal Abortions

Police here Wednesday arrested a fake doctor and his wife for allegedly conducting large-scale illegal abortions at their hospital in a town near here//. Pritam Singh Amarjit Kaur had been carrying out the operations at the Sahib Hospital at Patran town for couples wanting to get rid of female foetuses. Their illegal activities came to light when a woman working as a medica...

Alarming Raise In Illegal Blood Alcohol Levels Among Emergency Patients

According to report that has been published in the Emergency Medicine Journal, a study conducted in an major hospital, the blood// alcohol levels among the patients admitted in emergency care have gone up well above the legal limit, on an average risen to almost 113% in the past 5 years. The report further added that though men more consistently outnumber women, the absolute number...

Indian Australian Doctor Charged for Performing Illegal Abortion

An Indian Australian doctor has been found guilty of performing an illegal abortion but was cleared of a charge of manslaughter of a premature baby.// Dr. Suman Sood was charged with manslaughter in November 2005 for allegedly failing to follow the procedures that make abortion legal in the state of New South Wales (NSW). Reports here said the decision was reached by a jur...

Women, be on guard against illegally procured IUDs

The State Department of Health Services has issued a warning about substandard contraceptive devices given to many women by Doctors. State health officials have pinned// down nearly eight doctors for procuring intrauterine devices from unlicensed parties and Internet vendors. Dr. Mark Horton, State Public Health Officer said, "The physicians under investigation have failed to provide...

Scotland May Raise Legal Age For Buying Cigarettes

Plans are on the anvil to raise the legal age for buying cigarettes in Scotland to 18 years. Dr Laurence Gruer, director of public health for NHS Scotland has led a team of experts //who are to propose a change in the policy to the Scottish Executive. Health Minister Andy Kerr said that such a move would ensure that young Scots do not take up the habit. "We must get a strong message ac...

Illegal Medicines Swamp SA Markets

The Cape Times has reported that illegal medicines are flooding the South African market with unregistered products being sold on the streets//. The report said many medicines claim to cure cancer, tuberculosis and HIV/Aids.A source in the country's health department said the industry had grown out of control. "The belief is that they can't close down the market because it's too large. So the...

Greenpeace takes legal action against Thailand over GM crop

The suspected prevalent contamination of Thai farms with genetically modified papaya has led to suing of the Thailand government by an international //environmental group called Greenpeace. Greenpeace is to take legal action against those Thai Agriculture officials who permitted the supply of genetically engineered papaya seeds to farmers throughout the country. Patwajee Sri...

Illegal Kidney-Transplants By Japanese Doctors

Since 1950s, when the first kidney transplants were performed, much has been learned about illegal transplants of kidneys all over the world.// Illegal kidney transplants are quite common in countries like India and China where the population is very high. In countries like South Africa, people sell their kidneys to foreigners. Much has been published about illegal kidney...

Scotland Plans To Raise The Legal Age For Buying Cigarettes

The Health Ministry of Scotland has planned to raise its legal age for buying cigarettes from 16 to 18. Andy Kerr, Scotland's Health Ministry said //that the new legislation would go into effect from March. The legislation was planned following the recommendations made by an expert group on smoking prevention on Wednesday. The expert group included several other suggestions like imposin...

Cost of Illegal Drug Abuse - ￡15b

Official figures have revealed that abuse of drugs such as heroin and crack impacts the economic health of England and Wales to the tune of ￡15 billion a year. // These costs were delineated as cost of frauds, thefts, bills of the victims, police, court and NHS costs. The European drugs agency figures have shown that illegal drugs are easier on the pocket, cheaper by half of the origin...

Need for Legal Rights to Birth Parents

One of the leading adoption institute in U.S. named Evan B. Donaldson adoption institute insists about the necessity of bringing out legal protection in favour of birth parents// right now. It also ensures the pre adoption counseling for birth parents. The institute has made the following suggestions as per the report given: 1. The prime suggestion is to ensure a pressure-...

Gynaecological Society Has Sought a Ban on Illegal Sale of Sperms

A gynaecological society has demanded a ban on the illegal sale of sperms allegedly being carried out by infertility clinics across India// . The Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) has said the large-scale direct sale of donor sperms, without tests and checks by sperm banks, was a serious matter and required urgent government intervention....

Law Professor Finds Home Health Care Workers Have Few Legal Protections

As more and more Americans turn to in-home health care workers to take care of elderly family members, research from a University of Iowa law professor has found nobody is// taking care of the caregivers. Peggie Smith, an expert in employment law, has found that most home health care workers are protected by few of the federal labor standards that other Americans take for granted. <br...

Medical Marijuana Not Legal, Say Authorities

This raid is one that has left its victims stoned. Federal agents of Los Angeles’ Drug Enforcement Administration raided eleven //medical marijuana producing establishments Wednesday. The raids are the biggest raids to ever be reported in the county, with agents seizing more than 5000 pounds of pot (marijuana), as well as pot-laced food such as ice cream and chocolate bars. Ac...