What manufacturing plant is responsible for the Tylenol recall?

The Tylenol product recall for a chemical smell and contamination of the pills inside the plastic containers seems improbable, if not impossible. Consider for instance how the pills are packaged and how this packaging could allow a chemical to penetrate to the pills inside.

Is laser liposuction safe?

In Weston, Florida, on Friday September 25^th, Rohie Kah-Orukotan, age 37, went into a coma after a “routine liposuction” procedure at Weston Medspa, according to the Miami Hearald news source. Kah-Orukotan was a nurse, mother of three, and a regular customer of this Medspa for five years. The doctor who performed the surgery was Dr. Omar J. Brito, a licensed doctor, and his attorney Brian Biber commented for Brito sited by Belleville News sources:

"She went in for a routine liposuction ... performed by Dr. Brito without any complications until the very end, at which time Dr. Brito immediately administered emergency care and called 911," Bieber said. "Paramedics arrived; they noted all emergency procedures put into place were proper."

Though Brito is a licensed doctor he “is not board-certified or trained in plastic surgery; his background is in occupational medicine, records show.” He received his medical degree in Bogota, Colombia.

An interesting fact for consumers to note is the privately owned Weston Medspa according to Florida officials “is not licensed to perform liposuctions under general anesthesia, but could do a scaled-down version using a local anesthetic that keeps the patient awake. Bieber said he did not know which type of liposuction was performed.”

Bieber also said, "The obtaining of the appropriate licensing is the responsibility of the owner. (Brito) did not know (it wasn't licensed for office surgery)."

Consumers purchasing these types of services need to ask questions about licensing and to dig deeper than just assuming they wouldn't be doing it if it weren't legal for them to do this procedure.

History of Dr. Brito reported by Belleville News is that “In 2006, the medical board fined him $5,000 and ordered him to perform community service for his role in an insurance fraud scheme, state records show.”

 

Kah-Orukotan went in for what a medical consultant believed to have been a “light liposuction” treatment which, while awake the anesthetic lidocaine is administered, then a laser is placed under the skin to “to liquefy fat tissue, which is then removed.” The use of lidocaine, Dr. Brett Coldiron, a Cincinnati dermatologist who has studied cosmetic surgeries said it, can result in seizures if an excessive amount is used, and also a patient could have an allergic reaction to it. The woman’s attorney, Michael Freedland, “said Kah-Orukotan has bruises on her back from seizures, and `a lot of damage to a lot of her body.'”

This woman was put in a coma because of this treatment, and then kept alive by life-support. The family had to decide whether to keep her on life-support and her husband, Joseph Orukotan, “declined to comment on his impending decision” reported the Miami Herald. Who can blame him, this is a tough decision to make and why would anyone want to discuss it publicly.

This incident has re-sparked the discussion over Medspas that have caused concern over many years. The Belleville News De reported that stricter rules at clinics are being discussed because, “Medspas are largely unregulated and often expand their services beyond what some consider safe, said Fort Lauderdale surgeon Robert Cline, chairman of a surgical quality committee for the Florida Board of Medicine.” Cline said ‘"They have a lot of nonphysicians doing services doctors should do. Obviously this case is going to cause a lot of concern. We will be investigating it and trying to come up with some regulations.’”

This case will initiate plenty of questions concerning these cosmetic clinics, and hopefully new regulations which help create a safe and legitimate environment for their patients. Patients should be aware that efforts to pass "tort reform" measures will certainly increase this type of problem and reduce any monetary recourse available to those who suffer an injury.

Iowa Legislature considers whether it can trust Iowans

In Iowa consumers can’t sue companies under Iowa’s anti-fraud act; only the A.G. can. Iowa’s policy is not to trust its own citizens to know when a manufacturer should be sued. Instead Iowa law treats manufacturer’s as if they were royalty, perhaps because of how the legislature feels about campaign contributions from the manufacturing sector. Too dumb, not royal enough or just a campaign money issue; whatever camp you’re in, this legislature is giving it another look-see.

Pamela Dowd thought she was buying a high-efficiency furnace; instead she bough four-years of aggravation and legal wrangling. AARP backed the Attorney General’s proposal to allow Iowan’s the right to sue, but the blue suits carrying briefcases full of promised campaign contributions posed a formidable opponent.

“To defuse the opposition from business interests, the measure this year exempts many businesses and professions from the law. On Wednesday, that effort didn't appear to work as business lobbyists jammed the hearing room. Jim Carney, a Des Moines lobbyist representing cable television interests, said many communications companies were exempted, but cable didn't make the list. "They exempt telephones and utilities, but they don't exempt cable," said Carney.

The effort has drawn a strong advocate, however, with AARP backing the proposal. The organization represents politically powerful senior citizens, who AARP spokeswoman Ann Black said have a special interest in the legislation.”

The Iowa Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Division Iowa Consumer Fraud Act

Code of Iowa (Iowa Section 714.16) Prohibits unfair and deceptive trade practices in the sale, lease, or advertisement of a product or service, and in the solicitation of charitable contributions. Authorizes the Attorney General to issue subpoenas, hold hearings, adopt administrative rules, and file lawsuits to obtain temporary and permanent injunctive relief, consumer reimbursement, costs and attorney fees, and civil penalties up to $40,000 per violation.

Don’t hold your breath for change, because even in Iowa the moneyed interests usually win out over common sense.

Product Defects: Iowa Consumer Fraud Law, Legilature Looks at Consumer Rights

In Iowa consumers can’t sue companies under Iowa’s anti-fraud act; only the A.G. can.  Iowa’s policy is not to trust its own citizens to know when a manufacturer should be sued. Instead Iowa law treats manufacturer’s as if they were royalty, perhaps because of how the legislature feels about campaign contributions from the manufacturing sector. Too dumb, not royal enough or just a campaign money issue; whatever camp you’re in, this legislature is giving it another look-see.

Pamela Dowd thought she was buying a high-efficiency furnace; instead she bough four-years of aggravation and legal wrangling.  AARP backed the Attorney General’s proposal to allow Iowan’s the right to sue, but the blue suits carrying briefcases full of promised campaign contributions posed a formidable opponent.

“To defuse the opposition from business interests, the measure this year exempts many businesses and professions from the law.

On Wednesday, that effort didn't appear to work as business lobbyists jammed the hearing room.

Jim Carney, a Des Moines lobbyist representing cable television interests, said many communications companies were exempted, but cable didn't make the list.

"They exempt telephones and utilities, but they don't exempt cable," said Carney.

The effort has drawn a strong advocate, however, with AARP backing the proposal. The organization represents politically powerful senior citizens, who AARP spokeswoman Ann Black said have a special interest in the legislation.”

The Iowa Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Division

Iowa Consumer Fraud Act Code of Iowa (Iowa Section 714.16) Prohibits unfair and deceptive trade practices in the sale, lease, or advertisement of a product or service, and in the solicitation of charitable contributions. Authorizes the Attorney General to issue subpoenas, hold hearings, adopt administrative rules, and file lawsuits to obtain temporary and permanent injunctive relief, consumer reimbursement, costs and attorney fees, and civil penalties up to $40,000 per violation.

Don’t hold your breath for change, because even in Iowa the moneyed interests usually win out over common sense.

Child Safety: Consumers need solutions. What is the solution for determining country of origin? COO?

Right now I personally don’t care if the food coming out of China is safe; my main concern is whether the food on the grocery store shelves where my family shops is safe and contains or may contain melamine. Period.

From a consumer standpoint trying to determine the country of origin (COO) is next to impossible. All of this is exasperating to say the least. One of our readers, Harry Scanlan pointed out a new phone by Google called the Android Phone. It has the ability to read a bar code, to access Google and then provides some information for what appears to be price comparison. Thanks Harry this is a step in the right direction. It’s still not what we are ultimately looking for but getting closer. For those of you who missed it here is the YouTube link to see how the Android Phone works.

Android Scanner Application

After determining the Android didn’t provide enough information I searched online and was unable to come up with a consumer model that is portable, not expensive and can provide the COO information.

So now I’ve written to Walmart and HyVee Grocery stores and asked if they intend to offer consumers a bar code reader while shopping in their stores. Hopefully sometime this week I’ll have some answers from these stores.

Shanghai Daily News reported on China’s latest efforts to control food quality. More than likely it won’t work. I say it won’t work because China continues to sugar coat the governments involvement in the melamine food poisoning scandal by saying the government acted quickly to alert the public, when in fact all evidence points towards hiding it in favor of the Olympic games.  The latest toll has the number of sickened infants at just fewer than 300,000.

“China says 300,000 babies sickened by tainted milk

By GILLIAN WONG

BEIJING (AP) — China has dramatically raised the toll from its tainted milk powder scandal, saying six babies likely died and 300,000 were sickened, figures that back up months of complaints from parents and show the government is beginning to acknowledge the scale of the crisis.”

If you want to begin the process of building consumer confidence start offering real solutions, not propaganda. If the big grocers like HyVee, Wal-Mart and Target want market share, then let them provide a solution to the consumer on how to interpret the bar code to determine the country of origin. The first to offer this solution will attract business. The solution we want to see is MADE IN AMERICA.

Pushing drugs with direct to comsumer - Like DDT, DTC by Rx is the next Big Tobacco

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM

Did you know that in most foreign countries drug companies are not allowed to advertise directly to patient consumers?

Melody Petersen is an Iowa author who has written, OUR DAILY MEDS: HOW THE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES TRANSFORMED THEMSELVES INTO SLICK MARKETING MACHINES AND HOOKED THE NATION ON PRESCRIPTION DRUGS.  The book explores the area of pharmaceutical companies as marketing machine using DTC to increase the bottom line.

The book is getting good reviews from the likes of the Bill Moyers Journal, The New York Times, Public Citizen and The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide. You can purchase the book at Amazon or at Barnes and Noble.

Watch the Moyers Journal video interview of Melody or the podcast.

The problem, according to Petersen, is not that medicine is bad, it's that the drug industry has lost its way.                               - Bill Moyers Journal

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM WITH DIRECT MARKETING TO PATIENT CONSUMERS

The motive for profits to pump up executive pay is a greater goal than practicing good medicine and making good Rx decisions based on the practice of medicine.  Like DDT, DCT is passed on from generation to generation. You think I'm exaggerating? Keep reading.

IS DIRECT MARKETING PROFITABLE?

You be the judge. Senator Byron Dorgan has several charts on his website comparing the cost of several drugs and what patients pay in the U.S. versus Canada. The markup to U.S. consumers is between 31% and 128%.  

Tale of the cash register tape:

Zyprexa to treat depression $556.54 for U.S. patients but only $244.56 in Canada.

Prevacid, ulcers, $419.96 versus $213.36.

Lipitor, cholesterol, $321.30 versus $164.34.

See the chart for other drugs.  

Has DTC been used before in an unhealthy way?

This somehow reminds me of something from our past.  What could it be? So when it comes to drugs is Big Pharma the voice of reason? As Ricky Ricardo would say, “Lucy, you got some splaining to do!”

What might an Rx-Man look and sound like?

Could there be a Kool-menthol-Lipitor commercial?

If paid enough might your doctor, the “man of medicine” in your life be involved with DTC?

Certainly DTC wouldn't be used to sell drugs to our kids, would they? 

Can we trust the research, when DTC is the driving force?

They’d never use sitcoms to push drugs using DTC, would they? Family shows like Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore or the Beverly Hillbillies  and Granny would never be used for DTC, would they?

MEET THE AUTHOR

Ms. Petersen will discuss her book (and sign if you wish) at the Fall Winter Festival, 6:30 PM, Monday, Central Library, 1000 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa.

Melody Petersen - Melody Petersen wrote about the pharmaceutical industry for four years as a reporter for THE NEW YORK TIMES. She won a Gerald Loeb Award in 1997, one of the highest awards for business journalism.