Consumer Health Digest, Issue #22-28 (original) (raw)

Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H., with help from Stephen Barrett, M.D., It summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; other news items; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; research tips; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. The Digest’s primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. Items posted to this archive may be updated when relevant information becomes available. To subscribe, click here.

Implications of overturned Roe v. Wade decision discussed. In Dobbs v. Jackson, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that there is no constitutional right to abortion, as was provided for in the court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade (1973). Three legal scholars have discussed what the new ruling could mean for: (a) medication abortions, (b) efforts by states to restrict travel to states that permit abortion, (c) contraception, and (d) assisted reproductive technologies. [Cohen IG and others. The end of Roe v Wade and new legal frontiers on the constitutional right to abortion. JAMA, July 8, 2022] Another recent article included additional concerns. [Gill LL. What does the overturn of Roe v. Wade mean for you? Consumer Reports, June 24, 2022]

Emergency contraception availability and misinformation spotlighted. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson has increased the demand for emergency contraception pills, leading major retailers to place limits on their purchase by consumers. [Palmer A. Amazon limits how many Plan B pills you can buy as demand surges. CNBC, June 28, 2022] Unlike abortion, emergency contraception prevents rather than ends pregnancy if used soon after unprotected or inadequately protected sexual intercourse. Four types of emergency contraception are available in the U.S.: (a) over-the-counter levonorgestrel pills, (b) ulipristal acetate pills sold by prescription under the brand name Ella, (c) copper IUDs, and (d) hormonal IUDs. Both types of IUDs (intrauterine devices) must be inserted by medical providers. [Godoy M, Wroth C. Emergency contraception: How it works, how effective it is and how to get it. NPR, July 8, 2022] Abortion opponents who assert that fertilized eggs and embryos are entitled to personhood rights are attempting to ban emergency contraception. [Varney, S. Misinformation clouds America’s most popular emergency contraception. Kaiser Health News, June 7, 2022]

Physicians urged to help curb gun violence. Nassir Ghaemi, M.D., M.P.H., a professor of psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine, believes that physicians should work actively to combat gun violence. His suggestions include wearing a button showing an AK-47 rifle crossed out by a red diagonal line and saying to patients:

You, as my patient, may love to hunt, so you have guns. You may feel, for whatever reason, that most people should have access to all kinds of guns, including semiautomatic rifles that are made for human warfare, not for hunting animals. You may choose to buy such guns. But I’ll still wear my little button and will tell you that excessive access to guns is harmful.

Ghaemi also states, “Physicians can and should use their scientific knowledge to weigh in on the facts. We can’t tell people what to do, but we can tell them what is medically true. Guns are harmful to public health in the same way that tobacco is.” [Ghaemi N. How physicians can combat gun violence: Lessons from tobacco. Medscape, July 7, 2022]

Multilevel-marketing consumer-protection videos available. Videos for last month’s conference, Multilevel Marketing: The Consumer Protection Challenge, will be posted this week. The conference brought together regulators, prosecutors, former multilevel-marketing (MLM) distributors, social media consumer advocates, researchers, educators, and journalists to discuss ways to improve consumer protection and reduce consumer harm within the MLM industry. The conference was hosted by The College of New Jersey and sponsored by Munster Technological University for the second year in a row. Videos for last year’s conference remain available in English and Spanish.

Physicians selling multilevel-marketed products to patients criticized. Several experts, including Dr. Stephen Barrett, interviewed for a recent article voiced ethical objections to physicians selling multilevel-marketed products to patients. Dr. Barrett stated: “Multilevel products are never good value, never ever, and so recommending it is bad medicine, whether you profit from it or not.” [Putka S. Should doctors be selling patients on MLM products? MedPage Today, June 24, 2022]

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