Unsafe Products and Medications

People over the age of 60 should no longer consider taking a daily low-dose or baby aspirin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke, according to a draft recommendation issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Tuesday.

The announcement marks a change in the 2016 Task Force guidance that recommended aspirin therapy in certain men and women to lower cardiovascular risk. But more recent evidence suggests it also could cause harm, including bleeding in the stomach, intestines, and brain – a risk that increases with age and can be life-threatening.
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Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., one of the largest generic drugmakers in the world, has recalled more than 2.5 million vials of drugs that the company said may not be sterile.

The vials — many filled with medicine used to help treat cancer — may have contained mold contamination stemming from water leaks, U.S.
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Coppertone is voluntarily recalling five of its aerosol sunscreen products due to the presence of benzene, a chemical that can cause cancer with repeated exposure.

The company announced the recall Thursday of 12 lots of sunscreen and advised consumers to stop using the affected products, which were manufactured between Jan. 10 and June 15, 2021.

According to a recall notice posted on the Food & Drug Administration's website, the affected products were sold at retailers nationwide and include: Pure & Simple SPF 50, Pure & Simple Kids SPF 50, Pure & Simple Baby SPF 50, Sport Mineral SPF 50 and travel-size Coppertone Sport Spray SPF 50.

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Sept 16 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) said on Thursday it was recalling all lots of its anti-smoking treatment, Chantix, due to high levels of cancer-causing agents called nitrosamines in the pills.

The drugmaker paused distribution of the drug in June, and has already recalled a number of lots of the medicine so far.

Pfizer asked wholesalers and distributors on Thursday to stop the use and distribution of the tablets immediately.

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Sept 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. drug regulator has asked Pfizer (PFE.N), Eli Lilly & Co (LLY.N) and AbbVie (ABBV.
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For three years, Donald Camp has used a breathing device to sleep. He has severe sleep apnea, so without this device, his breathing is obstructed and he gasps for air.

But in June, Mr. Camp and many others began learning that more than a dozen Philips Respironics machines that deliver pressurized air through a mask were recalled because of potential health risks from faulty components. Since then, millions of people in the United States, and their doctors, have been scrambling to find alternatives for those with common sleep disorders, breathing problems and respiratory emergencies.
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Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) has recalled about a decade's worth of its Ingenio pacemakers, citing the risk that the products might permanently go into a backup setting called "safety mode" and lose their ability to pace properly.

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Aug 13 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) said on Friday it is recalling four additional lots of its anti-smoking treatment, Chantix, after finding elevated levels of cancer-causing agents called nitrosamines in the pills.

In June, the drugmaker said it was pausing distribution of certain lots of the anti-smoking drug out of an abundance of caution and pending further testing.

Including Friday's recall, Pfizer has paused distribution of 16 lots of the drug. The lots were distributed to wholesalers in the United States and Puerto Rico from June 2019 to June 2021.
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Aug 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday classified the recent recall of some of Philips' (PHG.AS) ventilators as Class 1, or the most serious type of recall, saying the use of these devices may cause serious injuries or death.

This is the second Class 1 recall initiated by the company this year.
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Gunmaker Remington Arms Co. has offered around $33 million to settle a lawsuit brought by nine families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

Remington Arms Co. LLC and Remington Outdoors Co. Inc.
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NEW YORK, July 20 (Reuters) - The three largest U.S. drug distributors agreed mid-trial to pay up to $1.18 billion to settle claims by New York state and two of its biggest counties over their role in the nationwide opioid epidemic, the state's attorney general said on Tuesday.

McKesson Corp (MCK.
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