Hits and Misses
J
ury awards $23.6 billion in Florida smoking case.
India to pay whistleblowers for info on counterfeit drugs.
Self-measurement of blood pressure at home is cost effective.
Seniors: A host of digital health tools can save you money, and your life.
Stroke rates declining for seniors — cholesterol, blood pressure meds credited.
Self-measurement of blood pressure at home is cost effective.
This is arguable the most intuitive research finding imaginable. Seniors buying their own $25 blood pressure cuff and performing the test for free several times per day certainly costs less than having a doctor do it for them once a month.
Not to mention it likely being more accurate as well. Many people suffer from “white coat syndrome,” where their anxiety over seeing the doctor inflates their blood pressure and heart rate.
My anxiety over directing this blog makes my blood pressure soar, I’m pretty sure.
“He said the jury seemed most persuaded by 1994 C-Span footage of tobacco industry executives claiming smoking did not cause cancer and was not addictive, and by 60-year-old internal documents showing the company knew otherwise.”
While I don’t agree necessarily with suing tobacco companies because ultimately it is at the users discretion to smoke or not. However, it seems tobacco executives shot themselves in the foot by claiming their product is not cancer causing.
“may be traced to “vested interests” that are distributing “spurious,” or counterfeit, medicines near and far.”
India is already a leader in producing cheap, generic drugs. What is the point of counterfeits? To compete in the market of actual drugs?
The $23 BILLION judgment is obviously excessive and beyond belief, as the losing company claims. What was that jury thinking?
The money and the judgment are two different things. The judgment itself is questionable, as this guy had smoked heavily from the age of 13. However, the punitive monetary damages are ridiculous!
This would have been an interesting alternative to the television show Breaking Bad. Instead of the cancer ridden patient needing to sell meth to support his family after he is gone, he could just sue whatever gave him the cancer in the first place!
“I’m the one who sues”
Smoking is a terrible habit and the health effects are devastating, and whether or not the companies deny it, it is an established fact that smoking contributes to vascular disease, pulmonary disease and cancer. On the other hand, there are plenty of lung cancer patients who have never smoked.
Regardless, a 23 billion dollar judgement is totally absurd. And I bet if this guy ever saw a doctor along the way he was encouraged to quit smoking.
Self monitoring blood pressure could definitely reduce costs, and give the patient are more active role in their healthcare.
It seems increased use of cholesterol and blood pressure meds along with increased awareness of heart disease is reducing strokes across the board. However, the fight isn’t over as long as obesity remains an epidemic in this country.