Why does your life flash before your eyes near death?

Yahoo – AFP, Issam AHMED, May 1, 2023 

In a new paper researchers at the University of Michigan found evidence of
surges in brain activity in two dying patients

Survivors of close calls with death often recall extraordinary experiences: seeing light at the end of a tunnel, floating outside their own bodies, encountering deceased loved ones or recapping major life events in an instant. 

The fact that these stories share so many elements in common and come from people from diverse cultural backgrounds points to a possible biological mechanism -- one that has yet to be de-mystified by scientists. 

In a new paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), researchers at the University of Michigan found evidence of surges in brain activity associated with consciousness in two dying patients. 

While not the first study of its kind, what sets the new research apart is that it's detailed in a way "that's never been done before," senior author Jimo Borjigin, whose lab is devoted to understanding the neurological basis of consciousness, told AFP. 

The team looked back at the records of four patients who died from cardiac arrest while on electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring. 

All four fell into comas and were removed from life support after it was determined they were beyond medical help. 

When taken off their ventilators, two of the four patients -- a 24-year-old woman and a 77-year-old woman -- saw increases in their heart rates as well as surges of brain waves in the gamma frequency -- the fastest such brain activity, which is associated with consciousness. 

Earlier studies -- including a prominent paper published in 2022 about an 87-year-old man who died from a fall -- have also found spikes in gamma waves in some people near the point of death. 

The University of Michigan paper went further by examining in greater depth which parts of the brain lit up, with the activity detected in the "posterior cortical hot zone" -- comprised of the temporal, parietal and occipital lobes, which are associated with changes in consciousness. 

"If this part of the brain lights up, that means the patient is seeing something, can hear something, and they might feel sensations out of the body," said Borjigin, adding that the region was "on fire." 

Brain and heart activity were monitored, second by second, for the last few hours of the patients' life, contributing to the strength of the analysis, she added. 

It's not clear why two of the patients experienced these potential signs of "covert consciousness" while two did not, though Borjigin speculated their history of seizures might have primed their brains in some way. 

Owing to the small sample size, the authors cautioned against making wide-ranging inferences. 

What's more, it's not possible to confirm that the patients really had any visions as they did not live to tell the tale. 

Borjigin hopes in the future to collect data on hundreds more people -- increasing the chances that some will actually survive. 

One way to do so might be to create an experiment that simulates a near-death experience while the patient is being monitored under lab conditions.

US drugmaker Eli Lilly says slashing insulin prices

Yahoo – AFP, John BIERS, March 1, 2023 

US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly announced Wednesday it would cut the cost of its insulin by 70 percent, with President Joe Biden calling on others to follow suit to tackle soaring drug prices.

 Manufacturers have ratcheted up insulin prices in recent years, hitting millions of Americans living with diabetes -- and drawing sharp political criticism. 

"Insulin costs less than $10 to make, but Americans are sometimes forced to pay over $300 for it. It's flat wrong," said Biden in a statement. He hailed Eli Lilly's price cut as "huge news." 

"It's time for other manufacturers to follow," Biden added. 

Indianapolis-based Lilly announced a series of steps to rein in prices of the life-saving drug, such as capping out-of-pocket costs at $35 per month for people with insurance. 

"Lilly is taking these actions to make it easier to access Lilly insulin and help Americans who may have difficulty navigating a complex healthcare system," the drugmaker said in a statement. 

While the $35 cap takes effect immediately, other measures will be implemented in the course of 2023. 

A centerpiece is the 70 percent price drop in Humalog, Lilly's most commonly prescribed insulin. 

The incidence of diabetes in the United States in adults has doubled over the last 20 years, afflicting 37.3 million people, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Insulin prices have soared in the US, costing over eight times more than in 32 comparable high-income countries, a 2020 Rand Corporation study found. 

But much of the bounty from lofty prices do not go to pharma firms. Instead, they are passed on to health insurers in the form of rebates. As a result, the financial hit from Lilly's decision could fall hardest on insurers. 

The unaffordability of insulin -- particularly to uninsured Americans -- has become a rallying cry for pharmaceutical industry critics. 

Self-rationing insulin 

The cost of a five-pack of Humalog is currently $530.40, although the out-of-pocket price to a user varies depending on one's insurance plan. Average monthly use varies by user, Eli Lilly says on its website. 

Drug pricing in the United States is affected not only by the cost of producing and distributing the pharmaceutical, but also other players such as insurers and pharmacy benefit management companies. 

Critics such as progressive Senator Bernie Sanders have blasted the industry as emblematic of "unacceptable corporate greed." 

"At a time when Eli Lilly made over $7 billion in profits last year, public pressure forced them to reduce the price of insulin by 70%," Sanders said on Twitter after the price-cut announcement. 

"Sanofi and Novo Nordisk must do the same," he added, referring to two other companies which along with Lilly dominate the insulin market. 

Both Sanofi and Novo Nordisk released statements to AFP pointing to programs to help make insulin more affordable, including to uninsured users. But neither company commented directly on whether they would match the Lilly plan. 

A survey by nonprofit T1International showed that one in four respondents living with diabetes reported rationing their insulin because of the financial strain. 

The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law last year by Biden, capped insulin prices for Medicare recipients at $35 per month, but people with private insurance or without insurance were left out. 

Biden, in his State of the Union Address, called on lawmakers to rein in "Big Pharma" and "finish the job this time" by instituting a national cap on insulin costs. 

In the company's statement, Eli Lilly Chief Executive David Ricks urged rival producers to join the effort. 

"We know that 7 out of 10 Americans don't use Lilly insulin. We are calling on policymakers, employers and others to join us in making insulin more affordable," said Ricks. 

The company's statement referred uninsured consumers to an insulin affordability website, saying they could "receive Lilly insulins for $35 per month." 

Lily shares were up 1.2 percent at $315.07 in afternoon trading. 

Because most of the price cut will affect rebates from Lilly to insurers rather than revenues to the drugmaker itself, Wednesday's announcement will leave "Lilly less affected than the price cuts would suggest," said Morningstar analyst Damien Conover in a note. 

The cut should not "significantly disrupt" Lilly sales, while insurers "will need to take the hit" from Washington's fixation on runaway prices, he added. 

"Addressing the pricing concerns around insulin should help Lilly maintain pricing power with new innovative drugs," said Conover.

Most baby formula health claims not backed by science: study

Yahoo – AFP, Daniel Lawler, 16 February 2023 

The vast majority of health claims used to advertise baby formula worldwide are not supported by rigorous scientific evidence, a study said Thursday, leading researchers to urge the breast milk substitutes be sold in plain packaging. 

The study comes a week after a group of doctors and scientists called for a regulatory crackdown on the $55-billion formula industry for "predatory" marketing which they said exploits the fears of new parents to convince them not to breastfeed. 

Breastfeeding is widely recognised to have huge health benefits for babies. The World Health Organization and the US CDC recommend breastfeeding exclusively during the first six months of a newborn's life. 

However that recommendation is followed for less than half of infants globally, according to the WHO. 

Daniel Munblit, an honorary senior lecturer at Imperial College London and an author of the new study, said researchers were not on a "crusade" against infant formula, which should remain an option for mothers who cannot or choose not to breastfeed.

"But we are very much against inappropriate infant formula marketing, which provides misleading claims not backed up by solid evidence," Munblit told AFP. 

Munblit and an international team of researchers looked at the health claims made for 608 products on the websites of infant formula companies in 15 countries, including the United States, India, Britain and Nigeria. 

The most common claims were that formula supports brain development, strengthens immune systems and more broadly helps growth. 

Half of the products did not link the claimed health benefit to a specific ingredient, according to the study published in the BMJ journal. 

Three quarters did not refer to scientific evidence supporting their claims. 

Of those that provided a scientific reference, more than half pointed to reviews, opinion pieces or research on animals. 

Just 14 percent of the products referred to registered clinical trials on humans. However 90 percent of those trials carried a high risk of bias, including missing data or the finding not supporting the claim, the study said. 

And nearly 90 percent of the clinical trials had authors who received funding from or had ties to the formula industry, it added. 

'Distressing' 

The most commonly cited ingredient was polyunsaturated fatty acids, which is in breast milk and is considered important for brain development. 

However there is no evidence of any added benefit when the ingredient is added to baby formula, according to a Cochrane systematic review. 

Munblit said the health claims were mostly used to advertise premium formula products, which could be "distressing" for parents who are misled into believing the ingredients are essential but cannot afford them. 

When asked what he thinks needs to be done to address the problem, Munblit was concise. 

"Plain packaging," he said. 

The study comes after a series of papers were published in the Lancet journal last week calling for global policy makers to end exploitative formula marketing. 

WHO infant health specialist Nigel Rollins, an author of one of the Lancet papers, said busy parents "lack the time to properly scrutinise claims" about infant formula. 

The new study showed that "governments and regulatory authorities must commit the necessary time and attention to review the claims of formula milk products," Rollins said in a linked BMJ editorial.

How long can a healthy human live?

Yahoo – AFP, Isabelle Tourne, 23 January 2023 

The death of the world's oldest person at the age of 118 has reignited a debate that has divided scientists for centuries: is there a limit on how long a healthy human can live? 

After French nun Lucile Randon died last week, Spanish great-grandmother Maria Branyas Morera, 115, has assumed the title of the oldest living person, according to Guinness World Records. 

Back in the 18th century, French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, known as the Comte de Buffon, theorised that a person who had not suffered an accident or illness could live for a theoretical maximum of 100 years. 

Since then, medical advancements and improving living conditions have pushed the limit back by a couple of decades. 

A new milestone was reached when Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment celebrated her 120th birthday in 1995. 

Calment died two years later at the age of 122. She remains the oldest person ever to have lived -- that has been verified, at least. 

According to the United Nations, there were an estimated 593,000 people aged 100 years or older in 2021, up from 353,000 a decade earlier. 

The number of centenarians is expected to more than double over the next decade, according to the Statista data agency. 

The Comte de Buffon might also have been surprised by the rise of supercentenarians -- people aged 110 or over -- whose numbers have been increasing since the 1980s. 

Natural limit at 115? 

So how far could we go? Scientists disagree, with some maintaining that the lifespan of our species is limited by strict biological constraints. 

In 2016, geneticists writing in the journal Nature said there had been no improvement in human longevity since the late 1990s. 

Analysing global demographic data, they found that the maximum human lifespan had declined since Calment's death -- even though there were more elderly people in the world. 

"They concluded that human lifespan has a natural limit and that longevity is limited to around 115 years," French demographer Jean-Marie Robine told AFP. 

"But this hypothesis is partly disputed by many demographers," said Robine, a specialist in centenarians at the INSERM medical research institute. 

Research in 2018 found that while the rate of death increases with age, it slows down after 85. 

Around the age of 107, the rate of death peaks at 50-60 percent every year, the research said. 

"Under this theory, if there are 12 people aged 110, six will survive to be 111, three to be 112, and so on," Robine said. 

A numbers game 

But the more supercentenarians, the higher chance a few have to live to make it to record ages. 

If there are 100 supercentenarians, "50 will live to be 111 years old, 25 to 112," Robine said. 

"Thanks to a 'volume effect', there are no longer fixed limits to longevity." 

However Robine and his team are publishing research this year which will show that the rate of death continues to increase beyond the age of 105, further narrowing the window. 

Does this mean there is a hard ceiling on how long we can live? Robine will not go that far. 

"We will continue to make discoveries, as we always have, and little by little the health of the oldest people will improve," he said. 

Other experts are also cautious about choosing a side. 

"There is no definitive answer for the moment," said France Mesle, a demographer at the French institute of demographic studies (INED). 

"Even if they are increasing, the number of people reaching very old age is still quite small and we still cannot make any significant statistical estimate," she told AFP. 

So it might be a matter of waiting for rising numbers of supercentenarians to test the "volume effect". 

And of course some future medical breakthroughs could soon upend everything we know about death. 

Eric Boulanger, a French doctor specialising in the elderly, said that "genetic manipulation" could allow some people to live for 140 or even 150 years.

Australia admits cyber defences 'inadequate' as medical hack hits millions

 France24 – AFP, 26 October 2022 

Hackers have accessed millions of medical records at Medibank, one of Australia's
largest private insurers SAEED KHAN AFP/File

Sydney (AFP) – Hackers accessed millions of medical records at one of Australia's largest private health insurers, the company said Wednesday, prompting the government to admit the nation's cyber safeguards were "inadequate". 

This was the latest in a series of hacks targeting millions of people that have brought Australian companies' lax approach to cyber security into sharp relief. 

Medibank chief executive David Koczkar said information about each of the company's 3.9 million policy holders -- some 15 percent of Australia's population -- had been compromised. 

"Our investigation has now established that this criminal has accessed all our private health insurance customers' personal data and significant amounts of their health claims data," he said in a statement to the Australian stock exchange. 

"This is a terrible crime. This is a crime designed to cause maximum harm to the most vulnerable members of our community." 

The cyber attack was revealed last week, but it was not known until now how many people were impacted. 

The hackers have previously threatened to leak the data, starting with 1,000 famous Australians, unless Medibank pays a ransom. 

Medibank on Wednesday also confirmed it was not insured against cyber attacks, estimating the hack could cost the company as much as Au$35 million (US$22 million). 

The Medibank hack followed an attack on telecom company Optus last month that exposed the personal information of some nine million Australians -- almost a third of the population. 

The Optus attack was one of the largest data breaches in Australian history. 

'Inadequate'

Australia's Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has previously accused companies of stockpiling sensitive customer data they did not need. 

Firms currently face paltry fines -- Au$2.2 million -- for failing to protect customer data. 

Dreyfus last week said these fines would be ratcheted up to Au$50 million. 

"Unfortunately, significant privacy breaches in recent weeks have shown existing safeguards are inadequate," he said. 

"It's not enough for a penalty for a major data breach to be seen as the cost of doing business." 

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil on Tuesday said the fallout from the Medibank hack was "potentially irreparable". 

"One of the reasons why the government is so worried about this is because of the nature of the data," she told Australia's parliament. 

"When it comes to the personal health information of Australians, the damage here is potentially irreparable." 

O'Neil has previously described hacking as a "dog act" -- an Australian phrase reserved for something especially shameful or despicable.

“Hidden Attributes of Innate” – (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

Kryon.com, October 27, 2021 

Live Kryon Channelling. Healing Wednesday livestream 

Lee Carroll

Greetings, dear ones, I am Kryon of Magnetic Service. 

This is lesson four of four regarding that amazing thing called Innate. We encourage you to hear the other three channels that give information in a sequence that makes sense of this teaching. What is Innate? Where is it? How do you access it? And finally, what are some of the attributes that might be a mystery? [www.kryon.com/freeaudio] 

Innate is that amazing smart body, an attribute within you, which knows what you don’t about you. Innate is used for muscle testing. It’s responsible for “the placebo effect,” and for spontaneous remission. It is that which has many mysteries not yet solved regarding exactly how it works. 

The first mystery is that it exists at all because it is not truly understandable, and often is seen as a miracle. There are processes in your body (I’ll call them triggers) that start a cascade of healing energy. When you can have a disease that goes into a spontaneous remission so fast you would assign it as a miracle, there must be some kind of process that your body has, which Innate triggered. It is truly amazing. What if Innate knows things about your body that can create an enhanced energy of miraculous, cascading healing? These are the things that my partner has seen on this planet with his own eyes. It takes your breath away to see it! 

Instantaneous healing is always assigned to a higher power, or to some kind of miracle. This is because there is no acknowledgment of the fact that this kind of thing might exist internally in your own body. The truth is bigger than you think: These kinds of healings are the actual chemical triggers of your own body. This has never been seen as a direct result of medicine, hence the disbelief. However, it has been seen constantly, especially in spiritual circles, for hundreds of years. I’ll tell you that these are the things that deserve analysis, which many believe are simply not explainable. However, these are the things that Innate has been doing in Humans for a very long time because you have asked for it, or because you needed it. These are life-saving mysteries to this day. 

Innate is very unusual, and we “gave it away” in the last Circle of Twelve session. However, if you are listening to or reading this channel and you are not a member of the Circle of Twelve, I will inform you now: Innate is part of your Soul. Think about this. It is not sequestered to your chemistry. It has to be part of the “Bigger You” for these kinds of miracle-like actions, and especially for the next attribute to be explained. 

There would be those who would say, “Now you’ve gone too far, Kryon, because Innate obviously is something that is part of your cellular structure. It tells you all of the things that you need for your body, and so why would it be part of your Soul?” 

The answer is an answer I will give about many things that you consider “body only.” Your chemistry and cellular structure are not in a prison of skin, as you often see it. Your body is huge, and it has a field that extends way beyond 3D. Do you really think your consciousness comes from your brain? No animal on Earth “ponders its existence.” Only Humans do that. You are part of a much larger system than you think. 

Let’s go slowly. Part of profound healing is getting beyond the blocks that you’ve had from past lives. Let’s say it again. Part of profound healing is dealing with the blocks that have come with you from past lives. There is a subconscious “remembering mechanism” that sometimes comes in with your current life from past-life experience. Most of you know this. Those of you listening to this Circle of 12 program would be aware of it since so many of the guests who have been on the program have discussed it. “Rewriting the codes,” they will call it. Where did the codes come from? Many are with you from birth – from the Akashic memory of past lives. 

There’s a lot of clearing that must be done for the healing of these blocks. Quite often these are the blocks, plus other ones from your current upbringing, which keep healing from happening quickly. So, think about it: There has to be an energy that knows you and works with your subconscious to make anything happen. It must be an energy that knows what these blocks are, an energy that may have even been with you when the blocks occurred in a past life. Welcome to the amazing mystery of Innate. Innate must be part of your Soul because it knows about those blocks, dear ones. Innate, therefore, is multi-dimensional. 

If you start to think that Innate might be something far grander and more powerful than a simple body intelligence, you are on the path to a greater truth. Indeed, Innate might be a Soul partner: It comes in with you with some very, very interesting “awareness of your personal attributes.” Having Innate as part of something bigger explains how it might work. 

Let me give you something else to think about: There are some women listening to or reading this now who have a genomic situation, and when they learn about it, it’s frightening. They will find out they may have an inherited disease that seems to come with the genes at birth somehow. They will say: “My mother died of it; my sister died of it; and I’m afraid of it.” Bless you, if you are one of these (women), for this is something that sits upon your consciousness, perhaps sits upon your very innermost thoughts. These are things that you awaken to and wonder if this situation may visit you. 

Healings are accomplished many, many times that will remove the ancestral DNA or genome attribute that would cause that disease. Did you get that? In order for this to work for you, and be removed from your genome forever, the process has to come out of your past so completely that it affects even the lineage that you have. That is far more than a chemical healing. It’s almost like rewriting part of your lineage – yet the Innate can do it, and does, regularly. There are some of you who are also listening to or reading this who know I am right because you have had all that dysfunctional genomic chemistry eliminated through profound healings that you have generated yourself, through your consciousness, through cognizing the process of talking to your cells. 

So, a woman who says, “Dear Innate, break my ancestral disease link so that I will not get the disease,” starts the process of working with the blocks from her past-life genealogy. If she can cognize this and is successful – are you ready for this? – the link will also be broken in her existing and future children. Think about this one. The inherited negative genes stop here! 

And the question is: can Innate really do that? Yes. I told you from earlier messages that you are in charge of all things biological. It’s a command to Innate because Innate is there as a Soul partner to do the things that you are awakening to and beginning to understand. You are understanding how to be able to speak to Innate. Is that too much to understand? 

The new energy of the planet is starting to enhance the awakening process for many, and they are starting to see how much more there is to their inner structure and the interaction of their spiritual selves to their biological selves. 

You are awakening to your power, you might say, to control your own body. And part of this is that there are dysfunctional ancestral links that you can stop right now. Oh, dear one, there is someone here who needed to hear that. Can we celebrate that together? You needed to hear that. It’s very doable. 

So, how big do you think Innate is now? It knows your biological ancestry. It also knows your Akashic Record. It’s a Soul partner that comes in with you. 

Two more items that you should know about: The Innate has some attributes that you normally assign to Spirit itself. Number One: Innate is quiet. You never know it’s there until you awaken to its presence and start working with it. It’s an interesting thing that would come in with you, yet be silent, isn’t it? You’d think that Innate would arrive ready to help and start working with you immediately. But, if you say nothing, nothing happens. 

If you sit in a restaurant and never order food, it never comes. It’s an odd thing, is it not, to go to a restaurant over and over and simply sit at the table and then leave later? Welcome to humanism because that’s what you’ve been doing. You’ve been coming to that place, wishing to have the healing, never understanding there is a menu in front of you called Innate. 

Innate will do no healing until you awaken to a place where you know you can work together to make it happen. Think of that for a moment. That explains so much. It explains why a Human can go into despair, or fear, or the real attributes of feeling they are a victim of life – and never know about the menu of Innate. If that’s you, now you know. Again, I would ask you to review the first three lessons. [www.kryon.com/freeaudio] 

Number Two: Here is the final attribute, a sobering one, and one that happens all the time: You order the wrong thing from the restaurant’s menu! Innate obeys your passionate instructions. Many are using the “menu” all the time and don’t know it. If you say, “Innate, I want to be sick tomorrow,” you will be sick tomorrow. Innate has no judgment, dear ones. It has no filters. It is here to serve you. 

“Wait a minute, Kryon, who would say that?” Thousands do, when they fear disease and say, “I’m going to catch that. I know it!” or “I wonder if I have that disease I saw on the commercial on TV last night? I think I do!” This is energy given to the menu of Innate.So, in your life, if you are afraid of catching every disease that might be out there, Innate will make sure you do. Did you hear me? This is that Soul partner that does what you ask, dear ones. It does what it sees you are interested in! Hypochondriacs are invested in concentrating most of their efforts on worrying about the diseases – that, unknown to them, they are ordering on the menu. 

Think about your words when you are at home alone. What instructions are you giving to Innate with the things that you say? When you say, “Oh, I knew that would happen. Only bad things are happening to me. I wonder what’s going to happen tomorrow … some more bad things, perhaps?” Innate will line it up for you and make certain you receive what you verbalized. 

For those who would say, “All manner of bad things happen to me all the time. So, is this just me thinking this, or is that really true?” I will tell you, dear ones, yes, it’s really true. It is because you have brought it to you with your words and expectations. Did you ever think of that? 

Maybe it’s time to go to that restaurant, pick up that magnificent menu of healing and create a wonderful, purposefully-worded order. It would be an order that you will not ever, ever forget. It is done with your affirmative expectations and your verbalizations to others. 

One of the things on that menu, at the top, in big letters is this: I am magnificent. Here are the magnificent things: Number one: I am not a victim. Number two: I was born magnificent. Number three: I have a Soul partner called Innate that was built to heal and help and bring me into the magnificence of who I am. Number four: It’s waiting for my order. 

What a concept. 

Mysterious, indeed. Actionable? Yes. Doable? Yes, it’s there in front of you, dear ones, and tens of thousands have discovered this and know about Innate and the magic that can be yours. 

I am Kryon, in love with humanity. 

And so it is. 

KRYON

Israel's Teva reaches potential $4.25 bn US opioid settlement

Yahoo – AFP, 27 July 2022 

Israeli generic drug maker Teva has reached an agreement in principle to pay $4.25 billion over 13 years to settle a series of court cases over its role in the US opioid epidemic. 

If the deal is finalized, Teva would become the latest major company to reach a settlement over the crisis which caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and ravaged communities across the country. 

Teva reached the potential agreement on the terms of a "nationwide opioids settlement" with a working group of state attorneys general and lawyers for Native American tribes and other plaintiffs, the company said in its second-quarter financial results. 

"Teva will pay up to $4.25 billion (including the already settled cases) plus approximately $100 million for the tribes, spread over 13 years," it said. 

The overall figure includes up to $1.2 billion in the generic version of Narcan, which can reverse opioid overdoses. 

The deal will include "no admission of wrongdoing," but "it remains in our best interest to put these cases behind us," the company added. 

Teva has already gone through several opioid-related lawsuits and reached agreements with some states. 

The opioid crisis, which has caused more than 500,000 deaths over 20 years in the United States, has triggered a flurry of lawsuits from victims as well as cities, counties and states impacted by the fallout. 

Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and three major distributors, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health, have agreed to pay out $24.5 billion over several years to end more than 3,000 lawsuits. 

Purdue Pharma, considered by many to be a major driver of the crisis because of its aggressive promotion of its pain killer OxyContin, filed for bankruptcy in September 2019 as it faced a flood of legal action.

Mexico bans sales of 'harmful' e-cigarettes

Yahoo – AFP, 31 May 2022 

The World Health Organization considers electronic cigarettes to be harmful
to health (AFP/Valery HACHE) (Valery HACHE)

Mexico on Tuesday banned sales of electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices because of concerns about their health effects, the government announced. 

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said it was a "lie" to claim that e-cigarettes are a safe alternative to inhaling tobacco smoke.

"The vapors are also harmful for health," Lopez Obrador told reporters as he announced the signing of a presidential decree introducing the ban on World No Tobacco Day. 

He showed a pink vaping device to illustrate how the products are intended to appeal to young people. 

"Look at the color, the design," Lopez Obrador said. 

Mexico prohibited the import and export of vaping devices and cartridges in October, but the companies have continued to sell their inventory, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said. 

The new ban covers "the circulation and marketing of these new products," he added. 

E-cigarettes heat up a cartridge of liquid typically containing nicotine and other chemicals into an aerosol. The user inhales the resulting vapor, mimicking traditional cigarettes. 

Proponents of vaping say it is safer than traditional tobacco. 

The World Health Organization considers electronic cigarettes to be harmful to health and has called for tight regulation to stop young people in particular from using them. 

More than 30 countries have banned sales of electronic cigarettes, the WHO said last July. 

In April, e-cigarette firm Juul agreed to pay $22.5 million in a US lawsuit that alleged the company deliberately targeted teenagers and lied about how addictive its products are.

Dutch doctor says group will keep sending abortion pills to US women

France24 – AFP, 16 May 2022

Rebecca Gomperts, the founder of abortion-rights groups Women on Waves and
Aid Access, is seen in Amsterdam in September 2020 Remko de Waal ANP/AFP/File

Washington (AFP) – Rebecca Gomperts, a 55-year-old Dutch physician, has spent years fighting for women's access to abortion around the world. 

Made famous by her "abortion boat," as recounted in the 2014 documentary "Vessel," she and her Women on Waves group have anchored the ship in international waters off the coasts of Poland, Spain, Mexico and other countries, offering medical abortions to women otherwise unable to obtain them. 

But it is in the United States that interest has been surging in her other organization, Aid Access, which since 2018 has provided abortion pills over the internet. 

Behind the fast-rising demand is what appears -- based on a rare leak from the US Supreme Court -- to be the imminent end of federal protection for abortion rights. Once the court makes its decision official, probably next month, some 20 states are poised to ban or severely restrict abortions. 

"We're already seeing a huge increase in requests," Gomperts told AFP, saying some people were "panicking." 

"It's not only when this takes place; it has already made people aware how vulnerable they are." 

Aid Access, based in Austria, has been working with physicians to fill requests in the 20 US states where abortion pills can be legally prescribed by telemedicine. 

For requests from the other states, Gompert's group has exploited a legal loophole to send the pills from abroad. 

Demand was strong even before word of the high court's intentions leaked out. In a little more than a year (from October 2020 to December 2021), Aid Access says it received more than 45,000 requests from the United States. 

Reasons for the requests vary: the high cost of other abortion services, the cost and difficulty of traveling to distant abortion clinics, or the impossibility of doing so due to job or child-care demands. 

After filling out a questionnaire, women are instructed on how to take the pills at home. The price is adjusted depending on their ability to pay, and the pills are mailed from a pharmacy in India. Aid Access checks in with the women afterward. 

The most vulnerable

The pills are easy to find elsewhere on the internet, usually for a few hundred dollars. But those websites, also based outside the United States, are purely commercial and provide no medical support. 

For Gomperts, who in 2020 was listed as one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time magazine, the fight for abortion rights is a matter of "social justice." 

"The biggest problem is that the women that are not literate, that cannot read and write, that have no access to internet -- the most impoverished group -- they will not be able to find these solutions," she said. 

Many of them would lack the resources to travel to a state where abortion remains legal. 

"These are the women that might be forced to give birth or that will take drastic measures to end their pregnancy."  

These pills -- mifepristone and misoprostol -- can be used in generally very safe
at-home abortions, experts say; this picture comes from the Plan C advocacy
group Elisa WELLS PLAN C/AFP/File

The certain result, Gomperts said, will be an increase in maternal mortality and morbidity. 

A safe method

According to a 2017 survey of several thousand women in the United States, 20 percent of those who had attempted an at-home abortion used the pills, 29 percent used other drugs, 38 percent used plant-based infusions and 20 percent tried physical methods (some used more than one method, so the total exceeds 100 percent). 

During recent demonstrations outside the Supreme Court, women protesters brandished a disturbing object, something that seemed an artifact from a long-ago era: metal clothes-hangers -- a symbol of highly risky abortions performed clandestinely. 

And yet, up to the 10th week of pregnancy, abortion pills are very safe, experts say. 

A demonstrator holds up a clothes hanger marked 'Never Again' during an abortion
rights rally May 3, 2022 outside the US Supreme Court Stefani Reynolds AFP/File

 Today they represent half of all abortions in the United States (in France, by way of comparison, the figure is 70 percent). And their use outside of any medical setting is a "very acceptable" option, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). 

Two drugs are used: first a dose of mifepristone is taken to block the hormones that support a pregnancy; then, 24 to 48 hours later, misoprostol is taken to induce contractions. 

Complications that might require medical help -- an excessive flow of blood, an infection or an allergic reaction -- are rare. 

So, beyond the medical aspect, the real risk to at-home abortions is legal complications. 

The NGO If/When/How has counted 60 cases in which women who allegedly self-managed abortions, or people who assisted them, were arrested, charged or sentenced between 2000 and 2020. 

The group, which says it envisions "a future when all people can self-determine their reproductive lives free from discrimination, coercion or violence," helps find legal representation for such women. 

It fears the trend toward criminalizing abortion will be greatly aggravated if the Supreme Court rules as expected. 

Such a ruling, said Gomperts, "instills fear in people, and especially in health-care providers -- and that is the biggest impact."