British Prime Minister David Cameron is against imposing a tax on sugar as a means to tackle childhood obesity, his spokesman said on Thursday, rejecting the arguments of a high-profile campaign for a levy on sugary food and drinks. Childhood obesity is described as one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century by the World Health Organisation, and in 2013 around one in five English 10-
By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) – Even doctors and nurses don’t always follow the healthy lifestyle choices they recommend for patients to reduce the risk of medical problems like obesity, heart disease and diabetes, a U.S. study suggests. Although rates of these conditions appeared lower among health care workers than other people, the diseases were still common. The findings suggest that the same societal and environmental factors that can influence
By Fatos Bytyci and Aleksandar Vasovic PRESEVO/BERKASOVO, Serbia (Reuters) – Shams Dassuki, a 24-year-old from Damascus, wrapped a white blanket tightly around her young daughter against the cold rain as they reached Serbia from Macedonia along with thousands of migrants moving West. Aid workers in Serbia warn children struggling across the Balkans on their way to western Europe face serious health risks as cold winter months approach. Many children arriving
By Euan Rocha TORONTO (Reuters) – The securities regulator in Quebec, where Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is headquartered, said on Thursday that recent allegations against the drugmaker are “worrying,” even as Valeant shares slid further amid growing investor concern about the company’s prospects. On Wednesday, Citron Research, an influential short-selling firm, accused Valeant in a report of using specialty pharmacies to inflate its revenue. The claims sent Valeant shares into a
(Reuters) – Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc’s share slumped for the second straight day on Wednesday, a day after influential shortseller Citron Research said the Canadian drugmaker used specialty pharmacies to create “phantom sales”. Valeant’s U.S.-listed shares closed down 19 percent on Wednesday and fell as much as 18 percent to a low of $96.78 on Thursday. At that price, about $17 billion of Valeant’s market value has been wiped out since
TORONTO (Reuters) – The securities regulator in the province of Quebec, where Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is headquartered, said on Thursday that claims against the drugmaker are “worrying” and that it is closely following the situation. On Wednesday, Citron Research, an influential short-selling firm, in a report accused Valeant of using specialty pharmacies to inflate its revenue, the claims sent Valeant shares into a tailspin and reduced its market capitalization by
Tanzania is facing a major cholera outbreak, counting nearly 5,000 cases and dozens of deaths, the World Health Organization said Thursday, calling for urgent action to stop the disease from spreading to neighbouring countries. The UN health agency said that from August through Wednesday October 21, 4,922 cases of cholera had been tallied in 12 regions of Tanzania, and 74 deaths. The east African country’s largest city Dar es Salaam
Joy Milne, 65, told researchers that she had noticed a change in the odour of her late husband, Les, years before he developed symptoms of Parkinson’s. “I’ve always had a keen sense of smell and I detected very early on that there was a very subtle change in how Les smelled,” Milne, from Perth in Scotland, said on Thursday.
By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) – South Sudan faces a serious risk of famine by the end of this year and 30,000 people are already classified as being in a food security catastrophe, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said on Thursday. The IPC, whose members include the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), said famine had not been officially declared because it
Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc plunged as much as 30 percent after an influential short-seller accused the company of fraud, saying it used its relationship with specialty pharmacies to inflate revenue. The report by Citron Research, a short-selling firm run by Andrew Left, said Wednesday that Valeant’s previously undisclosed relationship is a sign of a cover-up. The Citron Research report hit shares hard shortly after 10 a.m. EDT in