Bolivia Travel Announcement

This Public Announcement is being issued to alert Americans traveling to and residing in Bolivia to the ongoing volatile political and social situation in Bolivia, particularly the city of Cochabamba.  This Public Announcement expires on February 9, 2007.

Protesters took over the main square and avenue in Cochabamba on January 8, demanding the resignation of Cochabamba’s prefect (governor).  On January 11 violent confrontations resulted in three confirmed deaths and over 100 injured.  Local authorities restored order, but the situation remains volatile.  Demonstrations continue in Cochabamba’s main plaza and could occur in other public areas with little notice and possible violence.  U.S. citizens planning to travel to Bolivia should carefully consider their plans in light of continuing tension in Cochabamba and the possibility that other parts of Bolivia may be affected by this conflict. Read more

Montserrat Travel Announcement

This Public Announcement is being issued to alert American citizens of increasing volcanic activity on the island of Montserrat, and to provide new information from the Government of Montserrat regarding sections of the island that are prohibited to visitors.  Travelers are strongly advised to thoroughly consider the risks of travel to Montserrat, and to take adequate precautions to ensure their safety if they do travel.  This Public Announcement expires April 9, 2007. Read more

East Africa Travel Announcement

This public announcement is being re-issued to remind Americans of the continuing potential for terrorist actions against U.S. citizens in East Africa, particularly along the East African coast, to alert Americans to possible continuing sporadic violence in Somalia, and to note a number of incidents of maritime piracy near the horn of Africa and the southern Red Sea near Yemen.  This supersedes the Public Announcement of May 5, 2006, and expires on May 4, 2007. Read more

FTC Settles with marketers of Xenadrine EFX – Cortislim – TrimSpa – OneADay WeightSmart

FTC Recovers $25 Million to Settle Allegations of Deceptive Marketing for Xenadrine EFX, CortiSlim, TrimSpa, and One-A-Day WeightSmart

The FTC has filed complaints in four separate cases alleging that weight-loss and weight-control claims were not supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence. Marketers of the four products –Xenadrine EFX, CortiSlim, TrimSpa, and One-A-Day WeightSmart – have settled with the FTC, surrendered cash and other assets worth at least $25 million, and agreed to limit their future advertising claims.

“You won’t find weight loss in a bottle of pills that claims it has the latest scientific breakthrough or miracle ingredient,” said FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras. “Paying for fad science is a good way to lose cash, not pounds.” Read more

FTC Charges Chicago-Area Doctor Groups With Price Fixing

Physicians Required to Modify Behavior to Protect Competition

The Federal Trade Commission today announced its decision to challenge the conduct of several organizations representing more than 2,900 independent Chicago-area physicians for agreeing to fix prices and for refusing to deal with certain health plans except on collectively determined terms. The FTC’s complaint charges that the actions of Advocate Health Partners (AHP) and other related parties unreasonably restrained competition in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act. The consent order settling the FTC’s charges will prohibit the respondents from engaging in such anticompetitive conduct in the future. Read more

FTC to Announce Settlements with Four Major Weight-Loss Pill Marketers

The Federal Trade Commission will announce settlements with four well-known weight-loss pill marketers. The settlements will require that the companies change their ad claims and pay millions of dollars for civil penalties and consumer redress. Read more

FTC Stops Payment Processor Who Aided Cross-Border Telemarketing Fraud

International Operation Tapped Bank Accounts for Advance-Fee Credit Card Schemes

At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal court has shut down a payment processing operation that allegedly helped fraudulent telemarketers take millions of dollars from consumers’ bank accounts.

According to the FTC’s complaint, since at least January 2003 the operation has aided at least nine Canada-based, advance-fee credit card schemes that induce consumers to allow an electronic debit of several hundred dollars from their bank account in exchange for an unsecured credit card; but consumers never receive a credit card or, at best, they receive a “benefits package” containing relatively worthless items. The complaint alleges that the defendants debit funds from consumers’ bank accounts, deduct their processing fees from the gross proceeds, and forward the balance of the proceeds from the deceptive scheme to the telemarketers. According to the complaint, the defendants also provided customer service and complaint handling, order fulfillment, list brokering, and other services. Read more

Consumer Alert: Listeria Contamination in Raw Milk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Albany, NY — December 21, 2006 — New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick H. Brennan today warned consumers in the Allegany County, New York area not to consume "unpasteurized" raw farm milk from the Gerald E. Snyder farm due to possible Listeria contamination.

The Snyder farm located at RD #1 1444 Randolph Rd., Alfred Station, New York 14803 holds a Department permit to legally sell raw milk at the farm. Samples are taken monthly and tested by the Department to determine if the raw milk is free of pathogenic bacteria. Read more

FDA Warns of Safety Concern Regarding Rituxan in New Patient Population

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is alerting health care professionals and patients treated with Rituxan (rituximab) to reports of an emerging risk of a serious side effect in patients receiving or who have used Rituxan. FDA recently learned that two patients who were treated with Rituxan for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a fatal viral infection of the central nervous system. This side effect has been reported in patients as late as 12 months after their last dose of Rituxan.

SLE is not an approved indication for Rituxan. Rituxan is approved only for the treatment of patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and patients with rheumatoid arthritis whose disease no longer responds to other common treatments. Read more

Boston Scientific Announces Nationwide Recall of 51 Mach 1 Guide Catheters

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Natick, MA — December 15, 2006 — Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) today announced that it is voluntarily recalling certain lots of the Mach 1® Guide Catheter in the United States. The affected lots of Guide Catheters are 687532, 687586, 687593, 687596, 687654, 687753, 687754, 688035, 687877, 687878, 687879 and 688002. The total number of devices involved in this recall is estimated at 51.

The Guide Catheter is a tube that is thread through the body and allows delivery of medical devices to the heart to treat coronary artery disease. The Company is initiating this recall because it has determined, through internal inspections, that in some product units, excess strands of resin may exist in the inner lumen near the hub of the guide catheter. If the excess resin is present in the catheter and detaches during a procedure, there is the potential for embolization, in which strands of resin could obstruct a blood vessel. An obstruction of a small blood vessel by an embolism may not cause tissue damage; however, an obstruction of a major blood vessel or multiple small blood vessels could result in serious complications such as stroke, heart attack or kidney problems. To date, no product complaints have been reported to Boston Scientific related to this issue, and there have been no reported injuries. Read more

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