Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Trump administration seeks ban on flavored e-cigarettes to combat youth addiction

The Trump administration announced plans on Wednesday to remove all flavored e-cigarettes from store shelves in a widening crackdown on vaping, as officials warned that sweet flavors had drawn millions of children into nicotine addiction. President Donald Trump and top U.S. officials expressed concern about surging teenage use of e-cigarettes, and the move comes as health officials are investigating a handful of deaths and potentially hundreds of lung illnesses tied to vaping.

'It is time to stop vaping': Kansas reports sixth U.S. death linked to mystery illness

A Kansas resident was the sixth person to die in the United States of a mysterious respiratory illness related to vaping, state officials said on Tuesday, as public health officials scrambled to understand a nationwide health problem. "It is time to stop vaping," Kansas State Health Officer Dr. Lee Norman Norman said in a statement. "If you or a loved one is vaping, please stop."

From removing doors to checking sleeves, U.S. schools seek to snuff out vaping

Students caught vaping in school can expect a lot more than a warning or detention in one North Texas district starting this fall. They will be forced to attend a special, isolated disciplinary school for a month. "Hopefully it's more of a deterrent," said Michael Stevens, superintendent of Channing Independent School District, about 50 miles northwest of Amarillo, referring to the new policy. "It's a severe health problem."

Israel's Healthy.io raises $60 million, gets FDA ok for urine test

Israel's Healthy.io said on Thursday it raised $60 million in funding and received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its smartphone-based urine albumin test to aid in diagnosing chronic kidney disease. The funding round was led by Corner Ventures with

High blood pressure in U.S. pregnant women rose sharply over four decades

The number of women diagnosed with high blood pressure when they become pregnant or during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy has risen sharply in the U.S. over the last four decades, a new study suggests. An analysis of the records of more than 150 million women who gave birth in U.S. hospitals found a 13-fold increase in hypertension rates between 1970 and 2010 overall, with the impact felt more strongly among African American women and older mothers-to-be, according to the results published in Hypertension.

Purdue Pharma reaches tentative opioid settlement with some: sources

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP reached a tentative agreement with some plaintiffs to resolve litigation over its alleged role in fueling the U.S. opioid crisis and plans to tussle with states opposing the settlement offer in bankruptcy proceedings as soon as next week, people familiar with the matter said. On Wednesday, lead lawyers representing more than 2,000 cities, counties and other plaintiffs suing Purdue, along with 23 states and three U.S. territories, were on board with an offer from the company and its controlling Sackler family to settle lawsuits in a deal valued at up to $12 billion, the people said.

U.S. judge approves novel framework for opioid settlement talks

A federal judge on Wednesday approved the substance of a proposal by lawyers representing cities and counties suing drug companies over the U.S. opioid epidemic that would bring every state and municipality in the country into their settlement talks. U.S. District Judge Dan Polster, in Cleveland, Ohio, federal court, said that the plan, which was opposed by 37 states and the District of Columbia, "does not interfere with the states settling their own cases any way they want."

'Doing me a favor': Vapers open to Trump's proposed ban on flavored e-cigarettes

New Yorkers who vape do not seem to mind if President Donald Trump pushes through a proposed ban on flavored e-cigarettes, admitting that widespread youth addiction needed to be controlled and expressing hope that it might help them quit. The plan, announced on Wednesday by Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, would remove all flavored e-cigarettes from store shelves. Only tobacco-flavored products would be available.

Canadian court rules parts of assisted-suicide law violate patient rights

Two severely ill and handicapped Canadians can ask for immediate help in ending their lives, a court in the province of Quebec ruled on Wednesday, in a judgment that deemed parts of the country's existing laws governing physician-assisted suicide as unconstitutional. Quebec Superior Court Judge Christine Baudouin sided with Jean Truchon, 51, and Nicole Gladu, 73, who are both in severe pain and have incurable medical conditions. The two argued that laws governing eligibility for assisted suicide were too restrictive by limiting access to those facing "foreseeable death."

Not so fast: CDC isn't ready to blame illicit 'street vapes' for illnesses

U.S. health investigators are casting a wide net to understand what is sickening hundreds of vapers across the country and still have not ruled out any product on the market, even as vaping industry officials highlight the potential role of illegal cannabis products. Dr Dana Meaney-Delman is leading the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's investigation into the culprit behind at least five confirmed deaths and 450 reported cases of lung illness linked with use of the devices.