Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Juul's sales halted in China days after launch

U.S. e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc said on Tuesday its products were not currently available on e-commerce web sites in China, days after it entered the world's single-largest market for tobacco consumption with over 300 million smokers. "While JUUL products are not currently available on e-commerce Web sites in China, we look forward to continued dialogue with stakeholders so that we can make our products available again," the company spokesperson said, without disclosing any reason for the halt of sales.

With a backup to the backup, insulin makers say they're primed for Brexit

For two men trained as scientists, the bosses of Britain's major insulin providers have had to become experts in ferry schedules, trucking laws and warehouse capacity as they seek to guarantee the supply of life-saving drugs through a chaotic Brexit. With Britain set to leave the European Union within weeks, Pinder Sahota at the world's biggest insulin maker Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi's Hugo Fry have rebuilt operations to withstand the most turbulent of events.

U.S. records no new measles cases for first week since January

Health officials recorded no new cases of measles in the United States last week, marking the first week without new cases of the disease since January, amid an outbreak largely linked to parents who declined to vaccinate their children. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday it had recorded 1,241 cases of the highly contagious and sometimes deadly disease in 31 states as of last Thursday. (http://bit.ly/2miVZvw)

North Macedonia banks on medicinal cannabis growth to boost economy, exports

Slave Ivanovski was among North Macedonia's biggest exporters of tomatoes and peppers until two years ago he switched to growing cannabis for medical use. The country legalised the growth of cannabis for medicinal purposes in 2016, joining a growing number of countries to have done so or be about to do so, such as Britain, Greece, Thailand and some U.S. states.

France to give iodine to more people living close to nuclear plants

France will offer free iodine tablets to around 2.2 million people living close to nuclear plants to help protect them from radiation in case of an accident. Nuclear regulator ASN said on Tuesday people living within 10-20 km of one of utility EDF's 19 nuclear plants, as well as some 200,000 institutions such as schools, will receive a letter in coming days informing them that they can pick up free iodine tablets from pharmacies.

Perils of gender and geography hamper global development, report finds

(Reuters) - Despite steady development gains, a child's birthplace is still the biggest predictor of its future health, and no matter which country you're born in, life is harder if you're a girl, a major report said on Tuesday. The analysis by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a leading philanthropic funder of health and development, found that some half a billion people worldwide still don't get basic health and education, and girls everywhere suffer disadvantage.

More evidence supports helmet use by cyclists

(Reuters Health) - Most Americans who are injured in cycling accidents don't wear helmets, and this is especially true of men, children, and black and Hispanic riders, a new study suggests. Researchers examined data on 76,032 cycling injuries from 2002 to 2012 and found that overall, just 22% of adults and 12% of kids were wearing helmets at the time of their bike accidents.

California governor acts to stem 'epidemic' of youth vaping

California's governor on Monday ordered a public awareness campaign on health risks posed by a "youth epidemic" of vaping, but said he lacked authority to unilaterally ban flavored e-cigarettes that he said were deliberately marketed to children. Governor Gavin Newsom, acting a day after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced such a ban, became the latest politician seeking to crack down on e-cigarettes and other electronic inhaling - or vaping - devices, which have exposed a new generation of young people to nicotine hazards.

Factbox: U.S. lawsuits take aim at vaping

Several deaths and potentially hundreds of illnesses have been tied to e-cigarettes, which allow users to inhale nicotine vapor, often flavored, without smoking. Lawsuits have been filed against e-cigarette maker Juul and more are expected amid increasing scrutiny. The following is a summary of how the litigation is playing out across the United States: * About 30 lawsuits have been filed over vaping-related injuries in courts around the country, including both individual lawsuits and class actions. The lawsuits target Juul Labs Inc, which controls about 75% of the e-cigarette market. Some have also named Altria Group Inc, which has a minority stake in Juul, as a defendant. Altria is the parent company of tobacco giant Philip Morris.

Potentially harmful carbon pollution reaches fetal side of placenta: study

(Reuters Health) - Airborne carbon particles that can cause health problems in adults and children are getting into the placenta as it nourishes a developing fetus, a new study has found. Tissue samples from 5 pre-term and 23 full-term births found that the more airborne soot the mother was exposed to during pregnancy, the higher the number of so-called black carbon particles found in the placenta, researchers report in Nature Communications.