Overdosing on Prescription Drugs: Suicide or Accident?

The term drug overdose (or simply overdose or OD) describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced. This word is being thrown around in news media lately in relation to Heath Ledger's untimely death. An autopsy will uncover the truth behind the actors unexpected departure, but until then, bloggers, reporters, and first-hand sources believe Ledger injested more than the daily dose of his sleep aid prescription. Was the overdose accidental or intentional? Drug overdoses are sometimes caused intentionally to commit suicide or as self-harm, but many drug overdoses are accidental and are usually the result of either irresponsible behavior or the misreading of product labels. Other causes of overdose include use of multiple drugs with counter indications simultaneously (for instance, heroin/certain prescription pain medications and cocaine/amphetamines/alcohol). Sources close to the actor say Ledger began taking sleep aids because his role as the "Joker" in the upcoming Batman flick "Dark Knight." The schizophrenic mind and the dark demeanor of the character seemed to transform Ledger. Are there psychological reasons behind overdoses, or are the reasons for consuming an excessive amount of prescription drugs black and white: suicide or accident?

Related Articles:

Celebs overdosing

Ledger

Painkillers to blame

Teens Use and Abuse

Food Poisoning may Linger in the Body Over Time

Prior to recent reports, it was common knowledge that when a person came down with food poisoning, he or she visited his or her physician and exponentially got better, never to think of the nasty illness ever again. Well today, studies show that food poisoning does not come and go. Several illnesses associated with food poisoning have the ability to linger in a once affected body and strain future health. E. coli and certain other food-borne illnesses can sometimes trigger serious health problems months or years after patients survived that initial bout.While these conditions strike a small fraction of the millions of people who get food poisoning each year, experts say no one knows just how many people are at risk. An interview with AP described future illnesses such as high blood pressure, kidney damage, even full kidney failure striking 10 to 20 years later in people who survived severe E. coli infection as children, arthritis after a bout of salmonella or shigella, and a mysterious paralysis that can attack people who just had mild symptoms of campylobacter.


Related Articles:
E coli: Poisoning's lasting effects
Dangers of Eating Raw or Undercooked Foods
Long Term Questions and Answers
A Bout of Food Poisoning Affects Health Years Later: Don't underestimate

FDA Deems Cloned Foods Safe

According to several reports last week, the FDA made the decision to deem cloned animals safe for human consumption. Also, the FDA will not be required to label food derived from these cloned animals. So, in the next 4 to 5 years you might think twice before you bite into a juciy cheeseburger, because odds are it came from a secondary source. The FDA has only spent six years concluding that food from cloned animals is safe for Americans to eat. Fortunately, the distribution of this meat will not hit grocery store shelves for some time. No amount of science, however, will ever prove the food completely safe. Only time will tell the lasting effects on human consumption of this "mystery meat." For consumers, adding cloned meat to the food markets may increase the cost of traditional meat, by making it a luxury item like organic meat. Cloned food products will not be mass produced until industries construct plans to ready the markets. Cloning animals will cost, and the cost of traditional meat and other food products have the capability to increase. Click on the links below to receive more information on the subject and understand the cloning process.


Related Articles:

• FDA approves cloned meat, milk safe to eat
  


• U.S. gives blessing to food from cloned animals
  


• FDA Issues Draft Documents on the Safety of Animals Clones
  


• FDA's OK May Spark 'Clone Free Labels'

Related Videos:
The cow eats what we eventually eat. Right?
The low down on cloned meat
Can you smell the bullshit?
CNN's take on FDA approval

Solutions to FDA Slack

It's not a myth that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has flaws. Food and drug recalls, criticism by the public, media scrutiny over working conditions, cleanliness issues in food production, and a heavy workload for FDA employees have prompted solutions to fill the safety gaps in the U.S. food system. Many suggest creating one federal "super agency" to monitor food safety and lend support to the already functioning FDA. Other solutions have been proposed, including an introduction to food-inspection user fees and improving product traceability, but organizations like The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) say they can handle the problems in the food industry on their own. As a point of interest, GMA opposes granting the FDA recall authority over foods. The FDA can not recall tainted foods without permission of the manufacturer. Should the slack of the FDA be picked up by outside solutions or should the multi-billion dollar food industry companies and organizations take care of the U.S. food issues themselves? You be the judge. It's their products going into your mouths.

Related stories:

• FDA to receive more safety funding
  
• U.S. Food Safety: Solutions at a Glance
• Compliance Solutions
• Institute of Medicine, Congress Seeks Solution to FDA's Safety Woes