Health News Roundup: Britain's disposable vape ban hits stocks, divides experts; UK government to ban disposable vapes to prevent use by children and more

The organization said fake versions of the drugs, which belong to a class called GLP-1 agonists, are most often sold and distributed through unregulated outlets, including social media platforms, and carry serious health risks. Zimbabwe launches door-to-door cholera vaccination campaign Zimbabwe on Monday launched a cholera vaccination campaign to immunize over 2 million people against the waterborne disease, amid an outbreak that has killed hundreds since early last year.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Britain's disposable vape ban hits stocks, divides experts

Britain's plan to ban disposable vapes hit some e-cigarette stocks and drew a mixed reaction from experts on Monday, with some concerned it could hurt efforts to stem the death and disease caused by cigarettes. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said single-use vapes had driven an increase in youth vaping in the country, with the government citing figures showing the number of children using vapes had tripled over the past three years.

UK government to ban disposable vapes to prevent use by children

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will announce plans on Monday to ban the sale of disposable vapes to prevent their use by children, and reiterate the government's intention to introduce a law preventing younger generations from buying tobacco. Under the new powers, there would be restrictions on vape flavours, a requirement for plain packaging, and changes to how vapes, or e-cigarettes, are displayed to make them less attractive to children.

Rise in reports of fake weight-loss drugs linked to shortage of real thing, WHO says

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday warned that global shortages last year of popular diabetes medicines that are also used for weight loss, such as Novo Nordisk's Ozempic, had been linked to rising reports of suspected counterfeits. The organization said fake versions of the drugs, which belong to a class called GLP-1 agonists, are most often sold and distributed through unregulated outlets, including social media platforms, and carry serious health risks.

Zimbabwe launches door-to-door cholera vaccination campaign

Zimbabwe on Monday launched a cholera vaccination campaign to immunize over 2 million people against the waterborne disease, amid an outbreak that has killed hundreds since early last year. Cholera had killed 452 people and infected a total of 20,446 in the southern African country as of Jan. 24, since the outbreak started in February 2023, according to health ministry statistics. About half of the cases have involved children.

Pharma price cut proposals from US government could be steep, analysts say

Pharmaceutical companies are due to receive by Thursday the U.S. government's opening proposal for what are expected to be significant discounts on 10 of its high-cost medicines, an important step in the Medicare health program's first ever price negotiations. Five Wall Street analysts and two investors told Reuters they expect the negotiations over prices that will go into effect in 2026 to result in cuts ranging from the statutory minimum of 25% to as much as 60% when the final numbers are set in September.

Bayer shares fall nearly 6% on court order to pay $2.25 billion in damages

Shares in Bayer dropped as much as 5.7% on Monday after the embattled German company was ordered to pay $2.25 billion in damages, the highest amount yet in its ongoing litigation linked to an alleged carcinogenic effect of its Roundup weedkiller. A jury in a Philadelphia court on Friday ordered Bayer to pay $2.25 billion to a Pennsylvania man who said he developed cancer from exposure to the Roundup weedkiller, based on the chemical glyphosate.

Lilly in talks with Germany over weight-loss drug coverage -Spiegel

Eli Lilly is in talks with the German government to try to end a ban on the public health system paying for weight-loss treatments, Spiegel magazine cited a company executive as saying on Monday. Representatives of the U.S. maker of obesity and diabetes drugs are in a "good dialogue" with the federal government, Ilya Yuffa, president of Lilly International, was quoted as saying.

Philips' US sales of sleep apnea devices face years-long halt after FDA deal

Dutch health technology company Philips will not sell new devices to treat sleep apnea in the U.S. in the coming years as it works to comply with a settlement with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Monday. The agreement followed the recall of millions of breathing devices and ventilators used to treat sleep apnea in 2021 because of concerns that foam used to reduce noise from the devices could degrade and become toxic, carrying potential cancer risks.

Sarepta's new Duchenne drug outperforms bestseller Exondys in trial

Sarepta Therapeutics said on Monday its new experimental drug for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) was far more effective in increasing levels of a key protein than its bestselling medicine Exondys 51. DMD is a genetic muscle wasting disorder that affects an estimated one-in-3,500 male births worldwide, and most patients lack the protein dystrophin which keeps muscles intact.

Bangladesh reports first death from Nipah virus this year

Bangladesh reported on Monday its first fatality this year from the brain-damaging Nipah virus when a man died after drinking raw date juice. The virus, transmitted to humans through contact with bodily fluids of infected bats, pigs or other people, was first identified in 1999 during an outbreak affecting farmers and others in contact with pigs in Malaysia.

(With inputs from agencies.)