Health News Roundup: Britain's disposable vape ban hits stocks, divides experts; Rise in reports of fake weight-loss drugs linked to shortage of real thing, WHO says 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.

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.

Bayer faces Australian test with judge to decide whether weedkiller caused cancer

An Australian court on Tuesday heard closing arguments in a class action lawsuit alleging that a weedkiller produced by Bayer caused cancer, the first such case in Australia to reach this stage. Bayer has already paid billions of dollars to settle claims that exposure to its glyphosate herbicide, Roundup, damaged health, in most cases by causing non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer.

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.

Gilead Sciences raises stake in cancer-centric Arcus Biosciences to 33%

Gilead Sciences said on Monday it has raised its stake in Arcus Biosciences to 33% and expanded its presence in the drug developer's board to three, deepening their collaboration in developing cancer drugs. It made an equity investment of $320 million, buying Arcus stock at $21 per share, a 37.3% premium to its last closing price. Shares of Arcus rose 11.8% to $17.2 after the bell.

Elon Musk's Neuralink implants brain chip in first human

The first human patient has received an implant from brain-chip startup Neuralink on Sunday and is recovering well, the company's billionaire founder Elon Musk said. "Initial results show promising neuron spike detection," Musk said in a post on the social media platform X on Monday.

(With inputs from agencies.)