Health News Summary: e-cigarettes do not help reduce cancer; Greece bans pork imports

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Bayer in the frame to win first EU nod for high-precision cancer drug

Europe's drug regulator has recommended approving Bayer's Vitrakvi, putting the medicine on track to become the first in Europe to tackle tumors with a specific genetic mutation regardless of where in the body the disease started. The drug is being recommended for adults and children with difficult to treat forms of cancer that are driven by a rare genetic mutation known as NTRK gene fusion, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said http://bit.ly/2Mi6s5o on Friday.

In Roundup case, U.S. judge cuts $2 billion verdicts against Bayer to $86 million

A California judge on Thursday reduced a $2 billion jury verdict, slashing the award for a couple who blamed Bayer AG's glyphosate-based weed killer, Roundup, for their cancer to $86.7 million. Superior Court Judge Winifred Smith of the California Superior Court in Oakland said the jury's billion-dollar punitive damage awards were excessive and unconstitutional but rejected Bayer's request to strike the punitive award outright.

WHO says it could use more U.S. help on the ground in Ebola fight

The United States could bolster the battle against the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo by allowing more of its experts to travel to the outbreak zone, a senior World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Friday. The virus has killed more than 1,700 people in Congo since the world's second-worst outbreak was declared almost a year ago and is threatening to spread to the major city of Goma or spillover Congo's border into Uganda.

Kids with autism at increased risk of bullying by siblings and classmates

Children with autism are more likely than kids without the disorder to be bullied by siblings and peers in early adolescence, and they may have more psychological and social problems as a result, a new study suggests. While sibling bullying during childhood has long been linked to increased risk for a variety of mental health difficulties in adolescence, research to date hasn't offered as clear a picture of how this plays out specifically for youth with autism, researchers note in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

WHO hails progress in the fight against tobacco but wants more

Healthy progress has been made in reducing smoking and tobacco use, but governments need to do more to help the world's 1.1 billion smokers quit, the World Health Organization said on Friday. Tobacco use has also declined proportionately in most countries, the WHO said in a report. But population growth means the number of people using tobacco remains stubbornly high. Around 80 percent of the world's 1.1 billion smokers live in poor and middle-income countries.

WHO says e-cigarettes, 'smoke-free' products do not help reduce cancer

Electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products are not helping fight cancer, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, urging smokers and governments not to trust claims from cigarette firms about their latest products. The seventh "WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic" said blocking the industry's interference was critical to cutting the harm from tobacco use.

Greece bans pork imports from Bulgaria due to African swine fever

Greece has banned imports of pork from its northern Balkan neighbor Bulgaria due to outbreaks of African swine fever, Bulgarian Agriculture Minister Desislava Taneva said on Friday. European Union member Bulgaria has detected more than 20 outbreaks of African swine fever in pigs in industrial farms or backyards in the northern part of the Black Sea state, culling more than 50,000 pigs in July.

U.S. lawmakers grill e-cigarette maker Juul over efforts targeted at schoolchildren

E-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc funded a "holistic health education" camp as part of efforts to market directly to school-aged children, members of a U.S. congressional panel said on Thursday, citing internal company documents. Democrats on a subcommittee of the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform released a cache of internal Juul emails and other documents that committee staff described as early attempts to "enter schools and convey it's messaging directly to teenage children."

Sanofi ends partnership with Lexicon to develop diabetes drug

French drugmaker Sanofi SA said on Friday it had terminated its partnership with Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc to develop and manufacture a drug for use with insulin in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Lexicon shares fell nearly 40% in extended trading. In the U.S., getting the right medicine after a heart attack may depend on where you live

Where heart attack survivors live in the U.S. may affect their chances of getting the best medication to prevent a second attack, a new study suggests. Researchers found that New Englanders were most likely to get the right therapy after a heart attack, while those in the central part of the country were least likely.

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