Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Canada health minister proposes bans on vaping product advertising

Canada's minister of health, Patty Hajdu, on Thursday proposed banning promotion and advertising of vaping products in public spaces, convenience stores and online, in an effort to curb youth use of e-cigarettes. Hajdu also announced new mandatory health warnings on vaping product packaging. Long hours at a desk job linked to hidden high blood pressure

Working long hours behind a desk might raise the risk of undiagnosed high blood pressure, or hypertension, even when readings in a doctor's office are normal, a new study suggests. In an analysis of data from more than 3,500 white collar workers, researchers found those who spent long hours on the job were 66% more likely to have sustained hypertension and 70% more likely to have so-called masked hypertension - blood pressure that is normal in the doctor's office, but high at other times. U.S. appeals court sidesteps major Obamacare ruling

A U.S. appeals court ruled on Wednesday that a component of the Obamacare law is unconstitutional, but dodged a major ruling by stopping short of declaring that the rest of the landmark 2010 healthcare statute must also be struck down. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on a 2-1 vote that the law's individual mandate that directed Americans to obtain health insurance - a provision already gutted by Republican-backed legislation passed in Congress - was unlawful. Air pollution cuts lead quickly to large health benefits

Reducing air pollution at its source can substantially improve health within a few weeks, and the savings from reduced death and disease exceed the costs, according to a review of existing research. The authors looked at evidence of reduced deaths and disability from heart and respiratory disease and other illnesses at the individual and population levels within days or weeks of measures to reduce small-particle air pollution. The most dramatic health improvements occurred in regions with high air pollution that reduced their total output, but even small areas that decreased air pollution slightly saw improvements, the study authors report in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. FDA grants accelerated approval for Astellas, Seattle Genetics' bladder cancer drug

U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday it approved Astellas Pharma Inc and Seattle Genetics' experimental drug to treat advanced bladder cancer, about three months ahead of schedule. Shares of Seattle Genetics were up 6% at $119.05 after the bell. Merck receives FDA approval for Ebola vaccine

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it approved drugmaker Merck & Co's Ebola vaccine Ervebo, making it the first FDA-authorised vaccine against the deadly virus. The vaccine was used by the World Health Organization and Democratic Republic of the Congo as an investigational vaccine to help reduce Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreaks in few West African countries from 2014 to 2016. Novartis plans to give away world's costliest therapy to some patients

Novartis aims to give away 100 doses of its $2.1 million-per-patient Zolgensma for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in 2020 in a free-drug program that one patient group worried was a "health lottery" that could neglect some babies. Starting Jan. 2, Novartis's AveXis unit which developed Zolgensma will allocate 50 doses of the world's costliest single-dose treatment through June for babies under 2 years old, Novartis said on Thursday, with up to 100 total doses to be distributed through 2020. Israel avoids health crisis with last-minute new drug budget

Israeli ministers on Thursday averted a health care crisis by passing a last-minute allocation of 500 million shekels ($143 million) to pay for new lifesaving medicines for thousands of patients. Israel is without a permanent government and has no state budget for 2020, meaning its ministries by law revert to the previous year's budget with no new spending. Sugar and white bread tied to older women's insomnia

Older women who eat lots of sweets and processed grains may be more likely to suffer from insomnia than their counterparts whose don't consume much of these foods, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers examined data from food diaries for more than 50,000 women in their mid-60s who had already gone through menopause, a transition that is also associated with an increased risk of sleep problems and insomnia. They focused on the "dietary glycemic index," a measure of how many foods people consume that can contribute to spikes in blood sugar levels. U.S. vaping-related deaths rise to 54, hospitalizations to 2,506

U.S. health officials said on Thursday two more deaths occurred since last week from a mysterious respiratory illness tied to vaping, taking the total toll to 54. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also reported 97 more hospitalized cases from 50 states, the District of Columbia, and two U.S. territories, as of Dec. 17. The number of people hospitalized now stands at 2,506.