12/12/2012· Warnings & Labels
"Warning: Don't Supersize Me," Says NYC
New York City has done it again! Mayor Bloomberg (or as some call him, NYC's Nanny-In-Chief) and his City Health Department has declared war on oversized restaurant portions.
Originally Published in The Goldhaber Warnings Report, September 2012
By: Gerald M. Goldhaber, Ph.D.
Tel: 212-379-6661
Email Dr. Goldhaber
Tara Godoy, the President of University Park Legal Nurse Consulting in the Northern San Francisco Bay Area recently brought to our attention via a posting on the Expert Witness Network that the FDA earlier this month has issued a consumer advisory warning the public that popular topical pain relieving products such as IcyHot and Bengay have been linked to a risk of a rare chemical burn injury. These products are sold in creams, gels and patches and are designed to provide temporary relief for pain to muscles and joints. As you might suspect, millions of us (this author included) have used these products without any knowledge of this risk. The FDA said, in its September 13, 2012 alert that there is a risk of first to even third-degree burns requiring hospitalization from applying these products. To date, the FDA has reported 43 such cases involving those brands as well as Capzasin, Flexall and Mentholatum. According to the FDA, "when applied to the skin, the products produce a local sensation of warmth or coolness..these products should not cause pain or skin damage." Most of the burns, according to FDA chemist Reynold Tan, "are associated with products containing the active ingredients menthol, methyl salicylate and capsaicin." According to the FDA, most of the severe burns came from products containing menthol or a menthol/methyl salicylate combination that had more than 3% menthol or 10% methyl salicylate. Only a few cases involved capsaicin.
Although the number of cases is very small compared to the millions of us who use these products, the FDA has issued the following advice for consumers:
We thank Tara Godoy for bringing this important issue to our attention.
Feel free to pass this issue of the Goldhaber Warnings Report on to any friend or colleague.
Dr. Gerald M. Goldhaber, the President of Goldhaber Research Associates, LLC, is a nationally recognized expert in the fields of Political Polling and Warning Label Research. His clients include Fortune 500 companies, as well as educational and governmental organizations. He has conducted hundreds of surveys, including political polls for candidates running for U.S Congress, Senate, and President. Dr. Goldhaber also served as a consultant to President Reagan's Private Sector Survey for Cost Control.
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12/12/2012· Warnings & Labels
"Warning: Don't Supersize Me," Says NYC
New York City has done it again! Mayor Bloomberg (or as some call him, NYC's Nanny-In-Chief) and his City Health Department has declared war on oversized restaurant portions.
8/26/2009· Warnings & Labels
The Age of Our Warnings Contempt: Forbidden Fruit Theory
The Goldhaber Warnings Report: This past weekend as Hurricane Bill brushed past the Eastern Coast Line of the United States, bringing dangerous riptides to our shores, police and lifeguards posted explicit warning signs (reinforced by nonstop media coverage about the dangers of these riptides) closing beaches from North Carolina throughout New Jersey, New York and New England. Despite this barrage of warning and safety information, who can forget the televised images of the hundreds of apparent daredevils, mostly young men, ignoring the warnings and entering the beaches to look at the waves, and even swim or surf in the turbulent waters!
4/18/2014· Warnings & Labels
Warning: Failure To Ignore Myths About Flu May Cause Flu
According to news reported almost daily, we are and will continue to experience flu activity in the United States at record levels. Both the CDC and the Mayors of major cities such as Boston and New York have declared public health emergencies blaming the current raging flu epidemic. We all know the symptoms of the flu: aches and pains throughout the body; blocked or runny nose; chills and cold sweats, fever, fatigue or sore throat. Most medical experts agree that the quickest and safest way to prevent the flu is to get a flu shot and let the vaccine now on the market stop the epidemic spread of the flu. Sadly, as of this date, slightly more than 1/3 of our citizens got vaccinated.