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Abortions by pill no riskier later, report says

Students report widespread use.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published August 16, 2007

WASHINGTON - Teenagers say drug problems at school are getting worse, and parents express doubts about ever making such schools drug free, a new study says.

The percentage of teens who say they attend high schools with drug problems has increased from 44 percent to 61 percent since 2002, and the percentage in middle schools has increased from 19 percent to 31 percent, according to the survey to be released today by Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.

Four in five teens in high school told researchers they have witnessed the use, sale or possession of illegal drugs on high school grounds, or seen someone who was drunk or high on campus.

Thirteen percent of teens said they had tried marijuana, and 4 percent said they had used it in the past month. Such survey results are often understated because respondents are hesitant to admit such drug use.

The survey of 1,063 teens from 12 to 17 years old and 550 parents was conducted from April 2 to May 13.

Dust effect on cats may be kids' red flag

A federal study suggests that household dust containing a common flame retardant may be linked to an increase in cat illnesses from overactive thyroids.

That could be a warning sign for how young children could get exposed to the chemical, said Linda Birnbaum, director of experimental toxicology at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and co-author of the study.

The small study looks at chemical flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, which were used in foam, plastics, furniture, electronics, fabrics and carpet padding. The sole U.S. manufacturer in 2004 agreed to phase out the types of PBDEs included in the study because of concern about toxicity in animals, but PBDEs remain in American homes.

The study of 23 cats found older felines with high levels of certain types of PBDEs tended to have overactive thyroids, the researchers reported online Wednesday.

Here are some ways to limit exposure to PBDE, dust and other indoor air pollutants:

- Dust often, and try to avoid stirring up dust when vacuuming and cleaning

- Use vacuums with high efficiency filters

- Make sure there is proper ventilation

- Wash hands after cleaning and dusting

- Remove shoes when entering the house

- Cover or replace cushions when foam pads are exposed

- Cover mattresses and pillows with dustproof zippered covers

- Wash bedding once per week in hot water

- Choose washable stuffed toys and wash often in hot water

Ditch Camel No. 9 ads, groups, Congress urge

Dozens of women's and public health organizations called on R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Wednesday to remove from the market its Camel No. 9 cigarettes, a brand they say is cynically aimed at getting young, fashion-conscious women and girls to start smoking.

Camel No. 9, which hit stores early this year, has stylish packaging and ads that included florals, hints of lace and the slogan "Light and Luscious." The latest ad campaign says "Now available in stiletto" - a longer, thinner cigarette.

Also Wednesday, a group of more than 40 U.S. Congress members said it had been rebuffed by major women's and fashion magazines in their effort to get the magazines to stop publishing ads for the Camels and other cigarettes.

A spokesman for R.J. Reynolds repeated the company's contention that the brand "is marketed to adult smokers of competing brands."

Women who use abortion pills rather than the more common surgical method seem to face no greater risk of tubal pregnancy or miscarriage in later pregnancies, according to federally funded research.

The research, on nearly 12,000 Danish women, is considered the best study to date of the impact of this newer abortion method on subsequent pregnancies.

The vast majority of abortions are called surgical abortions, usually done by vacuuming an embryo or fetus out with a syringe or electric pump.

U.S. and Danish researchers studied medical abortions, which generally involve a woman ending a pregnancy by taking one tablet of mifespristone - formerly known as RU-486 - followed by about four misoprostol pills a day or two later.

The U.S. government approved the marketing of mifepristone for medical abortions in 2000, and European countries approved it years earlier. Today, an estimated 8 to 10 percent of the roughly 1.3-million abortions in the United States are done using the pills.

While previous research has shown surgical abortions do not increase the risk of problems in later pregnancies, little research had been done into the impact of medical abortions. The new study found tubal pregnancies, in which a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, occurred at the same frequency - about 2.5 percent of the time - in both the medical and surgical groups. The rates of miscarriage, early deliveries and low birth weight babies also were similar.

[Last modified August 16, 2007, 00:48:21]