By Rita R. Robison, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy organization, offered recommendations this week to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on several steps to take to better protect the public.

They include:

• Committing to a rigorous review of the public online incident database during the first year after it launches.
•  Removing roadblocks to the enforcement of testing and certification requirements for consumer products.
• Publicizing performance benchmarks to achieve the commission’s goal to increase the speed in which it notifies the public about dangerous products.

“The CPSC is at a crucial point in implementing the mandates that Congress set out in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008,” said Christine Hines, Public Citizen’s consumer and civil justice counsel, who testified at a public hearing to discuss the commission’s agenda and priorities for fiscal year 2012. “We will continue to urge the commission to make decisions in favor of protecting consumers and not industry.”

The safety act was signed into law in 2008. Among its provisions are:

• Adding safety and testing requirements for consumer products, especially children’s products.
•  Calling for the gradual elimination of lead from products.
•  Banning phthalates in toys and children’s articles.

Calling for the creation of a comprehensive publicly accessible consumer complaint database.

The online incident database, expected to launch in March 2011, will allow consumers to more efficiently report potential hazards and better research products before they buy, Hines said.

Public Citizen urges the commission to be vigilant about including new product safety information and updating the database in a timely manner, she said.

Public Citizen also suggested that the agency support legislation that would require foreign manufacturers importing goods into the U.S. to maintain registered agents in the U.S. to receive notice of civil and regulatory claims initiated against them. Requiring a registered agent would allow the commission and consumers to hold foreign manufacturers accountable, especially given that the majority of potentially harmful consumer products are imported, Hines said.

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By Rita R. Robison, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

In a recent study, specific meditation performed daily for eight weeks increased brain activity in areas important to memory and actually improved cognition or thought processes in 15 patients suffering from memory problems.

Kirtan Kriya or KK, the meditation evaluated in the study, is a 12-minute practice from the Kundalini yoga tradition.

At the beginning of the study, participants, ranging in age from 52 to 77, were given cognitive tests and blood flow was measures with imaging scans. They were taught KK and instructed to practice it each day for eight weeks.

A small comparison group, who listened to music, also was recruited. The “music group” was instructed to listen to two Mozart violin concertos each day for approximately 12 minutes.

After eight weeks, cognitive tests and scans were repeated for both groups. The study found that:

• Central blood flow was increased in the KK group.
• The KK group did better on a neuropsychological test that measures cognition by asking subjects to name as many animals as they can in one minute.
• Improvements were also seen in the KK group in three other cognitive tests that measured general memory, attention, and cognition.
• The music group had no statistically significant improvements in cognition.
• Participants found the meditation to be enjoyable and beneficial and thought their cognitive function had been improved.

The researchers believe that KK meditation can have a meaningful impact on memory and on the quality of people’s lives as they age.”

The results of the study, conducted at the University of Pennsylvania, were published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

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By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning All-Terrain Vehicle or ATV riders to take precautions to stay safe this holiday weekend and riding season.

For the four-day period surrounding the 2009 Memorial Day holiday, the commission is aware of 27 fatalities, with two under the age of 16, averaging almost seven deaths a day.

As the main ATV riding season kicks into gear, so does the increase in deaths. Just last month, the commission staff learned through media reports of at least 40 fatalities between April 1 and April 30, including 12 involving children younger than 16 years of age.

Commission data indicates that ATV-related deaths jump on average 30 percent from March to April for children younger than 16 years of age. Adult deaths increase 88 percent on average for the same time period.

During 2003-2005, ATV-related deaths rose each month during the spring and into the summer, peaking in July, when 23 children and 76 adults were killed in ATV-related incidents on average.

In April 2009, manufacturers and distributors were required to offer free, hands-on training through their dealers to first-time purchasers and members of their immediate families.

The commission also requires companies to offer first-time purchasers an incentive valued at $100 for taking the hands-on training offered by the ATV Safety Institute or ASI. ASI also offers online training for experienced ATV riders.

Many ATV-related deaths and injuries are preventable. The commission encourages all ATV riders, young and old, to make this riding season safer by following the basic rules of the trail: 

• Take a hands-on safety training course. 
• Always wear protective gear – especially a helmet – when riding ATVs. 
• Don’t ride or drive a single-rider ATV with a passenger or ride as a passenger. 
• Don’t drive ATVs on paved roads. 
• Don’t permit children younger than 16 to drive or ride adult ATVs. Always choose an age-appropriate ATV for your child.

Recreational off-highway vehicles or ROVs, also known as side-by-sides, have grown in popularity in recent years, and the commission wants riders and passengers to know that they’re different from ATVs. ROVs have a steering wheel, bench or bucket seats, seatbelts, foot controls, and a roll cage. They, too, are associated with a number of fatalities and injuries every year.

Keep safety first when using both types of off road vehicle, the commission recommends. To learn more, visit ATVSafety.gov.

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By Rita R. Robison, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Over on The Consumerist, a post describes the Food and Drug Administration’s investigation of a Walgreens plan to sell genetic-testing kits. The kits, to cost about $20, were to be available in stores later this month.

The genetic testing, to be done by San Diego-based Pathway Genomics, would cost from $79 to $249. However, neither firm sought FDA approval, reports The Consumerist. The tests were to give consumers information about their personal genetic makeup and traits.

Some medical ethicists have criticized Walgreens’ plans because consumers won’t be required to share the test results with a doctor, and they may misinterpret results., according to the post. Privacy advocates have also expressed concerns about the test kits.

See “FDA Investigating Walgreens Genetic-Testing Kits” for details.

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By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Even with the growing body of evidence linking environmental exposures to cancer in recent years, a report released by the President’s Cancer Panel finds that the true burden of environmentally-induced cancer is greatly underestimated.

The Panel’s report, “Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now,” concludes that while environmental exposure isn’t new in cancer prevention, the harm from this group of carcinogens hasn’t been addressed adequately by the National Cancer Program.

Key findings

Nearly 80,000 chemicals, which are unstudied or understudied and largely unregulated, are used in products sold in the United States. While exposure to potential environmental carcinogens is widespread, the public remains unaware of many of these carcinogens as well as their own level of exposure, especially to many common environmental carcinogens such as radon, formaldehyde, and benzene, the report finds.

In addition to environmental carcinogens, the report found that while improved imaging technologies have facilitated diagnosing and treating diseases, including cancer, some of these technologies also carry risks from increased radiation exposures. Many health care professionals, as well as the public, are unaware of the radiation dose associated with various tests or the total radiation dose and related increased cancer risk individuals may accumulate over a lifetime.

The report also found that health care providers often fail to consider occupational and environmental factors when diagnosing patient illness. Physicians and other medical professionals ask infrequently about patient workplace and home environments when taking a medical history, thereby missing out on information that could be valuable in discovering underlying causes of disease.

The report also recognizes the United States military as a major source of toxic occupational and environmental exposures that can increase cancer risk.

Recommendations

The panel recommends actions that government, industry, individuals, and research, health care, and advocacy organizations can take to reduce cancer risk related to environmental contaminants, excess radiation, and other harmful exposures.

Key recommendations include:

• Increase, broaden, and improve research regarding environmental contaminants and human health.
• Raise consumer awareness of environmental cancer risks and improve understanding and reporting of known exposures.
• Increase awareness of environmental cancer risks and effects of exposure among health care providers.
• Enhance efforts to eliminate unnecessary radiation-emitting medical tests, and to ensure that radiation doses are as low as reasonably achievable without sacrificing quality.
• Aggressively address the toxic environmental exposures the U.S. military has caused, and improve response to associated health problems among both military personnel and civilians.

Among the additional recommendations are the need for a comprehensive policy on the issue, stronger regulations, and safer alternatives to many currently used chemicals.

For more information, see “President’s Cancer Panel: Environmentally Caused Cancers Are ‘Grossly Underestimated’ and ‘Needlessly Devastate American Lives.’”

For the complete report, visit pcp.cancer.gov. Hard copies may be ordered by writing to pcp-r@mail.nih.gov or President’s Cancer Panel, 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 220, Bethesda, MD 20892.

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