Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
AMA Calls for Ban on Powdered Alcohol
Powdered alcohol poses a serious risk to young people and should be banned nationwide, a new American Medical Association policy says.
Powdered alcohol is mixed with liquid to create a drink. It was approved for sale in the U.S. in 2015, but doctors and public health advocates are growing increasingly concerned about the health dangers of the product, according to the AMA.
“Given the variety of flavors that could be enticing to youth and concerns that the final alcohol concentration could be much greater than intended by the manufacturer, we believe that powdered alcohol has the potential to cause serious harm to minors and should be banned,” AMA Board member Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld said in a news release from the group.
“We urge states and the federal government to prevent powdered alcohol from being manufactured, distributed, imported and sold in the U.S.,” Ehrenfeld added.
More than 30 states have banned powdered alcohol.
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No Link Between Coffee and Cancer: Experts
There isn’t enough proof to show a link between coffee and cancer, and coffee is no longer classified as a possible carcinogen, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) says.
“I’m not really sure why coffee was in a higher category in the first place,” Owen Yang, an epidemiologist at Oxford University who has examined the possible link between coffee and cancer, told the Associated Press.
“The best evidence available suggests that coffee does not raise the cancer risk,” said Yang, who was not part of the IARC expert panel that reexamined the link between coffee and cancer and outlined its conclusions in a letter published in The Lancet Oncology journal.
However, IARC also said that drinking “very hot” beverages of any kind could possibly boost cancer risk and classified them as “probably carcinogenic” to people, the AP reported.
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Rio Olympics Won’t Boost Spread of Zika in Other Countries: WHO
The Zika virus will not spread faster internationally due to the Rio Olympics in August, according to a World Health Organization panel of experts.
The WHO Emergency Committee explained that cooler weather in Rio has considerably slowed the spread of the virus, and Brazilian officials are taking measures to further reduce mosquito populations, NBC News reported.
“The committee concluded that there is a very low risk of further international spread of Zika virus as a result of the Olympic and Paralympic Games as Brazil will be hosting the Games during the Brazilian winter,” the WHO said in a statement.
Experts have noted that Brazil already has a large number of international travelers, NBC News reported.
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