Toyota Expands Recall of Floor Mats, Feds Target Cigarette Companies, and More Latest Health and Medical News Developments

Strategic Insights -

U.S. regulators have requested and Toyota has agreed to expand a voluntary recall of floor mats that can jam against accelerator pedals, affecting over 2.1 million vehicles in the United States. This move comes as the Justice Department is seeking to force major cigarette makers to run an ad campaign acknowledging their past misbehavior and the dangers of smoking. Additionally, new studies have found that blocking an enzyme can prevent breast cancer from spreading, and that spending on drugs for diabetes and cholesterol has exceeded $52 billion.

Key Takeaways:

  • Toyota has expanded its recall of floor mats that can cause unintended acceleration, affecting over 2.1 million vehicles in the United States.
  • The vehicles included in the recall are the Toyota RAV4, Lexus LX, Toyota 4Runner, Toyota Highlander, Lexus RX, and Lexus GS.
  • The Justice Department is seeking to force major cigarette makers to run an ad campaign acknowledging their past misbehavior and the dangers of smoking, using 14 "corrective statements" released in a 12-year-old lawsuit.
  • These statements include admitting that smoking is addictive, that children exposed to secondhand smoke are at higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome, and that smoking kills 1,200 Americans every day.
  • A study has found that blocking an enzyme called LOXL2 can prevent breast cancer from spreading to other organs in mice.
  • The study, which appears in the journal Cancer Research, was funded by the Breast Cancer Campaign in the UK and offers a potential target for the development of new drugs to prevent breast cancer metastasis in women.
  • Spending on drugs for diabetes and cholesterol exceeded $52.2 billion in 2008, accounting for 22% of the total $233 billion spent on outpatient prescription medicines.
  • The four classes of drugs with the second-highest levels of spending were central and nervous system drugs, cardiovascular drugs, antacids and gastrointestinal medicines, and antidepressants and psychotherapeutic drugs.
  • Whooping cough cases in the United States topped 21,000 in 2010, the highest number since 2005 and one of the highest numbers in over 50 years.

Statistics:

  • Over 2.1 million vehicles affected by the expanded Toyota recall
  • 1,200 Americans die every day due to smoking
  • Spending on drugs for diabetes and cholesterol exceeded $52.2 billion in 2008, accounting for 22% of the total $233 billion spent on outpatient prescription medicines
  • 21,000 cases of whooping cough reported in the United States in 2010

Sources:

  • USA Today
  • BBC News
  • Associated Press
  • Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (News and Numbers)
  • Cancer Research (journal)
  • Breast Cancer Campaign in the UK