Nope, no prices on drug ads

A court has blocked yet another Trump administration rule — this one that required drug companies to put their prices on ads. The federal judge ruled that being forced to disclose their prices exceeded the authority of the Department of Health and Human Services. (He did not say whether the rule also violated the companies’ First Amendment rights, another argument they had made.)

Teen gateway

Teens who use opioids for the high (as opposed to using them for pain management) are more likely to start using heroin by the time they graduate high school — so finds a new survey out of the University of Southern California.

Chew on these numbers:

• Teens who previously used opioids: 10.7% chance to use heroin before graduation.
• Teens who currently use opioids: 13.1% chance to use heroin before graduation.
• Teens who never used opioids: 1.7% chance to use heroin before graduation.

Hep A, take 2

A Georgia restaurant employee tested positive for hepatitis A after serving guests. No, this isn’t the story we wrote about on June 28 — this one was at a Wendy’s in Lawrenceville.

A year at a time

Giving women a full year’s supply of birth control pills would prevent more unintended pregnancies, according to a study out of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

“Our analysis shows that concerns about wastage of contraceptive pills are overshadowed by the potential consequences of missed refills, and especially of unintended pregnancies.”

Looking at the Veterans Administration, the researchers found it could also produce “substantial cost savings.”

Novartis enters the battle against the EpiPen shortage

The company will be making its pre-filled Symjepi shots, for children and adults, available to pharmacies. (Currently it’s in use in hospitals only.)

Wait, what?

“Legalizing pot tied to less teen marijuana use.”

But when you hear the possible reason, it makes more sense: “It may actually be more difficult for teens to obtain marijuana as drug dealers are replaced by licensed dispensaries that require proof of age.”

Elsewhere: France

The French healthcare ministry will stop reimbursing patients for homeopathic remedies, “citing what it said was the insufficient effectiveness of the drugs.”

Keeping terminology straight: These aren’t alternative medications, like St. John’s Wort. These are homeopathic “remedies” — highly diluted substances made under the theory that water ‘remembers’ the chemical that it once contained.

The long read: pacemaker edition

Today’s long read was going to be “What the Measles Epidemic Really Says About America*,” but that was depressing. So instead check out “What Good Does a Pacemaker Do in a Corpse?” — granted it’s medicine rather than pharmacy, but it’s a fascinating story nevertheless.

* Link here if you’re really interested