ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. – All canned Slim Fast drinks are being voluntarily recalled by the company over fears of bacterial contamination that could cause diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. The recall affects all 10 million products currently on the market.

The products could possibly be contaminated with the microorganism Bacillus cereus. Unilever says the probability of serious health problems is remote, and the Food and Drug Administration says there have been no deaths or injuries associated with the recall.

An unknown number of people have gotten sick about six to 15 hours after consuming the diet drink, but have recovered within about 24 hours. Read the full story

Marijuana’s addiction potential may be no big deal, but it’s certainly big business.

According to a widely publicized 1999 Institute of Medicine report, fewer than 10 percent of those who try cannabis ever meet the clinical criteria for a diagnosis of “drug dependence” (based on DSM-III-R criteria). By contrast, 32 percent of tobacco users and 15 percent of alcohol users meet the criteria for “drug dependence.”

Nevertheless, it is pot — not booze or cigarettes — that has the federal government seeing red and clinical investigators seeing green. As I reported for AlterNet last year, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which overseas more than 85 percent of the world’s research on controlled substances, recently appropriated some $4 million in taxpayers’ dollars to establish the nation’s first-ever Center for Cannabis Addiction. Its mission: to “develop novel approaches to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of marijuana addiction.” Read the full story

The American Medical Assn. changes its policy to promote clinical research and development of cannabis-based medicines and alternative delivery methods.

The American Medical Assn. on Tuesday urged the federal government to reconsider its classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug with no accepted medical use, a significant shift that puts the prestigious group behind calls for more research.

The nation’s largest physicians organization, with about 250,000 member doctors, the AMA has maintained since 1997 that marijuana should remain a Schedule I controlled substance, the most restrictive category, which also includes heroin and LSD.

In changing its policy, the group said its goal was to clear the way to conduct clinical research, develop cannabis-based medicines and devise alternative ways to deliver the drug.

“Despite more than 30 years of clinical research, only a small number of randomized, controlled trials have been conducted on smoked cannabis,” said Dr. Edward Langston, an AMA board member, noting that the limited number of studies was “insufficient to satisfy the current standards for a prescription drug product.” Read the full story

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A 14-year-old Virginia boy is weak and struggling to walk after coming down with a reported case of Guillain-Barre syndrome within hours after receiving the H1N1 vaccine for swine flu.

Jordan McFarland, a high school athlete from Alexandria, Va., left Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children Tuesday night in a wheelchair nearly a week after developing severe headaches, muscle spasms and weakness in his legs following a swine flu shot. He will likely need the assistance of a walker for four to six weeks, plus extensive physical therapy.

“The doctor said I’ll recover fully, but it’s going to take some time,” the teenager said. Read the full story

Cigarettes with candy, fruit or clove flavorings have been banned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USA. The ban has been authorized by the new Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

Many people accuse the tobacco industry of trying to lure children into smoking by adding flavors to their cigarettes. A significant proportion of adults who are addicted to tobacco today started smoking when they were children.

Read the full story

What’s Really in Supplements?

Regulators and Physicians Raise Alarms About Dangerous Ingredients in Many Herbal Remedies Read the full story

FDA approves swine flu vaccine

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration approved the new swine flu vaccine Tuesday, a long-anticipated step as the government works to get vaccinations underway next month. Read the full story