Health Highlights: June 11, 2019

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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Texas Raises Age to Buy Tobacco Products to 21

Governor Greg Abbott of Texas has signed a law raising the age to buy tobacco products — including cigarettes and e-cigarettes — to 21.

The one exception to the law, which goes into effect in September, is an exemption for people in the armed forces, CNN reported.

“Delaying the age when young people first begin to use tobacco — the leading cause of preventable death — will reduce the risk they will develop a deadly addiction,” Shelby Massey with the American Heart Association told CNN affiliate KXAN-TV.

Texas is the latest state to raise the age to by tobacco to 21. Other states include Illinois, Hawaii, California, New Jersey, Oregon, Maine and Massachusetts, and laws will take effect this year in Arkansas and Virginia.

Advocates of raising the age to purchase tobacco products also hope to stem the increase of e-cigarette use among teens.

“The skyrocketing growth of young people’s e-cigarette use over the past year threatens to erase progress made in reducing youth tobacco use. It’s putting a new generation at risk for nicotine addiction,” CDC director Robert Redfield, told CNN.

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Opioid Drug Company Insys Files for Bankruptcy

On Monday, opioid maker Insys Therapeutics filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy only days after agreeing to an $255 mullion settlement with the federal government for its marketing practices.

The announcement doesn’t mean the company is closing its doors. Rather, it’s looking for some breathing room as it figures out how to pay its creditors, including the government, The New York Times said. The provisions of a chapter 11 bankruptcy allow the company to stay in business as it reorganizes itself.

The specific drug in question is Subsys, an under-the-tongue spray, approved only for cancer patients already on round-the-clock opioids.

Last month, a federal jury in Boston found Insys and its founder, John Kapoor, along with the company’s top executives, guilty of fueling sales of Subsys by bribing doctors and misleading insurance companies.

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Asbestos Found in Claire’s JoJo Siwa’s Makeup Kit Sparks Recall

Claire’s stores has initiated a recall of its JoJo Siwa’s Makeup Kit after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found asbestos fibers in the kit’s eyeshadow, CBS reported.

The recall is for Batch/Lot No. S180109. Although the product has been pulled from store shelves, consumers may have it at home. The kit includes eyeshadow, two lip glosses and nail polish and was sold nationwide.

Another recall is in effect for the Beauty Plus Global Contour Effects Palette 2, Batch No. S1603002/PD-C1179, which is also tainted with asbestos.

Consumers who have these products are advised to stop using them. Both kits can be returned to Claire’s stores for a full refund.

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