Health Highlights: Nov. 9, 2018

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

FDA to Ban Most Flavored E-Cigarettes

A ban on sales of most flavored electronic cigarettes in retail stores and gas stations across the United States is to be introduced by the Food and Drug Administration, according to media reports.

It’s part of the FDA’s efforts to reduce teens’ use of flavored e-cigarettes.

A senior FDA official said details of the ban would be announced next week, and that menthol and mint flavors would be exempt, The New York Times reported.

The agency will also mandate age age-verification measures for online sales to prevent minors from buying the flavor pods.

The FDA launched a crackdown on flavored e-cigarettes earlier this year, as the number of teens using the products reached epidemic proportions, The Times reported.

The latest measures come after months of meetings between the FDA and e-cigarette makers on how to reduce teen use of the devices.

In a statement last week, FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said some e-cigarette makers seemed to support raising the minimum age for buying tobacco products sales to 21 years, The Times reported.

The FDA has warned several e-cigarette makers to stop marketing to teenagers or risk being banned. Major companies were given 60 days to prove they could keep their devices away from minors, and the deadline is this weekend.

The agency also warned 1,100 retailers to stop selling e-cigarettes to minors, and fined some of them, The Times reported.

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U.S. Gun Deaths on the Rise: CDC

Gun deaths are on the rise in the United States, according to a federal government study.

It said that in 2015-16, there were 27,394 homicides involving a guns, and 44,955 suicides involving guns, CNN reported.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that nationally, 4.4 per 100,000 people were killed by someone using a gun in 2015-16, while the rate was 4.9 per 100,000 in the 50 largest metropolitan areas combined.

In 2012-13, the rates were 3.7 per 100,000 and 4.1 per 100,000, respectively, CNN reported.

The current rate of gun-related deaths is similar to those in 2006-07, according to the study was published Thursday in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Research shows that the U.S. has the world’s highest rate of gun ownership by civilians, and the highest rate of gun-related deaths among industrialized countries, CNN reported.

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