Congress cuts federal funding for needle exchanges

Media outlets report on several public health issues, including a renewed funding ban on needle exchanges and a call for recalling a stent system.

Kaiser Health News: Needle-Exchange Programs Face New Federal Funding Ban 
Federal funding for syringe- exchange programs -; a controversial concept that public health advocates have long argued prevents the spread of HIV and other diseases -; is about to be prohibited once more, just two years after Congress lifted a 21-year ban (Barr, 12/21).

CQ HealthBeat: Public Citizen: FDA Should Recall Stent System Associated With Higher Risk of Stroke
Public Citizen urged the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday to recall a Boston Scientific stent system, citing a recent study that found a 2.5-fold increase in strokes or deaths among those in whom it was used. The consumer advocacy group's petition focuses on the Wingspan Stent System, which is used to place a wire mesh tube, or stent, in narrowed arteries leading to the brain (Bristol, 12/21).

The New York Times: Health Fears Over Suspect French Breast Implants Spread Abroad
Health officials in at least a half-dozen countries are grappling with the intense anxiety of tens of thousands of women who received breast implants that were made in France with substandard silicone -; and that have been rupturing at unusually high rates. ... None of PIP's implants appear to have been sold in the United States (de la Baume and Jolly, 12/21).