Health & Safety

Health & Safety

The FDA and WHO disagree over whether aspartame is a 'possible carcinogen'

5:16am July 14, 2023

The World Health Organization has designated aspartame as a possible carcinogen. But the FDA disagrees saying the evidence is flawed and artificial sweetener is safe. How much is safe to consume?

Disposable vapes in many kid-friendly fruity flavors, are displayed for sale at a shop in Pinecrest, Fla., Monday, June 26, 2023. Since 2020, the number of different vaping devices for sale in the U.S. has exploded, driven by a wave of disposable models from China.

Health & Safety

They're illegal. So why is it so easy to buy the disposable vapes favored by teens?

5:01am July 14, 2023

by Yuki Noguchi

The FDA cracked down on the nicotine devices, yet they're stocked on many store shelves. The reason has to do with burgeoning overseas production, lack of clear rules, and lax enforcement.

Coca-Cola began blending aspartame into Diet Coke in the 1980s. The artificial sweetener is used in lots of products from diet sodas, to low-sugar jams, yogurts, cereals and chewing gum.

WHO says aspartame is a 'possible carcinogen.' The FDA disagrees

6:33pm July 13, 2023

by Allison Aubrey

Moderate consumption of aspartame is OK, scientists say. But heavy consumers may want to reduce their intake. The WHO says aspartame may "possibly" cause cancer. The FDA questions the evidence.

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Older athletes find competition and community at the National Senior Games

5:36pm July 13, 2023

by Jillian Forstadt

More than 11,000 athletes from across the U.S. have flocked to Pittsburgh this week to compete in the National Senior Games. The Olympics-style competition celebrates staying active and healthy aging.

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FDA approves the first over-the-counter birth control pill, Opill

4:44pm July 13, 2023

by Sydney Lupkin

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first over-the-counter birth control pill. The daily oral contraceptive, called Opill, will be available without a prescription.

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A week in science: A copper-age "queen," a sea squirt and malaria-fighting mosquitoes

4:44pm July 13, 2023

NPR's Adrian Florido talks with Short Wave hosts Regina Barber and Geoff Brumfiel about a copper-age "queen," a 500-million-year-old sea squirt, and a way to help mosquitoes fight malaria.

Veterinarians worry about their access to tranquilizer xylazine with new restrictions

4:28pm July 13, 2023

by Scott Maucione

Multiple states are cracking down on xylazine after it started showing up in illicit opioids. But controlling the drug is causing headaches for veterinarians who use the drug to sedate large animals.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the latest member of the Kennedy dynasty to run for president, regularly shares a dizzying range of falsehoods and conspiracy theories.

RFK Jr. is building a presidential campaign around conspiracy theories

4:28pm July 13, 2023

by Shannon Bond

The latest member of the Kennedy dynasty to run for president regularly shares a dizzying range of falsehoods and conspiracy theories on podcasts and at other campaign appearances.

Health & Safety

Turbulence aboard Allegiant flight injures 2 passengers, 2 flight attendants

3:50pm July 13, 2023

by Associated Press

Two passengers and two flight attendants were injured when a plane plunged nearly a mile during severe turbulence Wednesday while flying from North Carolina to Florida, officials

President George H. W. Bush holds a bag of crack cocaine as he poses for photographers in the Oval Office of the White House, Sept. 5, 1989.

Why the crack cocaine epidemic hit Black communities 'first and worst'

2:59pm July 13, 2023

by Tonya Mosley

"We won't heal until we make sense of the crack epidemic," Donovan X. Ramsey says. His book, When Crack Was King, examines the drug's destructive path through the Black community.

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