Eurocare, the European Alcohol Policy Alliance, announced that last month, several of its members left the European Alcohol and Health Forum (EAHF), a European Commission body formed to address and reduce alcohol-related harm. The NGOs have been disillusioned with the ability of EAHF to provide effective and efficient changes to reduce alcohol-related harm across the EU. A call for stronger regulations, abandoning of the self-regulation policy and exclusion of industrial interests follows the announcement.
Johnson & Johnson Agrees to Pay $2.2 Billion in Drug-Marketing Settlement
Johnson & Johnson will pay $2.2 billion to resolve civil and criminal allegations involving the marketing of off-label, unapproved uses for three prescription drugs, Justice Department officials announced Monday, reports the Washington Post. The cases, which date from the late 1990s through the early 2000s, involve alleged kickbacks to doctors and pharmacies to promote the antipsychotic drugs Risperdal and Invega, and a heart drug, Natrecor. The widely anticipated agreement was one of the largest health-care fraud settlements in U.S. history.
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