Bogus products that make “breakthrough” health claims on the Internet or promise cures for illnesses, such as cancer, target the most vulnerable consumers. Be wary of on-line swine flu remedies not authorized by Health Canada that are making unsubstantiated health claims that they kill or ward off the virus. Consult your health care practitioner before trying any new treatment. Don’t be influenced by “miraculous” testimonials discussed on websites and blogs. Think twice before buying a product that claims it can “do it all.”
QUICK TIP: If you have questions or complaints about counterfeit drugs and/or drugs purchased over the Internet, please call Health Canada’s toll-free line at 1 800 267 9675. If you suspect that a website is promoting a treatment or cure that is too good to be true.

2. Not So “Free” Trials

You may want to try out a new diet product, an acne cream or teeth whitener, but be careful about signing up for ‘free’ trial offers. Many websites offering a free trial for products do not disclose the billing terms and conditions or do not have such details prominently displayed on their website. Before providing any credit or debit card information, review the website fully to avoid in repeated billing. Remember that money transfers and direct debit are two of the main methods by which scam artists seek to obtain your money.
QUICK TIP: When considering trial offers, be sure to first determine whether you are enrolling in a membership, subscription or service contract that allows the company.

3. ID Theft

Often people find out that they are victims of identity theft after they are contacted by a collections’ agency for an account they never set up or because their credit has taken a hit. ID theft is when someone uses your information to obtain loans, goods, or services and does not pay the bills. Increasingly, people are being lured online into revealing personal information.

QUICK TIP: Do not fall for requests for information, or other scare tactics. Online scammers send emails that look legitimate, requesting that your “account information needs to be updated.” Another new tactic called “scareware” has a pop-up message showing that your computer is infected with a virus and that you need to visit a website to purchase and download anti-virus software that would fix the problem. These are all phishing tactics, ways to get you to reveal personal or financial information. If you receive these messages just delete them and do not click on any links. Doing so may compromise your computer’s security. If you are a victim of ID Theft call your financial institutions to request that your current cards be cancelled and that new cards be issued. You should also contact your local police and Canada’s main credit reporting agencies: TransUnion Canada at tuc.ca (1 866 525 0262) and Equifax Canada at equifax.ca (1 866 779 6440).

4. Home Repair Rip-Offs

Imagine hearing that your furnace is leaking dangerous carbon monoxide into your home. Many times homeowners are told that they need to do an immediate replacement due to a crack in their heat exchanger or because the contractor has a gas-sniffer device which shows high carbon monoxide levels. This high pressure safety situation often ends up in unnecessary and costly repairs.
QUICK TIP: Do not make a decision to repair right away. Start with the Better Business Bureau and search for a company reliability report at bbb.org. Ask the person to provide a gas permit and a license with the BC Safety Authority and call to verify it at: 1 866 566 7233.

6. Free Government Money Schemes

Do you think you are entitled to free money from the Canadian government? Be suspicious of companies offering “free” advice on obtaining government grants. Often social networking sites and online ads will point to blogs that appear to be written by everyday people who are sharing the secret of how they received thousands of dollars in grants from the government to pay off their debt. In reality, this is a mass marketing scheme that does not provide an easy way for you to get a government grant. Rather, it costs you money to participate.

7. Business Opportunities

Your friend or a family member may have invited you to attend a presentation involving an investment opportunity. You don’t know anything about the company, and are desperate to hear that it is legit. These investments appear lucrative, but often involve more hype than substance. The promoter convinces investors that they can be part owners of an exciting investment portfolio, provided that they enlist new recruits. The promoter may even offer promising commissions in cash and bullion.

QUICK TIP: In reality, this could be an illegal pyramid scheme. The new capital brought on by new investors is keeping this imaginary investment afloat. Get the facts. If you attend an information session, be sure to collect business cards and promotional materials

8. Cashback Fraud

Cashback fraud usually begins when you advertise something for sale, such as a car. A buyer agrees to pay your asking price, but sends you a cheque or banker’s draft for a larger sum. The person asks you to bank his cheque and send him a money transfer for the difference. Sure enough, his or her cheque bounces a few days after your money transfer has left your account. You’re now out of pocket and looking for a bogus buyer who’s out-of-reach.
QUICK TIP: Criminal cashback works because cheques take longer to clear than electronic bank transfers. Do not ever wire money to a stranger. Do not allow greed to be your guide – be careful of offers higher than the asking price.

9. Hidden Cell Phone Charges

If you own a cell phone and see new and unexplained charges on your bill each month, it may be due to premium text message services. People complain that they did not realize they were signing up for this service when they agreed to play an online game or to take an IQ test. In the end they receive monthly billings which do not come from their cell phone service providers, but through other third-party companies.

10. Mystery Jobs Scams

The scenario sounds too good to be true, and it is. You have been led to believe that you will be paid to mystery shop via a wire-transfer service. You receive a cheque, which you are told to deposit, keeping a small percentage of the money as your wage. You are then asked to send the back difference via a wire transfer and to complete a survey on the service you encounter. In the end, the cheque bounces and you lose all your money.
QUICK TIP: Be skeptical of mystery shopper ads in newspapers or online. In most cases these are bogus services requiring you to pay money upfront. Avoid companies that promise guaranteed jobs, and that sell directories of companies that provide mystery shoppers

The World Health Organisation published findings as early as 2000 showing that global warming caused 150,000 deaths each year – deaths that would not have occurred in a normal context. We expect that number to rise to 500,000 deaths per year by 2030.

Yet the impact of climate change on our health is a little-known issue. People think it’s a marginal problem. We can see this even in the current summit at Copenhagen.
Which countries are most affected by climate-caused health problems?

As usual, developing countries are the most vulnerable. Climate change favours the spread of diseases transmitted by mosquito or tick bites, like dengue fever, malaria, or yellow fever, which are most rampant in sub-Saharan countries in Africa. The disease-carrying insects reproduce more and live longer in warmer temperatures. Global warming also causes natural disasters like floods, cyclones or massive draughts. There again, developing countries are the hardest hit.

Are rich countries also affected?

In developed countries, floods caused by climate change are already responsible for many human casualties. There are also heat waves: we expect there to be one major heatwave every two years in France at the end of the 21st century.

Children and people suffering from asthma are also particularly at risk, because they are particularly sensitive to air pollution. Global warming makes air pollution spikes more frequent and aggressive.

Mosquito-transmitted diseases also exist in Europe, although to a lesser degree. Lyme disease, an infection transmitted by ticks, is emerging everywhere in Europe. Certain people say that malaria could resurge in Europe – I think it’s very possible. France has a good healthcare system and is well equipped to fight the disease, but other Mediterranean countries may not be as well prepared.

Finally, climate change favours the development of all sorts of allergies: it is estimated that one out of two people will suffer from allergies by 2050. Spring pollen season, well known to all those who suffer from hay fever, lasts longer in warmer climates. And the pollen produced by plants growing in polluted atmospheres is more allergenic
“As nearly 200 nations begin important climate talks in Copenhagen this week, we are heartened to see that our government is recognizing the global warming threat. Earthjustice has been in the courts, in Congress, and in the international negotiations, pushing for actions to curb global warming pollution, require better energy efficiency in appliances and buildings, and promote cleaner, renewable energy sources. We urge the EPA and President Obama to advocate for action in Copenhagen and commit our country to significant global warming pollution cuts that will lead us towards a clean energy future.

In its second report on the potentially defective building materials, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said its investigation also has found a “possible” link between health problems reported by homeowners and higher-than-normal levels of hydrogen sulfide gas emitted from the wallboard coupled with formaldehyde, which is commonly found in new houses.

The commission, along with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, continues to study the potential health effects, and the long-term implications of the corrosion.

“We can say that we believe that there’s a number of different chemicals that when brought together can be related to some of these irritant health effects that we’ve been getting reports of,” said CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson. “But we’re still working toward that exact nexus.”

The commission said it can now move forward with additional studies to identify effective remediation of the problem and potential assistance from the federal government. However, Warren Friedman of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said it’s too soon to discuss specifics of any financial assistance homeowners could get.
During the height of the U.S. housing boom, with building materials in short supply, American construction companies imported millions of pounds of Chinese-made drywall because it was abundant and cheap. An Associated Press analysis of shipping records found that more than 500 million pounds of Chinese gypsum board was imported between 2004 and 2008 — enough to have built tens of thousands of homes.

They are heavily concentrated in the Southeast, especially Florida and areas of Louisiana and Mississippi hit hard by Hurricane Katrina.

The suspect building materials have previously been found by state and federal agencies to emit “volatile sulfur compounds” and produce a rotten-egg odor. Homeowners complain the fumes are corroding copper pipes, destroying TVs and air conditioners, blackening jewelry and silverware, and making them sick.

The federal government says China is assisting with the investigation.

1. FROM THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN: This bill obliterates women’s fundamental right to choose.
“• Prevent women participating in the public health insurance exchange, administered by private insurance companies, from using 100 percent of their own money to purchase private insurance that covers abortion.
2. FROM THE CALIFORNIA NURSES ASSOCIATION: This bill fails to control costs
3. FROM CONGRESSMAN ERIC MASSA: This bill will enshrine in law the monopolistic powers of the private health insurance industry.

“At the highest level, this bill will enshrine in law the monopolistic powers of the private health insurance industry, period. There’s really no other way to look at it. I believe the private health insurance industry is part of the problem.
4. FROM PLANNED PARENTHOOD’S CECILE RICHARDS: This bill embraces religious-right extremes.
5. FROM CONGRESSMAN DENNIS KUCINICH: This bill worries about the health of Wall Street, not America.
6. FROM “SICKO’S” DONNA SMITH: The bill does not cure what ails us.

The state agency regulates 41 types of health care service providers, including hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and home health agencies.

In 2008, the agency received 7,788 complaints from Floridians through phone calls and written correspondence. Many complaints involved patient or resident care concerns within the health care facilities regulated by the agency, according to a Nov. 9 AHCA
The most frequent concerns involved issues such as billing practices, responsiveness to grievances, and care provided to residents at assisted living facilities and home health agencies. They also included concerns about nursing care, administration of medication and quality of food.

“The new online health care facility complaint form will give Floridians direct access to our agency when they feel a violation has occurred, allowing us to act quickly and efficiently to help correct the issue,” AHCA Secretary Thomas Arnold said in a news release.

“Our policies on vaccine distribution are designed to ensure an equitable distribution of the vaccine to all Albertans,” Alberta Health Services Chief Executive Stephen Duckett said in a statement.

“The special treatment for the Flames and their families is unacceptable to us and contrary to all of our existing protocols and processes. I apologize for this breach of our duty to Albertans.”
Public outrage over the revelations showed that Canadians’ love for a hockey team, even when it includes such franchise stars as forward Jarome Iginla and goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff, only goes so far during a pandemic.

The health agency said it was continuing its investigation and more disciplinary action could be taken.

The flap over the Flames topped a chaotic several days for mass vaccination in the province of 3.5 million residents that started with hours-long queues at makeshift clinics and ended with the abrupt halt to H1N1 shots when far more people than expected showed up for them.

The Alberta authority said it would restart shots for higher-risk people such as young children and pregnant women, but it will keep vaccine from the general public for now

The most common reasons for complaints to the department included denial of claims, claims delays, and unsatisfactory offers. The department recorded the most complaints in the following types of insurance: auto, group health, individual health and homeowners.

Some of the highest amount claims recovered were:

•Earlier this year a family of nine from southwest Missouri filed a complaint against their homeowners insurance company regarding a tornado loss that left them in a hotel room for over a month. After the department’s involvement, the family received a final recovery from the insurer of nearly $278,000.

•After being denied coverage for treatment of lymphoma, a consumer filed a complaint with the department. After mediation by the department, the insurance company overturned the denial and approved the procedure, which cost more than $250,000.

•After purchasing life insurance with the proceeds of her late husband’s life policy, a consumer complained that her new policy did not include the benefits she had been promised. After the department’s involvement, the consumer’s policy was re-written and her insurance company returned $109,846 to her.
In the first nine months of 2009, the department fielded almost 4,200 formal complaints and assisted nearly 3,000 consumers in writing and another 21,000 over the telephone.

The top categories of complaints were as follows:
By reason

•Denial of claim
•Delay of claim processing
•Unsatisfactory settlement offer
•Claim handling

By line of insurance

•Private passenger auto
•Group health
•Individual accident and health
•Homeowners

Businesses that violate the ban receive a letter on first offense and a warning for a second. A series of fines kicks in for subsequent violations. And smokers can be fined up to $100 for violating the ban.

Hamilton’s public health department discovered two months ago during a routine inspection that vaccines were being stored at wrong temperatures or exposed to light, which can make the shots less effective or even render them useless
Hamilton’s medical officer of health apologized publicly during a press conference yesterday to disclose the problems.

“We certainly are very sorry for what has happened here,” said Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, medical officer of health. “We regret any anxiety that it may have caused to any of the patients or the community.”

Improperly stored vaccine doesn’t go bad or pose any danger. But patients could be vulnerable to illness they thought they’d been protected against.

“The worst-case scenario with this would be that the vaccine someone was given was less effective than it should be,” said Dr. Michael Gardam, one of Ontario’s leading infectious disease experts. “Depending on the vaccine and depending on the circumstances, it could be a relatively big deal.”

Of particular concern is rabies, which can take up to seven years to cause illness.

That’s why public health is contacting all 62 patients who had a rabies vaccination at a Hamilton hospital from January 2002 to August 2009.

It’s also looking for 328 patients who had a tetanus diphtheria vaccination at a Hamilton hospital from August 2007 to August 2009.

Both of these vaccines were stored at temperatures above or below the required two to eight degrees Celsius. The problem happened when the vaccines were taken out of the central storage used for all hospitals and put in emergency department fridges.

“Those fridges and that process was less rigorous than the central process,” said Dr. David Higgins, chief of staff at St. Joseph’s.

The hospitals have now ensured the emergency department fridges are always at the right temperature.

Richardson says all of the storage issues have been fixed.

“The vaccine supply overall in Hamilton is very safe,” she said. “The situation we’ve encountered, we’re being very cautious about. We’re just being as proactive and as careful about it as we can.”

Both the hospitals and public health said they waited two months to reveal the errors because it took them that long to determine the size of the problem, how it would affect the vaccines and identify the hundreds of patients involved.

Higgins said it would have been “very anxiety-provoking and difficult to manage” to tell the community any sooner.

Gardam says it’s hard for public health to monitor vaccine storage as well as it should because so many places, from doctors’ offices to pharmacies to hospitals, carry vaccine. Hamilton’s public health nurses inspect about 325 places where vaccine is stored.

“It’s one of the areas where I think public health quite commonly has a challenge, making sure things are stored the way they’re supposed to be stored, so this kind of thing is not that unusual, unfortunately,” Gardam said. “It speaks to the fact that we need to focus on simple things like that so we don’t get into situations like this.”

School nurses around the country are following recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and health departments

“If a student presents here with complaints of coughing or sore throat or just general malaise, we take their temperature, and if they have a temperature of over 100 degrees, they are excused from school,” said Donna Randall, a school nurse at Fort Mill Middle School.

If there is a wave of students feeling sick, Fort Mill has set up a quarantine room across the hall, where they can wait until parents can pick them up.

New rules for the new strain of flu effects both the healthy and the young.
Already this month, some schools have seen a wave of flu-like symptoms. A special needs school in Atlanta closed its doors for several days after two dozen students and staffers became sick. So far, however, there hasn’t been a spike in H1N1 cases.

Last spring in New York City, St. Francis prep was at the center of the H1N1 outbreak.

The school was closed for weeks. Now, with the new school year underway, nurses and officials are armed with a plan and knowledge.

Health experts say education, along with the newly approved vaccine could be the best defense for nurses and parents in the fight against the H1N1 flu.