Health Highlights: June 26, 2009

But critics fear New York's policy will result in the exploitation of vulnerable women.

"In a field that's already the object of a great deal of controversy, the question is, are we at the point where we really need to go that route in order to do the science?" Jonathan D. Moreno, a professor of bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, told the Post. "I'm not convinced."

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European Regulator Wants Painkiller Off Market

The painkiller dextropropoxyphene should be withdrawn from the European market because patients using the 50-year-old drug have been dying from overdoses, says the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).

The drug is still on the market in the United States, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering whether to withdraw it, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Dextropropoxyphene, which is called propoxyphene in the United States, is an opioid widely used to treat mild to moderate pain. It was first introduced in the United States in 1957 under the brand name Darvon and is marketed today by a wide number of generic drug makers. Opponents of the drug have tried for years to get it taken off the market, the newspaper said.

According to the EMEA, a "significant" number of Europeans have died from accidental or intentional overdoses of the drug, but it didn't provide an actual number, the Journal reported.

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E. coli Scare Spurs Big Beef Recall

Fears of contamination with the e. coli bacteria has prompted JBS Swift Co., of Greeley, Colo., to recall about 41,000 pounds of beef products, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the products were processed on April 21-22 and sent to distributors and retailers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.

The recalled beef is packed in boxes marked "EST. 969" with packaging date codes of 042109 or 042209. They have case codes of 21852, 21853, 31852, 31853, 33852, 33853, 41853, 79852, 79853 or 90853.

Consumers who have questions regarding the recall should call JBS Swift at (800) 555-7675.