Health
Radon is a naturally occurring gas that hides invisibly in homes, yet is the nation’s second-leading cause of lung cancer.
This January, during Radon Action Month, American Lung Association is raising awareness about radon and addressing common myths around this deadly gas.
“Hidden in far too many homes is the nation’s second-leading cause of lung cancer, radon. Lung cancer remains the nation’s leading cause of cancer deaths, so people need to be aware of and take action on radon,” said William Barrett, director of Clean Air Advocacy for American Lung Association in California. “The good news is that testing for and reducing the high radon levels is straightforward and effective. The Lung Association encourages all families, schools and daycares to test for radon to protect everyone’s health and save lives.”
Radon has been found in every county in California with several areas on the Central Coast registering potential elevated levels. Please help us bust these common myths about radon:
Myth No. 1: Radon is not really harmful.
Fact: Not only is radon invisible, it’s also radioactive. While you can’t see it, exposure to high levels of radon over time can cause lung cancer, and radon ranks as the nation’s second-leading cause of the disease. Radon-related lung cancers are responsible for an estimated 21,000 deaths every year in the United States.
Myth No. 2: Radon is rare and doesn’t impact our community.
Fact: The reality is that radon is found at dangerous levels in an estimated 1 in 15 homes nationwide. Your home can have elevated levels of radon while your neighbor’s home does not. It doesn’t matter in what part of the country you live, because radon comes from rock and soil, it can be found anywhere. It then enters the home or building through cracks in walls, basement floors, foundations and other openings, and can exist at dangerous levels indoors.
Myth No. 3: Testing for radon is expensive.
Fact: The only way to detect dangerous levels of radon in your home is to test the air. Various forms of do-it-yourself test kits are simple to use, inexpensive and can be purchased online or at home improvement and hardware stores. Professional testing is also available, often for under $300, although the price varies by location and building size. Schools and daycares may need professional help to do the testing.
Myth No. 4: Our schools are safe.
Fact: Testing for radon in schools is not required in most states, nor is fixing the problem. Not only children, but teachers and other staff who work in schools can be exposed to dangerous levels of radon. The last nationwide survey of radon levels in schools, completed in 1993, found that nearly one in five schools had at least one classroom with dangerous levels of radon. The American Lung Association leads a coalition of groups working to highlight the importance of testing for radon in both schools and daycares through the National Radon Action Plan. In 2014, federal actions have already reached an estimated 1.6 million homes, schools and childcare facilities with guidance and incentives to reduce radon risk and have tested for and mitigated high radon risk when necessary in nearly 200,000 units.
To learn more about radon and how to test homes, visit www.Lung.org/radon or call the toll-free Lung HelpLine at 1-800-LUNGUSA.
This January, during Radon Action Month, American Lung Association is raising awareness about radon and addressing common myths around this deadly gas.
“Hidden in far too many homes is the nation’s second-leading cause of lung cancer, radon. Lung cancer remains the nation’s leading cause of cancer deaths, so people need to be aware of and take action on radon,” said William Barrett, director of Clean Air Advocacy for American Lung Association in California. “The good news is that testing for and reducing the high radon levels is straightforward and effective. The Lung Association encourages all families, schools and daycares to test for radon to protect everyone’s health and save lives.”
Radon has been found in every county in California with several areas on the Central Coast registering potential elevated levels. Please help us bust these common myths about radon:
Myth No. 1: Radon is not really harmful.
Fact: Not only is radon invisible, it’s also radioactive. While you can’t see it, exposure to high levels of radon over time can cause lung cancer, and radon ranks as the nation’s second-leading cause of the disease. Radon-related lung cancers are responsible for an estimated 21,000 deaths every year in the United States.
Myth No. 2: Radon is rare and doesn’t impact our community.
Fact: The reality is that radon is found at dangerous levels in an estimated 1 in 15 homes nationwide. Your home can have elevated levels of radon while your neighbor’s home does not. It doesn’t matter in what part of the country you live, because radon comes from rock and soil, it can be found anywhere. It then enters the home or building through cracks in walls, basement floors, foundations and other openings, and can exist at dangerous levels indoors.
Myth No. 3: Testing for radon is expensive.
Fact: The only way to detect dangerous levels of radon in your home is to test the air. Various forms of do-it-yourself test kits are simple to use, inexpensive and can be purchased online or at home improvement and hardware stores. Professional testing is also available, often for under $300, although the price varies by location and building size. Schools and daycares may need professional help to do the testing.
Myth No. 4: Our schools are safe.
Fact: Testing for radon in schools is not required in most states, nor is fixing the problem. Not only children, but teachers and other staff who work in schools can be exposed to dangerous levels of radon. The last nationwide survey of radon levels in schools, completed in 1993, found that nearly one in five schools had at least one classroom with dangerous levels of radon. The American Lung Association leads a coalition of groups working to highlight the importance of testing for radon in both schools and daycares through the National Radon Action Plan. In 2014, federal actions have already reached an estimated 1.6 million homes, schools and childcare facilities with guidance and incentives to reduce radon risk and have tested for and mitigated high radon risk when necessary in nearly 200,000 units.
To learn more about radon and how to test homes, visit www.Lung.org/radon or call the toll-free Lung HelpLine at 1-800-LUNGUSA.
- Details
- Written by: American Lung Association
SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today announced a $120 million nationwide settlement with Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries, Medical Device Business Services Inc., DePuy Products Inc., DePuy Synthes Inc., and DePuy Synthes Sales Inc.
The settlement – of which California will receive $8 million – resolves allegations that the company violated state consumer protection laws by misrepresenting the effectiveness and safety of its hip implant devices.
The multistate settlement alleges that Johnson & Johnson conducted unfair and deceptive marketing practices by making misleading claims on the longevity – also known as survivorship – of its metal-on-metal hip implant devices. Johnson & Johnson has also agreed to injunctive terms to reform how it markets and promotes its hip implant products.
“Johnson & Johnson is alleged to have deceived vulnerable patients in need of hip replacement and undermined their ability to recuperate quickly and safely,” said Attorney General Becerra. “The company allegedly deceived consumers by circulating misleading research and ignoring up-to-date information about the effectiveness of its devices. There’s no excuse for Johnson & Johnson to have violated its customers’ trust, as well as California consumer protection laws, but we worked to hold them accountable.”
The multistate settlement resolves allegations that Johnson & Johnson violated state law by misleading consumers in the marketing of metal-on-metal hip implant devices used for hip replacement surgeries.
In 2005, Johnson & Johnson began marketing its ASR XL device to doctors seeking to provide longer-lasting hip replacement surgery in younger, more active patients. Johnson & Johnson actively and falsely advertised the product’s stability and survivorship as part of its “Never Stop Moving” campaign, citing an implant survivorship of nearly 100 percent after five years.
Johnson & Johnson also misrepresented the implant survivorship of another hip implant device, the Pinnacle Ultamet, relying upon a questionable 2007 study that was advertised as independent, but designed by Johnson & Johnson.
After receiving hip implants using these products, some consumers experienced painful side effects from the products, including persistent groin pain, allergy, tissue necrosis, as well as a build-up of metal ions in the blood.
As part of the settlement, Johnson & Johnson will pay $120 million in penalties, and comply with a set of important injunctive terms that are enforceable by the California Attorney General in the event of future misconduct. Under the consent judgement, the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary companies that market these devices will:
– Base claims of survivorship, stability or dislocations on scientific information and the most recent dataset available from a registry for any DePuy hip implant device;
– Maintain a post-market surveillance program and complaint handling program;
– Update and maintain internal product complaint handling operating procedures, including training of complaint reviewers;
– Update and maintain processes and procedures to track and analyze product complaints that do not meet the definition of Medical Device Reportable Events;
– Maintain a quality assurance program that includes an audit procedure for tracking complaints regarding DePuy Products that do not rise to the level of a Medical Device Reportable Event but that may indicate a device-related serious injury or malfunction; and
– Perform quarterly reviews of complaints, and if a subgroup of patients is identified that has a higher incidence of adverse events than the full patient population, determine the cause and alter promotional practices as appropriate.
This is the second settlement Attorney General Becerra has reached with Johnson & Johnson.
In May 2017, Attorney General Becerra announced a $33 million settlement with the company after it failed to ensure the quality of over-the-counter medications including Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, St. Joseph Aspirin, Sudafed, Pepcid, Mylanta, Rolaids, and Zyrtec.
The settlement is subject to court approval. A copy of the complaint can be found here.
The settlement – of which California will receive $8 million – resolves allegations that the company violated state consumer protection laws by misrepresenting the effectiveness and safety of its hip implant devices.
The multistate settlement alleges that Johnson & Johnson conducted unfair and deceptive marketing practices by making misleading claims on the longevity – also known as survivorship – of its metal-on-metal hip implant devices. Johnson & Johnson has also agreed to injunctive terms to reform how it markets and promotes its hip implant products.
“Johnson & Johnson is alleged to have deceived vulnerable patients in need of hip replacement and undermined their ability to recuperate quickly and safely,” said Attorney General Becerra. “The company allegedly deceived consumers by circulating misleading research and ignoring up-to-date information about the effectiveness of its devices. There’s no excuse for Johnson & Johnson to have violated its customers’ trust, as well as California consumer protection laws, but we worked to hold them accountable.”
The multistate settlement resolves allegations that Johnson & Johnson violated state law by misleading consumers in the marketing of metal-on-metal hip implant devices used for hip replacement surgeries.
In 2005, Johnson & Johnson began marketing its ASR XL device to doctors seeking to provide longer-lasting hip replacement surgery in younger, more active patients. Johnson & Johnson actively and falsely advertised the product’s stability and survivorship as part of its “Never Stop Moving” campaign, citing an implant survivorship of nearly 100 percent after five years.
Johnson & Johnson also misrepresented the implant survivorship of another hip implant device, the Pinnacle Ultamet, relying upon a questionable 2007 study that was advertised as independent, but designed by Johnson & Johnson.
After receiving hip implants using these products, some consumers experienced painful side effects from the products, including persistent groin pain, allergy, tissue necrosis, as well as a build-up of metal ions in the blood.
As part of the settlement, Johnson & Johnson will pay $120 million in penalties, and comply with a set of important injunctive terms that are enforceable by the California Attorney General in the event of future misconduct. Under the consent judgement, the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary companies that market these devices will:
– Base claims of survivorship, stability or dislocations on scientific information and the most recent dataset available from a registry for any DePuy hip implant device;
– Maintain a post-market surveillance program and complaint handling program;
– Update and maintain internal product complaint handling operating procedures, including training of complaint reviewers;
– Update and maintain processes and procedures to track and analyze product complaints that do not meet the definition of Medical Device Reportable Events;
– Maintain a quality assurance program that includes an audit procedure for tracking complaints regarding DePuy Products that do not rise to the level of a Medical Device Reportable Event but that may indicate a device-related serious injury or malfunction; and
– Perform quarterly reviews of complaints, and if a subgroup of patients is identified that has a higher incidence of adverse events than the full patient population, determine the cause and alter promotional practices as appropriate.
This is the second settlement Attorney General Becerra has reached with Johnson & Johnson.
In May 2017, Attorney General Becerra announced a $33 million settlement with the company after it failed to ensure the quality of over-the-counter medications including Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, St. Joseph Aspirin, Sudafed, Pepcid, Mylanta, Rolaids, and Zyrtec.
The settlement is subject to court approval. A copy of the complaint can be found here.
- Details
- Written by: California Attorney General’s Office
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