HEALTH

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — Reporting on the third quarter ended Dec. 31, Prestige Brands' CEO Matthew Mannelly told analysts Thursday morning he is "cautiously optimistic" regarding cough-cold reorders given the high consumption levels at retail in late December through January. 

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — Prestige Brands on Tuesday announced a new sponsorship with the Southeastern Conference featuring its BC Powder analgesic brand.

Just in time for basketball championship season, the BC Powder sponsorship will introduce SEC fans to the fast-acting analgesic with a multi-tiered marketing campaign that includes 30-second television spots, radio broadcasts and consumer events. The sponsorship will continue through football season this fall.

CHICAGO — With the path to purchase evolving, merchandising has increased across just more than half of CPG categories and declined in 47% of categories, SymphonyIRI Group reported Tuesday. 

The drug channel has seen the most erosion in merchandising support, with declines in 60% of the categories within the channel in 2012.

GENEVA — Adults should consume less than 2,000 mg of sodium, or 5 grams of salt, and at least 3,510 mg of potassium per day, according to new guidelines issued by the World Health Organization last week. A person with either elevated sodium levels and low potassium levels could be at risk of raised blood pressure which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Currently, most people consume too much sodium and not enough potassium.

INDIANAPOLIS — Adults living with diabetes in the United States reported highest satisfaction using Roche Diabetes Care's Accu-Chek products compared with other blood-glucose-meter manufacturers, according to the inaugural J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Blood Glucose Meter Satisfaction Study released Tuesday. 

The study gathered responses from 2,681 current meter users with type 1 and 2 diabetes in the U.S. to determine customer satisfaction across six factors: performance; ease of use; design; features; cost of test strips; and training.

NEW YORK — WebMD Health Corp. on Tuesday launched the WebMD Allergy app for the iPhone, a mobile resource that empowers consumers to take control of their allergies. 

"The WebMD Allergy app provides consumers with accurate and personalized weather-related allergy information to help them proactively manage their allergy conditions," stated Michael Smith, WebMD chief medical editor. "WebMD's trusted allergy information is delivered through an innovative mobile app to help consumers be better prepared to face the day."

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark is marking American Heart Month by encouraging heart-healthy behavior in February, the company said Tuesday.

PALM CITY, Fla. — GelStat Corporation on Monday announced that it has retained List Services Corp. to manage all branding and marketing efforts for GelStat Corporation and its products, GelStat Migraine and GelStat Sleep. LSC is a direct marketing agency that has evolved from a list management and brokerage house into a full service solution.