HEALTH

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas on Friday became the fourth state this year to entertain making the popular decongestant pseudoephedrine available only by prescription.

HAYWARD, Calif. — Prince of Peace Enterprises' Tiger Balm brand on Tuesday announced its sponsorship of the 2011 Susan G. Komen Los Angeles County Race for the Cure, taking place Sunday, March 6, at Dodger Stadium.

“Tiger Balm stands with Susan G. Komen for the Cure in support of those whose lives have been touched by breast cancer,” stated Kenneth Yeung, Prince of Peace president. “We are proud to use our involvement in the Los Angeles County Race to help raise awareness of this important cause among fans and users of Tiger Balm products.”

NEW YORK — The second half of the 2010-2011 cough-cold-flu season actually may realize greater sales of symptom relievers than last year, judging from the four weeks ended Dec. 26. According to Matrixx president and CEO Bill Hemelt, sales of remedies were on the rise in those four weeks. Hemelt noted that the total cough-cold category was 5% higher than the same period last year and growing. 


LOS ANGELES — When it comes to choosing the right medicine for their kids, moms go by the book — Facebook, that is. Moms new and old are spending more and more time on mommy blog-type sites and then tweeting or “Facebooking” any interesting tidbits they may find there. It’s a highly engaged group of consumers. According to recent findings by market researcher Morpace, U.S. Facebook users are on the site for one of every three minutes of time they spend online.



McNeil Consumer Healthcare recently parlayed its Tylenol brand franchise into external analgesics to quite a bit of success. For the four weeks ended Dec. 26, 2010, Precise “from the makers of Tylenol” became the No. 3 best-selling heat patch, with $1.9 million in sales across food, drug and mass (excluding Walmart), according to Symphony­IRI Group. And its pain-relieving cream similarly broke in among the top-selling brands — No. 9 with $1.3 million in sales for the four-week period.

ATHENS, Ga. — A drug used to treat high cholesterol, which will lose patent protection and face generic competition starting this year, also may help prevent blindness in people with diabetes, according to a study by researchers at the University of Georgia.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Blood-pressure kiosks have become a ubiquitous site in retail pharmacies across the country, but like pharmacy automation and technology as a whole, they’re continuing to advance and offer new features.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee makes the third state this year, joining Kentucky and Nevada, that is considering state legislation to mandate the sale of pseudoephedrine as prescription-only. That could prove a big concern for the legitimate market for PSE products on account of the potential snowball effect such legislation could have on neighboring states. According to a government review staff in Kentucky, at least 97.8% of all PSE sales are bought for legitimate use.