FDA Consumer Health Information Updates: Fraudulent H1N1 Flu Products, Hearing Aids, Sound Amplifiers, Tobacco Regulation, FDA's International Posts, LASIK Eye Surgery, and FDA MedWatch Safety Alerts

FDA Consumer Health Information Updates: Fraudulent H1N1 Flu Products, Hearing
Aids, Sound Amplifiers, Tobacco Regulation, FDA's International Posts, LASIK
Eye Surgery, and FDA MedWatch Safety Alerts

SILVER SPRING, Md., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) today released a listing of seven recent consumer health
information updates concerning the safety of FDA-regulated products. These
updates can be accessed from the agency's Web page for consumers at
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/default.htm. You can sign-up for e-mail
notices of new consumer updates on an immediate, weekly, or monthly basis at
https://service.govdelivery.com/service/subscribe.html?code=USFDA_9. An RSS
feed is also available at
http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/ContactFDA/StayInformed/RSSFeeds/Consumers/rss.xml.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090824/FDALOGO)

-- The Word is Out on Unapproved H1N1 Products
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm187728.htm
FDA cautions consumers about buying unapproved products on the Web that claim
to protect against H1N1 flu, and summarizes actions it has taken against these
illegally marketed products.

--A New Online Guide to Hearing Aids
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm185723.htm
FDA launches a new Web site to help consumers find out about the latest types
of hearing aids and what to consider before purchasing one.

-- Hearing Aids and Personal Sound Amplifiers: Know the Difference
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm185459.htm
FDA's recently issued guidelines will help consumers from mistaking amplifying
devices for approved hearing aids.

-- Regulating Tobacco: Q&A with Lawrence Deyton, M.S.P.H., M.D.
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm183919.htm
The director of FDA's new Center for Tobacco Products discusses the agency's
role in regulating tobacco products.

-- FDA's International Posts: Improving the Safety of Imported Food and
Medical Products
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm185769.htm
FDA's posting of staff in overseas regions, such as China, India, the Middle
East, Europe, and Latin America, expands the agency's capacity to oversee
imported food and medical products.

-- LASIK: Quality of Life Project, Warning Letters to Facilities
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm187351.htm
FDA has launched a study of the impact of LASIK on patients' quality of life,
and has issued warning letters to 17 LASIK surgery centers that release
patients the same day as their surgery.

--FDA's MedWatch Safety Alerts: September 2009
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm184092.htm
This update provides a collection of the most recent safety alerts prompted by
reports received by FDA from health care professionals and their patients.

Updates may be published elsewhere without permission. Please credit "FDA
Consumer Health Information" (http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/default.htm) as
the source. FDA values feedback on its consumer Web page. Send questions,
comments, or story ideas to: consumerinfo@fda.hhs.gov.

Contact: Jason Brodsky, (301) 827-6251 or consumerinfo@fda.hhs.gov

SOURCE U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Jason Brodsky of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, +1-301-827-6251,
consumerinfo@fda.hhs.gov