<span class="articleLocation”>(Reuters) – Counterfeit versions of Roche’s multi-billion cancer drug Avastin have been distributed in the United States, the Swiss drugmaker and its U.S. biotech unit Genentech said on Tuesday.

Roche was contacted about the bogus Avastin by a health authority outside the United States and was informed that the counterfeit drug in the United States came from another country, the company said but declined to divulge which country.

“We are working with the FDA and law enforcement to aid their evaluations, determine the source of the counterfeit drug, and prevent its further distribution,” Roche and Genentech said in a statement. “The counterfeit product is not safe or effective and should not be used.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking the lead on the evaluation, a Genetech spokeswoman said.

Genentech said there is an ongoing investigation by national health authorities but could provide no further information at this time.

The FDA said it has sent letters to 19 medical practices informing them about counterfeit 400mg/16ml doses of Avastin.

The company does not yet know just how much counterfeit Avastin is out in the market. Avastin is given intravenously.

But there are several obvious differences in packaging and label that should allow doctors to easily spot the bogus drug.

Among them genuine Avastin, known chemically as bevacizumab, has Genentech on the label, which is all in English. The counterfeit says Roche and the label is in French.

Lot numbers of actual Avastin are comprised of six digits with no letters, while the counterfeit lot number begins with a letter. And the counterfeit bottles of Avastin are missing information on the label, such as “for intravenous use.”

(Reporting By Bill Berkrot)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Encouraging teenage smokers not only to quit, but to get physically active, may boost their odds of kicking the habit, a new study suggests.

The study, reported in the journal Pediatrics, looked at the effects of adding exercise advice to a teen-focused smoking cessation program.

Not On Tobacco (NOT) is the American Lung Association’s quit program geared specifically for high school students. It’s available in public schools across the U.S., and studies have found that the average quit rate is about 21 percent.

The idea for the new study came partly from the fact that some research in adults suggests exercise can help smokers quit — possibly by easing withdrawal symptoms or taking the edge off of cigarette cravings.

And in West Virginia, where the study was done, smoking rates are high, while exercise rates are low, said lead researcher Kimberly Horn, of the West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown.

“We felt like (exercise) might be important for these kids, and that the effects of NOT could be boosted,” Horn told Reuters Health in an interview.

To study the question, Horn’s team randomly assigned 19 high schools to offer either the standard cessation program, the program plus exercise advice or a “brief intervention” in which teen smokers had one session with a program facilitator. (NOT facilitators are usually teachers, coaches or guidance counselors who’ve trained with the program.)

In all, 233 students took part in one of the three programs.

The standard NOT program offers 10 weekly small-group sessions, in which a facilitator helps kids figure out why they smoke and find ways to kick the habit.

Teens in the exercise-added version also got advice on exercise — and a pedometer, or step counter, to keep track of their daily activity levels.

After six months, the study found, the NOT-plus-exercise group had the highest self-reported quit rate, at 31 percent. That compared with 21 percent in the standard program and just under 16 percent in the brief-intervention group.

When Horn’s team looked more closely at the data, the added exercise seemed to help boys only.

Among boys in that version of the program, 37 percent had quit by the six-month mark, versus only about 18 percent in the standard program. Girls’ quit rates, however, were similar in both groups — at 26 percent and 23 percent, respectively.

The reasons for the gender gap are not clear, according to Horn. “We’re a little puzzled by it,” she said.

In general, Horn noted, it’s known that girls’ exercise levels “plummet” in the teen years, whereas boys are more likely to stay active to some degree. “It may be that the girls had greater fitness barriers to get around,” Horn speculated.

This study did not actually measure the students’ exercise levels, so it’s not clear how changes in physical activity correlate with quitting success.

In future reports, Horn said, the researchers will look at whether the program really did boost kids’ activity levels, and whether the type of exercise matters when it comes to quitting smoking.

What’s encouraging, according to Horn, is that the exercise portion is easy to add to the existing NOT program. “It’s just a modest amount of encouragement (to exercise) from the facilitator. And we found that even that small ‘dose’ might have very important effects.”

The hope, Horn said, is that even after kids quit smoking, they’ll keep exercising and reap those extra health benefits as well.

SOURCE: bit.ly/o2esSG Pediatrics, online September 19, 2011.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Hundreds of millions of African children will never see a health care worker in their lifetime, increasing their chances of dying from preventable diseases, a report released on Monday by the international children’s rights group Save the Children said.

About 350 million children globally will never be seen by a health professional and nearly two-thirds of them are in sub-Saharan Africa, which has an acute shortage of health workers, the report said.

“Children are five times more likely to die before their fifth birthday if they live in countries such as Nigeria, Ethiopia and Liberia … than children living in countries with enough health workers,” it said.

Diseases that that can kill children if not treated include pneumonia and diarrhea.

Africa is training far too few health professionals and the poor pay and facilities mean many of the continent’s doctors are likely to end up in urban centers or working overseas, it said.

The report was released to coincide with the meeting of the U.N. General Assembly, where there will be a push to train more health care workers around the world.

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Tim Pearce)

In a fast-paced world, demand for tasty, convenient food "to go" has spiralled. Fast-food outlets now feature on most high streets across the UK.

It's asking fast food and other restaurant chains to put calorie and other nutrition information on menus.

The trick to keeping within the daily limits, she says, is knowing what choices to make.

The average adult male should consume no more than 2,500 calories a day, and women no more than 2,000 calories a day, according to guidelines.

So, if you go to Starbucks for a coffee and pick an Americano, which contains 17 calories, you will still have lots of your daily calorie allowance left for meals.

But pick a Starbucks' Signature Grande Hot Chocolate loaded with whipped cream and 556 calories and you'll wipe out up to a quarter of your allowance.

If you are feeling peckish at the same time and decide to buy a Fairtrade chocolate chunk shortbread to go with your hot chocolate, you'll hit half of your quota for the day as a woman. Even a skinny muffin will add 344 calories to the total.

Yet a fruit salad from Starbucks will only set you back 95 calories.

Similarly, go to McDonald's and buy a large cappuccino and a grilled chicken and bacon salad for your lunch and the calorie count will be 285. But opt for a Big Mac with large fries and a milkshake and you'll have consumed 1,450 calories.

Ms Bond says: "You can see how things can quickly top up. If someone was to eat 500 extra calories a day above the recommended amount every day for a week, they would put on about a pound of weight."

If this pattern continues for weeks or months on end, it is easy to see how someone starting at a healthy weight could become overweight or obese.

But it's not just the number calories that we should be concerned about, it's also how much salt, fat and sugar is in the food that is important.

"It's true that calories are calories regardless of where they come from, but you are more likely to pile on the weight if you eat energy dense food – stuff that's high in fat," she explains.

If you eat a gram of carbohydrate, this equates to four calories. But a gram of fat equals nine calories.

"So if you eat 100g (3.5oz) of chips, that would be about 190 calories, which is twice as much as 100g of boiled potatoes."

Ms Bond says it is possible to still enjoy fast food and stay healthy. One way is to make sure you keep track of what you have consumed and compensate if you need to by having a lean salad in the evening instead of a calorie-rich meal.

"Having calories displayed in restaurants and on food packaging will make a difference to those who want it to. It empowers people to make choices and take control of their own health. And it might make some people reconsider what they are eating."