Last year, the FDA issued new comprehensive regulations for sunscreens, promising consumers more informative labels. But consumers should not expect to see the new labels any time soon. The agency recently said that it has not yet set a date to make the updated rules final, let alone implement them, because it has been inundated with thousands of comments.

The delay is particularly galling to consumer advocates, who blame sunscreen manufacturers for filibustering, and the FDA for inertia.

The new rules include more detailed labeling that would indicate efficacy against ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B radiation. The current SPF numbering system, which only accounts for UVB rays, has been in place since 1978.

Consumers already worried about genetically engineered or cloned food may soon find another worry in their grocery carts: nano-foods.

Nanotechnology involves the design and manipulation of materials on molecular scales. Companies using nanotechnology say it can enhance the flavor or nutritional effectiveness of food. Food produced by using nanotechnology is quietly coming onto the market, and consumer groups want U.S. authorities to force manufacturers to identify them.

U.S. health officials generally do not place warning labels on products unless there are clear, known reasons for caution or concern. But consumer advocates say uncertainty over health consequences alone is sufficient cause to justify identifying nano-foods.

In most recessions, drugs are usually considered a bright spot for marketers. Consumers may skimp on food, fuel and clothes, but the business of health often benefits from “nondiscretionary” spending. But that is not the case this time round.

Marketers are predicting an overall decline through 2011, which would be the first setback the business has ever seen.

The decline is unrelated to the economic woes of the rest of the country. Instead, it is caused by an unusual confluence of events:

• Many patents have expired or are about to expire
• The FDA has become more skittish about approving new drugs
• Drug companies’ R&D pipelines won’t have any major new launches until 2011
• The growing number of uninsured Americans is impacting the total number of prescriptions written

Analysts expect to see more drug marketing money go online or into CRM programs, which are cheaper than commercials.

For many years, the food industry pressured the U.S. government to limit the paperwork companies needed to keep in order to help U.S. health investigators quickly trace produce that sickens consumers. The White House, in response, killed a plan to require the industry to maintain electronic tracking records that could be reviewed easily during a crisis.

The result has been a paper record-keeping system that has slowed investigators, causing estimated business losses of $250 million to the food industry as food borne illnesses remain unresolved. So far, nearly 1,300 people in 43 states and Canada have been sickened by salmonella since April.

In 2003 and 2004, the White House agreed to dilute record-keeping proposals by FDA safety experts. Companies complained the proposals were too burdensome and costly.

“If the FDA had been given the resources and authority years ago that it asked for to solve these kinds of problems, I think we would have solved this already,” said William Hubbard, a former FDA associate commissioner.

Two new research reports examine the relationships between energy drink consumption and risk-taking in college students, as well as “toxic jock identity”, which is characterized by hyper-masculinity and risk-taking behaviors among college-age athletes.

The first set of results identified links between energy drink consumption, risky substance use and sexual risk-taking.

Frequent energy drink consumers (six or more days a month) were about three times as likely to smoke cigarettes, abuse prescription drugs, and become involved in serious physical fights. They reported drinking alcohol, having alcohol-related problems and using marijuana about twice as often as non-consumers. They were also more likely to engage in unsafe sex, not use a seatbelt, and participate in extreme sports.