Pharmacists can now. prescribe hormonal contraceptives in 20 U.S. states, plus Washington, D.C., giving women easier access to birth control, a new report says. Another 10 states have legislation in the works, according to research presented Monday at a meeting of the American Society for Health-System Pharmacists, in Las Vegas. Having easy access to birth…  read on >  read on >

Experts are asking seniors to get their flu shots ASAP as an exceptionally nasty flu season unfolds across the United States. Already, 8.7 million flu cases have been reported, with 78,000 hospitalizations and 4,500 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the last week alone, the number of flu hospitalizations…  read on >  read on >

American kids are drinking to excess less and abusing marijuana more, a new study finds. Marijuana abuse among 6- to 18-year-olds has increased 245% since 2000, while child alcohol abuse has steadily declined over those years, say researchers who analyzed poisonings over two decades. “This dramatic increase does coincide with this huge wave of decriminalization…  read on >  read on >