The Electronic Cigarette Association now regulates electronic cigarettes and related products to better protect the public health. These regulations will be an adjunct to the regulations offered by the FDA. In this way, additional measures to support joint objectives to help protect the public from harm.

In fact, the FDA recently sent warning letters out to five electronic cigarette distributor companies following violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) including unsubstantiated claims and poor manufacturing practices. According to the FDA, electronic cigarettes must be marketed in a way that meets guidelines set up by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.  The FDA included information about the Electronic Cigarette Association in these letters.

In order for an electronic cigarette distribution company to obtain FDA approval for operation, the company must show that the manufacturing practices of the company support safety and efficacy. The company must also demonstrate that the strength, quality and purity of the product ties in line with the safety and effectiveness needs of the FDA.

Married couples facing with divorce may be carrying debt load and having trouble with collections, of which they may or may not be aware of. This can have a domino effect, jeopardizing credit worthiness.

Sometimes, finances can get out of control. During these times, it might be wise to keep the following list handy so you understand some of the signs that your credit is out of sorts.

1.  You are unable to make minimum payments on your credit cards or only send minimum payments into your credit card companies to repay your loans.

During and after divorce, debt can be a major source of concern. During the process, spouses must be very diligent about monitoring their credit status. Following divorce, one spouse is ordered to pay all or some of their other spouse’s bills, but often times fails to do so..Some of the following ideas can be useful for those who may or may not know they are combating debt collectors.

We may all know the best way to combat debt collectors through proactive methods, such as avoiding expenses that do not fit into our monthly budget and paying off credit card debt as soon as the bill comes in each month.  Yet, when it comes to keeping track of credit reporting, we may not know our legal rights and how to protect ourselves from harm. So, take a quick glance at the following list to see if you are keeping up with credit bureaus about your credit worthiness. These rights are provided in your “Credit of Rights”, under the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and related laws.

  • Quarterly, check your credit report with the three major reporting agencies. You may obtain this report from agencies, such as Equifax.

Debt and financial issues can be a major cause of disharmony in marriages.  This is especially true in Lake County and Porter County Indiana. These counties have experienced a downturn in several types of industries due to the difficult economic climate. Thus, debt load is high. And bankruptcies and divorces are increasing.  The following ideas and solutions may be helpful:

There is good news when it comes to resolving debt issues and the consequences of bankruptcy.  In fact, there are several methods available to repair your credit following debt accumulation, delinquency and/or bankruptcy.  In fact, it’s important to know that your credit life does not have to not come to an end following serious debt delinquency or bankruptcy. Check out some of the ways that you can repair your credit!

Secured Credit Card: People with little, no or bad credit can establish a line of credit by placing a certain amount of money into a secured savings account which is designed to match your credit line. In other words, your credit line will match the amount of money you place into the savings account. This type of account does not allow you to withdraw the money you deposit unless you choose to close the account or reduce your credit line. Yet, you can use the secured card to make purchases which will help you to establish credit. Credit is established once you make payments to the secured credit card company following purchases. Both Visa and MasterCard have secured credit card options available. The banks associated with such cards include: Capitol One, HSBC, and Bank of America.

Consumers who purchased entertainment center model names Arts and Crafts, Vineyard Manor, Lake Cottage, Studio One, West Indies and Plantation Cove were not aware that their $1500. plus purchase posed a risk for injury and property damage until recently. The models were sold at Value City Furniture, Rooms Today and American Signature Furniture stores from late 2002 through end of 2009.

Since then, four adverse events reports were filed, including a child whose fingers were hit by a falling shelf, an adult who had to receive stitches in their mouth and two other parties who experienced property damage- all following the fall of a shelf on the entertainment center.

The centers’ shelves can detach falling onto people or releasing objects on the center into the air or floor such as a T.V.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) recently issued ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor a landfill permit, despite those who are concerned about mounting waste piles that have accumulated at the property over the course of many years such as the pile known as the Easterly’s Pile. According to a 2010 IDEM inspection report, the Easterly pile contains 274,000 cubic yards of basic oxygen furnace sludge, burnt lime and rubble. It is situated roughly 200 feet from the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and Lake Michigan.

It has been determined that the company will move some of the company’s rubbish to the approved landfill, while the rest will be recycled. Under state law, a mill can stockpile waste for recycling for up to six months. After six months, waste is presumed to be an open dump which is illegal.

Companies that store rubbish negotiate with recyclers to purchase their rubbish. The company with the rubbish or a company they send the rubbish to may “prepare” the rubbish, with the goal to keep useful chemical agents and get rid of harmful ones. Once the useful chemicals are sold, they may be used in manufacturing products for daily use.

Recently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration received a Defect Information Report from Lexus, a division of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. The report disclosed defects on roughly 138,000 Lexus vehicles.

Lexus believes that a change in the manufacturing process has led to the risk of foreign material contaminating some of the valve springs. If this occurs, the engine may cease while driving, posing a risk for serious injury and death. Though the risk is suspected to be rare, it is important for manufacturers to disclose such risks. It is not known for certain if a person driving an affected Lexus would receive a warning sign (engine noise) before the engine would cease.

The report shows that the problem may affect Lexus vehicles powered by 4.6 and 5.0 liter V8 and 3.5 liter V6 engines in certain 2006, 2007 and 2008 GS, IS and LS models in the U.S.

It is not uncommon for medical and legal issues to be intertwined. Whether related to best practices for patient care, patient housing, financial needs, benefit eligibility, child-support coverage, guardianship, or criminal related medical issues, there is likely to be a need for patients to have the support of a lawyer when contending with critical illness. Yet, this is often the last thing that a patient thinks about when facing a life threatening illness.

It is for these reasons that a partnership developed between lawyers and doctors at Wishard’s Pecar Health Center two years ago with the help of the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic and Indianapolis Legal Aid Society. Since then, numerous partnerships have surfaced in several Indiana areas. In fact, the partnership that initially focused on Wishard’s Pecar Health Center has recently discovered that approximately 30% of the legal cases they manage relate to housing issues that will people contend with. Guardianship is also a big concern.

On June 15, the American Medical Association’s resolution passed in the House of Delegates to support these kinds of partnerships. Some of the types of legal issues that ill people may contend with include, but are not limited to:

With over 350 million MySpace and Facebook users, it is important to understand that there are criminals in these virtual cities. So, we all must protect ourselves. Here are some fast facts.

  • When you invite others such as friends of friends or everyone to participate in your wall, messages, invitations, photos and any other open information may allow access to private information for criminals. Limit your social networking profiles to friends,
  • Hackers can gain unauthorized access to a site’s underlying coding which may breach the security in the platform. In doing so, your security may be compromised.

Asbestos has been used for decades by many individuals in select industries, including: construction workers, cement workers, plumbers, pipe fitters, insulators, furnace workers, roofers, power plant workers, oil refinery workers, miners, processing plant workers, manufacturing plant workers, railroad workers, shipyard and submarine veterans of war.  Workers were not aware that asbestos exposure put them and their families at risk for contracting mesothelioma, a deadly cancer, until the risk turned into a reality for thousands.

Mesothelioma is suspected to develop in 3,000 people annually after it is undetectable for up to 50 years after contact with asbestos and cancer. Initial symptoms may include: weight loss, fever, night sweats, cough, breathing difficulty, chest pain, and ultimately swelling of the abdomen, bowel obstruction, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia, and a lowered red blood cell count. Mesothelioma can affect the abdominal, lung and/or heart linings. Many die within a year following diagnosis.

Recently, twenty six defendants settled a mesothelioma case for an undisclosed amount. However, a settlement offer by Union Carbide was rejected by the plaintiff. Instead, the plaintiff and associated family members went to trial against Union Carbide.

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