HEALTH

NEW YORK — Ilex Consumer Products Group successfully addressed the post-Thanksgiving gastrointestinal distress for New Yorkers who ventured out to Fifth Avenue on Black Friday with more than 2,000 samples of the company's recently launched Di-Gel for stomach discomfort. 

HAZELTON, Pa. — Troy Healthcare on Monday announced that Ron Jaworski, former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and current “ESPN Football” analyst, has signed on to become a national spokesman for its Stopain line of topical analgesics.

GREENWICH, Conn. — Brynwood Partners VI on Monday announced that it has sold its Balance Bar Company, which manufactures nutrition and energy bars, to NBTY. 

SILVER SPRING, Md. — Pharmacist’s Ultimate Health of St. Paul, Minn., and its president, Stephen J. Poindexter, have been barred from distributing any "unapproved new drugs" that the company had distributed under the guise that they were dietary supplements. 

The consent decree of permanent injunction that had been sought by the Food and Drug Administration was signed by U.S. District Judge David Doty of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on Nov. 6. 

ARLINGTON, Va. — More than half of U.S. adults plan to buy holiday gifts during Thanksgiving weekend, according to a new survey from the Consumer Electronics Association.

The survey found that 60% will buy gifts during Black Friday weekend, with the average adult planning to spend $218 between Thursday and Monday, compared with $159 last year. At the same time, the "fiscal cliff" may affect their holiday spending. Overall, consumers plan to spend $842 on gifts this year.

WASHINGTON — Individuals who do not obtain recommended intake levels of calcium through dietary sources can safely utilize calcium supplements to achieve optimal bone health, an expert panel concluded last week in the November online edition of Advances in Nutrition.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Gov. Steve Beshear on Monday announced the launch of a privately funded, statewide campaign aimed at increasing public awareness about "smurfing," the illegal process of buying products containing pseudoephedrine on behalf of methamphetamine criminals. The goal of the Anti-Smurfing Campaign is to inform potential smurfers and the general public — through signage displayed at pharmacy sales counters — that smurfing is a serious criminal offense that can result in criminal charges and possibly time in jail.