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FDA bans cyclamates, altogether MOTORIZER HEART CARE: Almost immedate medical care can be brought to heart attack victims with this mobile medical unit. Dr. Nanette Wenger, of Emory U, in Atlanta, left, is shown with Dr. Charles E. Harrison Jr, Atlanta Falcons team physician, and Dr. Bill Walter (driving) of the Grady Hospital Cardiology Service, gathering very early electrocardiographic and physiologic data from a heart attack patient stricken at one of Atlanta's athletic stadiums. Photo courtesy of the National Institutes of Health. APhA's Whitten asks NACDS to survey chain stores' employment practices The president of the American Pharmaceutical Assn has asked the National Assn of Chain Drug Stcrre~ to conduct a survey of its member chains "in or(ler tc, deter- mine their present eniplr,yment poli- cies and practices." The sttf;vestVnrt cante from \\'il- liam R. Whitten, who tvok office as APhA lrresi(lent last April. He is the owner of \'l'hitten Yharnla- cies. a 7-unit chain in Fort Worth, Texas, which is itself a member of NACD~;. Robert I. Iiulger, executive vice president of NACD.S, told Nlr. \'l'hitten that the idea of a survey of chain employment policies and practices "has great merit". He noted that NACDS recentl\. added to its staff "personnel to begin work to collect data on the chain drttg industry. During the next vear, we plan to condtut several surveys, including one on employment poli- cies." Complaints: ?\ir. Whitten told a nneeting of the Texas Pharm,acet1- ticaj Assn that he srigges4eil tile survey to \ ACDS because of "com- plaints received from chain phar- macv APhA members, regarding working conditions as well as the opportunity afforded salaried phar- macists to exercise professional judgment and prerugative,." I-Ie told \ACL)S that if it >wtn- dert(rok a survev. APhA would gite "full cooperation and assistance. Stuh a survey would bring to light information about the average «-ork- v,•eek, average number of hours per shift, overtime policies, non-profe~- sional supervision of pharmacy de- partments, and other working con- ditions . . . Armed with the facts. I APhA ] will be even more effective in our employee-emplover rela- tions llrograms." $2,500 to St. Louis school St. Louis College of Pharmacy has received a gift of $2500 from the Merck Company hottn(lation, on be- half of I`t erck Sharp & llohme I)i\-i- siu'n of Af ercl< & Cni. The great cyclamate 1>rr,uhah<( has drawn to a close with the dec- larati(,n by the Food &- 1)rul; A(1- nlinistrati(,n that, hencefortll, the chemical cannot be use(1 a< food ad- ditives or drng> under any circtinl- stanceti. l'ntil FI)A issued it~, latest cycltt- mate order last fortnight, it had been a' ssunlerl that marketing c,f c-,- clamate containing sweetener~ and f(luels would contintle. 1>ruvi(ling such ltr(ulucts contained a warning that they •,vere to be used onlv under the sttl,en•isirm of a Ilhysicial+. •. a rely()rt of an independent \rn% gm"ernmernt a(h-i:.,lry l;roul, un cY- cltullate~, has cnnviilce,l Fl)A that the u,,e ,Lf cyclatlattte, in any signi- ficant (lnantit\ lrre"ent, it 17nssil,le hazard t„ 1>atient.,,. The cyclanlatez, controversy fir~,t aro,;e last :,~ear when it was di;c(,v- ere(1 that rat> t,l whom high dose~ of the chemical had been a(lmini~- tere(l (levelupe(t bladder cancer~,. Followinl; last fortnil;ht'.-, an- nntmcenlent, Abbott Lall,, the na- tinn's largest llr(xltuer uf cyclanlate sweeteners, said that it htts halterl pro,(lnction and (listrihtttion r,f all >Wretetarr> cv,ntainilag, cy.c1a.n]ate~. Cyclbtntate.,, were rema',\eol frc,m lnx,st of Alrl,utt's tincarN l line sr me- tinle ago. S(llnl)1) saltl it \\'ar halt111" (ll>- tributirm of it,, artificial sweetenin, pro(hlct.,, marketed tm(lrr the S.j•eeta name, that new, non-cyclci- mate version c,f the item., are cttr- rent lc tm(ler (levelopnlent. Confusion: At the monu•nt, there is some confusion abuut the status of otttstan(linl; stocks of cyclamate containing pro(lucts. It is 1>elie\ecl, however, that pharnlacist~, an(l others will be pernlitte(1 to c(mtinue selling these until theN are e.- hauste cl. The statn, of llrescrilniun (lru;: llroclucts Nvhich involve thc tt,e ui' cyclamate cuntaininl; syrul,>, ctc., i~, als(,} il~ y1lnu1'Pt1l 24 • Infnrpre/mq the News AMERICAN DRUGGIST • Sep,embe, 7 197;