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American Morning

2002 Congressional Elections: Who Will Win Big?

Aired January 01, 2002 - 8:21   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: The New Year is only a few hours old, but already the political battles for 2002 have begun taking shape. CNN's Bruce Morton tells us what's at stake in Congress.

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BRUCE MORTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The stakes in the 2002 election, control of this building, and the legislation it passes or kills. Now the democrats control the Senate by one vote, 50 democrats, independent James Jeffords of Vermont who votes with them, and 49 republicans. In 2002 20 now republican seats are up for reelection, 14 democratic. Should help the dems, but:

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Senate contest in 2002 could go either way, the republicans could pick up a seat or two, net a seat or two and the democrats could net a seat or two. It's just that close.

MORTON: Some republicans think they can win by demonizing Democratic Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, literally attacking the opposition as Daschle democrats. Republican pollster Frank Lunks (ph) writes remember what the democrats did to Newt Gingrich. We need to do exactly the same thing to Daschle. But Gingrich was a flamboyant figure and he loved the spotlight. Daschle works more quietly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody really knows who Daschle is and that's the big difference between me and Newt Gingrich.

MORTON: Some Senate races to watch, Democrat Tim Johnson in Daschle's South Dakota; Republican Bob Smith of New Hampshire who briefly quit the party in 2000, faces a tough primary and if he wins that, popular Democratic Governor Gene Shaheen.

Democrat Paul Wellstone of Minnesota who said he'd serve only two terms, but changed his mind; Arkansas Republican Tim Hutchinson who campaigned hard on family values then divorced his wife of 29 years and married a former staffer. What effect will President Bush have? His ratings are high because of success in Afghanistan, but will that help other republicans? Maybe not, the issues have changed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right after September 11th, 45 percent of Americans said that terrorism or the war on terrorism was a number one issue. Now just a couple of months later, the economy is the number one issue. MORTON: In the House, the democrats need to gain six seats to take over. Six out of 435 -- no, most House seats are safe. By Labor Day only maybe two dozen will really be competitive. A gain of six means winning 15 out of those 24.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now I would say the republicans probably are slight favorites to hold onto the House of Representatives, but that depends completely, entirely, totally on the depth and the length of the recession.

MORTON: So republicans could regain control of the Senate, but maybe not. They could keep control of the House, but maybe not. Got it? Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.

SAVIDGE: We got it Bruce.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Herbal supplements have become more and more popular in recent years. Some of the pills promise to do everything from improve your memory to improve your sex life. But the big question is how safe are herbal supplements? CNN medical correspondent Rea Blakey joins us this morning with the results of a new study. Good morning to you. Happy New Year.

REA BLAKEY, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Marty. Happy New Year to you.

A researcher with the Annals of Internal Medicine Review previously published data on the six most popular herbal supplements. Now he warns that an accurate assessment is difficult based on the fact that existing clinical trials are -- quote -- "too few, too small, and too short". Also there's a lack of standardization in quality control, so it's hard to know exactly what's in herbal products.

But here are the findings according to the research. We'll start with gingko biloba (ph). Gingko has some positive effects on dementia and leg pain due to poor circulation, but the study also reports that it has questionable effects on memory loss and tinnitis (ph) or ringing in the ears.

We'll move onto St. John's Wort, which is by the researchers considered effective for mild to moderate depression, but St. John's Wort can alter the effect of drugs. We've heard about this in Aids cases in particular. Anti-coagulants, oral contraceptives, and anti viral drugs can be altered by St. John's Wort.

Now Ginseng, I think this is an interesting finding. The researchers say that there's no evidence that it's effective for any condition, and it has some severe side effects. We often hear that it should be used for physical stamina, but again the researchers say not effective in any condition.

We'll move onto to Echinacea. We hear a lot about this one during the cold and flu season. Well when it comes to Echinacea, the effectiveness varies by brand according to the research. The data is weak and inconclusive, but Echinacea may help prevent or even treat upper respiratory tract infections. It does, however, have some side effects that include allergic reactions.

Saul Palmetto (ph) is another of the top six. One supplement that scores fairly well, a data shows that it's effective in the short term for reducing the symptoms of benign prostate disease, but again, there's limited research so we don't know how well it works in the long term.

And finally Cava or Cava Cava, as it's often referred to. It's effective according to the research for short-term anxiety treatment, but a big caveat here - I want to show you a letter from the Food and Drug Administration. It's issued to the nation's health care providers. They're asking for those folks to look for cases where people may have suffered injuries to the liver after taking Cava products.

Now in Switzerland, Cava products have been banned. In Great Britain, the product's manufacturers have voluntarily taken them off the shelves. In Switzerland and Germany, there are reports of at least 25 liver toxicity cases, and one person has died, four others need liver transplants. All this based on Cava use. The researchers say it underscores the need for patients to talk with their doctors about any herbal supplements they may be taking, especially if the patients are taking any prescription medications - Marty.

SAVIDGE: Well Rea these medicines, I guess the best way - herbal medicines to describe them, are still extremely popular despite what you've outlined there. How should the public take a look at this report coming out? I mean how concerned should they be now?

BLAKEY: Well according to the research in the Annals of Internal Medicine, this is the information that we have to date. Again, there's not a great deal of clinical trials here, which is often what we base medical advice on -- the information that we have in regards to science. Often times with herbal supplements, we don't have that available and the federal government does not regulate these products, so they can be marketed without FDA approval. That should be a red light, I would assume, to most consumers.

The bottom line here is you have to be extremely careful and please consult your physician so that they can inform you as to any information that becomes available. Again, liver toxicity is a very serious issue and with Cava in particular that's a concern that the FDA has at this point. So certainly if you're taking this product, you'll want to consult your physician and let them know what's going on with you so that they can give you the most recent information in regards to what the FDA's concerns are.

SAVIDGE: And real quick, where could I find this information? Is there a Web site or is there a place that the public can go to read this for themselves?

BLAKEY: Precisely, the Annals of Internal Medicine has its own Web site and that has this information available, this study and many others. And they basically are physicians' organization and so they deal specifically with health care providers and people who are interested in information like herbal supplements, I think would find a great deal of information on their Web site - Annals of Internal Medicine.

SAVIDGE: Got it. Rea Blakey, thank you very much for joining us this morning, CNN's medical correspondent.

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