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Aired November 27, 2002 - 13:30   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Good news for allergy sufferers. The Food and Drug Administration says the blockbuster medicine Claritin may now be sold over the counter. The move is expected to translate into major savings for uninsured users of prescription Claritin, which currently cost about 60 bucks a month.
CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has that and a cornucopia of other health news.

Elizabeth, tell us first about Claritin.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, allergy sufferers who use Claritin have been waiting for many years for this move, because they say, gee, this is a relatively safe drug, it doesn't make you drowsy, why not be able to get it over the counter?

Initially, the company that makes Claritin fought this. They thought they would lose money if it went over the counter. Once they figured out a way to make money, then they said, OK, you can put it over the counter.

Right now, a month's worth of Claritin by prescription costs $60. It's sure to be a lot cheaper when it goes over the counter.

PHILLIPS: All right, and another drug approved, this one for ADHD.

COHEN: That's right. There are now three major drugs that people take for ADHD. With this one, that means there's a fourth drug. It works in a different way so doctors are hoping if the other ones perhaps don't work as well, this may be an option for some people. It works in a different way.

A head-to-head study done at the university of Nebraska shows this worked about as well as Ritalin, has similar side effect profiles -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, so let's talk about one table spoon of peanut butter. Isn't more better?

COHEN: No, more is not better.

What a study showed that folks who had a table spoon of peanut butter or handful of nuts five days a week had a 20 percent lower chance of getting type two diabetes. No, more is not better. I'm going to show you what those sizes are. In this bowl is approximately a handful of nuts, and this is a tablespoon of peanut butter. More is not better. Nuts and peanut butter have a lot of fat in them. If you eat too much, that will get fat. That will put you at a higher risk of getting type II diabetes.

PHILLIPS: All right, we're getting a bunch of subjects here. And I saw this morning you were talking about drowsiness while driving. You got 30 million people out on the road today. I know you're going to give us some tips here, mom.

COHEN: Absolutely. First let's talk about the rules of a National Sleep Foundation survey. They found 51 percent of Americans admitted to driving while drowsy. That is, obviously, not a good thing, and 17 percent of those surveyed said they had fallen asleep at the wheel. Two million people in the last year have had accidents because they were drowsy. Men are more likely than women to drive drowsy.

So we have some don'ts for you. When you're sleepy, if you think it's a good idea to open the window or turn on the window, don't do it. The sleep foundation says, it doesn't work. You may think that it works, but it doesn't.

What you should do instead, sounds pretty obvious, pull over and take a nap. But only one out of five people actually do that. The second thing, drink some coffee or another caffeinated beverage. Combining those two is probably the best. Pull over, take a cup of coffee, drink it, and in 30 minutes, it will kick into your bloodstream. During those 30 minutes, take a nap.

PHILLIPS: So how little sleep will make you drowsy? You and I, of course, can relate to this.

COHEN: Right, absolutely.

You know what, it doesn't take much sleep deprivation to really affect how alert you are. For example, a study showed that when people got six to seven hours of sleep versus getting eight hours of sleep, that they were twice as likely to get into an accident. In other words, the difference of getting six and seven or eight and more is huge when it comes to driving.

PHILLIPS: I have got to ask you about the cat nap.

For me,a 20 minute cat nap does me pretty good. What about you?

COHEN: I'm the same way. Not everyone is like that. But the National Sleep Foundation does say, pull over; 15 or 20 minutes can make you much more alert.

PHILLIPS: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, always great to see you. Thank you.

COHEN: All right, Thanks.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired November 27, 2002 - 13:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Good news for allergy sufferers. The Food and Drug Administration says the blockbuster medicine Claritin may now be sold over the counter. The move is expected to translate into major savings for uninsured users of prescription Claritin, which currently cost about 60 bucks a month.
CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has that and a cornucopia of other health news.

Elizabeth, tell us first about Claritin.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, allergy sufferers who use Claritin have been waiting for many years for this move, because they say, gee, this is a relatively safe drug, it doesn't make you drowsy, why not be able to get it over the counter?

Initially, the company that makes Claritin fought this. They thought they would lose money if it went over the counter. Once they figured out a way to make money, then they said, OK, you can put it over the counter.

Right now, a month's worth of Claritin by prescription costs $60. It's sure to be a lot cheaper when it goes over the counter.

PHILLIPS: All right, and another drug approved, this one for ADHD.

COHEN: That's right. There are now three major drugs that people take for ADHD. With this one, that means there's a fourth drug. It works in a different way so doctors are hoping if the other ones perhaps don't work as well, this may be an option for some people. It works in a different way.

A head-to-head study done at the university of Nebraska shows this worked about as well as Ritalin, has similar side effect profiles -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, so let's talk about one table spoon of peanut butter. Isn't more better?

COHEN: No, more is not better.

What a study showed that folks who had a table spoon of peanut butter or handful of nuts five days a week had a 20 percent lower chance of getting type two diabetes. No, more is not better. I'm going to show you what those sizes are. In this bowl is approximately a handful of nuts, and this is a tablespoon of peanut butter. More is not better. Nuts and peanut butter have a lot of fat in them. If you eat too much, that will get fat. That will put you at a higher risk of getting type II diabetes.

PHILLIPS: All right, we're getting a bunch of subjects here. And I saw this morning you were talking about drowsiness while driving. You got 30 million people out on the road today. I know you're going to give us some tips here, mom.

COHEN: Absolutely. First let's talk about the rules of a National Sleep Foundation survey. They found 51 percent of Americans admitted to driving while drowsy. That is, obviously, not a good thing, and 17 percent of those surveyed said they had fallen asleep at the wheel. Two million people in the last year have had accidents because they were drowsy. Men are more likely than women to drive drowsy.

So we have some don'ts for you. When you're sleepy, if you think it's a good idea to open the window or turn on the window, don't do it. The sleep foundation says, it doesn't work. You may think that it works, but it doesn't.

What you should do instead, sounds pretty obvious, pull over and take a nap. But only one out of five people actually do that. The second thing, drink some coffee or another caffeinated beverage. Combining those two is probably the best. Pull over, take a cup of coffee, drink it, and in 30 minutes, it will kick into your bloodstream. During those 30 minutes, take a nap.

PHILLIPS: So how little sleep will make you drowsy? You and I, of course, can relate to this.

COHEN: Right, absolutely.

You know what, it doesn't take much sleep deprivation to really affect how alert you are. For example, a study showed that when people got six to seven hours of sleep versus getting eight hours of sleep, that they were twice as likely to get into an accident. In other words, the difference of getting six and seven or eight and more is huge when it comes to driving.

PHILLIPS: I have got to ask you about the cat nap.

For me,a 20 minute cat nap does me pretty good. What about you?

COHEN: I'm the same way. Not everyone is like that. But the National Sleep Foundation does say, pull over; 15 or 20 minutes can make you much more alert.

PHILLIPS: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, always great to see you. Thank you.

COHEN: All right, Thanks.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com