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Chewy and eight other companies are violating federal law by selling or making unapproved antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs for animals that could potentially give rise to drug-resistant superbugs, the U.S. health regulator said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday sent letters to nine companies including e-commerce retailer Chewy warning them against selling the products that it said contained antibiotics such as penicillin and amoxicillin. (12/14)

An experimental study that involved cockroaches highlights the dynamics of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) transmission, Danish researchers reported today in mSystems. In the study, a team of researchers from the Technical University of Denmark set up an experiment in which they separated 250 Pycnoscelus surinamensis cockroaches into two groups to explore AMR transmission within symbiotic microbiomes across hosts. One group (terrarium B) was treated daily with tetracycline, and the other (terrarium A) went untreated. They then sampled cockroaches and soil from both terraria for metagenomic sequencing. (Dall, 12/14)

U.S. agents recently seized more than 1.4 million illegal e-cigarettes from overseas manufacturers, including the Chinese company behind Elf Bar, a line of fruity disposable vapes that has become the top brand among American teens, officials said Thursday. Officials pegged the value of the e-cigarettes seized at Los Angeles International Airport at $18 million and said they included several related brands, including Elf Bar, Lost Mary, Funky Republic and EB Create, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The agency announced the seizure with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which helped conduct the operation. (Perrone, 12/14)

Medtronic said on Wednesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved its system for a type of condition that can cause stroke or heart failure. The system, PulseSelect Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA), is used for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF), a condition that is characterized by an irregular rhythm of the heart. (12/14)

Affinia Healthcare is providing a safer way to dispose of unused prescription medication at home. The St. Louis-based health care provider is offering more than 200 free Deterra Drug Deactivation and Disposal System pouches. Kenyatta Johnson, the pharmacy director at Affinia Healthcare, said the need follows an upward trend of drug overdoses in the region. (Lewis-Thompson, 12/15)

In a bid toward greater transparency, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this month launched a dashboard containing preliminary notices sent to companies, universities, and researchers that failed to register clinical trials or report study results. (Silverman, 12/14)

Weight loss company WeightWatchers launched a telehealth service on Thursday, joining a crowded list of virtual care providers that are prescribing glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist medications. The service, called WeightWatchers Clinic, will use clinicians previously employed by Sequence, the telehealth weight loss provider it acquired in March. Clinicians employed by WeightWatchers will prescribe certain patients GLP-1 medications such as Wegovy and Munjaro. They will also prescribe other weight loss drugs for patients not interested or ineligible for GLP-1 medications. (Turner, 12/14)

The U.S. Environmental Agency Thursday took the first step toward potentially restricting or banning the use of five toxic chemicals used to make plastics, adhesives and paints. Among them is a key ingredient in PVC plastic – vinyl chloride – a common material for water and sewer pipes, medical equipment and toys. It’s also a known carcinogen, and exposure to the substance has been linked to numerous health effects. (Le Coz, 12/14)

Women are increasingly turning to the intrauterine device, or IUD, as a form of contraception, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published today. Yet it’s widely known that having an IUD inserted can be excruciatingly painful, and few doctors offer effective relief. The anticipation of the pain is “a potential barrier” to expanding access, said Dr. Lauren Zapata, an epidemiologist with the division of reproductive health at the C.D.C. (Gupta, 12/14)

A month after a new federal crackdown on social media advertising, nutrition influencers have deleted previous sponsored posts and some are now explicitly disclosing the companies that are paying them That pasta recipe? Dietitian Cara Harbstreet of Kansas City says in her video that it’s made in partnership with Barilla. Steph Grasso of Oakton, Va., a registered dietitian with more than 2 million social media followers, now superimposes #Ad on her videos for Orgain protein powders. (Gilbert, Chavkin and Tsui, 12/13)