WASHINGTON (AP) - Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday.

A teen who has been depressed at some point in the past year is more than twice as likely to have used marijuana as teens who...

ATLANTA (AP) - Flu vaccine manufacturers expect to make a record number of doses for next flu season despite concerns that demand may drop because this year's vaccine was largely ineffective.

The five companies that make flu vaccine for the U.S. market plan to make at least 143 million doses for the 2008-2009 seas...

CHICAGO (AP) - There's a grim, rarely talked-about twist to all that medical know-how doctors learn to save lives: It makes them especially good at ending their own. An estimated 300 to 400 U.S. doctors kill themselves each year _ a suicide rate thought to be higher than in the general population, although exact f...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Agents selling private health insurance plans to the elderly and disabled would be barred from cold-calling, door-to-door solicitations and pitching their products outside hospital waiting rooms or pharmacies, under a federal rule proposed Thursday.

The rule is designed to make it harder to pressure...

ATLANTA (AP) - People who sleep fewer than six hours a night _ or more than nine _ are more likely to be obese, according to a new government study that is one of the largest to show a link between irregular sleep and big bellies.

The study also linked light sleepers to higher smoking rates, less physical activity...

CHICAGO (AP) - The federal government's new advice to doctors for helping smokers quit recommends the drug Chantix, which has recently been linked with depression and suicidal behavior. The new guidelines mention the psychiatric risks but also say the popular Pfizer Inc. drug is the most effective at helping peopl...

ATLANTA (AP) - More than half of U.S. adults with diabetes also have arthritis, raising a serious obstacle for diabetic patients urged to exercise, according to a government study.

The survey of nearly 800,000 people is the first extensive look at the overlap between the two conditions, said Dr. John Klippel, pres...

WASHINGTON (AP) - A consumer advocacy group petitioned the government Thursday to pull the birth-control patch off the market, calling it far riskier than the pill.

"Ortho-Evra is a poor choice for women," Dr. Sidney Wolfe of Public Citizen wrote the Food and Drug Administration.

Warnings about the Ortho-Evra weekly ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Rana Parker tells pudgy police they have the right to remain chubby, but it can and will be used against them on the streets of Los Angeles. The dietitian lays down the law for recruits, veterans and top brass, letting them know that eating right can help them do a better job and could even save the...

BOSTON (AP) - A Massachusetts study suggests that restaurant smoking bans may play a big role in persuading teens not to become smokers. Youths who lived in towns with strict bans were 40 percent less likely to become regular smokers than those in communities with no bans or weak ones, the researchers reported in...