Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DMi9lUKJjFr/ If not anchored to a wall, these loaded dressers are unstable, tip-over, entrap,  injure, and, in some cases, kill children. Affected is model number ASNG105 About 6,600 recalled dressers were sold exclusively on Amazon from April 2024 through May 2025. Immediately stop loading and using these recalled dressers until they are securely anchored to...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DMi2sZZvpLi/ This group of recalled ramps cannot safely handle the weight limits printed on their labels. The ramps bend and break during use creating injury risks. This recall includes the Traveller 3,000 lb. 12” x 90” Aluminum Sheet Arched Ramp, the Traveller 1,800 lb. 77” Straight Ramp, and the Traveller 1,500 lb. 12” x 84” Aluminum Sheet Arched Ramp. About...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DMi2GTQsHOt/ These steamers leak steam or spew boiling water during use creating burn hazards. Affected is model number DF-958. About 23,000 units were sold nationwide exclusively on the Home Shopping Network from November 2024 through April 2025. Stop using these recalled steamers. To receive your refund, unplug the steamer and cut the power cord near its con...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DMi1N6otONW/ The lithium-ion batteries in these portable chargers overheat and burn while charging creating serious fire and burn hazards. Affected is model IST-09991/W05. About 8,520 power banks were sold in the United States and 6,400 units were sold in Canada all at vending machines and retail stores in airports as well as online at iStore.co between Februa...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DMi0IRbtFtn/ Their USB modules, located in the arm of the chair, overheat, spark, and create fire risks. About 9,030 chairs were sold in the US and 6 were sold in Canada at Crate Kids and major retailers such as Amazon, Target, Babylist, Pottery Barn Kids, Wayfair, and Babyletto’s own website between May 2023 and February 2025.  Stop using these recalled chair...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DMizC1PJ2DY/ VIVI 36-volt lithium-ion batteries sold with VIVI brand electric bicycles overheat creating fire and burn hazards. Affected are battery models C26, MT20, Z3, M026SH, H6, H7, MT26H, 26LGB, M026TGB, MT26G, FM20, F20, S3, Z1, and Z2. About 24,000 batteries were sold with e-bikes in the United States by Amazon, Walmart, eBay, the VIVI website, Wish, S...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DMip_ZnuR9I/ These pools have compression straps running around the outside and over the vertical support legs that provide a foothold for children to climb up into the pools.  This design flaw has contributed to nine tragic drowning deaths of young children between 2007 and 2022.   The affected brands and models include Bestway’s Power Steel and Steel Pro, In...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DMYejqzMmN6/ I Inhaling nitrous oxide from pressurized canisters, commonly called doing “whippets” or “ballooning,” filling balloons with the gas, can damage your mouth, voice box, and respiratory tract. A case report from the University of Virginia in the New England Journal of Medicine documents the nasty side of laughing gas use. A 23-year-old man presented...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DMYd0kbMb1M/ Two-thirds of us in the United States drink coffee every day and three-quarters of us drink it at least once a week.  Coffee and the caffeine it contains can be a problem for a number of medications prescribed by your medical team or bought by you on your own. Most common are cold and flu drugs.  Coffee’s caffeine turbocharges the effects of the d...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DMYclQUtf3d/ The bioengineering wizards at MIT’s Yang Center for Bionics have developed the most advanced prosthesis for above-knee amputees.  Termed the osseointegrated mechanoneural prosthesis or OMP, it combines a sophisticated bionic knee with a titanium implant in the femur and connections into the wearer’s thigh muscles and nervous system permitting thou...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DMYbs7tJz7Q/ A new so-called “tetra-functional” diet compound has added power and its effects match the weight loss result of bariatric surgery. Chemists at Boston’s Tufts University have engineered a next-generation compound that mimics the action of four different gut hormones involved in appetite control, metabolism, and energy use.  They are GLP-1, GIP, gl...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DMYbAAEvCa2/ The trend in the US and elsewhere around the globe is for children to enter puberty at earlier ages.  Researchers are searching for an explanation, and the sweet and sweetened foods that preteens consume may hold at least a partial answer.   It turns out that, for boys, the artificial sweetener sucralose, found in Splenda and many foods and drinks...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DMYaR0etDWt/ Up to 12% of women are allergic to male fluids released during intimacy leading not only to painful and embarrassing rashes and itching but more often to systemic symptoms.  A meta-analysis by OB-GYN investigators at Brooklyn’s University Hospital at Downstate analysed 53 studies with women aged 18 to 45 and an average age of 29. A full 60% of the...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DMYZfCgvjNU/ The use of LED lights significantly improved acne with a nearly 50% reduction of unsightly skin lesions.  Dermatology researchers from Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital report this result following their meta-analysis of 6 studies covering 216 participants with ages ranging from 12 to 50 years. Compared with controls, those using LED lights f...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DMYYGQHJoa9/ Those consistently eating healthy plant-based foods were half as likely to fall victim to cardiac disease as those on a typical western diet.  Johns Hopkins epidemiologists reviewed data from 7,708 respondents, mean age 45 years, replying to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.  The participants were divided into 4 groups accordin...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DMYXNKuvaTI/ Adolescent vapers taking the drug varenicline, branded as Chantix, were 8 times more likely to abandon the practice compared with those receiving behavioral counseling and a quit-vaping text program.  This the finding from a study by Harvard’s Mass General Hospital psychiatrists studying addiction in young adults. Their trial included 261 adolesce...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DME-WujN8qd/ Certain individually wrapped packs inside recalled cartons of peanut butter crackers are mislabeled as the Cheese variety even though they contain peanut butter. The outer cartons are correctly labeled, but these individual packets pose a risk to individuals with a peanut allergy. Affected are the 8-count, 20-count, and 40-count cartons of RITZ Pe...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DME9wFQsmtn/ This recall affects 12-ounce pouches with sell-by dates of May 7, 2026 and May 28, 2026, as well as 8-count boxes of 1.5-ounce packs with a sell-by date of May 5, 2026. These recalled almonds were sold by Meijer stores in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, and Wisconsin. Stop consuming these recalled almonds and return them to the custom...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DME9NBepah6/ Affected are item 47518, Nonpareil Semi-Sweet Chocolate with Christmas Seeds, and item D2645, Nonpareils Semi-Sweet Chocolate with White Seeds.  Milk contaminated dark chocolate candies from this company are also sold by Wegman’s, Southeastern Grocers, and JLM, and I have separate reports on these recall. These Weaver Nut chocolate nonpareils were...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DME8nivtphT/ This cough syrup has Bacillus cereus contamination.  This bug can cause nausea, vomiting, cramps, or diarrhea, and, in rare cases with exposure to high levels, it can be life-threatening. Affected lot numbers are 0039, 0545, 0640, 0450, and 1198, with expiration dates ranging from November 2025 to December 2026. About five lots of this cough syrup...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DME8GC9uLs8/ Affected are lot numbers are 28202501A, 29202501A, 23202504A, 14202505A, 15202505A, and 03202506A. This recalled candy was sold nationwide in retail stores. Return this candy to the place of purchase for a full refund. For questions, contact Lipari Foods at 1-586-447-3500, extension 9720. https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safet...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DME7iUMtUT3/ Those who are allergic or severely sensitive to milk risk serious or life-threatening reactions if they consume this product. The recall involves lot numbers 242645, 238466, 235643, 237319, 241581, and 239202. These candies were sold in retail stores in the Florida cities of Miami, Baldwin, and Plant City as well as in Hammond, Louisiana.  Return...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DME698SuAGe/ Vampire Slayer Garlic Cheddar Curds, sold in 6-ounce sealed plastic cups, due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. Affected are Face Rock Creamery Cheddar Curds, lots 20250519VS01 and 20250519VS02, with a Use By date of August 29, 2025. Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, especially in young children, the e...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DME6cFnti5Z/ These truffles create a serious risk of life-threatening allergic reactions to people with pecan allergies. The recall includes Family Assortments with the following product numbers found below the barcode: 4564, 4565, 4566, and 4567; and Truffles  4574, 43109, 43110, and 44121. These candies were sold at nine Kilwins retail stores located in Oran...

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/DME580hpQPY/ This undeclared milk allergen poses a serious risk of life-threatening allergic reactions to individuals with milk allergies or severe sensitivities. The recall involves specific lot codes: 55021 with a best-by date of December 28, 2025; 55031 best-by December 29, 2025; 55491 best-by February 13, 2026; 55501 best-by February 14, 2026; 56061 best-b...