Health

EDMONTON — Canada's health ministers are looking at ways of working together, including an electronic prescription database, to fight the growing crisis in opioid addictions.

TORONTO — Ontario should raise taxes on cigarettes, ban anyone under 21 from buying them and impose a levy on tobacco companies, a government-commissioned report is recommending.

CALGARY — More than 400 elective surgeries and exams are being cancelled at Rockyview General Hospital in Calgary because of the need for an urgent equipment repair and upgrade.

TRENTON, N.J. — U.S. regulators on Wednesday approved a second gene therapy for a blood cancer, a one-time, custom-made treatment for aggressive lymphoma in adults. The Food and Drug Administration allowed sales of the treatment from Kite Pharma.

EDMONTON — The health implications of legalized cannabis and ways to combat Canada's rising opioid problem are on the agenda when health ministers meet this week in the Alberta capital.

Edmonton and Lethbridge are the first cities in Alberta to get Health Canada approval to offer safe injection sites for opioid drugs.

SAN DIEGO — Doctors were just guessing a decade ago when they gave Alison Cairnes' husband a new drug they hoped would shrink his lung tumors. Now she takes it, but the choice was no guesswork.

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia is trying a new, two-pronged approach to attracting doctors, following up on a pledge from Premier Stephen McNeil after voters sent a clear message they were losing faith in the health-care system.

OTTAWA — Breaded chicken products sold under the Janes brand name are being recalled due to possible contamination from salmonella.

New data shows most Canadian children and youth are still not getting the recommended amount of daily physical activity. Two studies from Statistics Canada reveal they are also spending more time in front of digital screens than experts like.