From Snail Spit to Radiation: The ReportingonHealth Daily Briefing

What we're reading and listening to today:

Snail spit: This could be the best trade headline of the year: Non-addictive Painkiller Made From Snail Spit Now Comes in a Pill.

Kitchen Meds: Do you use kitchen measuring teaspoons or tablespoons to give your kids liquid medicine? If so, you might want to reconsider, according to this surprising Pharmacy Times story: apparently, there's quite a bit of variation in what those spoons actually hold.

Haiti: All that well-intentioned free post-quake health care in Haiti could jeopardize the country's own health care system, reports Amy Bracken on PRI's The World radio show.

Obesity: If you ever had any doubts that our nation is getting fatter, this MMWR report on obesity rates  by state should relieve you of them. Colorado has the lowest obesity rate (18.6 percent), while Mississippi has the highest (34.4 percent). You can find more information in the CDC's Vital Signs publication, which focuses this month on obesity. Now back to the gym!

Radiation: Two more hospitals join the list of California hospitals where radiation overdoses occurred during CT brain perfusion scans, reports the Los Angeles Times. They had programmed their scanners according to directions from maker Toshiba, which won't comment pending an FDA investigation.