Anti-Nuclear Thyroid Cancer pills

[Butterfly wings]

Yes you heard me right!


Has anybody else heard something about theses type of pills?

The pills are for people that are living in states where Nuclear Reactors are present and near them or near high schools. I watched some live call in audience deal about this on the Fox News Channel just a few minutes ago on tv.

Is this country that scared though that we have to go about making Anti-Nuclear pills in bottles now that you can buy online for free without a prescription? (It's a Goverment thing) That was the way they set it up i heard.

I know that americans want to be safe and i'm all for that.

But how do the scientists even know theses pills will work and be 100% effective?

Your thoughts. And if you feel this should be moved into the Political/Religion forum then please go ahead and move it to that forum.

 

[amk714]

Is this what you're referring to?

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-10-11-nuke-pills_x.htm

The article says that the pills were supposed to be ready in 2003 but they won't be made available until early 2006. It sounds like a good idea to me, but of course people shouldn't overreact, like they did with duct tape a few years back.

 

[Butterfly wings]

Is this what you're referring to?

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-10-11-nuke-pills_x.htm

The article says that the pills were supposed to be ready in 2003 but they won't be made available until early 2006. It sounds like a good idea to me, but of course people shouldn't overreact, like they did with duct tape a few years back.

Yeah that's it amk.

But why would people even bother buying type of pills like this? Because i mean don't nukes spread outwards? so your basically pretty much screwed anyways. Right

 

[amk714]

Text copied from the link:

A nuclear accident produces radioactive iodine. Potassium iodide pills, if taken quickly, fill the thyroid with non-radioactive iodine, thereby blocking the radioactive element from the thyroid.

Because the pills are recommended only for people 40 and younger, who are more likely than older people to get thyroid cancer, not everyone would need them.

The once-a-day pills are approved by the Food and Drug Administration and must be started within four hours of exposure. Thyroid cancer would be a leading health concern, particularly among children, in the event of a radioactive iodine leak caused by an accident or a terrorist attack.

Claypool said the administration is pushing to get the program in place. But he added that officials are concerned that the pills, which protect the thyroid against inhaled or ingested radioactive iodine by saturating it with harmless potassium iodide, "will be overrelied on as a panacea" in lieu of evacuation and decontamination.

Alan Morris, president of Anbex, a company that sells the pills over the Internet, says the government could buy them for only 18 cents per pill. Most people would probably need to take the pills only a few days before the radiation dissipated.

So they would probably be effective if you're 40 or younger, took the pills within 4 hours of being exposed, and continued to for a few days. But they shouldn't be solely relied on in the event of a nuclear attack.

 

[mark 19]

I the event of a nuclear attack it depends on the delivery method but in general I would have though that the main risk would either be from the initial blast (if it’s a nuclear missile) or from gamma rays causing damage to you DNA (if exposed to large doses of radiation) or again from the cellular damage if its alpha decay (inhaled as a dust/powder for example).

In short I would have though the thyroid gland would be the leas of your troubles. 🙄