Bill would tax online pornography

Washington A Democratic lawmaker is planning to propose a new 25 percent federal tax on Internet pornography and new requirements for adult Web sites to help prevent children from looking at them.

The bill, expected to be introduced next week by Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., would impose the excise tax on transactions with for-profit adult Web sites, which typically sell monthly subscriptions to Internet users to look at pornographic photographs or videos.

Money collected from the tax would be used for law enforcement and for protecting children from Internet-related crimes.

A draft of the legislation circulated this week among pornography and free-speech groups. Companion legislation was also expected to be introduced in the House.

Called the Internet Safety and Child Protection Act of 2005, the bill also proposes new rules for Web sites to verify they do business only with adults. It would compel sites to use specialized software to verify a customer’s age, subject to enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission.

FDA approves new insomnia treatment

Washington The government approved a new treatment for insomnia on Friday, the first prescription sleep aid not designated as a controlled substance.

Called Rozerem, the drug works differently from its competitors.

Rozerem is chemically related to the natural hormone melatonin, which helps regulate the body’s sleep-wake cycle, and is thought to work by stimulating melatonin receptors in the brain, explained Dr. Robert Meyer of the Food and Drug Administration.

“It’s another option” for people with the main form of insomnia, difficulty in falling asleep, Meyer said. “By working through a different pathway, it’s entirely possible that this might work for some people in ways that the other drugs do not.”

Nor do studies show any sign that Rozerem, known chemically as ramelteon, causes dependence, the reason it was not designated as a controlled substance.

The main warning: Rozerem is metabolized by the liver, so people with liver problems shouldn’t take it, Meyer said.

Manufacturer Takeda Pharmaceuticals said Rozerem will be available in late September but would not reveal a price.

Almost a third of adults have trouble sleeping, and about 10 percent have symptoms of daytime impairment that signal true insomnia. Rozerem joins a list of newer prescription sleep pills that work without many of the side-effect concerns of older agents.