CHECKUP\NEWS, TIPS & TRENDS\Grapefruit helps medication work.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services contributed to this report

It may taste sour, but washing medicine down with grapefruit juice can help some drugs work better and faster, new research suggests.

Store-bought or freshly squeezed grapefruit juice seems to dramatically increase the body's ability to absorb some commonly prescribed medication, including high blood-pressure drugs, according to researchers from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

"For many medications that are taken orally in pill form, the majority of the drug is not absorbed from the digestive tract, but instead passes out of the body and is, in effect, wasted," said Dr. Paul B. Watkins, director of the University of Michigan General Clinical Research Center.

"With some medications, however, when you take them with grapefruit juice, much more of the drug gets into the body and, hence, much less is wasted."

Grapefruit juice may override an enzyme in the intestine that usually regulates the absorption of medications, Watkins noted. But more research is needed to figure out exactly how and when the juice works its magic.

"It is simply too early to start making blanket recommendations for how patients should take their drugs," Watkins said. "However, if we can harness the power of the grapefruit, we believe it will change the way we all take drugs in the future."

Recall detector: A certain brand of carbon monoxide detector - Sinostone Corp.'s SC-O1 model, "the Accusniffer" - may be deadly, the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission warns.

If you own this type of detector, remove it immediately, because it fails to sound even when carbon monoxide levels are as high as 1,000 parts per million, the Washington D.C.-based consumer advocacy group urges.

Such high levels of carbon monoxide - a colorless, odorless, toxic gas - could lead to brain damage or death in as little as 35 minutes, according to the commission.

The group is demanding that the detectors be pulled from store shelves.

The plastic detectors are gray with vertical vents and the word "Accusniffer" on the front. The model number and the company name and address are on a sticker on the back of the detector.

Hardware and home-improvement stores sold the detectors nationwide from October 1994 to August 1995 for a wholesale price of about $28.

The Wood Dale, Ill.-based Sinostone Corp. has distributed about 18,700 of the devices, according to the safety group.

Hiding the facts: Many women who smoke do not tell their doctors about their habit - which could be a dangerous omission if the woman takes birth-control pills, a reproductive-health group warns.

Women who smoke generally are advised against taking oral contraceptives, as the pills have been shown to increase the risk of heart attack and circulation disorders in these women.

"Not knowing about a patient's smoking habits may prevent doctors from providing relevant information and/or the most appropriate kinds of birth control to their patients who smoke," said Dennis J. Barbour, president of the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals.