Super Bowl LIV is coming up this Sunday. Since our staff is located in NYC, DC, and Seattle, we have no rooting interest in this game. We just hope it's a good one.
But we do have a rooting interest in sound science and smart public health. Here's where we appeared in recent days and weeks.
1) Dr. Alex Berezow's critical response to an article claiming a link between maternal fluoride exposure and lower childhood IQ was cited by the American Dental Association (ADA). Both the ADA and ACSH advocate for fluoridation of the water supply as a way to enhance dental health. Of course, some Americans are opposed, because you can find an opponent to anything in this country. (One member of Congress voted against declaring war on Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.) The study had several glaring weaknesses, such as failing to fulfill Hill's criteria of causality. Dr. Berezow also wrote a letter to the editor that was published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, which published the original study.
2) Dr. Berezow wrote a response to a research paper published in the journal Neurology. The original article claimed that there was no link between sleep quality and migraine, a conclusion that Dr. Berezow (a migraine sufferer) found dubious. Dr. Berezow wrote that the methodology was flawed since it was not designed to measure sleep quality.
3) Yahoo! cited our criticism of Netflix's promotion of pseudoscience. The company's addition of woo merchant and snake oil saleswoman Gwyneth Paltrow is just the greatest of its sins. Netflix has a long, sordid history of airing "documentaries" that perpetuate junk science and bogus health claims.
4) ACSH President Thom Golab was interviewed by the Winston-Salem Journal on the topic of e-cigarettes. Mr. Golab said that the key policy decision in regard to vaping involves finding the right balance between preventing underage, recreational use and providing the tools necessary for smokers to quit cigarettes. While it is true that flavors entice minors to try the product, they also entice smokers to try the product. Flavor regulation, therefore, must be approached with caution, a topic also covered by ACSH writer Cameron English.
5) Additionally, Dr. Berezow was also interviewed about vaping for Community Health. He reminded readers that the illnesses and deaths linked to vaping were due to improper use and that vaping, even when properly used, still has some health risks. The article was reprinted by Iosco News (Michigan) and Bradford Era (Pennsylvania).
6) Perhaps ACSH should change its name to ACSHA -- American Council on Science, Health, and the Afterlife. Dr. Michael Shermer, an ACSH advisor and founder of Skeptic Magazine, was cited by the UK's Express for an interview he did about the afterlife on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
7) Dr. Josh Bloom and Dr. Alex Berezow were cited by West Virginia's Charleston Gazette-Mail in an op-ed. The article dealt with the high price of drugs, and the author quoted Bloom and Berezow's article on the activist-legal complex. Jackpot lawsuits, such as the ones that award billions of dollars for nonsense claims (like baby powder causing cancer) are one of many reasons why drug prices are so high.
8) Dr. Berezow continues to do his twice weekly radio segment, "Real Science with Dr. B," on Seattle's Kirby Wilbur Show. In his latest segment (beginning at 22:53), he discussed the coronavirus outbreak.
