As noted in an article featuring ACSH Advisor Dr. Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch, research into the efficacy of alternative medicine has run up a government tab of $2.5 billion over ten years and returned predictably dismal results. You expect scientific thinking [at a federal science agency], said R. Barker Bausell, author of Snake Oil Science and a research methods expert at the University of Maryland. It's become politically correct to investigate nonsense.
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The moment that ACSH staffers have been dreading has finally arrived. The U.S. Senate approved the bill granting regulatory authority of tobacco to the FDA. Senate majority leader Dick Durbin was among those congratulating themselves, claiming, The tobacco companies' days of peddling one of the most deadly products in the world have finally come to an end. ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross is incredulous.
One day after the phase six pandemic alarm bells were sounded, Swiss pharmaceuticals company Novartis AG reports that it has successfully produced a first batch of swine flu vaccine using cells rather than eggs. We should be proud of these people, says ACSH s Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. They re using new technology, and they re helping people. It s the first good news we ve heard about this whole ordeal.
CNN notes that fewer teens are smoking and correlates that to fewer smokers in movies. But it's the American Council on Science and Health that made smoking uncool.
Link: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/06/03/health.smoking.movies/?source=acsh…
The premier food nannies, those folks at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), are at it again. Not content with disparaging all foods and beverages they don’t like, they’re now agitating to reverse a rule by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to “prevent states from using federal nutrition education funds to discourage soda consumption.” According to their legal affairs director, Bruce Silverglade, such beverages are “the only food or beverage directly linked to obesity.” Well, I doubt it.
Japanese scientists reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that the new transgenic rice designed to fight a common pollen allergy appears safe in animal studies. Transgenic plants have genes from different species artificially inserted into their DNA in order to improve their resistance to environmental threats or increase their nutritive value to humans.
The interesting thing about this is that more and more plants will be produced to make pharmaceuticals if regulatory strictures are relaxed, says ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross.
Yesterday s episode of MSNBC s new series Dr. Nancy featured Doctors Dean Ornish and Walter Willett debating the proposed tax on soft drinks as an effort to combat obesity. When Dr. Ornish correctly noted that taxing sodas alone among all the causes of obesity is arbitrary and unfair, Dr. Willett pointed out that Ornish had previously consulted with Pepsi Co. and proceeded to question his loyalty to unbiased scientific inquiry.
Brazilian scientists reported on Tuesday that they have identified a new strain of the H1N1 virus after examining samples from a patient in Sao Paulo. It is not yet determined if the mutated form is more virulent.
On Tuesday, the EPA proposed a $36 million plan to cap a deposit of the pesticide DDT on the ocean floor off the coast of Southern California by covering the seventeen-square-mile area declared a Superfund site in 1996 with sand and silt. According to Mark Gold, executive director of the watchdog group Heal the Bay, the cap won't clean the site, but it could reduce the health risks for people who eat fish caught off the Palos Verdes coast.
An article in USA Today (9/9/09) is boldly entitled "Sixty Percent of Adults Can't Digest Milk." First of all, this is incorrect because it is actually the lactose of milk that is a problem for some people to digest. The other two major milk nutrients, protein and fat, are readily digested by all normal humans. There are several relatively simple ways for those who have a problem with the lactose digestion to deal with it.
This piece originally appeared on the website of The American.
In an apparent attempt to sway at least one undecided Republican senator to sign on to his healthcare reform program, the Obama administration announced the initiation of a pilot program on tort reform, which the president alluded to in his recent speech to a joint session of Congress.
This piece first appeared on October 9, 2009 in the New York Daily News:
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has done Duhigg one better by actually ranking American cities according to how "toxic" their water supply is.
ACSH staffers would like to offer a seat at the table to Ken Green of the American Enterprise Institute for his article on the BPA scare.
An FDA panel ruled yesterday that the cholesterol pill Crestor can prevent heart attack, stroke, and death even among people with healthy cholesterol levels, since it also lowers levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), an indicator of inflammation that can lead to clogged arteries.
Government health officials in Hungary are recommending that Santa should avoid contact with children in order to prevent the spread of the flu.
"H1N1 has prompted some unusual advice this season," says ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. "This is somewhat whimsical. But it's true that the primary means of transmission of H1N1 is sneezing and coughing, so it's important to keep that in mind."
A Grist reader heard about irradiation and wanted to know if food irradiation is good enough that we could go back to having rare hamburgers, soft-boiled eggs and unpasteurized milk?
Grist came to ACSH for guidance and we were happy to help. Now if only they would listen on GMOs.
This brochure explains the current status of vaccine-preventable diseases in the U.S. It explains the causes for low rates of vaccine use and continues with a description of the most common vaccine-preventable diseases and their current immunization recommendations.
New York, NY -- November 12, 2009. The current "swine flu" problem is a reminder that the U.S. pays too little attention to the important broader issue of Adult Immunization -- and that too few adults are getting the shots they need, even though most kids are getting theirs. Scientists associated with the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) have researched and written a thorough, comprehensive report on this largely-neglected topic, available in three formats:
Reuters reports from the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America: "Every year, many patients undergo unnecessary computed tomography (CT) scans that are not indicated, exposing them to more radiation than is necessary, according to new research...The average amount of excess radiation dose per patient from unnecessary scans could mean up to an additional 20,000 radiation-induced cancer cases per year in the U.S., the authors wrote in their abstract for the meeting."
Senior citizens are questioning the H1N1 vaccine controls that have them prioritized below younger age groups, with some even calling it an example of healthcare rationing. ACSH Advisor Dr. Marc Siegel of the NYU School of Medicine addresses the difficulties caused by the vaccine shortage in today's Los Angeles Times.
Metro International reports: "[New York City's] law banishing trans fat took effect in July 2008 and touched everyone with Health Department food licenses including emergency food providers."
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