New York, NY June 12, 1998. Olestra underwent one of the most extensive premarket testing programs of any food additive ever reviewed by the FDA. Since its approval in 1996, there has also been detailed post-marketing surveillance. This surveillance has demonstrated that the major objections to the use of olestra in salty snacks were without merit as detailed below with respect to two health-related aspects of olestra use.
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New York, NY¬December 15, 1998. The New York City Advisory Council on Health Priorities (NYCACHP), an affiliate of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), expressed its concerns today that recently imposed lead-based paint requirements may place city children at greater risk for lead exposure. ACSH, a consumer health group with over 250 scientific advisors, recommends a "lead-safe," rather than "lead-free" approach to lead control.
As most of you know, the New York City Advisory Council on Health Priorities (NYCACHP) is an affiliate of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), providing sound scientific information on various public health topics particular to New York City. Since its inception in 1997, NYCACHP has proved to be a voice of reason and authority on several NYC issues.
First edition, December 1997; reprinted August 1998; second edition, July 2000
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Fat replacers ingredients that can take the place of the fats in food can make it much easier to lower total fat consumption, concludes a panel of physicians and scientists affiliated with the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH).
The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) today denounced the opinion expressed earlier this month by EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner at her testimony before a New York State Assembly Committee concerned with the removal of PCBs from the Hudson River. Browner s testimony was part of a campaign by Assemblyman Richard Brodsky that alleges adverse health effects from the consumption of contaminated fish. There is no scientific evidence that trace levels of environmental PCBs are a health threat to the public.
* The Top Diets How Do They Rate?
* Nutritional Supplements Help or Hype?
* The Food Pyramid Why It's The Healthiest and Easiest Way to Eat
Over and over, virtually inescapably, the "food police" exhort us to keep so-called junk food away from children in order to steer them toward healthy dietary habits. Recent research findings, however, suggest that attempts at policing youngsters' food choices may boomerang.
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Alar apple scare, in which many American consumers were driven into a panic following the release of a report by an environmental organization claiming that apples containing the chemical Alar posed a serious health threat to preschoolers. The report was disseminated through a PR campaign and bypassed any legitimate form of scientific peer review.
Executive Summary
Imagine a delicious, inexpensive convenience food that is low in fat, cholesterol, sodium, and calories and provides all essential nutrients and dietary fibers in optimum quantities. This may seem the ideal food but it would be far from ideal if it were contaminated with pathogenic bacteria.
Women should consider all the scientific evidence available, consult with their physician, and then decide whether they should take a chemopreventive agent to lower their risk of breast cancer, according to scientists with the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH). A new booklet, Chemoprevention of Breast Cancer, has been written for ACSH by Kathleen Meister, M.S.
A New York Times report ("Cleaning Up the Dry Cleaners" by Barnaby J. Feder, Feb. l5, 2000) raises questions about the health effects of the most widely used dry-cleaning chemical, perchloroethylene, commonly referred to as "perc." The article pointed out that there were substantial business efforts underway to develop safer alternatives to perc -- namely a biodegradable soap that dissolves in carbon dioxide.
Erratum: pg. 33, item number 3 reads, in part ...."should take supplements containing 400 mg of folic acid/day."
Reporting about health risks isn't easy. It involves an understanding of the complexities of risk assessment, an ability to distinguish between scientific and pseudoscientific information, the capacity to evaluate and digest complicated material, and the communication skills to portray the risk in the proper context. Simplistic or contradictory messages can leave readers confused and wary; they "tune out" and you lose your audience.
THE COVER-PAGE HEADLINE, "LEAD Poisoning: More Kids Are at Risk" is inconsistent with the data on childhood exposure to lead. Federal monitoring shows that blood lead levels fell significantly along with the decline in the use of leaded gasoline in the 1970s. The plaintiffs' lawyers are saying that it doesn't matter how much lead there is in the blood, just that there is some measurable amount and therefore the kids are sick. Such pronouncements indicate that we have left the realm of science and entered the theatrics of the courtroom.
To the Editor:
Re "Give Doctors Tougher Rules" (Op-Ed, Dec. 10), by Dr. Joseph R. Wilder: Most serious medical mistakes relate to inadvertent medication errors, which can best be handled on a hospital-by-hospital basis, using computerized safeguards and guidelines. Oversight by medical governing bodies would have the counterproductive effect of encouraging doctors (and other caregivers) to hide, rather than learn from, their mistakes: plaintiffs' lawyers lurk in every corner.
On the 40th anniversary of the great "cranberry scare" of l959, scientists at the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) urged Americans to "eat, drink, and be wary" of those who attempt to frighten us about trace levels of synthetic chemicals in foods.
To the Editor:
While scanning my wife's copy of April 1999 Elle I was dismayed to see poor health advice dispensed because of inappropriate risk comparisons.
On page 275 the "Health News" column states that oral contraceptive pills have dangers that include "a 50% greater risk of circulatory disease and a 20% increased risk of breast cancer," which belies the next statement that the risk is "very remote."
To the Editor:
A recent study reports that the ads created by Philip Morris to discourage teenage smoking are not only ineffective, but they may actually encourage the habit. (Marketplace, April 7, 1999). This does not come as a big surprise. A cigarette company is hardly the ideal candidate to convince teenagers not to smoke. The viability of the Industry depends on new, young recruits.
To the Editor:
As Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz points out (Op-Ed, March 1), many children and adults are treated with medications that do not have Food and Drug Administration approval. The doctor is responsible for using clinical judgment to insure that a drug is safe and effective for each patient. However, an equally important issue is the risk to children from potentially dangerous substances, like androstenedione, that can be purchased from a health food store or supermarket without a prescription. Unlike pharmaceuticals, these supplements have not been tested on adults.
A recent issue of the journal "Science" focused on the dilemma posed by the so-called "precautionary principle," which has become enshrined in many international environmental treaties and regulations. The greatest source of controversy about the precautionary principle is its definition.
Our first introduction to the precautionary principle may have come from our mothers who told us it was better to be "safe rather than sorry", meaning we should buckle our seatbelts and throw out the left over food we forgot to refrigerate the night before.
To the Editor:
Greenpeace, having succeeded in terrorizing Europeans about genetically modified (GM) food ingredients, is now flexing its muscles in the United States.(Gerber Baby Food, Grilled by Greenpeace, Plans Swift Overhaul; July 30,1999) Its target is not really food manufacturers, but American parents of infants and young children.
The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) today announced the addition of nine distinguished scientists, physicians, and policy experts to its Board of Directors. Directors are responsible for the overall direction of ACSH, such as setting organizational policy and overseeing the executive staff.
The new directors are:
Terry L. Anderson, Ph.D., M.S. Executive Director Political Economy Research Center (PERC) Bozeman, MT
Dr. Anderson's career in law and environmental economics enables his providing insight to ACSH on such issues.
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