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The headline on a recent article screamed “UC flame-retardant study finds risks for kids.” However, the article, written by Marla Cone in SF Gate, makes no such assertion, therefore, whoever wrote the misleading headline needs to be educated. “The study in question did not find any actual risks for kids.

The results of a small study on Pfizer’s smoking cessation drug Chantix (varenicline) underscore the difficulties smokers face when attempting to kick the habit for good. Published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Peter Hajek of the UK Center for Tobacco Control Studies studied 101 middle-aged smokers. Half were randomized to start Chantix four weeks prior to quitting, while a control group took the drug just one week before stopping smoking.

Tay-Sachs disease, a devastating congenital error in metabolism of central nervous system fats, is caused by a rare genetic mutation. It usually leads to death by the age of four. Marked by little or no movement or trouble swallowing around age six months, children with Tay-Sachs also exhibit frequent seizures and the loss of hearing and sight.

As summer draws near, a new survey from the American Academy of Dermatology reports that a striking number of young women tan despite the established health risks. The online survey of over 3,800 white, non-Hispanic females aged 14 to 22 found that 81 percent of these respondents “tanned outdoors frequently or occasionally in the part year,” while 32 percent of them had used a tanning bed in the past year.

Let’s talk fruit — in terms of body shape, that is. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic published a new study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggesting that being “pear-shaped” (carrying more fat in the hips, buttocks and thighs) is associated with a lower risk of adverse cardiovascular events compared to those who are apple-shaped (having excess fat around the midsection).

Some may start scouring their cupboards to dig into a fiber-rich meal after a study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, which reveals that eating more fiber may help people live longer. Using data from the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study, researchers asked people between the ages of 50 and 71 what they ate and how frequently they ate it over the last year and then followed them for an average of nine years.

Unfounded health scares do nothing to protect the public and ultimately cause more harm than good.

If the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Academy of Dermatology have their way, minors under the age of 18 will be banned from indoor tanning. Such a ban would apply even if their parents sign a permission slip.

Before the EPA could say precautionary principle, Wal-Mart sent word to its suppliers last week that starting June 1st it would test for and not sell consumer products containing the flame retardants polybrominated diphenyl ether (PDBE). Wal-Mart said that it made this decision following the example of some state regulatory agencies. These agencies have responded to data correlating the substances with health problems in lab animals.

On Wednesday the European Commission approved the use of Avastin (bevacizumab) for treatment of advanced stage breast cancer. This decision, which follows from a recommendation of a European Union advisory panel, stands in marked contrast to the policies of the FDA.

Perhaps responding to ACSH’s Director of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Dr. Josh Bloom’s op-ed on the effect of the FDA’s overly-precautionary regulations on the pharmaceutical industry, the FDA is countering claims that it is not approving enough drugs. The agency published a statement arguing that the number of approvals for novel drugs, called new molecular entities (NMEs), has remained stable over the past decade.

Ten days after a devastating 9.0 earthquake and tsunami wreaked havoc on Japan, engineers worked around the clock to successfully restore power to the cooling pumps in reactors No. 5 and 6 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The partial restoration of electricity caused many to heave a sigh of relief as the threat of a nuclear meltdown became less and less likely.

Some West Virginia University researchers are frying up a skillet of fear for pre-menopausal women. Published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM), a new study alleges that the perfluorocarbons (PFCs) — referred to as “gender bending chemicals” by U.K.

KV pharmaceuticals recently won exclusive rights to the marketing of the pre-term labor prevention drug they’ve branded Makena. Priced at a whopping $1500 per shot, the therapy may cost up to $30,000 per pregnancy since it usually requires 20 weekly injections to prevent premature labor in patients who have a predisposition to or a history of going into premature labor.

The 22nd International Harm Reduction Conference is underway this week in Beirut, Lebanon, and an article published yesterday in The Lancet underscores the goals of the “Beirut Declaration on HIV and Injecting Drug Use: A Global Call for Action,” a new document released at the annual meeting.

According to a new report issued yesterday by the Partnership at Drugfree.org, a trend in substance abuse has been on the rise for the past three years among adolescents, following a decade of continuous declines in drug abuse. The number of teenagers who admitted to using marijuana within the past year increased from 32 percent in 2008 to 39 percent in 2010. During the same time period, teens who owned up to using the drug ecstasy climbed from 6 percent to 10 percent.

Though measles was officially declared “eradicated” in the United States in 2000, a number of cases are still imported from people visiting countries that cannot or do not vaccinate against the disease. The CDC reports that in the first few months of 2011 alone, seven cases of measles have been imported by U.S. infant travelers aged 6 and 23 months. From 2001 to 2010, that number was 47.

Recognized for her roles in such popular movies as Almost Famous and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, actress Kate Hudson is now better known around the mommy blogosphere for committing what is perceived to be the cardinal sin of pregnancy: imbibing a glass of wine.

The FDA is requiring drug makers of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers to include an additional warning to their product label, cautioning of an increased risk for Hepatosplenic T-Cell Lymphoma (HSTCL), a type of blood cancer primarily reported in adolescents and young adults on TNF blockers.

Last night, ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross and Lana Spivak attended the American Cancer Society s one-year anniversary celebration of Choose You, co-hosted by executive producer and Academy Award-winning actress Hilary Swank (photo below). Dr. Ross and Ms. Spivak caught a preview of Swank s documentary, Choose You, a film that captures the stories of women empowered to choose a healthy lifestyle that includes diet and exercise to help prevent cancer, particularly breast cancer.

According to an organization called the Environmental Law Foundation (ELF), Dr Soda Co., a refreshment services provider in California, is in violation of the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, otherwise known as Proposition 65.

As spring turns to summer, ACSH anticipates better beach weather, plenty of summer movie sequels, and a new seasonal scare from the Environmental Working Group (EWG). Well, the EWG has yet to disappoint us, and this time, they’re warning us about sunscreens that may contain phototoxic and “dangerous endocrine disrupting” chemicals such as retinyl palmitate and oxybenzone, respectively.

Newer antipsychotic drugs currently approved to treat schizophrenia are being increasingly prescribed for off-label indications, according to a study published in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety.

Environmental Health News reports on a new study published in the journal Reproductive Toxicology alleging that exposure to the phthalate DINP (di-isononylphthalate) causes developmental abnormalities in rats. To get their results, researchers had to inject the rodents with phthalate levels that were from 300 to 90,000 times greater than the exposure level found in humans.