A December 8, 2006 column by Jay Ambrose compares cancer fears over cell phones to other bogus health scares of the past, citing ACSH and ACSH Trustee Dr. Henry Miller:
Remember the Alar scare? You have to go back to 1989 for that one. It was alleged on a 60 Minutes show that this chemical used in apples would cause childhood cancer, which in fact it would not. The truth emerged and the scare died out in time, but not until the apple industry had suffered a pointless, stupid $375 million setback.
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The past twelve months produced a bumper crop of health scares, according to physicians and scientists with the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH). In a new roundup, ACSH describes the genesis of 10 of the most outrageous ones, and explains why they are scares with little or no basis in scientific fact.
“Food and nutrition are always prime targets for outlandish pronouncements,” stated Dr. Ruth Kava, ACSH nutrition director. This year the false food-related scares included:
The possibility of suffering adverse health effects as a result of exposure to radiation is a cause of concern and fear for many people.
A December 20, 2006 year-end highlights column by Arizona's Becky Fenger echoes a choice by ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan:
Dumbest Idea by a State: New Jersey hit the jackpot in this tightly competitive category by slapping a tax on exercising! That's right. The Garden State levied a 7% tax on health club memberships. "Just when we should be giving people incentives to work out, New Jersey is penalizing consumers for doing so. What's next, a tax on diet soda?" asks Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelan, president of the American Council on Science and Health.
A November 4, 2006 piece from Canada's Globe and Mail by Gina Mallet (like numerous publications in the U.S.) contrasts the hysteria over trans fats with ACSH's position:
A September 18, 2006 editorial from Investor's Business Daily applauds the World Health Organization's recent embrace of the pesticide DDT as a malaria-fighter, citing ACSH:
According to Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, president of the American Council on Science and Health, during its less than 30 years of use (1944-72), DDT prevented more human death and disease than any other man-made chemical in all of recorded history.
Unscientific scares demand unscientific polls, so we asked people to click here to vote on whether to ban trans fats.
After readers weighed in, the results were 68% (28 votes) to 27% (11 votes), with 5% (2 votes) undecided, AGAINST banning trans fats. Would that NYC's Department of Health were as wise a deliberative body as our readers. And would that people would avoid taking polls seriously if they don't involve large, randomized samples.
This article originally appeared in the New York Sun.
There is no scientific evidence linking exposure to 9/11 dust and diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis. That doesn't stop the press and politicians from leaping to conclusions.
Take the case of New York Police Officer Cesar Borja, the police officer whose son was a guest of Senator Clinton at the State of the Union only hours after his father's untimely and premature death from lung disease.
This piece originally appeared in the New York Sun.
Public-health "advocates" have to rally popular sentiment and political support to make progress on the long list of foods and consumer products that they want to see banned because of purported health hazards. They issue regular press releases about "toxins," "poisons," and "carcinogens" and then frequently follow up with calls for regulatory action.
A May 29, 2007 piece by the Reason Foundation's Ted Balaker cites ACSH:
This piece first appeared on July 25, 2007 on TCSDaily.com.
In his new documentary Sicko, which calls for nationalized health care, Michael Moore shows a montage of ads urging the viewer to "ask your doctor" about various medications, implying the ads are responsible for over-medicating society. Lucky for patients, not everyone in Congress agrees with him. At least not yet.
New York, NY -- May 1, 2007. The public health establishment has misled smokers about the benefits and risks of using smokeless tobacco as a method of quitting cigarettes.
A January 10, 2007 column by George Mason University economics professor Walter Williams, appearing in Human Events, in Deseret News, and on PittsburghLive.com, mentions the reaction of ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan to the trans fat hysteria:
A February 1, 2007 piece by Heartland Institute's Sandra Fabry notes the reaction of ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan to measures such as "fat taxes":
While acknowledging there is a measurable major increase in Americans being overweight, Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, president of the American Council on Science and Health, thinks taxing certain food groups is the wrong answer to the obesity problem.
A January 23, 2007 article by Kelly Bothum notes a trans fat marketing insight from ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan:
Elizabeth Whelan, an epidemiologist and president of the American Council on Science and Health in New York, said the food industry has succeeded in over-hyping trans fats into a marketing bonanza.
A February 28, 2007 "Broadsheet" column by Salon's Lynn Harris notes the prevalence of HPV, the virus now targeted by Gardasil:
Prevalence increases yearly among women starting at age 14 and peaks at 45 percent among women 20 to 24. As the American Council on Science and Health puts it, "nearly 50% of American women can expect to be infected at some point in their lives."
A March 1, 2007 piece mentions Salon.com's mention of our mention of JAMA's report on high rates of HPV, the virus associated with cervical cancer:
This piece originally appeared on June 20, 2007 on HuffingtonPost.com:
A June 18, 2007 entry on the National Public Radio blog mentions the reaction of ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan to Kellogg's' decision to partner (under duress) with Center for Science in the Public Interest to change its cereal marketing practices:
A May 27, 2007 item on PoliticalVindication.com cites ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan in the course of criticizing a report about chemicals and breast cancer:
With the sixth anniversary of terrorist attacks approaching, it is easy to feel helpless and scared about what some believe to be an inevitable future attack. But there are things you can do to protect yourself:
1. Keep your ears and eyes open. Report any suspicious behavior. Watch for unusually dressed people (long sleeves or overcoat on a warm day) or people wearing protective gear. Look out for unattended packages.
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