This piece appeared in National Review Online.
The FDA has its heavy regulatory hand on almost one quarter of the nation's economy, so its leadership is of deep concern to all Americans, not merely those involved in public health. Recently, President Bush nominated Lester Crawford as permanent FDA commissioner. Although Crawford has been acting chief of the agency for much of the past four years, everyone is wondering what his approach will be now that he's the boss.
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An article by Colette Bouchez on WebMD.com February 16, 2005 describes fear of artificial sweeteners, with some calming and cautious words from ACSH's Dr. Ruth Kava, noting the list of artificial sweeteners tested and approved as safe:
A March 4, 2005 article by Kirsten Boyd Goldberg on CancerLetter.com -- about the Legacy Foundation dubbing Time Inc. an anti-tobacco "hero" despite their magazines running many tobacco ads -- quotes an article on the topic by ACSH's Rivka Weiser:
Assessing the Safety of the Chemical PFOA
Project Coordinator: Rivka Weiser
Editor: Gilbert L. Ross, M.D.
The American Council on Science and Health gratefully acknowledges the comments and contributions of the following individuals, who reviewed all or part of the longer position paper on which this booklet is based:
Larry Beeson, Dr.P.H., Loma Linda University
Hinrich L. Bohn, Ph.D., University of Arizona
Joseph F. Borzelleca, Ph.D., Virginia Commonwealth University
John Doull, M.D., Ph.D., University of Kansas
In addition to your nuanced counsel on dealing with the crescendo of dire warnings about various drugs ("The Painkiller Panic", Dec. 23), another factor that should be considered in the precipitous withdrawal of Vioxx and the untoward panic about various pain-relievers is the vast potential of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs) in the chemoprevention of cancer.
Rheumatologists (such as myself) had been aware for many years of preliminary reports of reduced rates of various cancers (notably colorectal cancer) among arthritis patients on long-term NSAIDs.
A January 3, 2005 column called "Group Lists Top Unfounded Health Scares of 2004" by Andi Atwater on www.News-Press.com recounts ACSH's report The Top Ten Unfounded Health Scares of 2004:
A recent article in London's Evening Standard claimed that research completed by the Irish Doctors Environmental Association (IDEA) found the first proof that cell phones cause health problems, but is this research we can rely on? The doctors ignore the lessons learned from previous research along these lines. In September of 2004, researchers in Sweden found links between cell phone usage and acoustic neuroma. The studies were flawed but created a scare nonetheless.
A March 24, 2005 report on MSNBC's show Countdown, as part of MSNBC's "Faith in America" week, discussed faith healers and included ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross on a skeptical note:
[REPORTER MONICA] NOVOTNY (voice-over): But not everyone believes. Dr. Gilbert Ross says while some may be healed, their cures can be explained.
Recently The Lancet posted a correspondence titled, "Lupin flour anaphylaxis (http://www.thelancet.com/journal/vol365/iss9467/abs/llan.365.9467.revie…)." It was followed the next day with a BBC posting titled, "Lupin flour 'poses allergy risk'" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4419709.stm). Since then, there has been a deathly media silence.
Editors Note:
Associate Director Jeff Stier presented the following message as a guest on Dayside with Linda Vester on the Fox News Channel.
Later in the day, Medical Director Dr. Gilbert Ross communicated this message in a separate appearance on Fox News.
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What if there was growing evidence that an already-existing drug, taken daily, might dramatically reduce the risk of breast cancer?
Shouldn't that be more newsworthy than fund-raising walkathons done in the quixotic pursuit of a simple cure? More noteworthy than the latest lab test which classifies an environmental chemical as a rodent carcinogen?
U.S. and Canadian scientists, led by Harvard's Dr. Peter Goss, this week began recruiting thousands of women at high risk of breast cancer to participate in a study of what may well be just such a drug.
This article originally appeared on http://www.techcentralstation.com.
Although the media coverage here in the United States has been non-existent, much of the world has been experiencing one of the great food scares -- and food recalls -- of modern times.
Given today's federal judge's ruling striking down the FDA's ban of the dangerous natural weight-loss supplement, ephedra, we would like to remind you what we said about the matter when the FDA first made the decision. This commentary is only more relevant today...
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FDA vs. Congress on Ephedra Ban
Jeff Stier, Esq.
published on January 9, 2004
This article appeared on MedicalProgressToday.com.
This article appeared in the May 1, 2005 New York Daily News, paired with an opposing argument from Michael Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest:
In an effort to cope with rising health care costs, areas of Washington state created a plan that will reward employees for good health by charging them less for healthcare if they meet certain standards of health.
A May 2005 list of environmentalism's critics in Outside magazine includes Emily Sohn's profile of Elizabeth Whelan: President, American Council on Science and Health:
An April 20, 2005 article by Kristen Greencher notes reactions to the federal government's new food pyramid nutrition guidelines, including the reaction of ACSH's Director of Nutrition, Dr. Ruth Kava:
A prominently placed advertisement by the Lung Cancer Alliance in yesterday's New York Times conveys the important message that lung cancer, which kills more people than many other forms of cancer combined, is worthy of more attention and research than it currently receives. Unfortunately, however, the well-intentioned advertisement is also misleading and has disturbing implications.
The alternative fringe has embraced a trendy catchphrase: "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." It's cute, it sounds impressively philosophical, and, technically, it actually is true. But it can be deceptive, misinterpreted, and misused.
Editor's note: The President's vow today to veto the bill passed by the House that loosened restrictions on embryonic stem cell research included a dismissal of the idea that there are any "spare" embryos, implying that even IVF procedures should be followed by "adoption" of all the embryos thereby created, not merely the implantation of one best fertilized egg cell in the patient's womb. It seems timely, then, to take another look at the June 28, 2004 piece on stem cells and IVF written by ACSH's Aubrey Stimola...
Obesity has been much touted in some quarters as being a leading cause of preventable death in the United States, second only to smoking. About a year ago, a study published by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated the number of excess deaths attributable to obesity at 400,000, a value later corrected to 365,000. (1) Publication of these figures created quite a stir, and gave impetus to the drive by health professionals and others to encourage Americans to revise their lifestyles -- especially to eat less and move more.
A May 16, 2005 article by Jaine Andrews on the site of South Dakota's Keloland-TV refers to ACSH in the course of putting Peter Jennings' lung cancer into prespective:
An April 6 article by Associated Press writer Libby Quaid about labeling of foods quotes ACSH Advisor Fergus Clydesdale, Ph.D.:
The makers of the butter-like spread Take Control had clinical studies showing it lowers cholesterol. But until they got approval from the Food and Drug Administration, they couldn't put it on the label.
"They had to say something like, 'Maintains healthy levels of cholesterol,'" said Fergus Clydesdale, a food science professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who headed the study.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced his support of the state's pending bills to limit the sale of soda and "junk food" in public schools. He claims this will help in the fight against childhood obesity and says that obesity-related health problems may be costing the state billions of dollars each year, with the number of overweight children still increasing.
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