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.
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Impoverished Africans should be grateful to philanthropist Lance Laifer for his effective outreach to reduce the tragic, needless toll of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa ("Malaria's Toll" by Jason Riley, editorial page, Aug. 21). For his attempt to focus complacent Americans, Mr. Riley also deserves thanks -- such clarity is obviously desperately needed, as even with all the publicity accorded to the ravages of malaria, someone as educated and intelligent as Mr. Laifer remained blithely unaware of this scourge until last year.
The recent addition of trans fat information to the Nutrition Facts labels on food products, combined with news media reports and activists warnings, have brought these fats to the forefront of public concern.
In a national survey conducted in November 2005, 81 percent of a representative sample of U.S. consumers reported being aware of trans fats, and 54 percent indicated that they were trying to decrease their trans fat consumption (IFIC Foundation, 2006).
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.
ACSH was mentioned in a household tips column from December:
Q. I bought a wool baby sweater at an antiques store as a gift, and I'm not sure how to wash it. Is dry cleaning a bad idea for baby clothes?
A. Check to see if the sweater has a label with care instructions. If not, you will need to decide between dry cleaning and hand-washing. Both of these methods are generally fine for wool, even delicate items. However, if the item has stains, seek the help of a trusted professional to determine which would be most effective.
A December 5, 2006 piece by Dan Childs on the ABC News site notes reactions to the trans fat hysteria from ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross and recently-deceased ACSH Advisor Dr. David Kritchevsky:
The American Council on Science and Health also questioned the decision.
A November 22, 2006 piece by S. Fred Singer in the Financial Post notes the author's ACSH Advisor status and his impatience with the misuse of science, even in a good cause:
ACSH was saddened by the passing of ACSH Advisor Dr. Roger P. Maickel, whose December 28, 2006 obituary in the Journal and Courier noted some of his many accomplishments:
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:
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.
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.
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 27, 2007 item on PoliticalVindication.com cites ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan in the course of criticizing a report about chemicals and breast cancer:
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.
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:
A March 2, 2007 piece by Denise Mann describes the unfortunate rise to prominence of Rhonda Byrne, author of The Secret, a book pushing a vague misinterpretation of quantum physics as not only a key to career success but to improved health, as touted by Oprah Winfrey and others -- but not by ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross or ACSH Advisor Dr. Stephen Barrett:
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:
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.
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