The 2016 and 2022 CDC opioid prescribing guidelines were based on the assertion that doctor over-prescribing to patients has been a major cause of opioid use disorder and overdose-related deaths. Published
data from the CDC and other sources reveals that this assertion was incorrect – and the CDC knew it was incorrect when it published its guidelines.
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Some doctors are alarmed by the blase attitude toward the Covid drug Paxlovid, quite different from when the drug first became available. What's going on? Some of the waning interest in the drug is because of the widespread use of the term "Paxlovid rebound," implying that there is something wrong with it. More likely, the problem is the term, not the drug.
Medicine, like the science that underlies it, is seldom transformed by “Eureka” breakthroughs; rather, it is most often a process of systematically accumulating knowledge and making incremental advances. Radiation treatment for breast cancer is a good example: New data has enabled us to revise and improve old approaches.
In 2016, the American viewing public was exposed to 663,000 television commercials for pharmaceuticals. That is a significant “ad spend” by Pharma, which we pay for through increased drug pricing. A new study looks at the therapeutic value of the more heavily advertised drugs. The key concept here is “market differentiation.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in the process of making a remarkable decision and one that will have repercussions throughout the US. Its proposed safe levels in water for the “forever” chemicals perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and its sulfonic acid (PFOS) are at extraordinary odds with other national authorities.
Restaurants provide more than food and drink; they serve a social function, allowing friends to get together over a shared meal. Although as we age, ambient sound may make hearing one another increasingly difficult in this setting. Welcome to the Lombard Effect.
Those who run the CDC and DEA have blood on their hands. No reasonable person can deny that the catastrophic crackdown on medical opioids has resulted in far more deaths than it saved. That’s because both patients and addicts are forced to turn to street drugs, and they end up dying from illicit fentanyl. But as ACSH Advisor Dr. Jeffrey Singer writes in Reason Magazine, there’s another harm that’s barely discussed: Suicides by those denied pain medications are becoming increasingly common.
Processed foods continue to get a bad rap
Geofencing January 6th Goes to Court
Zero COVID and Immune debt – Is China paying up?
And now, Dad Brain
The question of the protection afforded by COVID infection vs. the immunity conferred by the mRNA vaccines is still unsettled. A new study may put our concerns to rest. Spoiler alert: each form of immunity has its strengths.
China’s Zero-COVID policy goes against the central idea of the hygiene hypothesis: that to be the fittest to survive you must be exposed to germs. Could China’s current dilemma be sufficient proof of the need for a sweet spot between filth and sterility?
Humans, trained to become radiologists, must pass a series of examinations to demonstrate their ability to accurately read and interpret images to be “board certified.” The training typically last five or more years; artificial intelligence has been training to take over the reading of these images for at least that long. This month, researchers asked an AI system to take radiology’s board exam; the results are not pretty.
Sweden has been the poster child of the live-free-or-die, no-lockdown crowd. The Great Barrington Declaration has its roots in the Swedish response. But beyond those snippets, what actually took place there? It is time for many of us, including myself, to find out.
Let’s continue our countdown of the top articles written by ACSH this year.
"Peer review" of scientific articles before publication is often considered the "gold standard" of reliability, but its luster has become tarnished by greed – the desire of the research community to tap into research funds, the pressure on scientists to publish or perish, and publishers of scientific journals seeking to maximize profits.
There is no longer any doubt that drinking alcohol raises the risk of multiple cancers. Why alcohol? What's it doing to us? And an episode of The Dreaded Chemistry Lesson From Hell. No extra charge!
Deaths of despair, death from alcoholism, drug overdoses, and suicides have become a consistent explanation for the increasing mortality in middle-aged White males. A new viewpoint calls our attention to the deaths of despair among Native Americans.
Plants can be genetically modified to produce high-value pharmaceuticals, a practice called “biopharming.” Many of these "biopharmed" vaccines and other biologics do not require refrigeration, special handling, or sophisticated medical equipment to distribute them, making them ideal for middle and low-income countries. They are also cheaper to produce than our current methods and can help reduce the increasing costs of biologics. But these products have not yet entered the marketplace in part because of regulatory constraints.
If you haven’t already given up on your New Year’s resolutions – clean out sock drawer, organize closets, exercise more, there is one resolution if you have a home water filtration system you need to add and make sure to keep – change the filter every few months (or as recommended by the manufacturer). In this article, I will explain why.
Last year around Christmas, I wrote an article about mistletoe, a not-very-poisonous plant associated with the holiday. I am fascinated that so many plants related to the holiday have toxic elements. I’ve included a couple of highly poisonous plants, belladonna, and hemlock, that appear in some of the greatest literary works and my favorite mysteries.
The Kaiser Family Foundation recently wrote a summary of what you actually get when you enroll in a Medicare Advantage (Part C) program.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the cost of eggs increased by about 60% in 2022, more than any other grocery store item on the shelf. Every day breakfast has become a source of anxiety as families look for affordable, healthy alternatives. And what to do about Easter Eggs for the children? The high price of eggs may be causing many families to rethink their eating habits.
It is astounding (although not surprising) how badly the media botched its reporting on "deadly vinyl chloride," as if residents of Ohio didn't have enough to worry about. My opinion piece in Reason Magazine addresses just this. Scare, not science.
If you think Prevagen is gonna help your memory, forget it. The stuff is useless. But that doesn't stop sleazy Quincy Bioscience from incessantly advertising it (often between other disgusting ads for legitimate prescription drugs). So if you're thinking about incinerating 75 bucks for a bottle of this junk, here’s some sound advice to remember: don't.
Will Tylenol alleviate severe pain? It will not, yet patients are routinely given the drug after major surgery. Thank your congressman for such insanity. Meanwhile, the drug store conglomerate CVS displays real pain relievers right next to useless homeopathic "remedies." A lawsuit could put an end to that dubious marketing practice.
“Claims like 'healthy' on food labels can provide information to consumers to help them identify healthier food choices at a glance. Foods must meet specific nutrient-related criteria to use the nutrient content claim 'healthy.'” So begins the FDA’s quest to label what is healthy and what is not. Good luck with that fool’s errand.
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