The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) today opposed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s proposed changes to ambient air quality standards for ozone and its adoption of a standard for "fine" particulate matter (referred to as "PM2.5"). ACSH President Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelan declared that "there is no public health benefit to be gained from the proposed stricter standards. Furthermore, adoption of the proposed standards will place severe economic burdens on hundreds of counties throughout the U.S. and on U.S.
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Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Jon Franklin has spoken out to condemn the scare tactics practiced by today's journalists. In a pulls-no-punches lead story in the latest issue of Priorities, the quarterly magazine of the American Council on Science and Health, Franklin exposes what he terms the "Poisons of the Mind"-those "lies, illusions and poison paranoias" that so often grip our society." ACSH President Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelan has remarked: "Jon Franklin's panoramic essay is therapy for technophobes and a treat for skeptics."
Scientists associated with the American Council on Science and Health today characterized the soon-to-be-announced proposals by the Clinton Administration to reduce teen smoking as more smoke than substance, saying that the measures would do little or nothing to improve public health or prevent children from taking up the smoking habit.
Scientists associated with the American Council on Science and Health today rejected as alarmist and unscientific the claims espoused in the new book Toxic Deception: How the Chemical Industry Manipulates Science, Bends the Law, and Endangers Your Health. The book was written by reporters Dan Fagin and Marianne Lavelle and the Center for Public Integrity.
Did your mother ever tell you to eat your spinach so that you could grow muscles like Popeye? Were you ever warned that if you frowned, you'd be ugly for the rest of you life? Do you believe that if you swim right after eating, you'll get cramps?
Lead poisoning is often cited as the number one environmental health concern for children. A panel of physicians and scientists affiliated with the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) has concluded, however, that for the majority of American children, lead poisoning is a condition of the past.
A National Toxicology Program (NTP) subcommittee ignored a wealth of scientific data when it voted to continue listing the sweetener saccharin as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen." This was the assessment of the American Council on Science and Health, which recently reviewed the data available to the NTP subcommittee. The NTP is a program within the Department of Health and Human Services whose purpose is to "provide information about possibly toxic chemicals to regulatory and research agencies and the public."
The New York City Advisory Council on Health Priorities, an affiliate of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), calls the decision of New York City Public School officials to close an East Harlem school because of findings of trace levels of perchloroethylene, or "perc," in the air "scientifically baseless."
New York, NY February 12, 1998. According to a commentary released today by the New York City Advisory Council on Health Priorities, an affiliate of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), New York City Public Advocate Mark Green's report Lead & Kids: Why are 30,000 NYC Children Contaminated? lacks sound, comprehensive scientific support and relies, instead, on biased language and emotional, anecdotal case reports.
Scientists from the American Council on Science and Health today reaffirmed that the continued use of chlorine disinfection of the nation's water supply is necessary to protect the public from potential life- threatening diseases. "Once again, we are seeing a questionable use of rodent data being used to suggest a health threat and the American public is being exposed to needless anxiety about a safe and essential technology", declared ACSH president Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelan.
A public health expert and other prominent speakers deplored Philip Morris' latest move to entice young girls to smoke: the "Woman Thing" music campaign where girls get "free" CD's by buying two packs of Virginia Slims cigarettes. At a news conference held today, Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, President of the American Council on Science and Health, urged "Young women of America, let Philip Morris know you are too smart to fall for their tactics! And Americans in general demand that the Congress protect the interests of public health, not those of the Industry."
New York, NY, November 13, 1998 The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) today announced the formation of a blue ribbon committee of independent scientists and physicians, chaired by Dr. C. Everett Koop, to review all available scientific research relative to the safety of phthalate esters in consumer products made with flexible vinyl plastic.
Dr. Koop will oversee the blue ribbon committee s work and ensure that the most qualified scientists are recruited to look at the science on phthalates,
To the Editor:
Scientists and the public have reason to be excited about the technique developed by Dr. Robert A. Weinberg to induce malignant transformation in human cells (front page, July 29). Scientists induced such cancerous changes in rodents 15 years ago.
The fact that it took so many years to accomplish this feat in humans illustrates how differently carcinogens affect rodents than humans.
Among the neologisms in the field of nutrition that have entered the lay vocabulary are the synonyms "designer food," "functional food," and "nutraceutical." These expressions, as well as "pharmafood," refer to foods whose constituents include naturally occurring compounds that (a) are customarily considered neither nutrients nor toxins and (b) may contribute to preventing or curing disease. Related expressions include "medical food," "nutrichemical," "optimum food," "phytochemical," "phytomin," "phytonutrient," and "therapeutic food." But common usage has created a definitional morass:
Sunglasses are not just a fashion accessory. Exotic lens colors may be stylish, but gray because it absorbs all colors about equally diminishes color perception the least. Green is second-best.
Sunglasses should block 99-100% of both kinds of ultraviolet (UV) radiation: UVA and UVB. Look for this information on a label or hangtag. If glare is a problem, polarized lenses are a good choice. "Mirror" lenses, the type favored by skiers, also help to decrease glare, because they screen out more light than do tinted lenses.
Executive Summary
New York, NY June 19, 1998. The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) today announced its support for the use of irradiation as a fruit and vegetable quarantine process and applauded the planned construction of an irradiation facility near Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii.
It is important for consumers to understand that food irradiation is a safe process,
New York, NY May 1, 1998. The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) today stated that the recent recall of more than one-quarter million pounds of ground beef emphasizes the need for a safety step that can be applied at the final stage of ground meat processing. That step is irradiation.
New York, NY, August 27, 1998 The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) today applauded the Food and Drug Administration for its clarification of the rules governing the labeling of dietary supplements.
ACSH agrees with the FDA s specification of the types of health related claims that can be used on dietary supplement labels. This clarification should help manufacturers provide accurate information to consumers,
This week marks another watershed in the long running saga of olestra, the non caloric fat substitute. After 2 1/2 days of hearing new scientific evidence, the Food Advisory Committee of the FDA concluded that olestra is a safe product for use in savory snack foods chips, crackers and the like. This conclusion is a long awaited victory of science over hype and fear mongering.
Page through The Art of Simple Living, a new magazine published by a division of Hearst Magazines, and notice that it looks like most feel-good women's magazines. There is a profile of the pop singer Sarah McLachlan, an article about growing an indoor herb garden and step-by-step instructions for brewing tea.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Despite years of intensive research, educational efforts, and remedial measures, lead continues to receive as much attention as any modern environmental health risk. Some would still characterize lead as America's leading environmental health concern. Based on a review of the scientific literature, and assessing lead from the perspective of public health, American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) has come to the conclusions stated below.
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