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While the attacks on the World Trade Center have had incalculable effects on Americans, a recently released and widely publicized study gives hope that at least one of the effects of the disaster the release into the air of a substance known, at high doses, to be a carcinogen is not a long-term health concern even for those who spent a lot of time near the site.1

As we start 4th of July weekend, we have many concerns--terrorism threats, unsafe fireworks, risks of fatalities on the highway. But one concern should be subject to scientific monitoring: the weather. And we should get accurate information.
Severe weather can threaten life and health. Risks of tornadoes, intense rain, flood, thunderstorms, and hurricanes are of concern to all of us.

We noted in May that antioxidant vitamins may sometimes be harmful for the heart. In June, we reported that vitamin C use was linked to arthritis.

"British Study Sees Scant Value in Alzehimer's Drug Aricept," according the New York Times headline. Indeed, the latest study, which asked whether Aricept is a cost-efficient treatment in the British government-sponsored system, confirms what we already knew: we need better Alzheimer's medicines.

The following letter to the editor appeared in the August 5, 2004 Wall Street Journal:

Editor's note: Posted just prior to July 4, 2002, this article still has useful safety reminders for this year's celebrants.
As befits any birthday, Americans will celebrate this July 4 with food, music, pageantry, and, of course: fireworks!
Who cannot remember the thrill of their first fireworks display, the childish wonder that is rekindled each Fourth? Indeed, many would argue that fireworks are what make this holiday special.

In the midst of unfounded health scares claiming that fish consumption is hazardous to your health, a recent study actually encourages increased fish intake. On July 19, 2004, Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian of the Harvard School of Public Health and his colleagues published a study in the journal Circulation that attributes reduced risks of atrial fibrillation* to increased consumption of broiled or baked fish.

A reaction to Dr. Elizabeth Whelan's piece on importing drugs from Canada (to add your own comments on this or other pieces, sign up at right):
Dr. Whelan:
An excellent and persuasive op-ed!

I've been a Mets fan all my life (and that's something, considering I was born in 1947), so I reacted to the news about ace pitcher Tom Glavine's recent auto accident with alarm. Not that I expect great things from the team this year that dream faded away like a highway mirage in July. But even though Tom is at an advanced age for a pitcher, he may well have a few more good years in him, and there's no doubt the team will be better next year (I always say that!). So I was upset to hear of his injuries and then relieved to learn of their minor nature he lost his two front teeth.

Tragedies are great teachers, but unfortunately too many people draw the wrong lessons from them. Not too long ago, major tragedies were interpreted as some form of divine retribution for our sins. Now, geology (plate tectonics and volcanology), meteorology, other sciences offer hope for preventative and ameliorative actions.

A Dec. 12 USA Today article by Anita Manning describes the fear of a flu pandemic but quotes ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross striking a calmer note:
Some people say health experts are being needlessly alarmist.

An October 17 article in the (Sioux Falls) Argus Leader by Kevin Dobbs quoted an article by ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan:

An October 21 article in the Star-Ledger Washington Bureau by J. Scott Orr quoted ACSH's President Dr. Elizabeth Whelan:
Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, president of the American Council on Science and Health, a nonprofit consumer group, said she expects the flu vaccine issue to pass quickly from the nation's political consciousness.

The Novemeber 3-9, 2004 column "Political Potpourri" by Becky Fenger from SonoranNews.com quoted ACSH's Rivka Weiser:
One can always count on scalawags to exploit the health fear of the hour.

Outside View: Flu Vaccine Crisis or Not?
By Elizabeth M. Whelan
Outside View commentator
Published 10/27/2004 2:08 AM
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson last week declared the sudden shortage of influenza vaccine in the United States is "not a health crisis." He argued that anxious people should be patient while the government works to reallocate the nation's limited supply of vaccines.

An October 5, 2004 article in the (Quincy, MA) Patriot Ledger by Sue Scheible looks at Marcia Angell's anti-drug industry book The Truth About the Drug Companies and quotes ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan as a counterpoint:
Elizabeth Whelan, an established author and founder of the nonprofit American Council on Science and Health, blasted back, calling the book "Junk-Science Reporting." In National Review Online, Whelan accused Angell of doing a "hatchet job on Big Pharma"...

This review of Marcia Angell's new book, an attack on drug companies, first appeared in the Washington Times.
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE DRUG COMPANIES: HOW THEY DECEIVE US AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
By Marcia Angell, M.D.
Random House, $24.95, 336 pages

One thing that you can say about the folks at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) -- they're certainly tenacious about their food vendettas! Once a food or ingredient has made the CSPI hate list, it's apparently there forever, whether or not any scientific evidence supports their viewpoint. A case in point is the CSPI crusade against olestra, the fat replacement ingredient that is used in potato chips and other savory snack foods.

About a month ago, we noticed that some TV ads for the fast food chain Subway were sporting the prestigious logo of the American Heart Association (AHA). In particular, one ad implied Subway's food is uniquely helpful for weight loss. Since the AHA is a well-known and widely respected organization that promotes commonsense nutrition and balanced diets, we were surprised to see their apparent support of this type of advertising.

A January 6, 2005 editorial from the board of the New York Sun denounced New York governor George Pataki for ignoring the state's fiscal problems and focusing on non-issues like banning "toxic" cleaning products from state buildings. The piece quoted ACSH's Jeff Stier:

It would be easy to infer from headlines on many news articles that eating red meat increases the risk of developing colon cancer. For example, "Red Meat increases Colon Cancer Risk," states one, while another trumpets "Red meat newly linked to colorectal cancer."
In fact, the story is significantly more nuanced than such headlines (and many of the associated articles) make it seem.

To the Editor: Your editorial ("The Merck Case" Nov. 15th) correctly deplores the tactics of tort lawyers in their quest to dismember Merck and get a piece of the billions likely to be re-distributed subsequent to the Vioxx withdrawal. But you are wrong to conflate the needless and unjust assaults on the pharmaceutical industry with the well-justified litigation against the tobacco industry.

A September 27 article from UPI by Lidia Wasowicz quoted ACSH Nutrition Director Dr. Ruth Kava:
"Parents' most important contribution is probably setting a good example," said Ruth Kava, director of nutrition for the American Council on Science and Health in New York City. "Parents either should make themselves knowledgeable about appropriate nutrition for their kids' ages, or get access to people who are."

A September 28, 2004 column by James K. Glassman of http://TechCentralStation.com in the New York Post criticizes Marcia Angell's new anti-pharmaceuticals book and quotes ACSH Director Henry I. Miller, M.D.:
"Her diagnoses are wrong," writes Henry Miller of Stanford's Hoover Institution, "and her remedies...are reminiscent of the government controls and centralized planning of the old Soviet Union."

The November 15, 2004 Philadelphia Inquirer article "Scientists Are in Dispute Over Acrylamide" by Virginia A. Smith quoted scaremongers such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest's Michael Jacobson on fears over acrylamide in foods, then quoted ACSH's Jeff Stier for a different perspective: