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Unfounded Health Scares Proliferated in '08
December 2008

New York, NY—December, 2008. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt told the nation during the Great Depression, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." Try telling that to Americans who read the media headlines in which a new or recycled health scare appears almost daily. In their latest roundup, scientists associated with the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) describe the genesis of 10 of the most outrageous health scares of 2008 and explain that they have little or no basis in scientific fact. Read Full Article >>

	I believe that bad science hurts America and that it is necessary to promote good science the way ACSH does. —James Enstrom, Ph.D., MPH, University of California, Los Angeles, and ACSH Trustee

To Stop Going Up in Smoke (from the Washington Times)
By Jeff Stier and Brad Rodu. "Quit smoking" should be the No. 1 New Year's resolution for 45 million Americans. What a shame if Congress stands in their way... Read Full Article >>

Unfounded Health Scares (from the Washington Times)
By Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. In recent years, Americans have been scared to death by strident claims of "toxins" and "carcinogens" lurking in our environment. But 2008 seems to have produced its own unique bumper crop of silly scares... Read Full Article >>

Obesity Impacts Many Organs -- Not Just Appearance
New York, NY -- December 3, 2008. Many Americans may be feeling the need to make a fat-fighting New Year's resolution after holiday bingeing. Obesity affects many more aspects of health than is commonly recognized, as described in a new book by the American Council on Science and Health Read Full Article >>

Lessons Learned from a Last Battle (from MedicalProgressToday.com)
By Jeff Stier.  Fred Baron, the Texas trial lawyer and Democratic fundraiser who lobbied on behalf of the plaintiffs bar, died of bone cancer on October 30... Read Full Article >>

Asthma from Every Angle: Examined by a Leading Pulmonologist
"This report is essential reading for those living with and managing asthma, as well as for all who are interested in the science behind one of the world’'s most common chronic conditions," said ACSH President Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. Read Full Article >>

Kosher Wars (from the New York Times Magazine)
By Jeff Stier. Andy Kastner's approach to kosher food is endearing on its face, but... Read Full Article >>

Support, Disdain for Flu Shots (from the Los Angeles Times)
By Dr. Gilbert Ross.  The 1980s Japanese experience -- wherein a requirement that Japanese schoolchildren get vaccinated against the flu led to a dramatic reduction in the death toll among seniors -- should have led our own CDC to... Read Full Article >>

Smokeless Tobacco for Cigarette Cessation? (from The Lancet)
By Dr. Gilbert Ross.  Epidemiological data indicate the heightened efficacy of smokeless tobacco in helping nicotine addicts to switch from their dangerous addiction to smoking... Read Full Article >>

Chemicals Contained in Cosmetics Are Safe (from USA Today)
By Dr. Gilbert Ross. USA Today's article "Consumer groups fret over chemicals in teen cosmetics" called undue attention to yet another study by an activist group devoted to finding hazards... Read Full Article >>

Lethal FDA Warning (from Washington Times)
By Dr. Gilbert Ross.  The willful blindness of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) -- its overcautious reluctance to approve new drugs -- has led to historic declines in new drug approvals, which will cost lives in years to come.  A more immediate tragedy, though, is FDA's refusal to withdraw its off-putting "black-box" warning label on antidepressants for teens... Read Full Article >>

NYC Food Cops' National Agenda (from New York Post)
By Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelan.  If the city Health Department gets its way, government officials -- local, state and federal -- will soon be deciding what you can and can't eat... Read Full Article >>

Alarmist and Unscientific Claims on Toy Safety (from the Denver Post)
By Jeff Stier. Vague feelings should not form the basis of government bans... Read Full Article >>

Worried About Vaccine Fears (from the Los Angeles Times)
By Dr. Gilbert Ross.  It would be impossible to get unanimity on any medical topic. But all pediatric and vaccine experts, as well as all federal health officials, advocate vaccination of preteen and young teen girls against human papilloma virus... Read Full Article >>

MORE ARTICLES BY ACSH RECENTLY FEATURED ON OUR HOMEPAGE
Click for a list of pieces that appeared on this page in the twelve months preceding the pieces above. (For FactsAndFears pieces, click on our blog, above; for coverage by others about ACSH, see our News Center section.) Read Full Article >>