Spinning the Truth About Smoking
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publication Date : Tuesday, October 3, 2006
When Thank You for Smoking, a comical look at the public relation efforts of the cigarette industry in the 1980s and 1990s, opened, the whole staff of the American Council on Science and Health went to see it -- and today it's out on DVD.The movie, based on satirist Christopher Buckley's book by the same name, takes us inside the world of Washington lobbyists and gives us a close-up view of how the cigarette trade association used the media to convey the industry party line:   Read Full >>

Fighting Obesity with Technology
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publication Date : Friday, September 8, 2006
This morning, the Reuters wire service is carrying a story about the promise of fighting obesity with Korean pine nuts. The underlying theory here is that the pine nut may have the potential to suppress appetite, dramatically affecting the "calories in" half of the calories in/calories out obesity equation.We are going to have to take a "wait and see" attitude about pine nuts as diet aids.  But the wire story brought to mind the fact that in almost all   Read Full >>

Sharper Image Not So Sharp About Science
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publication Date : Friday, September 8, 2006
These days, you pick up medical misinformation in the strangest places.While perusing the October 2006 catalog of The Sharper Image -- replete with advertisements for iPod accessories, "miracle" food storage units, battery-operated candles and more -- I came across a letter endorsing a product called "the Lotus Sanitizing System."  The communication came from the top: it was signed by Richard Thalheimer, founder of Sharper Image.  Under the headine "Why   Read Full >>

Blowing Smoke About Chemophobia
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publication Date : Friday, September 8, 2006
While reading Newsweek recently, I encountered a cardboard, color advertising insert that asked me "Do You Know What You're Smoking?"  Upon opening the insert, I was given the answer, "it could be one of the 464 chemicals found in cigarettes."The footnote to this headline explained, "the fact is the tobacco in most cigarettes  contains additives drawn from a list of 464 chemicals  commonly used in tobacco products.  In addition, other   Read Full >>

Cereal Killers?
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publication Date : Tuesday, August 1, 2006
The small Ohio company that makes Wheatena is being sued under California Prop 65 for not slapping a cancer warning label on its nutritious, health-promoting breakfast fare. The absurdity of this lawsuit -- and of Prop 65 -- is bringing to center stage a basic regulatory question: should individual states be able to determine their own warning labels on food, or should there be Read Full >>

Myths About "Industry Ties" and Conflicts of Interest in Medical Research
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publication Date : Thursday, July 27, 2006
In recent years, there have been an increasing number of strident complaints from self-appointed consumer advocates who argue that scientists who have "industry ties" are covertly introducing pro-industry biases to scientific research and discussions. These scientists, they contend, should be excluded from scientific decision-making committees and/or clearly identified as "industry-funded" so that whatever they say or write can be viewed more skeptically than the work of a   Read Full >>

FDA's Commonsense Position on "Conflict of Interest" Proposals for Advisory Boards
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publication Date : Monday, July 24, 2006
The Senate is currently considering legislation which would prohibit the FDA from including on FDA scientific advisory boards scientists "with industry ties" to drug manufacturers  (the House already approved this legislation).  Today, FDA's Dr. Scott Gottlieb emphatically opposed this proposed legislation, declaring that it would deprive FDA of advice from the best and brightest scientists in   Read Full >>

Conflict of Interest Rules for Federal Science Advisory Committees Discriminate Against Top Scientists
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publication Date : Monday, July 24, 2006
Today the Ralph Nader-inspired Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is hosting a seminar to address the question "Government Science Panels: Fair and Balanced?"  The question to be analyzed: whether federal advisory panels should include representatives who have financial ties to companies that may have a stake in the proceedings. CSPI already has its answer to the question of the day: they see scientists in a virtual dichotomy.  Either a scientist is honest and imbued   Read Full >>

FDA Says "Industry Ties" Not Sufficient Grounds to Keep Scientists Off Advisory Panels
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publication Date : Monday, July 24, 2006
In a press release today, the Food and Drug Administration rejected pressure from self-appointed consumer groups who claim that scientists who have consulted for or accepted research funds from corporations should be deemed ineligible to serve on scientific advisory panels. The FDA, referring to corporate sponsored pharmaceutical and other research, noted that "some of the most valuable input often comes from   Read Full >>

Chicago's War Against Trans Fats
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publication Date : Thursday, July 20, 2006
Edmund M. Burke, a long-time Chicago City Councilman, is proposing that the use of cooking oils that contain trans fat be made a crime.  He appeared on the Today show this morning to push the plan.  He argues that trans fats are killers and it is the role of government to protect citizens from murderers, rapists, child molesters, and chefs whose cuisine includes even a trace of the much-maligned ingredient. He cites what he believes is the ultimate authority -- the Harvard   Read Full >>