The Great Apple Scare: Alar 20 Years Later
Publish Date : Friday, February 20, 2009
A cancer scare in early 1989 caused millions of consumers throughout the country to stop buying and eating apples and apple products. The fear was that apples were being sprayed with a cancer-causing chemical. Children, in particular, were thought to be at especially high risk. (Rosen 1990, Sewell 1989) The case remains to this day one of the supreme examples how a combination of environmentalists, “public interest” lawyers, publicists, and members of the news media can foist a   Read Full >>

Obesity and New Pharmaceutical Approaches
Publish Date : Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The endocrinologist David Ludwig calls his patients, the seven-member G family, “a microcosm of 21st-century America.” One of the parents is overweight and the other is obese, wrote the Harvard Medical School professor and director of the Optimal Weight for Life Clinic (Ludwig 2007).  Read Full >>

Counterfeit Drugs: Coming to a Pharmacy Near You
Update for 2009
Publish Date : Monday, February 2, 2009
Counterfeit drugs, including fake, substandard, adulterated or falsely labeled (“misbranded”) medicines, have become a real and growing threat to global health. Increasingly sophisticated counterfeiting rings, often involving organized crime, are slipping their fakes into the legitimate drug supply of countries around the world. The problem is especially serious in developing countries, where hundreds of thousands die from ineffective medicines, and millions more from the   Read Full >>

The Top 10 Unfounded Health Scares of 2008
Publish Date : Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The core mission of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) since its founding in 1978 has been to counter misleading and alarmist health news in print, broadcast, and online media. In a classic ACSH publication, Facts Versus Fears: A Review of the Greatest Unfounded Health Scares of Recent Times, ACSH evaluated 27 of the greatest health scares of modern times, reviewing the basis of each, describing their presentation in the media, and presenting scientifically accurate   Read Full >>

Obesity and Its Health Effects
Publish Date : Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Obesity is increasing at alarming rates in our society. While excessive attention to “thinness” carries its own physical and mental health problems, increasing overweight is a much “larger” problem in our society and currently affects over two thirds of the population. This handbook sponsored by the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) has been written with the layman in mind and is meant to be a comprehensive and concise source of reliable information for the   Read Full >>

ACSH Holiday Dinner Menu
Reprint
Publish Date : Thursday, November 20, 2008
"No human diet can be free of naturally occurring chemicals that are rodent carcinogens. Of the chemicals that people eat, 99.99% are natural." — Bruce Ames, Ph.D. and Lois Swirsky Gold, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley  Read Full >>

Asthma: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment
Publish Date : Monday, November 10, 2008
Asthma is a chronic condition in which a person’s airways occasionally become inflamed, which causes swelling that obstructs airflow to the lungs. It is one of the most common chronic illnesses in the United States, and while prevalence varies by gender, race, and geographic region, it currently affects over 20 million people in this country alone. There was a dramatic spike in diagnoses of asthma between 1980 and the late 1990’s, but the number of total cases has since been   Read Full >>

What's the story? Nuclear Energy and Health
Publish Date : Wednesday, August 27, 2008
What Is Nuclear Energy? Nuclear energy is released from atomic nuclei via controlled nuclear reactions. The most common method used today is nuclear fission, which involves the splitting of uranium atoms with a resulting release of energy. This energy is then captured and used to produce electricity to power modern societies’ varied needs.   Read Full >>

Claims of Organic Food's Nutritional Superiority: A Critical Review
Publish Date : Monday, July 21, 2008
From time to time, the Organic Center publishes State of the Science Reviews.  Read Full >>

Health and Safety Tips for Your Summer Vacation (2008)
By Ruth Kava, Ph.D., R.D.
Publish Date : Monday, May 19, 2008
Whether you are traveling around the world or relaxing at home, a safe, healthy vacation will add to your enjoyment. Here are some health and safety tips to keep in mind when planning your summer vacation.  Read Full >>