Unhealthy Bias in Implant Stories, Then and Now

A November 29, 2006 piece by Julia A. Seymour of the Media Research Center's Business & Media Institute contrasts the scientific vindication of silicone breast implants with the fear of them in the media, noting the reaction from ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross:

In a recent article, Dr. Gilbert Ross, medical and executive director of the American Council on Science and Health, described the FDA's decision as a "welcome development to those of us who believe that regulatory decisions should be based on science, rather than activist hype"...

Dr. Ross of the American Council on Science and Health said it's about time the FDA listened to the science about silicone breast implants instead of bending to "accommodate political and media-driven pressures."

"For most of us involved in public health, the scientific debate on SBI’s ended in 1995, when several large studies were published confirming the lack of association with systemic diseases, including auto-immune disease and cancer. Finally, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences issued a definitive report in 1999, absolving silicone implants entirely," Ross wrote in a November 20 column published in the American Enterprise Institute's new magazine, The American.

In his column, Ross said media pressure contributed to fears about silicone implants and helped lead to the 1992 ban from the marketplace.