ACSH in the media: A double-header

In a letter published in Michigan s Midland Daily News, ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross chastises Susan Dusseau, executive director of Cancer Services of Midland, for citing misleading information on the alleged adverse health effects of smokeless tobacco. In her recent article, entitled Smokeless tobacco the new norm?, Dusseau condemned the use of such products and inaccurately stated that they target teens, when, in fact, they do not as Dr. Ross is quick to point out:

Teens mainly use tobacco (mostly cigarettes) to ape their older peers and feel grown-up: their older siblings and friends are not indulging in dissolvable tobacco products.

And when Dusseau further condemns smokeless tobacco products for containing nicotine, Dr. Ross counters:

That's the point! To help smokers quit, a big dose of nicotine is necessary. The products called "cessation aids" approved by the FDA lack punch and their success rate at one year hovers around 10 percent -- unacceptable. It's not the addictive nicotine which harms or kills smokers, it's the inhaled products of combustion of tobacco -- the smoke.

Read Dr. Ross s entire letter here.

In the current Spotlight feature of Medical Progress Today, ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom examines the FDA s decision to add a warning label to the popular anti-nausea drug Zofran, which, he says, could very well deprive cancer patients of this vital medicine. He explores the potentially disastrous repercussions:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is easy to take shots at. They are either too cautious, or not cautious enough. They're either in cahoots with the drug companies or they're stifling the development of important new drugs. Like an umpire, when they do their job correctly, no one notices. A pretty thankless job. But recently they made a decision that should make us sick to our stomachs because for many of us, at least at some point in our lives, it will probably do just that.

Read his op-ed in full here.