Haters of the e-cigarette are quick to chastise actress Kathryn Heigl for continuing to vape nine months after switching from traditional cigarettes. A Daily Mail article, which chooses to nickname the nicotine delivery device a “smokestick,” voices the views of the strongest opponents of harm reduction with a tone that implies “see, e-cigarettes are so addictive, Ms.

Still reeling over the public health threat posed by tainted Heparin imported from China in 2008, in which 140 people died, the FDA’s acting Principal Deputy Commissioner Dr. John Taylor announced Monday that the agency is unprepared to handle similar threats from imported food and drugs. Dr. Taylor believes that without major FDA reforms, similar events will probably occur again. Currently, 40 percent of the drugs consumed in the U.S.

Aristotle’s famous philosophy of always seeking moderation seems to ring true in a new study linking heavy alcohol intake and pancreatic cancer. Published in the March 14 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, the study analyzed data from the prospective, long-term Cancer Prevention Study II (CPS-II) of U.S. adults aged 30 and older.

While we still don’t know the true extent of the radiation threat from the Japanese nuclear reactors damaged during the historically unprecedented earthquake and tsunami, there is one thing we do know — U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin needs a refresher course in medicine. When asked by a reporter about the sudden increase in purchases of potassium iodide (KI) pills in the U.S. due to fears of radiation spreading to the California coast, Dr.

ACSH would like to issue a correction to yesterday’s Dispatch item regarding the FDA’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) draft report, which noted the incidence of mentholated cigarette smoking among American teens.

Heartland Science Director and ACSH friend Dr. Jay Lehr provides an objective review of our latest book Scared to Death: How Chemophobia Threatens Public Health on a blog for The Heartland Institute:

As chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition and Emeritus professor of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at the University of Illinois School of Public Health, Dr. Samuel S.

It is often observed that upon becoming pregnant, women radiate a certain glow. Well, that extra shine may actually be a sign of stress-induced perspiration that moms-to-be suffer after getting bombarded with a litany of pregnancy do’s and don’ts. For example, do eat only the best foods and exclusively breastfeed for the first six months, but don’t have sex or drink alcohol or coffee.

In a new study on smoking cessation published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers sought to assess the safety and efficacy of bupropion, the active ingredient in the antidepressant Wellbutrin and the smoking cessation aid Zyban.

In a partial draft report released yesterday, the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) says menthol cigarette use is on the rise among minority teenagers. Over 80 percent of African American and more than half of Hispanic teenagers who smoke, smoke menthol cigarettes, which the committee says is “very high.” As part of an advisory panel to the FDA, TPSAC will hold a public meeting on Thursday and Friday to discuss their findings.