ACSH’s comprehensive assessment, Cigarettes: What the Warning Label Doesn’t Tell You, offered data showing that smoking increases infertility and rates of miscarriage among women. That book was first published in 1996.

Last week brought news through the Associated Press of the death of Ronald Lee Herrick, the first man ever to successfully provide an organ to another patient in a transplant operation. One of Herrick’s kidneys was implanted into his identical twin brother in December 1954. His brother lived for another eight years after the operation.

A study of 6,322 post-menopausal women undertaken by the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) Allegheny Center, in Pittsburgh, shows that while family history is a strong indicator of breast cancer risk, other factors taken together may be equally strong predictors.

As ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan was exposing the health hoaxes of last year, the EPA chose to end the year by initiating a campaign calling for schools across the country to replace old light fixtures containing PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls). Might this be another health scare based on faulty science? Among those who promptly questioned the practicality of the non-binding proposal were New York City officials.

We value movie stars and musicians for their entertainment value, not their scientific expertise. But when they weigh in on important issues pertaining to human health and get things wrong, it is important to set the record straight. Scientists affiliated with the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) do just that. In the second edition of Celebrities Vs. Science they respond to one celebrity doozy of a comment at a time.

As we begin a new year, the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) would first like to try and slay the demons and hobgoblins of the past year. We do this each New Year s Eve by making a list of the top unfounded health scares of the outgoing year. These bouts of hysteria are prompted by many different things. But what they have in common is that there s no scientific evidence to back up the alarms being sounded.
Here s our top ten:

The USDA announced Wednesday that 40 popular cuts of meat and poultry, such as raw chicken breasts and steaks, will come with nutrition labels beginning in 2012. The labels will include calorie counts and fat content indications. ACSH's Dr.

A report in Tuesday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal reveals that more than one-fourth of all American minors are on prescription drugs. These drugs range from hypertensive and asthma medications to anti-psychotics and drugs to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

According to a new study published in the journal Stroke, more than two-fifths of elderly patients with atrial fibrillation (a type of abnormal heart rhythm) are not using the blood-thinner warfarin, an anticoagulant commonly known by the trade name Coumadin. This drug is prescribed to prevent strokes associated with clots in the atria, the upper heart chambers. These can become emboli, or clots that travel to the brain.

As many smokers are attempting to fulfill a New Year’s resolution to finally nip their cigarette habit in the bud, leading cigarette manufacturer R.J. Reynolds is launching its first campaign specifically aimed at encouraging smokers to switch to its Camel Snus brand of smokeless tobacco.