New York Gov. Paterson vetoed a bill that would require a dental decay warning on baby bottles and sippy cups with “a duckbilled lid, bill-shaped extension or bill-shaped spout" yesterday. In his veto statement, the governor argues that:

ACSH staffers were worried that the ABC news headline “Cleaning Products Still Pose Risk to Kids” implied a wannabe “Toxic America” sequel. Instead, the article highlighted a legitimate health hazard — poisoning and contact injuries.

As the New York City Health Department updates its new addition to last year s Pouring on the Pounds campaign with posters and advertisements that graphically display the amount of sugar that goes into a king-sized soda new research indicates that New Yorkers are already curbing their liquid sugar cravings.

Just about every evening news channel publicized the possibility that nitrates and nitrites, preservatives found in cured meats, have caused an increase in bladder cancer.

Respectful Insolence's pseudonymous pro-science blogger Orac this morning rightfully laments the appearance of an acupuncture case study in the ostensibly evidence-based New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

The good news? People are living longer, healthier lives. The bad news? They may be spending less of that time relaxing and more of it slaving away at their jobs, as many states recognizing the improved state of health in this country are increasing the age at which public employees are eligible to retire while receiving a full pension.

Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass) isn t happy with BP s use of surface oil dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico in order to ameliorate the adverse effects of the oil spill. In a letter to Thad W. Allen, the retired Coast Guard admiral in charge of the cleanup operations, Markey alleged the dispersants have caused a toxic stew of chemicals, oil and gas, with impacts that are not well understood.

The New York State Legislature successfully upheld its reputation as a scientifically misinformed governmental body when Gov. David Patterson officially signed into law a ban against BPA in children’s products over the weekend.
“We can no longer call them the ‘do-nothing Legislature’ because they finally did do something, even though it was counterproductive,” points out Dr. Ross.
If we had enough space, we’d offer all of the members of the Legislature a seat in the ACSH soundproof chamber.

ACSH staffers were glad to read that biotech firm Geron will initiate the world s first human clinical trials using embryonic stem cells to treat patients paralyzed by spinal cord injuries. Pluripotent embryonic stem cells, which are able to convert into any cell in the body, will be injected into patients spines in the hope of enabling them to recover feeling and movement.

Though currently stalled in litigation against the FDA, electronic cigarettes may become the newest craze among smokers who wish to break the habit for good, the LA Times reports. As battery-powered devices that use water and propylene glycol to release a fine mist of nicotine, electronic cigarettes uniquely mimic the behavioral aspect of smoking without combustion or smoke inhalation.