ACSH staffers offer a seat at the table to Kyle Gillis for yesterday s item in the Media Research Center s Business & Media Institute blog. Gillis highlights the bias in an NBC Nightly News segment on unhealthy chain restaurant meals, which directly parallels ACSH s stance on the matter. Gillis further quotes ACSH s Jeff Stier:

It s well-known that moderate wine consumption can help prevent heart disease. Now new evidence is emerging that shows surprising results on increased life expectancy related to long-term wine consumption, as well as decreased metabolic syndrome and dementia associated with Mediterranean-type diets, which usually include red wine.

ACSH's Drs. Elizabeth M. Whelan and Gilbert Ross have written to the Food and Drug Administration to say that regulating or banning the ingredients in cigarettes probably won't decrease their toxicity. The text of their letter:
To: Dr. Lawrence Deyton, Director
FDA Center for Tobacco Products
Cristi L. Stark, M.S.
Senior Regulatory Health Project Manager
May 26th, 2010
Subject: ACSH additional submission re: cigarette ingredients
Dear Dr. Deyton and Ms. Stark:

Whether you are traveling around the world or relaxing at home, a safe, healthy vacation will add to your enjoyment. Here are some health and safety tips to keep in mind when planning your summer vacation.

Research conducted by the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and Environment and Dutch medical and scientific centers found that adults who consume alcohol in moderation had a significantly reduced risk of developing Type 2 diabetes compared to those who did not drink at all.

Dr. Lawrence Deyton, director of the FDA s Center for Tobacco Products, spoke at a tobacco policy conference on Monday. Jeff Stier got a chance to participate in the conference on Tuesday. The topics included smokeless tobacco (snus) as a means of harm reduction, and the FDA's deliberation of a ban on menthol.

MSNBC s Nightly News last night devoted a short segment to an Extreme Eating list of high-calorie restaurant meals compiled by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). While the reporter acknowledges that each restaurant also offers lower-calorie options, he concludes by saying that the more calorie-dense options are a weighty issue for Americans, as this country s obesity rates just keep rising.

A study published in the journal Pediatrics demonstrates that the recommended vaccine schedule for young children does not pose a health threat, despite fears that Reuters says led some parents to skip recommended vaccines out of fear of autism, for instance, and ¦ choose to space out shots.

As the New York City Health Department celebrates what it calls its most successful nicotine patch and gum giveaway since the program s inception in 2003, ACSH staffers question how effective the campaign is in actually enabling smokers to quit.
"It all depends on how you define 'success'," Stier says.

The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs recently approved a bill requiring the VA to expand veterans' access to chiropractic care at VA medical centers the House is expected to vote on the bill this week.
According to ACSH s Jeff Stier, taxpayers should be concerned because they may soon have to pay for chiropractic care for veterans a troubling development, since overall, chiropractry is not part of mainstream medicine.