This piece first appeared on January 8, 2008 on TCSDaily.com.
Patients will benefit if the Supreme Court sides with pharmaceutical companies in two cases this session, establishing the general principle that drug makers can't be sued for unforeseen side effects that emerge after drugs have received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. The alternative is to let pharma slowly be sued into abandoning the introduction of new lifesaving drugs, since new drugs always carry some risk.

This piece first appeared on HuffingtonPost.com.
If you knew there were a new product that was:
¢not as well tested as the product it is meant to replace
¢quickly becoming popular in offices and homes -- including homes with young children
¢manufactured by some of the world's largest and most profitable companies
¢possibly responsible for debilitating migraine headaches
¢a risk for skin diseases including skin cancer

Here's just the first of ACSH's top 10 examples of groundless health scares from 2007, as condensed by the Toronto Star on January 4, 2008:
Condensed from the American Council on Science and Health's list of medical stories that made us worry unnecessarily in 2007:

January 2, 2007: Less Smoke in France, Less Sperm Everywhere, More Fat in Memphis
- Quote to Note: "There's no stopping now. Soon they'll ban alcohol and you'll need to bring in your latest blood tests to eat in a restaurant," said Francis Attrazic, vice president of the hospitality industry association UMIH, about the new smoking ban in France.

A January 2, 2008 piece noted ACSH's annual list of top health scares:
The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) has included alleged links between meat consumption and cancer on its list of "Top 10 Unfounded Health Scares of 2007." ACSH ranked the unjustified media coverage on meat consumption third behind stories about lead in cosmetics and fluoridated water causing health problems.

The annual number of new HIV infections in young men who have sex with men has increased dramatically over the last five years, according to an article in the New York Times. This increase was particularly significant in blacks and Hispanics.

•Dr. Elizabeth Whelan was cited in Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, Vol. 36, No. 4.
•Jeff Stier was on the Vicki McKenna radio show in December 2007.
•Joe McMenamin and Andrea Tiglio co-wrote a report contrasting obesity and smoking for ACSH that was cited repeatedly at an FDA hearing about gastric banding.
•New York Times' Freakonomics blog linked to ACSH's Riskometer.org site in December 2007.
•Dr. Elizabeth Whelan and Jeff Stier weighed in about obesity and teens, food technology, and more on MSNBC in December 2007.

December 24, 2007 : "Dangerous" Toys, Snacks and Races; Common Sense on Food Contamination

• Quote to Note: “Industry scientists and many federal regulators say these exposures are harmless.” – Amy Schoenfeld in the New York Times about chemicals in everyday household products.

This piece first appeared December 27, 2007 in the Washington Times.