A January 4, 2006 column by Audrey Silk, head of NYC CLASH (Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment), not someone with whom ACSH usually sees eye to eye on smoking issues, quotes ACSH president Dr. Elizabeth Whelan and late ACSH Advisor Sir Richard Doll:

Soy worsens heart disease! Or at least, that's what all the papers would be saying today if soy were an industrial chemical, or even a pesticide. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation found that soy-filled diets increased the likelihood of heart disease -- in certain male mice.

The beautiful thing about science is that it is constantly changing, as new facts bump up against old ideas, theories, and received wisdom. So it should come as no surprise to learn that two reports of recent vintage now have to be revised.

A Jan 3, 2006 article by Nick Schirripa about the difficulty of quitting cigarettes (for more, see ACSH's Kicking Butts in the Twenty-First Century) notes a statistic on quit rates gleaned from ACSH:
For many smokers, the arrival of the new year means one thing: It's time to quit smoking.
About 40% of smokers try to kick the habit each year, and it's no easy task.
According to the American Council on Science and Health, only about 5% succeed on their first try, and about half succeed after several attempts.

An article by James Taylor in Environment News on January 1, 2006, concerning anti-pesticide regulations, notes ACSH's suit against the EPA and quotes Dr. Gilbert Ross:
Ironically, the Washington proposal followed a call by the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) for the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to eliminate "junk science" from the processes by which it determines whether a particular chemical is harmful to humans.

The fourth-quarter 2005 issue of Balance, the newsletter of the Civil Justice Association of California, described the controversy over Harvard's award to Erin Brockovich and quoted ACSH president Dr. Elizabeth Whelan:

This article first appeared December 30, 2005 in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
Advocates of anti-science agendas keep trying to change physiological laws through litigation, regulation, and pressure on corporations. This is illustrated by three recent health news items that conspired to make me worry the world has finally gone crazy.
--First, there is Microsoft's plan to eliminate PVC plastics from their products over the next few years, due to "health concerns."

Let's try picking the biggest "Whiny Whistleblower" for 2005: the person who most outrageously defied his or her employer, regardless of loyalty, science, or even common sense, by launching attacks from within. Recent battles over pharmaceuticals provide multiple candidates.

This piece appeared in the National Review Online and the Washington Times.
More darts than laurels should be distributed in 2005 in the fields of public health and health journalism. Here are the year's Top Ten health absurdities:

A December 29, 2005 article by John Johnston quotes the ACSH publication What's the Story? The Role of Milk in Your Diet and ACSH nutrition director Dr. Ruth Kava: