A five-year-old autistic boy died Tuesday after receiving chelation treatment, a controversial therapy approved only for cases of acute heavy metal poisoning -- but a treatment sought with increasing frequency by parents who think it will help their autistic children. While the cause of death will not be known until after an autopsy, the tragedy is a reminder that doctors providing chelation therapy are acting irresponsibly and in a manner inconsistent with their role as healthcare providers.

In January 2005, New York governor George Pataki issued an executive order mandating the use of so-called "green" cleaning products in all state agencies and authorities; he later extended his order to New York schools. According to an Associated Press notice, the governor signed legislation putting his orders into law, effective September 1, 2006. So now we can all breathe a sigh of relief when standing for hours in a queue at the Department of Motor Vehicles or any other state offices, right?

Click to see Dr. Kava on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360° 8/25/05.

An August 25, 2005 dispatch from ChemWeek.com describes ACSH's petition to stop the EPA from using high-dose rodent tests alone to dub things "carcinogens" (and a longer version of the piece appears in the August 24/30, 2005 issue of the affiliated print magazine Chemical Week):

An August 25, 2005 article by Ryan LaFontaine in the Sun Herald describes ACSH's position on dioxin scares and EPA carcinogen designations, quoting ACSH Medical and Executive Director Dr. Gilbert Ross:
The American Council on Science and Health petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to eliminate "junk science" when determining what chemicals cause human cancer.

Morgan Spurlock seems to be everywhere these days. The F/X cable channel just slotted his new series 30 Days for a second season, and he also just inked another show on Comedy Central, on which he'll head a panel that discusses current events.

This article originally appeared on Spiked-Online.com.
Last week's news that a jury found the pharmaceutical company Merck negligent in its marketing of the painkiller Vioxx, awarding $229 million in punitive damages, is bad news for all consumers who hope that pharmaceutical companies will continue to develop new drugs -- to address not only their aches and pains but life-threatening conditions like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.

Readers of National Review Online yesterday (August 22) had the pleasure of reading Dr. Sally Satel's piece describing her justifiable outrage regarding the continued restrictions on silicone breast implants. It is galling to those of us in public health that a strident group of activists can impose their will upon the overwhelming majority of consumers based upon nothing more than their version of what is "best" for everyone else.

An August 19, 2005 post on the http://CalorieLab.com/News page notes Willie Soon's HealthFactsAndFears article on exaggerated risks from mercury in fish:

Today's news that a jury found the pharmaceutical company Merck negligent in its marketing of the painkiller Vioxx, awarding $229 million in damages, is bad news for all consumers who hope that pharmaceutical companies will continue to develop new drugs -- to address not only their aches and pains but life-threatening conditions like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.