Oh, some will call it juvenile, A vibrant red lollipop poised between adult lips, But the nicotine-pop fix lasts a while And compared to smoking, spells fewer hospital trips.
Nicotine doesn't kill, after all; It's smoking that tar and stuff that does one in. So I hope my next trip to the mall Reveals teens ditching smoking for sucking.
It'd look just as smashing As those baby pacifiers the club youth wear. (They're to prevent teeth-gnashing, When they're on ecstasy and beyond all cares.)

"There is no compelling evidence which supports today's claim by Swedish researchers that fried or baked foods high in starch introduces chemicals which increase the risk of human cancer," according to the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), a nonprofit, consumer education consortium of physicians and scientists based in New York City.
"We are deeply concerned that Americans will unnecessarily worry about safe, nutritious foods after hearing today's news," said Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelan, President of ACSH.

Arguments against constructive change take many forms. One is what I have
called the myth of the "riskless alternative." Every change has its risks,
whether the change is political, scientific, or technological, but a
simple assertion of risk is not in and of itself an argument against
change.

PRO:
By Lester Grinspoon, M.D.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently warned pharmacies selling "nicotine lollipops" and "nicotine lip balm" to stop, calling them illegal. According to the FDA, these products are being promoted as smoking cessation treatments or therapeutic drugs and therefore must gain FDA approval before public consumption. The lollipops and lip balm also contain a specific form of nicotine, nicotine salicylate, which has not been approved for smoking cessation.

Only about one-third of women know that heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, according to an AHA-sponsored survey in 2000, while almost two-thirds of female respondents thought cancer was their chief health threat. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) kills nearly half a million women each year, with over 240,000 women dying of heart attacks, twice the number of all female cancer deaths combined.

I once had a high school history teacher who would put Scotch tape between her eyebrows in a desperate attempt to stop frowning and prevent wrinkles. Those were the pre-Botox days. Now, she could very easily just stop by one of the growing number of Botox parties, munch on sushi, sip champagne, and be shot with a diluted-form of botulism a "natural" toxin known for causing disability and death. Everyone seems to be doing it, yet no one seems to be concerned or discussing its "toxic" nature. Should they be?

The arrival of Earth Day brought a discussion of how to feed the poor. Feeding the hungry has been added to the Earth Day agenda, but the anti-technology rhetoric of past Earth Days, when the poor were forgotten, cannot easily be reconciled with this newly discovered concern.

Stier vs. Environmental Working Group
ACSH Associate Director, Jeff Stier recently participated in a debate against the Environmental Working Group on National Public Radio's Justice Talking. Below is a brief summary of his remarks. The debate may be heard at: http://www.justicetalking.org/shows/show210.asp
Summary of Stier's remarks

With alternative medicine growing in popularity, skeptics should pay attention to the arguments used to promote it. The arguments sometimes attack basic assumptions about scientific procedure.