Very early this morning, San Diego Padres outfielder Mike Darr, age twenty-five, was killed when the vehicle he was riding in rolled over on an interstate highway in Arizona. Another man in the vehicle, twenty-three year-old Duane Johnson, of Reno, Nevada, was also killed in the accident.
It appears Darr was the driver of the vehicle and that the accident was alcohol-related. Darr and Johnson were not wearing seat belts and were ejected and killed. Another passenger in the back seat was wearing a seat belt and was not seriously injured.

It is difficult to enter any local drug store or grocery and not be intrigued by the nutrition bar aisle. Who wouldn't be tempted by such claims as, "PowerBar Harvest, a great way to kick start your day with the natural energy and nutrition that powers world class athletes"? Others are targeted more towards female consumers, ones looking to celebrate life with every bite: "OASIS is the new nutrition bar from BALANCE, designed uniquely for women.

New laws limit the amount of money that tobacco companies have to post as a bond while court judgments against the companies are being appealed (normally in most non-tobacco cases the defendant has to put up the entire amount of the damages awarded to the plaintiff while the appeal fight is going on). Such laws have been passed in Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Wisconsin and introduced in other states. American Lung Association president John L. Kirkwood reacted:

This month the American Dietetic Association (ADA) published a position statement about food and nutrition misinformation. According to a survey run by the ADA, the media including TV, magazines, and newspapers are the leading sources of nutrition information for American consumers. Because of their predominant role, the media can be the source of much nutrition misinformation as well for example by allowing individuals or groups with hidden agendas to promote their particular views under the guise of presenting balanced, science-based nutrition information.

Currently the media is covering two "safer tobacco stories," one dealing with the claim by Vector Tobacco that its Omni cigarette is "the first reduced carcinogen cigarette" (a topic addressed on HealthFactsAndFears.com last week), the other dealing with claims that chaw use is safer than cigarette smoking. Indeed, U.S. Tobacco, the maker of the chewing tobaccos Skoal and Copenhagen, is currently asking the Federal Trade Commission for permission to advertise that its products could be a safer way to consume tobacco than cigarettes.

We learned last weekend in a front-page New York Times story that the United States poultry industry has quietly begun to "bow to the demands of public health and consumer groups" by significantly reducing the use of antibiotics that are fed to healthy chickens. Antibiotics have been used for decades as a means of preventing infection in chickens and promoting an accelerated pattern of growth.
Is this move in the interest of promoting public health? And will consumers pay a price for the elimination of these chemicals?

Americans are terrified of even tiny amounts of toxic substances, but apparently they'll make an exception if, say, injecting the toxin that causes botulism into their faces helps fight wrinkles.

The media continue to feature nonsensical statements about health, probably because health issues sell, and the editors lack appropriate scientific judgment.

A recent survey of 225 leading general internists ranked the top ten medical innovations of the past twenty-five years, and four out of the top eight innovations were medications used to treat chronic and life-threatening diseases (per Fuchs in Health Affairs, Sept./Oct. 2001). While much of the current health care dialogue revolves around the high cost of prescription drugs, this report underscores the benefits of an innovative, research-oriented pharmaceutical industry and how their products have improved the lives of all Americans.

Don't women have enough to worry about? Breast cancer is scary enough without all the recent confusion about mammography. That's the sad but true state of the science today, and science simply refuses to be rushed, hyped, or intimidated by doctors, pressure groups, or even the government.