Executive Summary

To the Editor:
The warning issued by Consumers Union concerning the dangers of pesticide residues on American-grown produce confuses real risks with hypothetical ones (news article, Feb. 19). The report will inspire needless fear, despite the group's protestations to the contrary.

The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) today released the names of the physicians and scientists who will serve on an independent, blue-ribbon panel to be chaired by former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. C Everett Koop. The panel will review the scientific research data relevant to the safety of vinyl plastic consumer products and medical devices containing the chemical components known as phthalate esters.

To the Editor:
Daniel Machalaba alludes to a most dangerous trend, almost as an afterthought ("Local Ties," front page, Feb. 3). He refers to perchloroethylene as a "suspected carcinogen," and then goes on to point out that no one knows "yet" what it's adverse health effects might be. As Mr. Machalaba then points out, this lack of scientific data has not stopped the plaintiff's bar from declaring that "victims" of this contamination should be compensated for "toxic damage."

To the Editor:
As a public-health professional, I was relieved to read that scientists have not advised the Inuit in the eastern Arctic to change their native diets to avoid "dangerous substances" such as DDT and PCBs (Igoolik Journal, Feb. 5). Those substances, at levels found in the environment, have never been shown to cause disease in humans. This is in contrast to a steady diet of fast-foods now tempting the Inuit.
A more realistic danger would be food-borne illness (e.g., parasites) secondary to eating raw caribou meat.

To the Editor:
Ralph King Jr.'s article ("Medical Journals Rarely Disclose Researchers' Ties," 2/2/98) calls for further analysis of the assertion, by the journal Epidemiology's Kenneth Rothman, that today's conventional wisdom in favor of disclosing corporate funding of research is a "new McCarthyism."
In a court of law, evidence is admissible only if the probative value of that evidence exceeds its prejudicial effect. The same rule should apply in the court of public opinion.

As most of you know, the New York City Advisory Council on Health Priorities (NYCACHP) is an affiliate of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), providing sound scientific information on various public health topics particular to New York City. Since its inception in 1997, NYCACHP has proved to be a voice of reason and authority on several NYC issues.

Overview
Ten years ago, on February 26, 1989, an environmental health canard was made public, hyperbolically. The principal result was mass hysteria over Alar¨¬a chemical product that was not otherwise noteworthy except for its usefulness to apple growers and apple consumers. This unfounded yet widespread public-health fright tops the list of such frights in the latter half of the twentieth century.

This report represents a work in progress. ACSH realizes that research in the areas of health impacts of alcoholic beverages is continuing, and we will update this paper as new research and insights are received. We welcome input from readers.
Executive Summary

Health scare artists have found a whole new medium for terrorizing the public - the Internet. Individuals in search of accurate health information may literally become caught in the Web, where health hoaxes and urban medical myths run rampant. The health scare messages are always the same - whatever it is, it will make you sick.