Since 2020, we have been able to buy Advil Dual Action, OTC pills that contain a fixed dose of acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil). Who benefits from combining two medicines into one pill? Is it patients – or GSK that makes the product? I maintain it's the latter.

In a CBS Eye on the World interview, host John Batchelor and I discussed myriad pressing concerns regarding data security in the healthcare sector.

In 2019, I joined ACSH's contributing writers group because I admire the mission, and sought an outlet for some long-held dilemmas concerning the health effects of air pollution. Since then, my interests, along with those of my long-time colleague Sheldon Lipsky, have morphed along three tracks: air pollution, climate change, and original research on COVID-19. Here are a few articles on those topics.

Over the last 12 months, I continued with my preoccupation over EPA’s misrepresentation of the science in its treatment of PFAS, the “Forever Chemicals.” But Fluoride and Dutch Innovation also caught my fancy.

And here’s a soundoff of my favorite articles of the last year.

I am beginning my eighth year as a writer for the American Council on Science and Health. It has been quite a journey, and given that New Year's is approaching, I wanted to take a moment.

The pandemic has been with us for nearly four years, and while it is down, it is not yet out. Reactions to it varied across the nation, and looking back now to see how we have dealt with it seems appropriate.

Unlike many colleagues, I did not come from a “medical” family. In my formative years, my father sold appliances and later real estate – he was flipping homes long before it became fashionable or lucrative. In any event, I think watching him sell and going for our Saturday outing to an open house gave me a slightly different view of communication with patients. Like those presidential candidates making the rounds in Iowa, medical communication is all about retail sales.

Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of the topics I have covered this past year.
[apologies to Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II]

The week between Christmas and the New Year has traditionally been a time of reflection on the past year. I joined the writing staff of the American Council on Science and Health at the beginning of 2023. As I look back over 100+ articles, ranging from “Holiday Heart” to Sickle Cell Disease, and from advances in science and health to shortcomings in communicating developments in public health, here are a few of my favorites.