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New York, NY -- Counterfeit drugs remain a real and growing threat to global health, jeopardizing the security of the American drug supply, according to an updated report by the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH).

The 2009 edition of the booklet Counterfeit Drugs: Coming to a Pharmacy Near You was released today, following peer review by a panel of top experts in the field. It documents how increasingly sophisticated counterfeiting rings, some with connections to organized crime and even terrorist groups, have improved upon their methods of evading international police and investigative forces, slipping potentially dangerous counterfeit, substandard and adulterated drugs...

Aiming to combat the obesity epidemic in New York, Gov. David Paterson has recommended an 18% tax on sugar-sweetened soft drinks and a few other sweetened beverages. Unfortunately, the proposed tax is inconsistent with the facts about what causes obesity. It also sets an alarming precedent for taxing foods deemed "bad" by government officials -- further increasing the cost of living in the state -- particularly for the least affluent citizens.

•First, there is no scientific basis for singling out sugar-sweetened soda and certain fruit drinks as a primary underlying cause of obesity. So many Americans these days far exceed their ideal weight because they consume too many calories from all types of foods and beverages -- and do not dedicate sufficient effort to burning calories...

This piece first appeared in the New York Post.

If Congress doesn't act quickly, tens of thousands of Americans will lose their jobs -- and several hundred New York businesses will get hit particularly hard.

The problem is the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which Congress passed overwhelmingly last year because of fears about lead in toys from China. Bizarrely, the law threatens U.S.-based children's clothing makers as well as toy makers -- and even libraries. Its...

Diet, exercise, and eat right. This is the guiding tenet by which many health-conscious people live and one of the driving forces behind the popularity of functional foods. Despite their immense popularity, there is no universally accepted definition of functional foods. Nevertheless, functional foods can best be characterized as any food or food ingredient that may provide a health benefit beyond the traditional nutrients it contains.

Two years ago, functional food and beverage sales topped $25 billion in the United States alone. Propelled by expected growth in Eastern Europe, Western Europe and North America, the...

This piece first appeared in the Washington Times.

Next week, the European Parliament will debate stringent regulation of a number of effective pesticides. It is apparently too much to expect a sense of shame from European public health officials and their activist "environmental" collaborators when the subject of chemical pesticides is raised.

What about some sense of history? Or compassion? Not likely, as the European Parliament votes next Tuesday on a proposal to tighten the already onerous restrictions on many common insecticides. If this regulation is passed, the consequences will be devastating -- not in Europe, but in Africa and Asia.

Over...

January 12, 2009

PB & Salmonella, Genes and Cancer, Fat and Poverty, Smoke and Alzheimer's, FDA and Gardasil

By Elizabeth Wade

Salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter

A large institutional-sized container of peanut butter contaminated with salmonella has been discovered in Minnesota, and public heath officials suspect that the strain is linked to an outbreak that has sickened nearly 400 people in forty-two states since September.

"So far, the outbreak seems to be linked to only really big containers of peanut butter that are used in institutional settings," explains ACSH's Dr. Ruth Kava. "The contaminated peanut butter doesn't appear to have been distributed to grocery stores" -- so if you bought a jar of peanut butter at your local market...

In an article that seems like a joke, the UK's Daily Mail reports on a study published in the journal Death Studies, which suggests that the first initial of a child's name might affect their longevity by as much as ten years.

"This child-naming nonsense is only interesting because it shows how statistics can be manipulated to show trends, and they don't necessarily imply causation," says ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross. "There was an analysis between certain illnesses and how they correlated to astrological signs published in the New England Journal of Medicine that demonstrated several statistically significant relationships between diseases and Zodiac sign. The author was trying to make the point that statistical correlation does not imply causation."

...

The EPA has released the first of its Chemical Action Plans (CAP) targeting phthalates, following EPA chief Lisa Jackson's pledge last September to more closely scrutinize chemicals that cause public concern.

"Lisa Jackson said in September that increasing public concern about chemicals would result in more EPA regulation," says ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross. "Well, it's speeches like those that generate public concern when there's no reason for it," as Ross warned in an op-ed at the time.

FoodNavigator.com relays the response of the American Chemistry Council: "[ACC] slammed the EPA, saying the initial chemicals 'seem to have been selected based on little more than their current high-profile nature' rather than scientific data relating to the dangers and risks posed by the...

France is trying to sell surplus doses of H1N1 vaccine that they purchased under the impression that everyone would need two doses for full immunity.

"They have 65 million citizens, and they ordered 94 million doses," says ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross. "It turns out only 5 million of them were vaccinated. I'd say they overestimated."

"Anyone who followed the literature knew that that idea of two doses was just something being thrown around in the beginning," says ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. "There was never any policy in any country that anyone besides young children might need two. At least they will be prepared in case a third wave of infections occurs."

In an article with the headline "Philip Morris Pushes Smokeless," today's Wall Street Journal reports "Tobacco giant Philip Morris USA Inc. is urging the Food and Drug Administration to adopt a regulatory plan that would encourage smokers who can't or won't quit tobacco to switch to less-harmful smokeless tobacco."

"I don't like this headline," says ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. "The word 'pushing' sounds to me like they're pushing a very dangerous or illegal drug, but the tone of this article does reflect the positive nature of this move. We have long been aware that Reynolds has been dedicated to moving towards noncombustible products, and this article provides firm evidence that Philip Morris is moving in that direction also. It's definitely a beneficial trend for...