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We here at ACSH are in a health war against smoking, not a war with Philip Morris or Altria or any other tobacco group. So if Big Tobacco can make money selling something besides cigarettes, great -- that is exactly what we have long said they should be doing. Meanwhile, nicotine, while addictive but relatively harmless by itself, is actually helping save lives, as it's being used by those who make their money in the cigarette business to get out of it.

A Florida woman who consumed raw chocolate milk produced by Miller's Organic Farm in Pennsylvania passed away after getting Listeria. Ironically, she thought she was drinking something more "natural" that would make her immune system stronger.

Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a drug which blocks messages that direct stem cells to differentiate, forcing them to reverse course to a more embryonic state.

So another know-nothing celebrity is promoting her own take on infant feeding — Kristin Cavallari is pushing her goat's milk formula. But accepted experts in the field, like those at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, advise against following her weird lead. As do we.

According to a major study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal, researchers have linked public transport usage with key health outcomes. Using a sample of over 150,000 British residents, they gave added credence to an important health principle known as active transportation.

The Senate recently voted down a bill which would ban states from requiring GMO labeling of food, creating one more win for anti-science charlatans.

A recent report in JAMA provides concrete epidemiological evidence that vaccine refusal has contributed to the increased risk for measles and pertussis, also known as whooping cough, which are vaccine-preventable diseases.

Good news for high-heel lovers as a healthier stiletto is now on the market — one that, yes, provides style but also a whole lot more comfort. It features construction that shifts body weight away from the ball of the foot, promising to reduce pain as well as the long-term damage some heels have been known to cause.

In trying to determine whether nightmares and suicidal behavior are in any way related, perhaps the first question that surfaces relates to causation. Yet while a new study, claiming new findings, tries to build a connection between the two issues, the research appears suspect in more ways that one.

Warnings about dehydration — especially for elite athletes abound. Water stations are frequent at marathon races. But as a recent report shows, you can have too much of a good thing, and excessive hydration can bring on hyponatremia, which can be dangerous and in some cases, even fatal.

A new modeling study in the journal PLOS Outbreaks suggests that the domain of Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads the Zika virus, could be a lot wider than previously thought. If this is a warm summer, 50 cities in the United States, from coast to coast, could be home to the bug.

Ever found yourself burning the midnight oil or needlessly awake, while munching a late-night snack like ice cream or potato chips? If so, you're not alone. A recent study shows that sleep deprivation can alter the chemistry in our brains, causing us to seek out something pleasurable. At night, frequently that delight is high-calorie food.

With the nation's sharp rise of marijuana use over the last decade, researchers sought to determine how the drug affects a user's ability to recognize the emotions of others. A recent Colorado State University study found that cannabis users were less able to identify moods and to express empathy.

If you have a hidden agenda, it’s best to try and hide it. That's what we’d recommend after reading a misleading, unbalanced report on the website Quartz. The reporter's unsupported piece isn’t really about meat consumption and how it’s making men sick — it's about meat and how it’s making her sick.

When properly equipped for the bitterness of winter, most people don't experience unusually cold hands and feet that turn colors, especially if gloves and warm socks are involved. But for some the painful experience is actually a disease: it's called Raynaud's, and it affects roughly 28 million Americans.

Online weight-loss programs are convenient — you can access them from home whenever it suits you. But how good are they? It's hard to tell sometimes just from looking at the site. A new study suggests that consumers and their healthcare providers take a close look before advising or using many of these sites.

This fiasco is a hilarious lesson about what happens when you try to take a crappy drug, and attempt to lobby it into a good one. Or at least one that the FDA would approve. This sorry saga has it all. Good guys, bad guys, idiots, and one women who walked away from it filthy rich. Enjoy.

Gray-haired men and women alike often wonder whether to dye their hair or leave it be. But a new option may soon be available, following a gene discovery that may allow for delaying, or even halting, gray hair growth. That change could potentially alter how we guess a person's age.

Sharing is caring, right? Researchers from Belgium have discovered that, after some years, married couples' immune systems tend to look alike. This isn't surprising, given that many couples share the same lifestyle habits; from eating the same meals, exercising together, and sharing the same germs when one spouse is sick.. Gross. Kinda cute, but gross.

Ever wonder if it’s really safe to eat food quickly after dropping it on the ground? Science suggests that it may be alright to do so -- however, there are conditions, because it all depends on what you drop and where you drop it. But given the proper circumstances, the so-called "5-second rule” can work to keep illness at bay.

The current attempt by the New York City Board of Health to force chain restaurants to label foods containing high levels of salt has been stymied for now. This is a good development, since the idea that lowering the salt intake of the general population is not supported by scientific data.

Mosquito season is around the corner, and there may be an extra surprise this year, depending on how Zika behaves. So, do you slop DEET all over your kids? Spray to kill the mosquitoes? Some are calling for the use of DDT. But if you're scared of chemicals, you might actually prefer DDT to DEET. Here's how they compare.

I received a letter from the CEO of the exercise group CrossFit, Inc., but since no contact information was listed I'm responding here. As ACSH's president, I addressed his high points and clarified other statements he made, in the hope of clearing up some important issues for those with a sincere interest in evidence-based information.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio winning his first-ever Oscar at the 88th Academy Awards on Sunday was every bit as satisfying as it should have been. But It was during DiCaprio's acceptance speech that left me, and a few others, a bit confused.

When March 27 arrives, all New York doctors will be required to switch from paper to electronic prescriptions, making the Empire State the first in the nation to make the move and say goodbye to the physician-scribbling tradition of providing medication. But it's an open question as to whether the deadline will be met.