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Dispatch: Warning: Warnings Can Be Deceiving

A New York Times health blog celebrates the advent of larger warning signs on smokeless tobacco products like snus, which were dictated by the 2009 FDA tobacco law: “Research has also shown that larger warning statements discourage users. … The new law requires a rotating set of larger warnings, including, ‘Warning: This product is not a safe alternative to cigarettes,’ ‘Warning: This product can cause mouth cancer,’ and ‘Warning: This product can cause gum disease and tooth loss.’”

“While these warnings are technically true, they are still overstating these dangers,” says Dr. Ross. “There is a risk of oral diseases as a...
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Dispatch: Revenge of the Superweeds

Several species of weeds have developed resistance to the herbicide glyphosate (a.k.a. Roundup), threatening crop yields in sections of farmland across the country. According to the New York Times, “The National Research Council [NRC], which advises the federal government on scientific matters, sounded its own warning last month, saying that the emergence of resistant weeds jeopardized the substantial benefits that genetically engineered crops were providing to farmers and the environment.”

“Herbicide resistance is not a new problem, but it has become a very real problem with specific weeds in certain specific areas,” says Dr. Ross. “This issue will...
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Research Suggests Humans are Not Mice

A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology sought to determine if the risk of breast cancer is elevated for night-shift workers. Reuters reports, [Wong-Ho Chow, a researcher with the National Cancer Institute] followed more than 70,000 women in Shanghai, inquiring about their work and cancer status. Earlier research in animals had suggested that disturbances in the light-dark cycle could knock certain chemicals in the body -- for instance, melatonin and estrogen -- off balance, and as a result increase cancer risk. ¦ But the risk didn't increase for women who worked nights, regardless of how long they had...
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President s Cancer Panel s Alarming Alarmism

The President s Cancer Panel has caused quite a stir with its release of a report imputing cancer to environmental chemicals. The report practically plagiarizes the work of anti-chemical activist groups, including the Environmental Working Group s catchphrase that babies are pre-polluted with chemicals, and in its frequent homage to the precautionary principle.

This so-called Presidential Cancer Panel, which consists of two physicians, has obviously been politically pressured by the activists running the EPA, says ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross. When they mention babies being pre-polluted and the alleged dangers of all of these chemicals, they not only sign their name to activist screeds, they neglect to mention that...
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Dispatch: America s Unfortunate Import

Investor’s Business Daily’s Investors.com features an article by Professor Jaap Hanekamp of Utrecht University's Roosevelt Academy in the Netherlands warning that the European Union’s restrictive policy for chemicals sets a dangerous example for the rest of the world:

The nonsensical pursuit of zero risk cripples innovation and economic growth. … The EU likes to see itself as a world leader in growth and innovation. But the precautionary principle in its laws thwarts any such potential. Precaution trivializes scientific knowledge and opens the way for the politics of fear and protectionism.

“This is a...
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Dispatch: Praise be Thun

As the President's Cancer Panel's fear-mongering recommendations continue to reverberate through the media, a seat at the ACSH Dispatch table goes to Dr. Michael J. Thun, vice president emeritus of the American Cancer Society's division of Epidemiology & Surveillance Research. In an online statement, Thun calls the report "unbalanced by its implication that pollution is the major cause of cancer, and by its dismissal of cancer prevention efforts aimed at the major known causes of cancer (tobacco, obesity,...
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The Junto

Last night ACSH's Jeff Stier attended a group of libertarian activists -- yes, those types -- called "Junto", which was begun by hedge fund manager Victor Niederhoffer. Dr. Alexander Tabarrok spoke on whether the FDA is "safe and effective."

The FDA has two problems, Tabarrok argues. It approves drugs very slowly -- leaving people to suffer and even die while they wait for approval -- and the approval process is so expensive that some drugs are simply never brought to market.

He...
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Dispatch: Dr. Whelan on CNN

ACSH expects to post on our webpage later today video from an interview Dr. Elizabeth Whelan did with CNN Sunday evening, discussing last week's scaremongering report from the President's Cancer Panel linking cancer to environmental chemicals. Maggie Fox of Reuters also wrote Sunday on the report, which she says has "underwhelmed most mainstream cancer experts and drawn only a puzzled response from the White House."

Fox's Reuters...
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A bunch of poop?

Proctor & Gamble says its Dry Max Pampers, less bulky but more absorbent than the previous design, are the biggest thing in diapers in 25 years. But on Facebook some moms have been blaming the diapers for rashes and "chemical burns" on their tots' tender bottoms, and the mainstream press has picked up the story.

P&G says the materials used...
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Gardasil for boys?

Drugmaker Merck has begun marketing its HPV vaccine Gardasil to boys, a move the Chicago Tribune reports is leading to some skepticism among vaccine-wary parents.

"Some parents, many of whom were surprised to learn Gardasil is now being offered to boys, said they fear that having their children vaccinated would encourage earlier sexual activity," the Tribune reports. "Many also question its cost: [about] $390 for the series of three shots." And some parents worry about the vaccine's safety, the newspaper says.

Dr. Ross says those fears are unfounded. "Parents of children in the recommended age groups — both boys and girls — should be vaccinated before...
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