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Responding to the nations' opioid addiction crisis, the FDA held a hearing on March 1 in Silver Spring, MD to discuss how to get this serious problem under control. The Council, which was asked to provide input, was represented by President Hank Campbell and Dr. Josh Bloom, Senior Director of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Pesticides in your beer? Banning soda would prevent diabetes? See what you missed over the weekend.

Hostility and poor coping skills in young adulthood have been associated with worse cognitive outcomes during middle age. But the prospective study had an important limitation, in that cognitive function was measured in midlife, and not during the early years of being an adult.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, or “broken heart syndrome,” has always been associated with a negative emotional trigger, which can lead to sudden cardiac death. But new research reveals for the first time, that positive emotions can also precipitate this condition.

Energy drinks are popular — especially among younger consumers. Their high caffeine content can certainly give one an energy boost. But apparently that's not all they can do, and people with cardiac conditions or a family history of such would be well advised to limit their intake of these beverages.

Two new additions to the growing scientific (as opposed to the ideological) literature on reduced-risk nicotine products (e-cigarettes in shorthand) show more clearly their high likelihood of benefiting smokers trying to quit smoking.

Of all the garbage science topics that we routinely cover, among the worst is the concept that miniscule amounts of so-called endocrine disruptors chemicals that supposedly have an adverse impact on human sexual development do anything whatsoever. The plastic component BPA and plastic softeners, phthalates, are the two poster children of the movement, but there are many more.

Dr. J Cuzick from the Queen Mary University of London and international colleagues from several institutions performed a review of studies linking the use of aspirin to decreased risk of several types of cancer and of heart attacks and stroke.

Last week, Oregon joined the ranks of states trying to pass GMO labeling laws, with the proponents of the bill arguing that consumers have a right to know

Hypertension is well-known to be a major risk factor for all types of cardiovascular disease: stroke and heart attack. Now a study seems to show that mid-life HT may also predict cognitive decline later on.

As we have done repeatedly, fellow debunker Michael Shaw has some things to say about Dr. Oz on his web page Shaw s Eco-Logic.
Here are a couple of examples from his piece The Merry Old Land of Oz, which appeared on the HealthNewsDigest site:

Concussions are a major and growing concern among athletes, and have garnered much media attention recently. Two examples include the long-term effects of concussions and new helmets intended to quantify cumulative impacts to the head. However, concussions among children and adolescents have not been as

Catch the latest news on concerns regarding Gilead's $84,000 hepatitis C treatment drug Sovaldi, the declining sales of traditional cigarettes, and why prior authorization could be hurting the health care system

A doctor s op-ed in today s NYTimes expresses eloquently the frustration felt by conscientious care-givers over the bureaucratic hassles engendered by preferred drug formularies, supposedly aimed at saving money. Do they, really?

The ban on super-sized sodas was finally defeated in New York City, but the attack on sugary beverages is far from over. Last week, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced a bill in the House the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax Act of 2014 that would put a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks of a penny per teaspoon

There are now multiple ongoing discussions about Sovaldi, Gilead s revolutionary drug for treating hepatitis C. The arguments are more or less

Dr. Gilbert Ross and Dr. Michael R. Hufford in the National Review Online, August 5, 2014.
Today approximately 14,000 people will die of tobacco-related diseases around the world. The same will

Dr. Gilbert Ross and Dr. Michael R. Hufford in the Nicotine Science and Policy blog
Today approximately 14,000

Catch the latest news on declining sale of traditional cigarettes, how BMI affects mortality in older adults, and how another major case of religious exemptions against vaccines is putting lives at risk in one Florida community

All the Big Tobacco companies who have reported on their latest sales figures have noted significant declines in cigarette sales (in terms of numbers of cigarettes sold). How come no one in public health officialdom has taken note?

For many years Body Mass Index, or BMI, has been the go-to index for establishing trends in population weights, and has also been used to establish what are the best BMIs to avoid certain ailments such as diabetes as well as early death. It has been widely accepted that the relationship of BMI and risk of death, or mortality, is J- or U-shaped.

Over the past couple of years, we ve seen the re-emergence of a number of vaccine preventable diseases, mainly pertussis (whooping cough) and measles. And the majority of these cases are among individuals who have not

New international review of studies of e-cigarettes confirms the obvious (to most): these devices offer much less risk to smokers trying to quit than cigarettes, and regulation should be proportionate not prohibitive.

In a hard-hitting op-ed in today s NY Times, food writer Ruth Reichl takes the FDA to task for not taking strong action to limit or ban the use of antibiotics in food animals.

New York City is now considering putting a ten-cent fee on each plastic bag used by customers, previously provided free of charge. Although this was initially suggested during Bloomberg s term,