Warnings that Don't Work (National Review Online)
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publish Date : Tuesday, July 5, 2011
By Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelan Diseased lungs. Corpses. Rotting teeth. A man smoking from a tracheotomy hole. These are some of the shocking images featured in the Food and Drug Administration’s recently unveiled series of cigarette package warnings. The FDA asserts that these graphic warnings will serve public health by terrifying smokers into quitting. Commissioner Margaret Hamburg boasts that “the FDA [is taking] a crucial step toward reducing the   Read Full >>

Dr. Whelan refutes proposal to ban soda purchases using food stamps (BBC News)
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publish Date : Thursday, March 10, 2011
In an interview for BBC, ACSH’s Dr. Elizabeth Whelan challenges the validity of a recent request by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to bar residents who receive food stamps from using them to purchase soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages.  Read Full >>

Empire State or Nanny State: Suffolk should not ban energy drinks (The Daily Caller)
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H., Michelle Minton
Publish Date : Friday, January 28, 2011
By Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelan. In New York State, 18-year-olds need to show ID to buy cigarettes, get married, and vote. Now one lawmaker wants to make them show ID to purchase … energy drinks.  Read Full >>

Open Letter to the New York Assembly Health Committee (E-cigarette Forum)
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publish Date : Wednesday, January 26, 2011
By Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelan. As President of American Council on Science and Health, Dr. Whelan sent the following open letter to the New York Assembly Health Committee urging against the passing of a law prohibiting e-cigarettes.        Read Full >>

The biggest unfounded health scares of 2010 (The Daily Caller)
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publish Date : Thursday, December 30, 2010
By Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. As we begin a new year, the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) would first like to try and slay the demons and hobgoblins of the past year. We do this each New Year’s Eve by making a list of the top unfounded health scares of the outgoing year. These bouts of hysteria are prompted by many different things. But what they have in common is that there’s no scientific evidence to back up the alarms being sounded.  Read Full >>

FDA Conflict-of-Interest Rules Go Too Far (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publish Date : Sunday, December 12, 2010
By Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. When an FDA panel voted to reject a new weight-loss drug this fall, many observers were outraged.  Read Full >>

Don’t fall victim to the hysteria over plastic toys (The Daily Caller)
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publish Date : Thursday, December 9, 2010
By Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. In the midst of prepping for the in-laws and the added financial stress of the holidays, the last thing Americans need is another source of unwarranted anxiety. But just in time for the holidays, Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) released its annual “Trouble in Toyland” report, which preys on parents’ greatest fears by warning shoppers of “toxic” chemicals and other dangers lurking on every toy aisle.    Read Full >>

Pass the Methyl Eugenol (from National Review)
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publish Date : Wednesday, November 24, 2010
By Dr. Elizabeth Whelan.  It is that time of year: parties, presents, family gatherings — and dining-room tables laden with a tempting array of mouthwatering seasonal chemicals.    Read Full >>

The Deadly War against DDT (National Review)
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publish Date : Wednesday, September 15, 2010
By Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelan. A remarkable new documentary tells the story of how political and ideological forces combined to ban a widely and safely used chemical, DDT, leading to a surge of malaria deaths in developing countries like Kenya, Indonesia, and India.  Read Full >>

On Earth Day, praise BPA
By Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Publish Date : Thursday, April 22, 2010
In the 40 years since the first Earth Day, the “Green Movement” has migrated far beyond the prevention of polluted lakes and streams and emissions from coal-burning plants to take on scientifically-shakier targets: allegedly harmful substances in food and consumer products. The goals of Earth Day celebrants now include what they call “green chemistry”—a prohibition on industrial chemicals they deem “toxic” and the embrace of ones deemed unequivocally   Read Full >>