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. (more)

As the holiday decorations go up, so do anxiety levels. 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. (more)

Katherine Heigl is in trouble with the P.C. police. A week after telling David Letterman how she managed to quit smoking by switching to e-cigarettes, the “Life as We Know It” actress is drawing not praise but condemnation from moralistic public health types. (more)

Congress is debating overhauling the Toxic Substances Control Act, the law that guides how the federal government regulates chemicals in the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency plans to regulate five commonly used chemicals and says more will be added to the list regularly. Chemicals are under increasing scrutiny and the trend is toward more precautionary regulations. (more)

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 “safe” (an unachievable goal, since any chemical, natural or synthetic, is toxic at some dose). (more)