Health

Rocket Fuel Is Good for You!

by Diane Farsetta — January 11, 2005 - 5:52pm

A National Academy of Sciences report says up to 20 parts per billion (ppb) of the rocket fuel chemical perchlorate in drinking water could be considered "safe." Perchlorate affects thyroid function, with children believed to be especially vulnerable. The Environmental Protection Agency previously set 1 ppb as the "safe" perchlorate level; the Defense Department suggested 200 ppb.

Main Source: 
Reuters, January 10, 2005

Happy Birthday, Mad Cow! One Year Later, the Spin Remains the Same

by Diane Farsetta — December 22, 2004 - 10:36am
  • Topics: Mad Cow Disease, Health, Public Relations

    • For a while, it looked as though one lone cow might succeed.

    Government officials promised to implement food safety measures long championed by consumer, family farm, health, environmental, and public interest organizations. Industry groups -- and their former lobbyists now working for regulatory agencies -- were on the defensive.

    Food Is the New Food, for 2005

    by Diane Farsetta — December 20, 2004 - 2:02pm

    "With the U.S. government set to issue new dietary guidelines for Americans in January," food industry groups and PR firms are preparing to capitalize on the recommendations, writes PR Week. Burson-Marsteller's U.S.

    Main Source: 
    PR Week (reg req'd), December 20, 2004

    Pushing Pills for Profit

    by Diane Farsetta — December 20, 2004 - 1:23pm

    Concerns about the safety of Pfizer's Celebrex, Merck's Vioxx and other so-called COX-2 inhibitor drugs represent "perhaps the clearest instance yet of how the confluence of medicine and marketing can turn hope into hype - and how difficult it is for the Food and Drug Administration to monitor the safety of drugs after they have been approved for t

    Main Source: 
    New York Times, December 19, 2004

    Bhopal Anniversary Marked By Corporate Social Responsibility Hoax

    by Laura Miller — December 7, 2004 - 6:26pm

    On December 3, 1984 a toxic gas release from a Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal, India killed at least 7,000 people. Two decades later, 15,000 additional people have died and 100,000 have health problems stemming from the leak of poison gases. Activists worldwide have called on Dow Chemical, which now owns Union Carbide, to take responsibility for the industrial disaster and make reparations.

    Main Source: 
    Guardian (UK), December 7, 2004

    Troublesome TV Trends

    by Diane Farsetta — December 6, 2004 - 3:51pm

    "Many Americans consider television their most important source of news and information on health," but TV is also "one of the least trusted sources." A study of 840 TV news health segments by communications professor Gary Schwitzer revealed "10 troublesome trends," including extreme brevity, little or no data, exaggeration and commercialism. "Rather than reporting on a company's hopes for its product or the potential sales, journalists could better serve their audiences by reporting on the evidence for and against a product," Schwitzer writes.

    Main Source: 
    British Medical Journal, December 4, 2004

    FDA, Heal Thyself

    by Sheldon Rampton — December 6, 2004 - 4:43am

    "When federal drug officials suspected in 1992 that a popular allergy pill might cause heart problems, they turned to their own scientists. Their trial confirmed the danger, and the drug was pulled from the market," writes Gardiner Harris. "Eight years later, similar worries surrounded the arthritis pill Vioxx.

    Main Source: 
    New York Times, December 6, 2004

    Socialized Bad Medicine

    by Diane Farsetta — November 30, 2004 - 12:00am

    "In setting limits on chemicals in food and water, the Environmental Protection Agency may rely on industry tests that expose people to poisons," reported Associated Press.

    Main Source: 
    Associated Press, November 30, 2004

    Sex on the Brain Down at Hill & Knowlton

    by Anonymous — November 27, 2004 - 5:31am

    Hill & Knowlton is hustling for Procter & Gamble's new - but as yet unapproved - testosterone patch for women with claims that it can boost sexual activity by 74 percent, Ray Moynihan reports in the British Medical Journal. The claims - unsupported by peer reviewed data - are disputed by experts.

    Main Source: 
    British Medical Journal, November 27, 2004

    Stifled by the Menopause Industry

    by Sheldon Rampton — November 17, 2004 - 2:19pm

    "From oral contraceptives to estrogen therapy, Barbara Seaman has been exposing pharmaceutical industry cover-ups of drug health risks for 30 years," writes Linda Nathan. In response, pharmaceutical companies have exerted influence to get her fired from three different women's magazines -- Ladies Home Journal, Family Circle, and Hadassah -- where she wrote columns criticizing their products.

    Main Source: 
    http://www.thejewishweek.com/bottom/specialcontent.php3?artid=815
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