Health & Medicine
Everything from the morality of eating cookies to the solvency of Medicare.
- Pharma in Europe: Going from Heartburn to Heart Attack? Jurgen Reinhoudt 01/04/2007
- Europe’s pharmaceutical research and development is vanishing. The United States, which takes its “healthy” pharmaceutical R&D for granted, should take note.
- Misdiagnosing the Java Jive Sally Satel 12/22/2006
- Calling caffeine "addictive" confuses the issue. It does not belong in the same category as drugs of abuse.
- Take Two Servings of Paternalism David White 12/21/2006
- Recent bans on smoking and fatty foods reflect a dangerously popular mindset.
- Trans Fats: Anatomy of a Scare Elizabeth M. Whelan 12/06/2006
- NEW YORK—Yesterday morning, I watched as the New York City Health Department voted unanimously to ban the use of trans-fatty acids (trans fats) in all New York City restaurants. The ban will be phased in gradually, but ultimately New York City's eateries will be trans-fat-free. This regulatory move appears to mark the first time a health agency has taken action against safe, legal foods—in this case, certain margarines and cooking oils—instead of disease-causing organisms. The regulatory demonization of trans fats and the underlying "trans-fat-phobia" reveal a good deal about how the media and consumers react to a health scare, how scientists respond (or do not), and what lies ahead for other food ingredients.
- Two Cheers for the FDA Gilbert Ross 11/20/2006
- The recent decision to allow silicone breast implants was a sadly unusual victory of evidence over fear for the agency.