“Cancer rates dropping in the U.S.,” by American Council on Science and Health.
ACSH is happy to note, yet again, that both U.S. cancer incidence and death rates continue to fall. The latest report, issued annually since 1998 and published in the journal Cancer, is compiled by various health agencies including the CDC and the American Cancer Society and includes nearly every cancer case reported through 2008. According to the statistics, the rate of new cancer cases has been decreasing at a rate of about half a percent annually since 1999, while overall cancer mortality has dropped by 1.5 percent per year in adults and 1.7 percent in children. Read the full article in ACSH Dispatch.
“You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still not toxic,” by American Council on Science and Health.
Speaking of trumped up chemical fears, a recent bill introduced by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) is calling on the FDA to start regulating the cosmetics industry, which has largely been exempt from the agency’s control. If the new proposal were enacted, the FDA would be allowed to ban cosmetics ingredients that have been linked to cancer and reproductive disorders, and cosmetics companies would be required to add ingredients labels on fragrances and salon products. Read the full article in ACSH Dispatch.
“Alphabet soup: BPA, FDA, NRDC,” by American Council on Science and Health.
As part of a legal settlement with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the FDA must decide by tomorrow whether it will ban the widely used chemical bisphenol A (BPA). The agency’s decision will determine if the chemical used to make polycarbonate plastic can remain in food packaging. BPA-based plastics have been used for decades to protect against bacteria and food-borne illness. Even so, earlier this month, the Campbell Soup Company seems to have succumbed to public pressure and announced it would be eliminating BPA in the lining of its cans. But one of the biggest questions on everyone’s mind is: What will they use as a substitute? Read the full article in ACSH Dispatch.
