American Council on Science and Health
Encyclopedia
The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) is a nonprofit
(501(c)(3)) organization founded in 1978 by Dr. Elizabeth Whelan that produces peer-reviewed reports on issues related to food, nutrition, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, lifestyle, the environment and health. Its core membership is a board of 350 physicians, scientists and policy advisors who review the Council's reports and participate in ACSH seminars, press conferences, media communications and other educational activities. The group has been characterized as "industry-friendly".
As of July 2010, ACSH's "Medical/Executive Director" is Gilbert Ross, M.D. Just prior to joining the ACSH staff in 1998, Ross served more than a year in prison and had his medical license revoked over his role in a Medicare fraud scheme. His medical license was not reinstated until 2004.
Founder Dr. Elizabeth S. Whelan remains the President of the American Council on Science and Health. The organization is governed by a board of trustees.
and other research organizations also receive large amounts of corporate funds.
While ACSH does not currently disclose their funding, Whelan described ACSH's contributors to John Tierney of the New York Times in 2007: "ACSH has a diverse funding base - we receive donations from private foundations and individuals and unrestricted (usually very small) grants from corporations. The fastest-growing segment of our funding base is individual consumers who are sick and tired of the almost daily baseless scares - and they write us checks to help support our work."
which is a statutory requirement in some legal systems. ACSH criticizes some industries for making unscientific and overstated health claims, promoting dangerous natural supplements, or otherwise failing to tell the truth about scientific issues. Scientific and professional journals routinely publish ACSH's work, including: Medscape
, CRC Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, Journal of Health Communications, Clinical Therapeutics, and Technology. ASCH focuses its studies in several areas.
(EPA), saying, "An EPA hit list of important and demonstrably safe chemicals is about to be put through the regulatory wringer, and many are likely to be banned or severely restricted. These include bisphenol-A, phthalates
, lifesaving flame retardants, the herbicide atrazine
and fluorinated chemicals used to make Teflon."
ACSH had previously defended the safety of phthalates
, most recently publishing a critical review in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. ACSH’s advocacy on the issue extends back to 1999, when they worked with former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop
to defend the ingredient used in many soft plastics.
. The group opposed New York
state’s move to require food chains to post calorie
information on their products. ACSH has also called for better regulation and testing of dietary supplements.
's Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act as focusing on detection methods that were not scientifically supported and distracting from more effective measures. The group worked to clarify unclear messages and dispel myths surrounding the swine flu
outbreak in 2009. In 2008, ACSH applauded the American Academy of Pediatricians for demanding that an episode of Eli Stone
carry a disclaimer since the show depicted a jury awarding damages based on the claim that a vaccine
caused autism
. ACSH has long been critical of groups who claim a supposed link between the two.
in 2001, ACSH opposed the appointment of a federal official to oversee and administer aid to those injured during the attacks and subsequent rescue, arguing that such a move would create another layer of bureaucracy between victims and aid. Further, the group criticized rescue workers who attempted to fraudulently receive financial compensation though they did not suffer injuries.
’s health during the 2008 campaign. It opposed a New York state law that outlawed certain types of smokeless tobacco because, they argued, it made it harder for adult smokers to quit cigarettes. ACSH also criticized Apple workers who refused to enter homes where smoking had taken place to make technical repairs out of concern over secondhand smoke.
, Politico
, Investor's Business Daily
, The Washington Times
, National Review
and the Weekly Standard.
, MSNBC
, Fox News, ABC
and NY1
.
, correspondent Samantha Bee
noted the ACSH's opposition to the Obama family's organic garden and the organization's funding by the petroleum, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries.
(CSPI), a watchdog and consumer advocacy group, known to spar with ACSH, published an extensive report on ACSH's practices that stated, "ACSH appears to be a consumer fraud; as a scientific group, ACSH seems to arrive at conclusions before conducting studies. Through voodoo or alchemy, bodies of scientific knowledge are transmogrified into industry-oriented position statements." CSPI director Michael F. Jacobson
said of ASCH, '"This organization promotes confusion among consumers about what is safe and what isn't... ACSH is using a slick scientific veneer to obscure and deny truths that virtually everyone else agrees with."
In 2004, the now-defunct Tufts University Nutrition Navigator (a rating guide to nutrition websites) gave the ACSH site an overall rating of 20 out of 25 and an "Accuracy of Information" rating of 8 out of 10. However, it commented, "This site aims to arm consumers with the facts necessary to make wise decisions about health, but be aware that the information here is biased and represents a very conservative interpretation of current science. Consumers looking for a balanced debate on health issues will have to look elsewhere."
In regard to its operations and financial efficiency, the Better Business Bureau
issued a Wise Giving report on ACSH in 2011 concluding that ACSH met 15 of the BBB's 20 standards.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
(501(c)(3)) organization founded in 1978 by Dr. Elizabeth Whelan that produces peer-reviewed reports on issues related to food, nutrition, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, lifestyle, the environment and health. Its core membership is a board of 350 physicians, scientists and policy advisors who review the Council's reports and participate in ACSH seminars, press conferences, media communications and other educational activities. The group has been characterized as "industry-friendly".
History and mission
ACSH describes itself as a "consumer education consortium". Founded in 1978 by Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, the group describes its mission as "to add reason and balance to debates about public health issues and bring common sense scientific views to the public."As of July 2010, ACSH's "Medical/Executive Director" is Gilbert Ross, M.D. Just prior to joining the ACSH staff in 1998, Ross served more than a year in prison and had his medical license revoked over his role in a Medicare fraud scheme. His medical license was not reinstated until 2004.
Founder Dr. Elizabeth S. Whelan remains the President of the American Council on Science and Health. The organization is governed by a board of trustees.
Funding
ACSH stopped reporting its funding in the early 1990s. Their 1991 report shows that many corporations contributed funds. In 1996, Congressional Quarterlys Public Interest Profiles stated that ACSH received more than 75 percent of their funding from the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Jeff Stier, Associate Director of ACSH, has responded that this information is outdated and inaccurate, with ACSH receiving less than 50 percent of their funding from industry. Tierney also pointed out in the New York Times piece that Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and other research organizations also receive large amounts of corporate funds.
While ACSH does not currently disclose their funding, Whelan described ACSH's contributors to John Tierney of the New York Times in 2007: "ACSH has a diverse funding base - we receive donations from private foundations and individuals and unrestricted (usually very small) grants from corporations. The fastest-growing segment of our funding base is individual consumers who are sick and tired of the almost daily baseless scares - and they write us checks to help support our work."
Issue advocacy
ACSH frequently defends industry against claims that its products create risks of injury, ill-health or death, although this contravenes the precautionary principlePrecautionary principle
The precautionary principle or precautionary approach states that if an action or policy has a suspected risk of causing harm to the public or to the environment, in the absence of scientific consensus that the action or policy is harmful, the burden of proof that it is not harmful falls on those...
which is a statutory requirement in some legal systems. ACSH criticizes some industries for making unscientific and overstated health claims, promoting dangerous natural supplements, or otherwise failing to tell the truth about scientific issues. Scientific and professional journals routinely publish ACSH's work, including: Medscape
Medscape
Medscape is a web resource for physicians and other health professionals. It features peer-reviewed original medical journal articles, CME , a customized version of the National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE database, daily medical news, major conference coverage, and drug information—including a...
, CRC Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, Journal of Health Communications, Clinical Therapeutics, and Technology. ASCH focuses its studies in several areas.
Chemicals/environment
ACSH frequently warns against regulating chemicals without scientific proof of harms. A 2009 editorial by board member Henry Miller in Investor's Business Daily criticized the United States Environmental Protection AgencyUnited States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(EPA), saying, "An EPA hit list of important and demonstrably safe chemicals is about to be put through the regulatory wringer, and many are likely to be banned or severely restricted. These include bisphenol-A, phthalates
Phthalates
Phthalates , or phthalate esters, are esters of phthalic acid and are mainly used as plasticizers . They are used primarily to soften polyvinyl chloride...
, lifesaving flame retardants, the herbicide atrazine
Atrazine
Atrazine, 2-chloro-4--6--s-triazine, an organic compound consisting of an s-triazine-ring is a widely used herbicide. Its use is controversial due to widespread contamination in drinking water and its associations with birth defects and menstrual problems when consumed by humans at concentrations...
and fluorinated chemicals used to make Teflon."
ACSH had previously defended the safety of phthalates
Phthalates
Phthalates , or phthalate esters, are esters of phthalic acid and are mainly used as plasticizers . They are used primarily to soften polyvinyl chloride...
, most recently publishing a critical review in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. ACSH’s advocacy on the issue extends back to 1999, when they worked with former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop
C. Everett Koop
Charles Everett Koop, MD is an American pediatric surgeon and public health administrator. He was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and served as thirteenth Surgeon General of the United States under President Ronald Reagan from 1982 to 1989.-Early years:Koop was born...
to defend the ingredient used in many soft plastics.
Food safety and nutrition
ACSH has advocated against taxes on governmentally determined “unhealthy” food as a means to combat obesityObesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
. The group opposed New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
state’s move to require food chains to post calorie
Calorie
The calorie is a pre-SI metric unit of energy. It was first defined by Nicolas Clément in 1824 as a unit of heat, entering French and English dictionaries between 1841 and 1867. In most fields its use is archaic, having been replaced by the SI unit of energy, the joule...
information on their products. ACSH has also called for better regulation and testing of dietary supplements.
Diseases and pharmaceuticals
ACSH criticized Rep. Debbie Wasserman SchultzDebbie Wasserman Schultz
Debbie Wasserman Schultz is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. She is a member of the Democratic Party and the Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. She previously served in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate...
's Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act as focusing on detection methods that were not scientifically supported and distracting from more effective measures. The group worked to clarify unclear messages and dispel myths surrounding the swine flu
Swine flu
Swine influenza, also called pig influenza, swine flu, hog flu and pig flu, is an infection by any one of several types of swine influenza virus. Swine influenza virus or S-OIV is any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs...
outbreak in 2009. In 2008, ACSH applauded the American Academy of Pediatricians for demanding that an episode of Eli Stone
Eli Stone
Eli Stone is an American TV series, and also the name of the title character.San Francisco lawyer Eli Stone begins to see things, which leads him to discover a brain aneurysm...
carry a disclaimer since the show depicted a jury awarding damages based on the claim that a vaccine
Vaccine
A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe or its toxins...
caused autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
. ACSH has long been critical of groups who claim a supposed link between the two.
Terrorism
Following the September 11 attacks on the World Trade CenterWorld Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
in 2001, ACSH opposed the appointment of a federal official to oversee and administer aid to those injured during the attacks and subsequent rescue, arguing that such a move would create another layer of bureaucracy between victims and aid. Further, the group criticized rescue workers who attempted to fraudulently receive financial compensation though they did not suffer injuries.
Tobacco
ACSH has spoken out about the negative effects of smoking, calling into question Senator Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
’s health during the 2008 campaign. It opposed a New York state law that outlawed certain types of smokeless tobacco because, they argued, it made it harder for adult smokers to quit cigarettes. ACSH also criticized Apple workers who refused to enter homes where smoking had taken place to make technical repairs out of concern over secondhand smoke.
Opinion editorials
ACSH routinely publicizes its campaigns by placing opinion editorials in news publications. Editorials from the group have appeared in publications including the New York PostNew York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, Politico
Politico (newspaper)
The Politico is an American political journalism organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that distributes its content via television, the Internet, newspaper, and radio. Its coverage of Washington, D.C., includes the U.S. Congress, lobbying, media and the Presidency...
, Investor's Business Daily
Investor's Business Daily
Investor's Business Daily is a national newspaper in the United States, published Monday through Friday, that covers international business, finance, and the global economy...
, The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
, National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
and the Weekly Standard.
Television news
ACSH spokespersons also appear on television news as pundits. Spokespeople from the group have appeared on CNBCCNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
, MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, Fox News, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and NY1
NY1
NY1, New York One, is a 24-hour cable-news television channel focusing on the five boroughs of New York City. In addition to news and weather forecasts, the channel also features human-interest segments such as the "New Yorker of the Week" and the "Scholar Athlete of the Week", and specialty...
.
Daily Show
On the May 14, 2009 episode of the satirical late night show The Daily ShowThe Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
, correspondent Samantha Bee
Samantha Bee
Samantha Bee is a Canadian comedic actress and author best known as a cast member on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.-Early life:Bee was born in Toronto, Ontario into an unconventional family...
noted the ACSH's opposition to the Obama family's organic garden and the organization's funding by the petroleum, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries.
Reviews and assessments
The ACSH is known as an "industry-friendly" group. In 1982, the Center for Science in the Public InterestCenter for Science in the Public Interest
Center for Science in the Public Interest is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit watchdog and consumer advocacy group focusing on nutritional education and awareness.-History and funding:...
(CSPI), a watchdog and consumer advocacy group, known to spar with ACSH, published an extensive report on ACSH's practices that stated, "ACSH appears to be a consumer fraud; as a scientific group, ACSH seems to arrive at conclusions before conducting studies. Through voodoo or alchemy, bodies of scientific knowledge are transmogrified into industry-oriented position statements." CSPI director Michael F. Jacobson
Michael F. Jacobson
Michael F. Jacobson , who holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, co-founded the Center for Science in the Public Interest in 1971, along with two fellow scientists he met while working at the Center for the Study of Responsive Law. When his colleagues left CSPI in...
said of ASCH, '"This organization promotes confusion among consumers about what is safe and what isn't... ACSH is using a slick scientific veneer to obscure and deny truths that virtually everyone else agrees with."
In 2004, the now-defunct Tufts University Nutrition Navigator (a rating guide to nutrition websites) gave the ACSH site an overall rating of 20 out of 25 and an "Accuracy of Information" rating of 8 out of 10. However, it commented, "This site aims to arm consumers with the facts necessary to make wise decisions about health, but be aware that the information here is biased and represents a very conservative interpretation of current science. Consumers looking for a balanced debate on health issues will have to look elsewhere."
In regard to its operations and financial efficiency, the Better Business Bureau
Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau , founded in 1912, is a corporation consisting of several private business franchises of local BBB organizations based in the United States and Canada, which work through their parent corporation, the Council of Better Business Bureaus .The Better Business Bureau, through...
issued a Wise Giving report on ACSH in 2011 concluding that ACSH met 15 of the BBB's 20 standards.
External links
- ACSH homepage
- Facts Versus Fears: A Review of the Greatest Unfounded Health Scares of Recent Times by ACSH
- Tufts Nutrition Navigator review of ACSH
- Daily Show segment on organic gardening featuring an ACSH representative
- Open-access powerpoint on American Council of Science and Health from Public Health and Social Justice website, based on article noted below
- Article re American Council of Science and Health