Category: Public Health
Bait and switch in Oregon: Substituting quackery for opioids for Medicaid patients
The Oregon Health Authority is on the verge of passing a radical policy that would require chronic pain patients receiving Medicaid to have their opioids tapered to zero while covering "nonpharmacologic treatments for pain" that include primarily acupuncture, chiropractic, massage therapy, and other "alternative" treatments. Not surprisingly, the Oregon Chronic Pain Task Force, which is responsible for this proposed infliction of quackery...
Smoking Cessation
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death. There are effective pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods to help people stop smoking.
J.B. Handley versus vaccine science. Again. Not surprisingly, J.B. loses.
Our old friend anti antivaccine activist J. B. Handley invokes the "vaccines didn't save us" gambit. It doesn't go well for him.
Are antivaxers “holding science hostage”?
Melinda Wenner Moyer published an article in The New York Times arguing that fear of how antivaxers will react to scientific findings is leading scientists to self-censor. I'm not convinced that this is the case.
Electromagnetic Fields at Work Show No Brain Tumor Risk
A new study finds no significant correlation between workplace exposure to radio frequency (RF) or intermediate frequency (IF) electromagnetic waves and the most common brain tumors. This is more reassuring evidence that non-ionizing EMFs are probably safe.
Vitamin D and the relationship to colon cancer
Colorectal cancer is common. A new study examines the relationship with vitamin D levels.
Anti-Vaccine Hotspots are Getting Hotter
More parents are seeking to avoid childhood vaccinations in states that allow nonmedical exemptions. These "hotspots" of decreasing vaccination rates, some of which include large urban cities, are likely locations for future outbreaks of preventable disease.
So-Called Alternative Medicine
Edzard Ernst calls it "So-Called Alternative Medicine". This insider's view of SCAM is a new book from an prolific researcher and author.
Health Effect of Wind Turbines
What are the health effects of living close to wind turbines? The answer is, probably not much, but definitive data is elusive.
TIC’D OFF
Two years ago we discussed the TicTocStop, a dental appliance that the inventors assured us would help mitigate the symptoms of Tourette Syndrome. In the intervening years things have...not gone well. This illustrates the need for skepticism regarding questionable medical claims, and the importance of initiatives like AllTrials to ensure the good, the bad, and the ugly research is available to everyone.