In March 2011, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an environmental activist group, released a questionable report alleging that chemical exposures throughout the country have led to numerous "disease clusters." The group called for far-reaching reforms that would place huge financial burdens on chemical manufacturers and American taxpayers. Accelerated job loss and restrictions or bans on safe and usefulproducts would be the consequences of the misguided concern generated by this (and similar) scientifically flawed warnings. In response, the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), basing our analysis on well established principles of scientific investigation, critically evaluated the NRDC's purported disease clusters and assessed the depth of the evidence-based support for these claims. This publication is a case-by-case investigation of each of the NRDC's claims. We explain why, with few exceptions, their allegationshave no scientific basis and fly in the face of the conclusions reached by objective governmental public health agencies.

Did you know that smoking is the most common drug addiction in the United States? Or that it can take only a single cigarette to become addicted? Packed with information on how smoking and second-hand smoke affect the human body, the debate over the right to smoke, the status of lawsuits against tobacco companies, and much more, this in-depth resource concludes with a detailed section on how to quit the deadly habit.

This book sheds light on those things that people in power—government, religious leaders, corporations, the rich and well connected—would just as soon wish you didn't know. To them secrets are power. And they'll do whatever it takes to keep them that way—suppressing the truth and covering up facts that might make the rest of us angry enough to challenge the powerful or at least to have a good laugh at their expense. Using careful research and impeccable sources, Kick uncovers the hidden truth. For example, self-appointed censors warn constantly about the dangers of pornography, but the fact is that pornography has existed since the first cave people carved dirty pictures on the walls. It's also true that two atomic bombs were dropped on North Carolina—although we managed to avoid nuking Greenland, Texas, Canada, Britain and Spain; George Washington embezzled government funds; 1 of 10 people is not fathered by the man they believe is dad; Barbie is based on a German sex doll; The American colonists practiced cannibalism, and much more. This is a combined edition of 50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know, volumes 1 and 2 first published in 2003 and 2004.

Tobacco addresses the many interrelated controversies surrounding the historical and current use of tobacco and presents a clear, objective, and thorough treatment of this contentious public health and legal issue. The American Indians valued tobacco as a wonder drug. When Rodrigo de Jerez, who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his maiden voyage of 1492, returned to Spain with tobacco, he was accused of associating with Satan and imprisoned when his compatriots saw smoke coming out of his nose. This book covers everything from the history of tobacco to health and social issues such as targeting children. Biographical sketches of key personalities associated with tobacco range from Thomas Edison, who refused to hire anybody who smoked cigarettes, to Jean Nicot, the French Ambassador to Portugal in the mid-1500s, from whose name the word nicotine is derived. This title takes the reader through the myriad of issues that make up the tobacco debate in a clear and unbiased way.