Health & Disease

Subsections:

2009

The Swine Flu Vaccine Screw-up

Barbara Ehrenreich

Thanks to Big Pharma, your child may not get a flu shot as soon as they should.
Back Talk: Philip Alcabes

Christine Smallwood

Epidemiologist Philip Alcabes discusses the social fears surrounding epidemics and why risk can't be eliminated from life.
Managing Flu

Philip Alcabes

Why is our public health policy driven by fear?
Flawed Flu Prescription

Heather Boushey : Wages & Hours

It's easy for government to tell parents to keep their kids with flu symptoms home--but what if they can't afford to miss work?

Drugged-Up Nation

Charles Barber : Water

America is literally awash in antidepressants. Blame the surfeit of drugs in our system on a confusion between illness and suffering.
FDA Puts Medical Test Subjects in Danger

Sonia Shah : Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Research subjects in developing countries--often the poorest, the sickest and with the fewest options--become more vulnerable.
Toy Story

Daphne Eviatar : Globalization

An eviscerated Consumer Product Safety Commission means American children still face perils from their toys.

Toxic Toys

Mark Schapiro : U.S. Economy

As safety scandals dampen the public's appetite for cheap imports, the European Union is raising doubts about standards and oversight in the US toy industry.
The High Price of Beauty

Virginia Sole-Smith : Feminism & Women

A scourge of health problems has nail salon workers wondering about the industry's safety standards.
What Causes Cancer? Probably Not You

Barbara Ehrenreich : Food & Nutrition

The perennial temptation to blame disease on sin or some grave moral failing just took another hit.
High Impact: What Football Owes Its Players

Dave Zirin : Sports

Congressional hearings about head injuries in the NFL raise questions about the consequences for old-timers and present-day players.
How Specialist Town Lost His Benefits

Joshua Kors : US Military

Wounded soldiers returning from Iraq are increasingly being wrongly diagnosed by the military, which prevents them from collecting benefits.
Dying for a Home

Amanda Spake : New Orleans

The shoddy construction of FEMA's trailers has led to an epidemic of respiratory illness among Katrina refugees.

The False Bird Flu Scare

Dr. Marc Siegel : Health Care Policy

The United States has fueled a worldwide overreaction to the threat of a bird flu pandemic, putting AIDS, malaria, malnutrition and other crucial global health programs at risk.
Don't Blame Environmentalists for Malaria

Sonia Shah : Environment

Tina Rosenberg is wrong to argue in the New York Times that environmentalists who fought to limit the use of DDT have contributed to the worldwide spread of malaria.
Avian Flu Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Nicholas von Hoffman

Large factory farms, not migratory birds, are now seen as breeding grounds for the avian flu virus. Donald Rumsfeld is getting rich off his investment in Tamiflu. Can this pandemic get any crazier?
SpongeBob SquarePants, Health Risk

Nicholas von Hoffman : Advertising

The Center for Science in the Public Interest is suing Kellogg and Viacom for using cartoon characters to brainwash kids into consuming mass amounts of junk food.