PR Watch, Fourth Quarter 1998, Volume 5, No. 4

"I've been called a paid liar for industry so many times I've lost count," boasts Elizabeth Whelan of the American Council on Science and Health.

This year, ACSH celebrated its 20th anniversary as an "independent" organization that claims to offer a "sound scientific" understanding of issues related to public health.

by John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton

For the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), the "phthalate issue" (pronounced "THAL ate") is just another "scare as usual"--another media fire needing to be extinguished.

The issue has been simmering for several years, but it reached a flash point in the United States in November 1998 when the environmental group Greenpeace issued a report showing that soft vinyl children's toys contain significant levels of toxic chemicals--up to 41 percent by weight. Greenpeace warned that children may ingest the chemicals, known as phthalates, if they put the toys in their mouths. "When children suck and chew on soft vinyl toys, it is similar to squeezing a sponge. Water comes out of a sponge, just as these toxic softeners can leach out of a toy," explained Joe Di Gangi, the author of the Greenpeace report.

Corporate funders for the American Council on Science and Health have included American Cyanamid, American Meat Institute, Amoco, Anheuser-Busch, Archer Daniels Midland, Ashland Oil Foundation, Boise Cascade, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Burger King, Chevron, Ciba-Geigy, Coca-Cola, Consolidated Edison, Coors, Dow Chemical, DuPont, Exxon, Ford Motor Co., Frito-Lay, General Electric, General Mills, General Motors, Hershey Foods, Johnson & Johnson, Joseph E. Seagrams & Sons, Kraft Foundation, Kraft General Foods, Merck Pharmaceuticals, Mobil, Monsanto, National Agricultural Chemicals Association, National Dairy Council, National Soft Drink Association, National Starch and Chemical Foundation, Nestlé, NutraSweet Co.

Even today, nearly a decade after C. Everett Koop ceased to serve as the U.S. Surgeon General, his name and face remain identifiable--more so than any other Surgeon General.

Koop, a Reagan appointee, won the admiration of many Americans with his blunt, clear statements about the dangers of tobacco and AIDS at a time when official government pronouncements about health seemed limited to occasional photo opportunities with Arnold Schwarzennegger.

Although the American Council on Science and Health styles itself as a "scientific" organization, it does not carry out any independent primary research. Instead, it specializes in generating media advisories that criticize or praise scientists depending on whether they agree with ACSH's philosophy. It has mastered the modern media sound byte, issuing a regular stream of news releases with catchy, quotable phrases responding to hot-button environmental issues.

USA Today cites ACSH as one of its most frequently-quoted sources for information on public health issues.

The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) sides with big business in virtually every controversy involving corporate interests versus public health, but there is one big business that it relentlessly criticizes--the tobacco industry. ACSH and Elizabeth Whelan have taken a consistent and outspoken stand against the dangers of tobacco and have published hard-hitting critiques of magazines that downplay tobacco's dangers in exchange for advertising dollars.

Taking a strong stand on tobacco has helped ACSH cultivate a veneer of credibility among public health professionals. In particular, it has formed part of the bond between Whelan and former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop (see related story in this issue).