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Ta-9 E '80s SEARCH FOR Ta-9 E FQU NTAI N Many ads claim that if you take certain supplement's or follow the advice given in popular books, you can live to be 130. Are. they right? Or are people who answer those ads just throwing their coins into the fountain? by Kathleen A. Meister PONCE DE LEON DtDN'T DO TOO BADLY. Although~ hiss search for the Fountain of Youth4ailed, he managed to survive his ini- tial explorations and he'may have regarded the discovery of Florida as a niceconsola- tiom prize. Hiss modern counterpartss are often less fortunate. A recent investigation by the.Select Com- mittee on Agi ng of the House of Representa- tives revealed that longevity seekers imt~he U.S. spend more than 52billion a year on quack anti-aging remedies. The committee descriHedtke sale of these products as "the fastest growing segment of current medical quackery." During thc course.of their inves- tigation, the committee staff and its expert consultants reviewed several hundred prod- ucts promisingg to arresn or reverse aging. Not one of them proved tobe of any value and some.were dangerous as well as deccp- tive. Noone has yet discovered a means of pre- venting aging in humans or extendin¢the maximum human life span. Experts agree that themaximum lifespan of human beings has not increased during recorded history, and many of them believe that it has not increased since Homo sapiens emerged as a species. What has increased is the propor- tion of the populatiomthat comes close to reaching this. maximum. There havee been enormous gains in human life expectancy (which is average life span), partihularly in the twentieth century. These gains resulte& from the prevention of premature deaths rather than an extension of maximum potential life span. Populatiom statistics indicate that if all premature deaths could be prevented, peo- ple would live to bc about 85 (give or take 10'years). Some optimistic scientists stretch things a'bit further and suggest that the max> imum life span is closer to I001or 110 years. Responsible estimates go no higher. There is no documented case of a person living to he more than 118 years old. (For a discussion of claims toahe eontrary; see the box on page ll.) It is entirely possible, of course, that aa wayof extending the maximum humamlife span will be discovered in the future. This is one of the goals of gerontology-the branch of science devoted to increasing our under- standing.of the aging process. Gerontolo- gists have.madesubstantial advances in dis- covering howand why humans and animals age. Some of their findings.have received widespread publicityan&have been miscon- strued by ove7enthusiastic longevity-seek- ers. Many'of the popular prescriptions for life span extension are based onimisinterpre- tations or overgeneralizations of geronto- logical discoveries. The Potions of Pearson and Shaw Perhaps the most famous of the propo- nents of dubious anti-aging regimens are Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw, authors of the hefty best-seller Life Extension and the more recent Life Extension Companion. Pearson and Shaw have compiled a long list of substances that they regard as beneficial in extending life,: on the basis of animal experiments or theoretical considerations. They have been administering these sub- stances to themselves since.1968. The Pearson/Shaw life extension concoc- tions emphasize.antioxidants, but they also include many other substances. The "per-sonal experimental formula" which they thcroselvess take comprises 31 chemicals,, including prescription drugs (e.g., L-Dopa, Hydengine), essential nutrients (zinc, sele- nium, largedoses of most oB the vitamins), other substances thatt occur naturally in foods (e.g., choline, RNA,, bioflavonoids) and antioxidant food additives (e.g.,.BHT). Pearson.and Shaw are so enthusiastic about their multi-chemical warfare against aging that readers of their books.may suspect that they would throw in the kitchen sink, if they didh't need it to mix their potions,. Pearson and Shaw's basic premise is not totally without scientific merit. One current geoontolbgical hypothesis says that damage to the cell's genetii material by substances called free radicals may be amajor cause of aging. Antioxidams in the celli cann trans- 8

Inside: Roast pork-new method ensures safe cooking in microwave oven PAGE 3 ACSH decries cigarette ads tying health, elegance to smoking PAGE 4 The search for the 'Fountain of Youth' comes up dry PAGE 8 Fluoridation: still a topic of debate PAGE 13 declined dramatically in the United States in recent years. In the 1950s, autopsies were performed in approximately 50 percent of all deaths, whereas today the autopsy rate is onlyabout 15 percent. Being Certain The primary purpose of the autopsy is, of course, to determine why a persolvdied. "Only by autopsycamwe be virtually one hundredd percent certaim of the cause of CONTINUEDON PAGE 2 VOLUME 5, NUMBER 4 SEPT/OCT 1984 PRICE: $2.00 IVIE O 1 S & VIEWS PUBLICATION OFTHE AMERICAN COUNCI LON SCIENCE AND HEALTH - 1995 BROADWAY a NEWYORK, NY 10023 (212).362-7044 The First Amendment and Cigarette Promotion A Total Ban on Cigarette Advertising: Is It Constitutional? Are warning labels on cigarette ads which depictelegant, healthy men and women smoking strong enough to alert the public to pre- ventable death? The Autopsy Is Slowly Dying The demise of the autopsythreatens the health of the living. By Cathy Becker Popescu AIIfHOUGH IT IS SAID THAT DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES,., the living can actually learn a great deal from the dead. The information which an autopsy, or post-mortem examination, can provide to survivors and to the medical community can be invaluable. For more than 100 years, autopsy has been.an integral part of medical practice and a fruitful source of medical knowledge. Unfortunately, the.rate of autopsy has regulate false and ntisleading advertising, forced cigarette manufacturersto withdraw by Larry White CIOARETTES ARE THE LEADING CAUSE OF PREVENTABLE DEATH IN THE United States, are addictive and have no safe minimum exposure level. They are also the mos[adver- tised product.in our society:.It is a rare urban dweller who can pass a day without seeing severallcigarette ads ih one form or another. According.to the Federal Trade Commis, sion, two of the five topp magazine adver- lisers are cigarette companies; R. J. Rey- nolds is the single largest magazine advertiser. Cigarettes are the most heavily advertised product in American newspa- pers. Almost half the billboards in the D UnitedStatescarrycigarette.ads. n There.havebeennumerousactionstocon- x con- trol cigarette advertising in the United ` States. The FTC, which has the authority to ~ misleading claims 25 times between 1938 Cigaretteadvertisingisamajoesourceofrevenuee anu tYOa.l.ongressrequtrenctgaretteman- for.manymagazinesandnewspapers..Publishing ufacturers to put health warning labels on thetruthaboutsmoking,nearanadpromotingit, cigarette packages in 1965, andi in 1970, woutdmostlikelyprovokethewrathortheadver- made the warning a little stronger and lisers the lobacco cumpanies. CONTiNUEDON.PAGE4 While the Iossof revenue from cigarette ads would he a serious financial problem for manypublicatiuns, the more seriouss concern Is the human and social cost in death and disease eaused by cigarettt smoking.

Taking the Trichinosis Hazard Out of Microwave-Cooked Pork A method evaluated at Gerling Laboratories, Modesto, CA, ensures safe micro wave-cooking. By Richard A. Greenberg WHILE SOME MIGHT DEBATE MY W7FE5 CONTENTION THAT MICROWAVE COOKING ranks.onlyslightly behind the electricdight as mankind's premier technical achieve- ment,, it certainly has impacted greatly on American culinary practices. Frozen left- overs,, for example, can be resurrected within a minute or two without impairing the taste or texture of the original version. And microwavingcan cut dishwashing time in halfs given the ability to cook and serve on the same plate. Microwaves penetrate further into food than do.the longer electromagnetic infrared waves we get from conventional cooking methods like broiling or baking. Thus, we get more quickly the molecularmotionrtHarr generates heat and it happens throughout the food mass rather than from the.outer layers in. Furthermore, because the air inside a microwave oven remains at room temperature during the cooking process (instead of heating up as it does in a gas or electricoven)., heat from the cooking food escapesfromthesurface,ieavingthesurfaae of microwave cooked foods considerably cooler than thosee conventionally cooked. LL For most foods there is no health problem, real or poten- tial, in taking advantage of the microwave oven'sspeed and versatility. 91 For mostt foods there is no health prob- lem, real or potential, in taking advantage of the microwave oven's.speed and versatility. A likely exceptionshowed up.in 1982 when a team of Iowa State University scientists demonstrated that pork roasts and chops, infectedwith Trichineaa.spiralislarvac (the cause of trichinosis),stoll contained viable larvae aften undergoingmicrowave cooking which produced center temperatures exceed- ing those known tokill the larvae ih conven- tionallyaooked pork.. The researchers, W:.J. Zimmermann and P. J. Beach of LS.U:s Veterinary Medical Research Institute, reported'the presence of viable trichinae in 9 of 51: . experimentally infected sampless cooked with procedures "generally recommended by the oven manu- facturers or thc Pork Producers Council." We imagine that this finding did not bring unrestrained joy to the boardrooms of either industry: A further study in the same laboratory, published in late 1983, outlined asix step instruction for consumers for microwaving fresh pork safely, but made clear the authors' feeling that the problem was far from over. A much simpler and thoroughly effective answer has emerged from work carried out attheGerling Laboratories, Modesto, CA. Inn their presentatiom last month to the ASME - AICHE National Heat Transfer Conference in Niagara Falls, N.Y., C. Sand- burg and J. Gerling described theii experf- ments witha new device for measuring tem- perature in "severe electro-magnetic environments," i.e., pork roasts cooking in microwave ovens. They observed that the surface evapora- tive cooling of the roasts during.microwave cooking was having a reallyprofound effect on temperature. Indeed, they reported that their measurements showed that "the outer surfaces of the roasts were cooler than the central inner surfaces with a temperature differential of 40-50.°." A time-temperature curve showed that "the outer surface temperature [of a 3 pound, 4 inch diameter boneless pork roast] never exceeded130°F, which is several degrees below the thermal death pointof tri- ehinae," even though the center tempera. ture reached 170°A The answer? Develop a cookingg proce- dure whiclu stops evaporative cooling, This L L In 1982, a team of Iowa State University scientists demon- strated that pork roasts and chops, infected with Trichinella spiralis larvae (the cause of trichinosis), still contained via- ble larvae after undergoing microwave cooking. » was accomplished by cooking the roasts inside a microwave-transparenn cooking bag. The bag holds in the moisture from the beginning stages of the cooking process and quickly develops a saturated atmosphere around the roast, preventing subsequent evaporation. Tests showed that roastss microwave-cooked in the bagss attainedsur- face temperatures which exceeded by a safe margin that required to ensure trichinaed u estruc on. Americans typically cook their pork well a done to ensuree itss safety from trichinae. ~ Thus, trichinosis from pork occurs usually a among ethnic groups whoconsume it raw or y rare. It is good to know that, by simply using "a a plastic cooking bag, we can safely eat > microwave-roasted pork. z Richard A. Greenberg, Ph.D., is Associate N Director of ACSH.. Q 3

Editorial On The Ethics of Cigarette Advertising Senator Reed Smoot (R-Utah) once described' cigarette advertising, as "an orgy of buncombe, quackery and downright falsehood' and fraud:" That was in 1930. 1 wonder what Senator Smoot would have to say aboutthe tux- edoed Barclaymans the Satin business- woman, the Marlboro macho man; the Players cocktail gala, and the Kent jock,, enjoying a smoke as he towels down in the locker room. Most of today's ads emphasize vital-ity with suggestions of health, outdoor activity, femininitgor masculinity, suc- cess, romance, pleasure or relaxation. Young people are shown bobsledding, taking a smoke after a swim or tennis, or whooping it up atl an all-American ice cream parlor. A lovely girl in a country setting invites us to "take a puff" of a Salem. A handsome man offers a Bar- clay to a waiting lady off camera..Young women flaunt their newly found inde- pendence in ads for Virginia Slims and More. The "man's man" - the rough and tough cowboy = shouts his sup- posed virility in Marlboro Country "where a man belongs." Benson and Hedges Delux 100, Sterling and others suggest a°touch of class" with accom- panying pictures of caviar, champagne, silver trays, Rolls. Royces, expensive sports cars, and Steinway pianos. What Would E. T. Think? A visitor from another planet proba- bly could not comprehend that these ads, which total over 1.5 billion dollars in revenues each year, are promoting a product that is our nation's leading cause of prematuredeath,e accounting for over 350,000.fatalities each year. If he was aware of these statistics, he might concludethat our society had some unique set of ethics which encour- aged the selling of death, and made it all! look like fun. How would you like the task of explaining to an extraterrestrial'; drop-inthat Americans had a firm com- mitment to good health and therefore moved quickly to ban chemicals like EDB, which cause cancer in laboratory animals. but which have never been shown to cause cancer in humans - yet the same society tolerated the promo- tion and sale of a product that kills some 1,000 Americans each day? No long-necked, bulging-eyed crea- tures have phoned home to me yet with those questions, but a few weeks ago my six-year-old daughter,, while flipping through a: magazine, asked why "they" atlow those ads, "when everyone knows cigarette smoking makes you sick." The simple answer, of course, is that ciga- rettes are a legal product and in our free society„advertising.is a basic right. Cig- arette companies want to promote their product;, magazines want the revenue, and the transaction is as American as 100 percent natural, organic apple pie. Besides, the ads have warning labels, making it a matter of free choice; if peo- ple are stupid enough to.avoid the warn- ing, that's their tough luck. But is it? Isn't the cigarette phenome- non unique? Perhaps now, some twenty years after the first Surgeon General's report, conffonted with some 40,000 medical andscientific references which have documented consistently the extraordinary hazards of cigarette smoking, we should give some careful consideration to theethics of tolerating cigarette ads. Particularly we might want to re-evaluate the ethics of mis- leading-fun-filled, health-oriented - advertising of a deadly product. My instinctive reaction to the possi- bility of Congress mandating an adver- tising ban on a legal product is negative. After all, one might argue, if govern- ment is given the cigarette inch, they will take the full regulatory mile and who knows what ads they would sup- press next. But actually, as attorney Larry White points out in this issue's lead story, faced', with the task of decid- ing omthe constitutionality of a ban on cigarette ads, the courts as well as Con- gress might recognize the situation for what it is: a unique problem demanding a unique solution. The ultimate legal issue might not be the right of tobacco companies to advertise, but their right to obscure health risks with misleading innuendo, i.e., the association of smok- ing with success, health, and happiness. Under those circumstances the industry might maintain its "right" toadvertise- but onlyin the form of (if you will for- give the expression) tombstone-type ads, where the hype is absent andonly the bare-bones facts about the product (name, quantity, tar and nicotine levels, price, etc.) are presented, much in the same way stocks and bonds are adver- tised. Cigarette Ads: A Unique Problem A number of factors put the question of cigarette advertising in a class by itself: Cigarette Advertising CONTINUED FROMPAOE 1 ordered it to be put on advertisements as well. In 1970, Congress banned cigarette advertising on radio and television. Cigarette ads stilli abound im the print media, however,, and one oftheir major functions is to subvert the health warning. The smokers depicted in the cigarette adver- tisements are quite healthyy and active; they obviously are not.suffering from lung can- cer, heart disease or emphysema. Thewarninge label that is presently required on all cigarette packages and adver- tising is.simply not noticed or read by the vast majority of consumers, and theFTC staff has concluded that "a substantial majority of the public remains uninformed aboutthehazardsofsmoking;" Congress is presentlyconsidering new warning labels lhat~ probably would be somewhat moreeftective in alerting con- sumers to the dangers of smoking. But what- ever.new warning is.mand9ted,it will be put on advertisements for cigarettes, which will undoubtedly detract from its impact. A Major Social Problem More than 53 million Americans continue to smoke and large numbers of young peo- ple take up the habit daily: Clearly, cigarette smoking is a major social problem that requires far-reaching solutions. One approach would be toban the sale of cigarettes. It is within the power of Congress to ban the interstate traffic in cigarettes. This is,.of course, politically impossible and b~ of questionable wisdom as our country's N experience with Prohibition has shown. A more sensible approach would be to C W bamthe promotion of cigarettes. Although ~ this has already been done ih the broadcast ~ media, many people assume that it would be unconstitutional to bancigarette ad vertising in the print media. This view had some valid- ity aa few. years ago, but recent Supreme Court decisions indicate that a total ban on CONTINUEDON PAOE 5 4

The Dying Autopsy CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 death4" says Dr. Stephen Sternberg~ Chief of the Autopsy Service at New York's Memorial Hospital. In, a worrisome number of cases, the autopsy findings are surprising. Autopsy revealed clinical misdiagnosis in nearly one- quarter of the cases studied at a Boston teaching hospital. A similar rate of misdiag- nosis was noted among a group, of 100 autopsy cases examined at a Honolulu hos- pital. Other studies have indicated that only 53 percent of autopsy-proven cases of myocar- dial infarction (heart attack) and60pereent of cancers were correctly diagnosed while the patient was living.. The cause of unex- pectedi sudden death was diagnosed cor- rectlyiessthan half the.time amonga group of Swedish~ adults, with a large number of deaths being erroneously attributed to coro- nary artery disease. Incorrect diagnosis of the cause of death is especially common among the elderly. The introduction of sophisticated new technology in recent years has not greatly improved physicians' ability to diagnose dis- ease. Data from the Boston hospital.study indicated that the number of incorrect diag- noses remained constant from 1960 to 1950, even thoughTise of nuclear mcdicine,.ultra- sound and CAT scan procedures increased dramatically. In fact, looking back even fur- ther, it appears that diagnostiraccuracy has not improved much since the early 1900s. . Although modern diagnostic procedures do provide useful information, in some eases theycan be misleading due to misinter- pretation or overreliance on their results in lieu of clinical data. In additions advances in medicine that prolong people's lives have left them vulnerable to more complex dis, eases which may be difficult to identify. Autopsyis especially valuable when a per- son who is not under a doctor's supervision dies and when death occurs accidentally, unexpectedly or under suspicious circum- stances. In such cases, autopsy may be the only way to determine the exact cause of death. Benefit to Survivors There is far more than heuristic value in determining the cause of death. Autopsy can directly benefit-surviving family mem- bers, sometimesrevealing a condition which could affect them. Since the tendency to develop heart dis- ease runs in families, it would be important for the children of n middle-aged man who died suddenly to know if heart attack was responsible. Certain hereditary or genetic illnesses can also be detected at autopsy, whiciv might affect future child-bearing decisions or medical treatment. Wilson's disease, for example, is a poten- liallyfatal hereditary disease in which cop- per accumulates in and destroys the brain. Since the symptoms.can mimic those of 2 many other conditions, the disease is often difficultt to diagnose while the patient is alive. A diagnosis of Wilson's di'sease at autopsy can literally save the lives of other family members, since it can be successfully treated if caught in the early stages. Autopsy results can provide comfort to bereaved friends and relatives, who might believe that they somehow caused or eon- tributed to thee deathy when in reality, they could have done nothing to prevent.it. Con- versely, if the autopsy showss that a family member's actions did contribute to thee death, such knowledge,., however painful, may prevent future tragedies. Autopsy findings may affect insurance settlementss if the cause of death is deter- mined to be different than the physician's diagnosis. Medical malpractice may even be revealed through post-morrtem examina- tion. Benefit To Society Autopsies also benefit society as a whole... One of their most important contributions is their role as a form of diagnostic quality control. By checking clinical diagnoses against the.cause of death as determined by autopsy; a hospital can tell how good a job its physicians. are doing in detecting and treating illness. In fact, until 1972, all hospi- tals were required toperform autopsies on at least 20 percent of all patients who diedd in order to maintain their accreditation. The edueationalivalue of the autopsy for physicians, medical students,andi research- ers is unquestionable. Cross-checking clini- cali diagnoses with autopsy results allows Mondino, shown presiding at a dissection, in 1316 wrote one of the first textbooks entirely devoted to thestudye of anal- omy.In modern medicine autopsy plays an important role in studying the natural history of disease. However, progress in understanding the natural his- tory of disease, as well as adrances in therapeutic tech- niques, are seriously threatened by today's low rate ofautopsy. (From Kelhum, Jvhunness de, Fasciculus Medidinae, Venice, Gregpriis, 1507:) GD ~ ~ N C W N N physicians to learn from their mistakes, thus enabling them to provide better care for future patients. Clinicopathologic con- ferences, where clinical and pathological findings are discussed6 provide practical teaching forums for medical students and physicians. As Pamela Cramer, Director of Latiora- tory. Management of the College of Ameri- cam Pathologists, notes, "Autopsy is our only assurance that quality medical care can be provided." Autopsie.s, play an important role inn studying the natural history of disease. Aleheimer's disease, a type of dementia,.can be.studied only by using human brain tissue gathered during autopsy, since there is no animal model for the disease. Autopsy data have been important imrevealing the patho- logical processes which occur in victims of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, or AIDS. The organism which causes Legion- naire's disease was identified in lung tissue recovered arautopsy from victims. Researchers can also discover valuable information about conditions other than those which caused the death of the patient undergoing autopsy. Post-mortem examina- tions have elucidated the relationbetween atherosclerosis and serum cholesterol levels. Precancerous lesions found in the respira- tory tracts of smokers who died of other causes contributed to our knowledge of the: effects of smoking, Unrecognized environmental or public health hazards may. be detected at autopsy. The repeated recognition of rare liver tumor CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

The Ultimate i Anti-Aging & Prevention FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH contains all of the nutrients that research has shown to help oxygenate the cells and prevent premature aging.of body and skirv. OF YOUTH COMES U P VE RY DRY form free radicals into less reactive and pre- sumably less harmful sulistances. So far,.so good. But to leap from this reasonable but unproven theory about, events at the cellular level to. the proposition that ingestingg vast quantities of antioxidants will extend humamlife is more than most scientists can swallow. What do the expcrtsthink of Life Exten- sion? Dr. Stephen Barrett, Chairman of theLehigh, Valley Committee Against Health Fraud, Inc.:".. . the book's presentatiotrof experimental data is biased and uncritical." Dr. Fredrick Stare and Ms. Virginia Aron- son o0the Harvard School o f Public Health, writing in the Journal of the American Med- icalAssociation: "Some of the health advice in this book would be humorous if it were not so dangerous. The actual nutrients rec- ommended would have to be considered asdtugs whemtaken as self-prescribed supple- ments and in excessive doses." University of Southern California geron- tologist Dr. Caleb Finch: [Pearson and Shawl have swallowed whole a libraryof sei- entific studies without really digesting them. What they're doing is like.taking every pos- sible cure forthe common cold atonce." The. House Select Committee on Aging summarized the expert views this way: "Most!experts believe this book represents a misinterpretation of sound aging research. . . Isolated unsubstantiated reports are used to validate their hypotheses." The known risks of the Pearson/Shaw regimen include headaches, intestinal disor- ders and kidney damage. There may be addi- tional risks that have not yet been identified. Few of the formula's components have been tested for safety in humans at the doses rec- ommended. The entire combination has never been tested on any creature other than Mr. Pearson, Ms. Shaw and their followers. The use of prescription drugs by healthy people has aroused the greatest concern,.but the more familiar food-related ingredients in the Life Extension concoctions should not be overlooked. Many of them are dangerous in very large quantities, although they are quite safe in the much smaller amounts foundi . in a normal! diet.. To give just two examples: Pearson and Shaw's "personal experimental formula" includes two grams of BHT daily. This is within one order of magnitude of the dosage fatal! to rabbits. The formula also includes 1.75 grams of vitamin B, a day..Long-ter.m consumption of two grams a day has been shown to produce disablingsensory neuropathy in.humans. The Life Extension regimen is not cheap. In addition to the formula components, it involves visits to a physician willing to pre- scribe the drugs andfrequent medical exam- inations and laboratory tests to detec6 possi- ble side effects. Dr. Barrett estimates the annual cost as between $1,000 and $2,000. The commercial potential of this program has not gone unnoticed. Sales of the sub• stanccs recommended by Peatson and Shaw have.skyrocketed. Some health food stores nowhave. "life extension" sections, and many adsfor food supplements prominently feature products recommended by Pearson and Shaw. The Florida-based Life Exten- sion Foundation sells books, supplements, and a life extension newsletter, and directs people to physicians sympathetic too the cause. Not all of those who stand to profit from Pearson andShaw's ideas endorse them,, however. The House Subcommittee on Aging reports that the Sandoz Pharmaceuti- cal!Company, which produces several of the recommended prescriptiomdrugs, com- pletely disapproves of Life Extension and of the proposedmisuses of its products. Eat Less: Live Longer? Like Pearson and Shaw, Dr. Roy Walford has written a mass-market book on life.span extension,.but in all other respects he is in aa very difYerent.league. For one thing, his Maximum Life Span is a.mueh more.accu- rate and entertaining book. More impor- tantly, Dr. Walford is a respected gerontolo- gist. He heads the research laboratory for the study off immunology and the aging process at the University of California, Los Angeles,:and!serves on the National Acad- emy of Sciences Committee on Aging and the National Institute on Aging Task Force on Immunology. Most gerontologists do not believe that our cu nent understanding of the aging proc- ess is sufficient to justify advising the public to make any changes in their lifestyles inrthe hope of extending maximum life span. Dr. Walford disagrees,:and he gives very specif ic advice of this type in his book. The regimen he recommends has three distinct advan- CONTINUEDON PALE 10 9

Search for Youth CONiINUEOFROM PAGE 10 mice..The negative results were what scien- tists would have predicted, since.SOD taken orally cannot even reach body cells, let alone -in f luence events occurringwithin. Likeallenzymes, SOD is a protein. Pro- teins are broken down,by digestion,.and they lose any special properties they mayy have had in thee process. For this reason, enzymes are of no nutritional significance, except'as a part of the total dietary protein intake. SOD supplements are a complete waste of money. RNA: RNA (ribonucleic acid) is found in all body cells, where itplays a critical role in translating the genetic code. It has been claimed that dietary supplements of RNA can rejuvenate old cells, improve memory and alertness, prevent wrinkling of the skin and slow down the aging process. RNA was one of the most popular ingredients in the anti-aging.products examined by the House Select Committee on Aging. The Commit- tee's expert consultants agreed that there is no scientific basis for the claims made for these products. The RNA in a body celliis made within that individual cell;.it-is not imported from outside. RNA is not required in the diet, and any RNA that is consumed orally does.not remain in its original formfor long, because it is broken down by digestion. High levels of RNA (or the closely, related compound DN A,'also Sound in ant i-aging nostrums), in the diet can be harmful to people with kid- ney disease or a hereditary predisposition4o gout. SELENIUMi Selenium is an essential nutrient and may playamantioxidant role in the body. Thus, it's an obvious candidate for inclusion in anti-agingg remedies. It'ss also a potentiallyy dangerousone,.because excess amounts of selenium are toxic,.and the dif, ference between the level of selenium,needed in t he h uman diec and the level that can pro- duce symptoms of toxicityis not large. Dr. Sorell Schwartz oC Georgetown Uni- versity reviewed a selenium-based product for the House Sclect. Committee on Aging and concluded that the advertisement claim- ing that it could reverse the aging process was "false and misleading" because nhere is "no evideneeeither clinical or imexperimen- tal animals which demonstrates that sele- nium, is capable df retarding,, much less reversi ng,. the agi n g process P GOTU KOLA: The herb Gotu Kola has been claimed to retard aging and cure senil- ity. Dr. Ftederick Sherman of Mount Siitai Medical Center reviewed this one for the House Committee and found "the claims that Gotu Kola slows aging or is good for senility to be without theoretical or clinical support." GINSENG: Ginsengg is anothcr herb sometimes promoted as an anti-aging rem- edy, although it's.more often sold as an aph- CONTINUED ON'PAGE 12 FACT AND FICTION HUMAN LONGEVITY "No single subject is more obscured byvanity, deceit;, falsehood and deliberate fraud than the extremes ojhuman [ongevity." In technologicallyy developed countries, about one in 10,000 people lives beyond the age of 100. Actuarial,statistics indicate that only one in 2.1 billion people can be expected to live beyond the age.of 115. Since 2.1 billion is about half the population of the world, only a fewindividualsw of such extremely advanced ages.are likely-to be liv- ing ing at any one time. The greatest'authenticated human age is118: This.record is held by Mr: Shigechiyo. Izumi of Japan, who celebrated hishistory- making birthday in 1983. The U-S. record; (second highest.in the world) was set by Miss Fannie Thomas, who died in San Gabriel,. California.in 1981 at the authenticated age of 113 years,. 273 days. Canada's reeordholder, Mr. Pierre Joubert, made it to. the ripe old age of 113 years,.124 days. If these figures disappoint you, it's proba- bly because you have heard'of individhals who have claimed m uch greater ages, and of areas in the world where centenariansand supercentenarians (L10+) are supposedly common. Attempts to verify thesee claims have failed. Are There Pockets of Extreme Longevity? In recenD years, stories of unusual longev- ity have come from three parts of the world: the Caucasus,.in Soviet Georgia; Hunza„in Pakistan; and the Ecuadorian village of~ Vilcabamba. Some people have gone so far as toscrutinize the lifestyles of the inhabit- ants of these purported pockets of longevity, in a quest for details (e.g., a fondness for yogurt) which mightt bee the keys to longer life: In 1970, Dr. Alexander Leaf of the Har- vard Medical School visited Vilcabamba, 'where he was introduced to Miguel Carpio and told that Mr. Carpio.was the oldest resi- dent of the village, with a documented age of 121. Four years later, when Dr. Leaf returned to Vilcabamba,.he was again intro- duced to Mr.. Carpio, whose age was now. , announced as 132. This time, Dr. Leaf insisted on seeingg the documentation and learned that a fire had allegedly destroyed the necessary baptismal records. A thoroughinvestigatioD of the elderly . people of Vilcabamba disclosed thacno true centcnarians lived in the village, Mr. Carpio died;at the ripe old authenticated age of 93. Scientists who have investigated thc claims of extreme longevityin the Hunza and;Caucasus regions have similarly failed to find documentation for the alleged extreme ages.. They have, however, found. '. many reasons why.elderly people might'.lie to Guinness$ook of World Records, 1984 edition inflatetheir ages. In the Caucasus and in Hunza,.old people are held in great esteem and the older,, the better. In the Caucasus, exaggeration of ages has also served Soviet political purposes, according.to expatriate.Russian gerontolo- gisu Dr. Zhores Medvedev. It is also believed that some then-young men in that area assumed the identities of deceased older rel- atives in order to avoid conscription into military service. In Vilcabamba, there are economic incentives for perpetuating the myth of extreme longevity; the once-back- ward village is becoming a profitable tourist trap. Elsewhere in the world, the pattern is sim- ilar.. W here good documentation exists, cen- tenarians are rare. W here documentation is poor, many are reported. (The correlation between the density of centenarians in an areaand the illiteracy rate has been reported to be 0.83. ) In Sweden, where record-keeping is thor- ough, not one person over the age of 109 has been identified. A study of the birth and death records of the British peerage and bar- onetage, whose vital statistics have been documented for centuries, has disclosed only one instance of survival beyond theage 1 of 100. (Some observers have attributed thisi poor showing to the dtaftiness of thee resi- dences of the British nobility.) Centenarians in the.U.S. Even in the United States, claims of extreme age have often proven false. Charlie Smith, who died in 1979 at the alleged age of 137, was once accepted, even by the skeptics at Guinnes.s, as the oldest person im the world. Documents discovered in 1980 showed that Mr. Smith had in fact diediat the age of 104. There are major uncertainties regarding the number of centenarianss in the U.S. According to Social Security figures, 62000 people over the age of 100 were.receiving benefits in 1970. Yet raw figures from the census taken the same year indicated that . 106,441 centenarians lived in this country. If , this.were true,.theproportion of centenari' ~' ans in the U'.S_ population wouldhe even higher than that claimed for Soviet Georgia! The explattation for the discrepancy is sim- ple: Social Securityrequires.proof of age, while the census is based on self-reported data. The recognition that comes with extreme old age seems to be an irresistable temptation to exaggerators around the world. K.A.M. 11

Health Watch Health Watch Health Watch New Furor over Animal Rights A recent break-in at the University of Pennsylvania has intensified the ongoing debate over so-called animal rights. During.the Memorial Day weekend, five people broke into a laboratoryat the univer- sity, damaged equ ipment and stole irreplace- able videotape records of headinjury exper- iments.on baboons. The incidenu bringsthe eontrastingviews of the scientific commu- nity and animatrights advocates into sharp focus. For the scientific community,, the experi- ments conducted at the University of Penn- sylvania are an excellent example of how animal research maybenefnt human health. The damaged labis part of amajor research center that is conducting outstanding research on an importantlmedical problem: how too improve the treatment of severe human head injuries. The baboon experi- ments,.which have onlybeen in progress for four years;.have.already yielded.results that may directly influence and improve head injurytreatmcnt. The Pennsylvania research is also an excellent example oB the type of investiga- tion that could not be carried out using the so-called alternadves.to animal experimen- tation. It is obviously. impossible to studyy head injury in baeteria:.or cell cultures, and we doubt that even thee most rabid animal rights activist would suggest the one real alternative: substituting human experimen- tal subjects for thebaboons. For animal rights advocates, the Pennsyh vania experiments are a classic example ofunnecessargresearch and disregard for ani- mal welfare. Because the experiments, by their very nature, involve subjecting animals to. deliberate injury, many animal rights advocates would not condone them nomat- ter what their benefits to humans. Others argue that they are coun terproductive, using moneythat could be better spent on head injury prevention efforts (which, not', inei- dentally,., would not require animals to be injured). Holly Jensen of the Animal Liber- ation Front asks, "Are.we willing to put ani- mals through thao [experimental procedure] when the American public won't wear seat belts?" (An interesting point, but it ignores the fact that many head injuries cannot be prevented). M s. Jensen also said, in aminter- view with Science, that the idea that "human needs come first" is outdated. This extraor- dinary concept isbecomingincrcasingly popular in a movement that seems to become more radical each year. The new attitude wasvergevident imone of the letters ACSH received in response to the Mar/Apr NEWS &V IEWS story "Ani- mal Rights and Scientific Research." The writer said: ... - the tenor of this article demon- strates that all too.familiar pomposity of humans, namely that any act of suffering inflicted on animals is justi- fied as long as it benefits humans im some manner ... Such an attitude is analogous to the Nazis who felt the same way abouGg experimentingon their victims._ ... or slave owners who justified the abuses of slavery...- You may resenrthis analogy, but when you imply that since'they're only animals' and experimenting on them is there- fore justified, you are only one small step removed from the most rabid racists." The same writer responded in this wayto the article§.comments on the culpability of pet owners for the destruetionof millions of animals in pounds: "While it is true.that it is careless pet owners who are responsible forani- mais being impounded, the conclu- sion that theanimals, not the humans, therefore deserve the added punish- ment of being subjected to further abuse via laboratory experimentatiom is a classic case of 'punishing the. vic- tim.' If any are to be punished, it is t he careless humans ... who deserve it." The letter writer ended by warning us that we are."swimming against the tide" of pub- lic opinion.If this is so(and wedon't think it is)) we.will, jusu swim harder. But we need more scientists, as welhas non-scientists who understandrthe benefits of animal research, to join us in.the water. One final note: things are.even worse else- where. Newspapers in London recently received letters from an 9nimal rights group that isthreatening to inject rat poison into meat and eggs at grocery stores unless peo- ple stop buying those foods within three months.toend "the terrible existence that these animals live." Puff Up in Fashion - the Glamorous, a Cigarette Target Last fall we were amazed tosee a combi- nation ad for Bloomingdale's department store and Satin cigarettes in t'ogue, a widely circulated women's magazine. The six-page spread featured a theme of "luxury," which was illustrated by models clothed in slinky evening apparel'l with cigarettes dangling from their elegantly gloved fingers. Maybe we shouldn't have beem so sur- prised.,Casual observation of women's pub- lications reveals.a regular tendency to asso- ciate cigarette smoking with glamour and sophistication, not only in the advertise- ments, but also imthc text. It seems that whcnever a celebrity who happens to smoke is interviewed, the writer feels compelled to dwcll upon his or her habit. Goldie Hawn lights up at least three times in the course of an interview, and each puff is dutifully described. German film star Gunter Lamprecht is introduced as "a sturdy,.chain-smoking.fellow," and in case we didn't ge[~the message, there is an accom- panying photo of him, cigarette in hand. An article on New York's fancy dinner parties.gratuitously mentions that it isper- missible to smoke between every course and raves about one glittering occasion where Alexander Haig's wife "chain-smoked throughoutPWe haven't done a scientific survey to determine how prevalent this phenomenon is, but we've seemenough examples to makee usworry4hat an awful lot of women are get- ting the subtle message from, their favorite magazines that cigarette smoking is tres chic. But all the.news on the magazine scene is not bad..The June issue of Vogue dedicated two-thirds of a page to a hardhitting discus- sion of the dcleterious effects of smokingfor women,.citing.ACSH advisor Dr. William. Cahan, Attending Surgeon in the. Thoracic Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Nonprescription Drug Labels to Tell More We are delighted with the decision bythe. Proprietary Association (which representss the principal U.S. manufacturers oFlnonpre- scription drugs) toadd information about inactive ingredients to their labels. lnformatiom about the inactive ingre- -- dients of drugs is of little interestt to most people bur is of vital importance to a few who must.avoid certain ingredients.becauseof allergies. Until now, it has been difficult for these people to obtain the information they need in order to choose a nonprescrip- tion drug that is suitable for them. Queries. We Get Queries. Publicity blitzes about alleged harmful effects of environmental chemicalk always result in calls to ACSH from baffled people who are doing theitbest to separate fact from fiction. Andi we are always happyy to help out..Sometimes:, however, even we get confused,, especially when several such scares are goingon at the same time. For example, take a recent call from awoman who was worried about "all that m publicityabout thatpesticide that had some- 1, thing.to do with old oranges." could N thisrefer to? We decided that she was refer- N ring to the anxiety-provoking stories about W the use of nhe pesticide EDB omcitrus fruit, ~ and we proceeded togive.some information ~ and reassurance.omthat subject. But that wasn't what she was looking for. Well into the conversation, we learned that the subject of her query was something else: that "old pesticide Ancient Orange." I guess some things get garbled in4ransmission. E.M.W. 14

Letters Good Housekeeping Editor and Professional Nutritionist Offers Sage Advice To the Editor: I am writing to applaud ACSH for review- ing nutrition accuracy in magazines..As an editor of Good Housekeeping and Past President of the. Society for Nutrition Edu- cation, I think it is critical for professional nutritionists to be more aware of and involved in the delivery of nutritiom.infor- mation toahe publie via all channels of the media. We at Good Housekeeping welcome your constructive criticism.We would, however, like tocomment. Regarding our classifica- tion as "mod'erate nutrition coverage,"i call your readers' attention to articles within the Better Way section of our magazine, as well asthe"Yoaand Your Diet"'articles. In these columns, Good Housekeeping editors have covered topics such as weight reduction clin- ics, the Cambridge Diet, and the recent NHLBI cholesterol study. On the subject of the 850 calorie diet article which you cited in the ACSH review, we carefully instructed our readers not to use this.diet for longer than seven days. W'ee gave serious thought to publishing it and, in the best interest of our readers, decided that this approach to dieting was a realistic one. Iwould like to encourage thee readers of ACSHNews & Viewsto speak out to maga- zine editors regarding the quantity and'qual- ityofnutrition articles. When responsible magazines take a stand'd on nutrition misin- forattation„ we are swamped by criticismfiom persons who object to that position. Whemwe receive no mailicommending us for positive actions, it isdifficult internally tojustify'taking such a stand again. KRISTEN W. McNUTT, Ph.D., J.D. Director of the Good Housekeeping Bureau The comments and editorial opinions expressed in this newsletter donot nec- essarily represent the views of all ACSH Directors and Advisors. Yearly.ACSH membership (includes subscription to ACSH NEWS & VIEWS,, scientific reports, and other publications): $35 tbr individuals; $500 for institutions. Subscription.to ACSH NEWS &' VIEWS only: $l0 per year. No.special permissiomis required too quote or reproduce from this publica- tiom Please credit ACSH, and send copies of the reproduction to ACSH, 1995 Broadway, N.Y., N.Y..10023. SEVfNTEEN't Approach to Good Health Earns High Ranking To the Editor: I was delighted to receive the results of your new survey about nutrition informa- tionin popular magazines. I was, of course, particularly pleased to see that the survey revealed that 100 percentof SEVENTEENbnutrition-related features were found to be accurate in the information they provide. All of us at SEVENTEEN take very seri- ously the special opportunity we have to influence and educate today's teens aboutt important concerns in their lives. And,, we believe that there is nothing more important for them than developing a truly healthy understanding of good nutrition. In our monthly food and beauty features, as well as in the special in-depth articles we publish on nutrition and health6 our goal is always the same - to point out t hat, at any age, there is simply no substitute for a sensible and sound approach to good health. We: know from the mail we receive that our. readersare very interested'in these sub- jects and that they are appreciative of the information and direction SEVENTEEN provides themin this area. It is also verysat- isfying for us to know that our efforts to help them with nutrition and health infor- mation are recognized and appreciated~by the American Council on Science and Health. Thank you for letting us know the results of the survey and for your supportof our editorial philosophy. MIDGE RICHARDSON Editor SEVENTEEN ACSH NEWS & VIEWS ' Published by the American Cou ncil on Science and Health A nonprofih,, tax-exempt educational association promoting scientifically balanced evaluations of food, chemi- cals, the environment, and health. 1995 Broadway, New York, NY 10023 Telephone: (212) 362-7044 EDITORIAL STAFF Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelant Executive Editor Dr: Richard A. Greenberg, Associate Editor Joyce Joncs, Editor Dr. Stephen Barrett, Consulting Editor Urges ACSH Magazine Survey Be Enlarged To the Editor: Kudos to Densie Hatfield's article on the magazine/nutrition survey in ACSH News & Views. In my role as founder and current presi- dent of Candelighters Foundation, an inter- national peer support.gooup for parents ofchildren with cancer, and speeialconsultant to health insurance carriers.in their defense against reimbursement claims for unproven methods in the treatment of cancer and other diseases, I see many questionable nutritionJvitamin publications. For exam- ple, besides those covered in your survey there are Nutritional Consultant; Bestways, Total Health, Your Good Health, Health Freedom News, Nutrition Health Review, and Cancer News Journal:. Would you beenticed'to.expand your reviewto.these? The National Health Federation (Health Freedom News) is behind many of the Health Victory Conventions, Health Free- dom Conventions across the country selling bogus information to the sick/elderly. GRACE P. MONACO White, Fine& Verville Washington, D.C. Another Reason for MandatingSeatBelts-To the Editor~: In SharonCampbell's article, "Air Bags: Curse or. Btessing"(Vol. 4, No. 5), an excel-lent case was.made for the retention of seat belts withdegalland finaneialireinforcements for their use. May I point out that another cogent rea-son for mandatory use of seat belts has been overlooked. In the event of a frontal colli- sion,, unrestrained back seat passengers would be hurled forward like projectiles into M the backs of the front seats. Not only would ~, this result in the expected injuries.to these passengers, but the occupants of the front C,. seats, even if protected by air bags,, would be injured by having their seat-backs thrust N forward. Such an eventuality could be (!I guarded against only by having additional anchoring means for the front seats, result- ing in even greater per careost and weight. R'hcre would it all end? I.B. BORN ~ President, Just Born, Inc. ~ Health/Weight conscious? Read ACSH's ~ : latest reports-Low-Calorie Sw•eeteners fc Aspartame, Saccharin,Cyclamate and ~ Searching for aWayOut - Smoking Cessa- ~ ttonTechuiqrres. Reports may be ordered at $2 each from ACSH, 47 Maple St., Summity NJ 07901. < 15

We allow a product to be advertised which kills 350,000 of us annually. How do you answer a six-year-old who asks, "Why?" First, let's recall that as a society we never made a decision to allow ads for a deadly product. The ads began some 30 years before scientific studies con- firmed that cigarette smokingg was life threatening. Second, the cigarette is theonlylegal product available todaywhich is harm- ful when used as intended: Alcohol, for example, must be used in abusive quan- tities or unacceptable circumstances. (i.e., before driving) to pose a hazard. Automobiles, while a contributing fac- tor to some 50,000 deaths every year, are reasonably safe when used appro- priately. Obviously all advertising is to some extent hyperbole-whether it is the pro- motion of shampoo, baby food, soda or bathing suits, the models are gorgeous and the setting is idyllic. But in these cir- cumstances,, the hyperbole in the ads does not entice consumers to purchase an inherently hazardous substance. Third, maybe we should face up to the fact that the warnitig label is gener, ally unnoticed and ineffective, and will probably continue to be.so in its newer, more explicit form. The warnings tell of risk, but surveys indicate that.American consumers have little knowledge of the magnitude and nature of that risk. Probably unique also is the repressive influence cigarette advertising revenues have omthe frce flow of negative infor- mation about cigarettes in magazines an& newspapers. Whether the pressure to spikepejorative statements on smok- ing comes from the tobacco companies themselvess or is simply perceived as pressure by editors, it is clearly there. So CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 cigarette promotion might indeed withstand Court scrutiny. Although a ban on cigarette promotion is not nowpoliticallyfeasible,.it may be thacin a few years changing attitudes about smoking and the growing awareness of its dangers.willimakesuch a ban possible. The First Amendment. If there is a constitutional objection to a laww banning cigarette promotion, it would be: found in the language of the First Amendment, which states, "Congress shall make no Iaw. . . abridging the freedom of speech." temwords, part of a larger guarantee o0 religious liberty, freedom of given the paucity of negative messages on cigarettes, relative to the omnipres- ent positive messages in advertising, and noting that 90 percent of smokers tell surveyors that they wish they could quit, one begins towonder howmueh freedom of choice is really involved here. Impact of an Ad Ban Only the most naive individUal would believe that a total advertising ban would havee an immediate and signifi- cant downward effect on cigarette sales. Some 50 countries now have taken legis- lative action or entered into voluntary agreements imposing restrictions on advertising of tobaccoo products. Of these 15 havee banned advertising, including socialist countries which pro- hibit all advertising. But there is noton- vincingevidenee that cigarette con- sumption has declined as a result. And it might be argued that the banning of radio and television cigarette ads in 1970 had no depressing effect on sales (although a counter-argument here is that all that electronic advertising was simply4ransferred to print). But in deal- ing with the cigarette phenomenon, one must recall that it took some 60 years for the cigarette to get its grip on this country - and'that grip will not be loosened overnight. "Our ads aren't' intended to encour- age people to smoke" the Tobacco Insti- tute still whimpers.as it sees the intensi- fyingg concern in this country about smoking and shortened life span. The cigarette folks even have the audacity to claim that they especially don't want to (t1 Allowing cigarette advertis- ing as we do now, actually has the effect of reducing the flow of informatfon to the publfc. The greatest under-reported health story of the century is the epi- demic of cancer, heart disease, lung disease and other conse- quences of smoking. 9 9 encourage children to someday take up smoking. This is about as ridiculous as a cosmetic companysaying it didn't want little girls.to learn about lipstick. The industryhas staunchly maintained that it advertises only to emphasize brand differences, but this is clearly a smoke- screen. Cigarette ads primarily sell one thing: rhesocial acceptance oJsmoking. As noted by Emerson Foote, who pro- moted Lucky Strikes during the 1930s and then leftt advertising to bring the message about cigarettes and health to the public, "The implied message is'if it is alli right to advertise, the product can't be that bad: The converse of this, of which the industry is fully aware, is that if it is not acceptable to advertise, then there must be somethingg wrong with the product." Right now, smokers are understand- ably worried and unsure of the legiti- macy of their smoking behavior. Ciga- rette advertising reinforces their behavior by suggesting that lots of good-looking, healthy young people do it so "don't worry." So weare facing the ditemma: While we are not questioning the industry's. right to informational' advertising, do we want to continue advertising with glamour, elegance and a strong hint of good health, a product which kills 350,000.of us annually? if your answer is yes, how would you explain your stance to E. T.. or an inquiring six-year- old? Elizabeth M. Whelan Executive Director,. ACSH the press and the right of assembly; are the perennial subject o0lawyerly debate. Constitutional protection has tradition- ally. been concer ned'largely with expressions of political and social ideas that relate to matters of public interest. Few theorists have argued that all speechmusth be free from regulation. Obscenity may be banned and words that incite a mob to violence may be out lawed. The government may regulate, within reasont the time, place, and manner of speech. The citizen's right to speak out on political matters is inviolate, but he cannot speak in the middle of a.busystreet. Com-mercial speech, including advertising, was 5